I slept like an absolute log for 10 straight hours and then woke up raring to go explore Buenos Aires.
But first, coffee.
Oh my goodness...Argentina puts the US to shame with their coffee. I was going to order a simple Cafe Con Leche, but the specialty coffee menu was too enticing to pass by. Truly not having too much of a clue what it contained but having a general idea, we placed our orders -- Emily got the Cafe Calipso (Expresso con Esencia de Licor de Cafe y Brema Baticla) and I got the Bocadito Cream (Con Eseticia de Caramelo, Crema y Salsa de Caramelo). Yeah, yeah, yeah...I know I can use my handy Google Translate app but it's kind of fun not knowing exactly what we are getting. Mystery is the spice of life, ya know.
When they came out to us, there were exactly four things I loved about this:
LOOK AT THE STRIPES!!!!!! I think we were supposed to stir them together, but it was too pretty, so I sipped layer by later.
Me gusto mucho Argentinian coffee. It is rich, flavorful, full-bodied with hints of smoke and cocoa. Very yum.
They deliver glasses of water to accompany your coffee and they also give you a handful of cocoa covered peanutes to enjoy too. It's like condiments for your coffee experience and I support that.
We have to discuss that the total cost our drinks was $4.50 American money. I can't get over these price differences.
Now happily buzzed on caffeine, we strolled around the city, walking though a pretty neighborhood park with a futuristic-looking playground, lovely trees and flowers, and a woman trying to shove her cat in a carry bag. The cat was NOT having it.
Our mission was to find one La Union Bakery, one of the many gluten-free bakeries in the city.
In the bakery, I struggled to understand what the choices were, until the workers said, in perfectly accented English, "We speak English. You can just ask us".
We ordered based on their recommendations for most commonly-ordered items: A ham and cheese sandwich and a pumpkin onion quiche. While we were waiting for the food to come out, I asked them, "Como se dice Gluten Free in Espanol?". (in other words, how do you say "gluten free" in Spanish?). She looked at me deadpan and said, "Gluten Free.".
Ahhhh. Ok then.
But then she went to explain that it can also be referred to as "Sin TACC". Sin T.A.C.C.” stands for “sin trigo, avena, cebada, centeno” - “without wheat, oats, barley, rye”.
LOOK AT THIS BEAUTIFUL PLATE OF GLUTEN FREE GOODNESS!!!!
While the ham and cheese sandwich was fine, the pumpkin onion quiche was glorious! Why don't we make better use of pumpkin in America? The pumpkin beautifully blended with the caramelized onions and created almost a bread-pudding-like texture that perfectly complimented the flaky crust.
We continued our walk around the city and enjoyed window shopping. We passed clothing stores, book stores, pharmacies, bodegas -- all looking modern and similar to what you would see in NYC. But when you look up, you'll see towers of apartments with what looks like historic architecture, beautiful details, and lots of flowering balconies. That is what made Argentina look so different than what I'm used to at home.
We decided to head to El Ateneo Grand Splendid, the #1 recommended site on Atlas Obscura. What a place this was!
El Ateneo Grand Splendid is a bookshop. In 2008, In 2019, it was named the "world's most beautiful bookstore" by the National Geographic.
And they are not lying!
The building was designed by architects Peró and Torres Armengo and opened as a theatre called Teatro Gran Splendid in May 1919. The eclecticist building features ceiling frescoes painted by the Italian artist Nazareno Orlandi and caryatids sculpted by Troiano Troiani. In the late twenties the theatre was converted into a cinema, and in 1929 showed the first sound films presented in Argentina. In 2000, the building was renovated and converted into a book and music shop. Today, over a million people walk through its doors annually.
Customer seating has been installed throughout the building, including the still-intact theatre boxes, and a café has been created at the back of what was once the stage. The ceiling, the ornate carvings, the crimson stage curtains, the auditorium lighting and many architectural details remain. Despite the changes, the building still retains the feeling of the grand theatre it once was.
We wandered around and enjoyed looking at the books, the architecture, and the people.
We found two very small bookshelves holding books in English. A woman there from California shared that she likes to buy English books in foreign countries because they are more condensed and compact and fit her shelves back home better. But these choices were wildly random -- and it makes me wonder what exactly other countries think that English speakers truly read. In case you are interested, the shelves contained a lot of Movie Review guides, a whole shelf dedicated to Shakespeare, a Janet Evanovich thriller, a Dale Carnegie self-help book, and many copies of Fifty Shades of Gray.
The children's section was fascinating, and I did not see a lot of familiar writers. I played a game with myself where I took pictures of the books I would have bought for Emily and Oliver -- and my selections were only based on the book covers. I have no idea what some of the books are about, but don't they look fun?
I particularly liked the ceiling of the bookstore. The detail of the work was extraordinary. It was painted by the Italian artist, Nazareno Orlandi, using a special technique called “marouflage”: the design was painted on a canvas and then pasted on the dome ceiling with special adhesives. The images painted on it represent peace, as they were completed soon after the First World War had finished.
What I liked best was the fellow with the armpit hair fleeing some some undistinguished angelic force grabbing at his shrubbery.
The bookstore was amazing to see, though it was very crowded and very hot. No air conditioning -- and this Florida girl is used to staying cool inside. So after we got our fill of the bookstore, we set outside to catch a breeze. Blue skies, big white fluffy clouds, and a cold bottle of Pear Soda to quench my thirst made the walk back to the hotel lovely. Life is good!
But wait... There's more. I have a whole second half of the day to tell you about and it involves some signified Argentinian schenanigans.
Something caused us to laugh so hard that we triggered a bad review for the tour company and it involves Elton John
We saw singing gauchos swinging bolos
We jumped into a random bus taking us to parts unknown
And we had the typical "hey fellow tourist. Oh, you are from America, do you happen to know..." conversation and for the first time ever, the answer was "omg, I actually do know her!!!!"
Stay tuned for those tales coming to you tomorrow morning.
This place is wild!!
Comments