Hey there everyone. I hope things are going well for you wherever you are. For my part, as many of you would already have read, so far things in Argentina have been going great. Still, whereas day 2 and 3 had quite a bit of structure to them, day 3 was really just me wandering around the city. . . And boy did I wander, by the end of the day having walked more than 21000 steps, which equates to more than 16.5 km (10 miles).
Despite how much walking I did, I actually had started the day rather late, waking up at 10:30 AM, puttering around the apartment and also washing some clothes, not actually leaving until 12:24 PM. As I had not eaten anything yet, my only real plan was to find something to eat, but I was in no hurry to do the same. For those of you who wonder where the apartment is, it’s in front of the Santander building, which is just one block away from Lezama park. Anyways, I just set out walking for awhile, letting my feet take me where they would.
It wasn’t actually until 2:05 PM that I finally decided to eat at Bernardo Café. I opted for the plate of the day with a Quilmes beer. When asked if I would like a small or large one, I responded that I would like a large one, figuring that was probably 500 ml. As luck would have it however, it was a full liter! I know where you are thinking this is going, but amazingly, while I’m sure that I was in some way affected by the alcohol, it was very smooth drinking, and I definitely did not obviously feel tipsy when I finished. The food while not “amazing” was certainly decent, and the total bill was 11800 ARS, which I paid with my Indian credit card, being charged 850 INR. Separately, I left a cash tip on the table of 1440. So for those of you trying to figure out things in USD, including the tip, it was about 11 USD.
As with other “sit down” eateries I had encountered here, nobody tried to rush me out despite me being a single person at a table for four, and I didn’t actually leave until 3:28 PM.
From there, I continued walking until about 4:00 PM when I saw a rather impressive plaza/park and building, which I later realized was the national Congress. To the side, there was also an independent movie theatre which looked interesting, but I figured that was more for residents than for a tourist like me.
Continuing on, nearby at 4:40 PM I saw a church which intrigued me, so I went ahead and entered. It was the San Expedito church. From what I could tell, this San Expedito is a really big deal for residents of Buenos Aires.
Once again strolling up and down the streets, I found myself in the once de diciembre area. This seemed to be a slightly lower income area, but it still felt completely safe. I was really excited when I saw these little green parrots eating with the pigeons.
From there I continued to the Cromañon area, or at least from the different signs I saw, that was what I thought it was called. Clearly at some time in the past there had been some sort of disaster here? Or at any rate, that was what the street memorials indicated. Later on in the day I checked online and saw that in 2004 there had been a nightclub fire which killed 194 people, and had injured at least 1400 more!
Walking along from there, at 6:13 PM I was then in Monseñor Miguel de Andrea Plaza. I was really impressed by how many people of all ages were actively using/enjoying the park. I think it is wonderful when public spaces like this are actually valued by the local residents.
From there my walk continued, and at 6:51 PM I was at the corner of the Recolecta mall, where there was live street music! Again, I was happy to see some local residents clearly enjoying the performance.
At 6:55 PM I realized that I was starting to feel a bit tired, so I sat down on a bench to see the best way to get back to San Telmo. My original idea had been to walk back, but upon further consideration, at 7:29 PM I was waiting for the 10A bus to take me back to the apartment. However, the bus didn’t actually arrive until 7:48 PM.
I didn’t really notice the time when I got back to San Telmo, but at 8:35 PM I bought three very nice looking empanadas from Cosas Ricas, a simple shop two blocks from where I’m staying. They seem to only sell takeaway pizza, and empanadas, but I will go back again later on to see if they have other stuff. The empanadas were large and tasty, and the total for all three was 3600 ARS cash, or $3 USD.
At 8:45 I was back in the apartment with the empanadas. My original thought had been to only eat one or two, saving the rest for breakfast, but they were so delicious that I ended up eating all three 🤪. Then I went ahead and checked some news, and went to bed at 10:00 PM.
So while I didn’t actually have any obvious activities today, I still had a good time exploring the city. For now, I’m a bit tired, so will close, but don’t hesitate to ask any questions or leave comments in the section below.
Travels with Jay 