Last day in Buenos Aires

Today was the finale. 
One too many days but that’s ok. 
This was definitely a relaxing vacation when it comes to cities.  We did late lunches, late dinners, no
breakfast and slept in late. 
Generally one activity or maybe 2 in the afternoon and then some rest
and relaxation.  All good.

 We had to check out at noon so I had the van that was going to
take us to the airport drive us around town to hit up the last few things we wanted to
do before departing.  It was a nice
way to get a few more things done with ease.

In the morning, I was able to hook up with the woman my
friend knows that represents 4 artists. 
I really liked all of the artists and took some pictures before deciding
what I wanted to do.  Sometimes it
just needs to sit with me for a bit first.  There are a few pieces that I really did love.  We will see.  One of them is above. 

Our first stop was Café Tortini which is the oldest café in
BA and something all tourists should do. 
Figuring since we had the car, we might as well go do it.  Nada.  A line around the block and couldn’t imagine it was worth
the wait. 

En route to another place for lunch, we stopped by
Carpincho.  If you need gloves,
this is your place.  When we were
in Florence, we got a bunch of gloves at one place that only sells gloves.  All beautiful and better priced than in
NYC.  They actually carry the
Florence gloves at some of the better stores in NYC so I know they are more
expensive at home.  Carpinchino, although
the gloves are not as elegant, they are well worth the price.  One pair of black leather gloves with
fur lining for the coldest winter we are about to have were $40 US.  A steal.

Then we drove back to Porto and had lunch at La Cupertina.  This is a must go
to.  Clean, quaint and
authentic.  The owners are there serving you.

The empanadas are
fantastic.  The delicious aromas
hit you the minute you walk in the door. 
Hand made stuff right before it comes to your plate.  Flaky,
perfect crust with a variety of fillings. 

Spicy pulled beef, pulled chicken with vegetables, corn with white
onions and cheese ( a classic Argentine empanada ).  We ended up with 16 empanadas among us.  We ordered a few more after our first
round.  

We also had a bowl of
Argentine Stew on our second round.  Jessica saw the big vat of it in the kitchen en route to the bathroom.  An intense yellow
color soup filled with chorizo, pork, corn, butter beans and other beans.  So good and for an added zip you just
add spice. 
A round of Coke Lights
and some water too.  After we
finished, we had some desserts.  2
thin wafer cookies, like a triple decker sandwich filled with dulce de leche
with a sugar icing poured over the top. 
Really really sweet.  The other was
the same but the base was a blander cookie with the dulche on top.  The best was 2 cookies with the
consistency of a black and white made into a moonpie with dulche de leche and
a hint of chocolate in the middle. 
An excellent lunch.  Loved
the whole place.  Total for all
that food was $40 US dollars. 
Crazy.

We drove over to La Casa de las Botas where they make boots from
scratch.  The boots are more geared
towards the equestrian crowd but they are quite beautiful and not
expensive.  Em tried on a few but
decided that they weren’t her thing. 
But the place was a step back in time.  Still making them by hand in the back.  Very cool.

Honestly, at this point, as much as we thought about
returning to San Telmo to check out a few more galleries which I wanted to get
to, we bagged it and made our way to the airport to deal with the new insanity.  Here, we have to be at the gate one and
a half hours in advance to be patted down prior to getting on the plane.  Fun stuff. 

 Great trip, as always, it is a treat to discover new cities
and return to places we have been before to see what has changed. From the people
to the restaurants to the vibe…and of course seeing it through my kids eyes is
always the biggest bonus.  There is definitely a change in the atmosphere over the last 10 years ago.  When we were here last, 70% of the people that lived in BA were under 30.  There was bounce in everyone's step.  I felt it must have been like what it felt like during the 1950's in the USA.  Not now.  There is a feeling of cruise control and most who we talked to are not thrilled with the Government.  It is quite interesting how 10 years really changes a country.  After all, as someone described Argentina to me on this trip, the Government doesn't have a set of rules to follow like the USA.  Each Government basically starts again from scratch.  Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.  Right now there is a feeling of limbo not joy.  Interesting.

 Next year??