senorsuitcase
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We’ve been in Buenos Aires for exactly a month. Now that it’s time to pack our rucksacks, comb our beards and set the Señor Suitcase compass to Patagonia, we thought we’d indulge in a little reflection.
We’ve done many things during our first month in Buenos Aires. Swum across the Rio Plata, scored a goal at La Bombonera and abseiled down the Obelisco are just a mere sample of the things we haven’t. But here’s our top five of things we have. To further heighten the already electric atmosphere of this post, we present them to you in reverse order:-
5. Choripan at Costanera Sur
It was a Tuesday unlike any other Tuesday. Probably because it was a Sunday. The sun was shining and we were un pocito hungover. In our hunt for street food, we had heard about the pavement parrillas (grills) along the promenade that borders the Costanera Sur nature reserve and the blog with two stomachs could wait no longer. After a short walk down the promenade, we sussed out the form and chose our stall (the best ones are those with the most taxis parked up). Six minutes and 20 pesos later, we held in our hands “El Choripan” . Half sausage (chori), half baguette (pan); all delicious, fatty goodness. It’s like the kebab that you can take home to your mum, especially when it’s all dressed up with salad and chimichurri. It does, however, pack a calorific punch, so we followed it with a walk round the Costanera Sur circuit. A perfect sausage-fuelled stroll on a sunny Sunday.
4. Fuerza Bruta
The best thing I can tell you about this show is absolutely nothing. Look it up. Book a ticket. Put some trousers on. And then go there. Oh, and perhaps wear something waterproof. It’s like the strangest dream you’ve ever had that doesn’t involve root vegetables or Yoko Ono.
3. Futbol with the locals
For a more in depth account on futbol con los porteños check out this earlier post. However, I will briefly say that futbol here is played with a passion that is simultaneously impressive, hilarious and utterly terrifying. Whether your playing style is Messi or messy, lace your zapatillas up and find a game. Oh, and it would help to know a little Spanish female biology before you get there.
2. La Cabrera
If meat is a religion in Argentina, then La Cabrera is the church. We were fortunate to be treated like hungry kings the first time we went and our waiter Alberto was a plate-bearing fountain of knowledge on all things cow. Yes, it’s full of tourists. Yes, the service can be a little cold. But they really know their meat and each cut comes with more side dishes than words in this sentence. Almost. Check out this earlier post for more information and book a table. And an ambulance.
1. Tango Lesson @ La Catedral
Pardon? Potentially humiliating group dance lesson? Where do I sign?
The outside of La Catedral (Sarmiento 4006) looks like a neglected Youth Centre if you’re being kind and a war-torn crack den if you’re not. You pay your 15 pesos (reluctantly) and haul your three left feet and looming sense of dread upstairs. You make your way around a curtain. And then your jaw drops. The place is absolutely stunning.
If La Cabrera is a feast for the stomach, La Catedral is most certainly a feast for the eyes. It’s like you’ve stumbled onto a Baz Lurhmann film set. Aside from the “dancefloor”, there are a number of shabby tables, a large bar, a smoky back room and some toilets that owe more to Trainspotting than to any recognisable standards of hygiene. But it’s all part of the charm.
The tango lesson itself takes about half an hour, and after that you can just slink back to your table and the comfort of your litre of Quilmes or continue to bust out “The Ocho” until you’re blue in the feet and have said ‘perdon’ more times than you ever thought possible. A word of warning though: at 3am the professionals roll in – probably best to put your feet up then and see how it’s really done.
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More posts at www.senorsuitcase.com
www.twitter.com/senorsuitcase
We’ve done many things during our first month in Buenos Aires. Swum across the Rio Plata, scored a goal at La Bombonera and abseiled down the Obelisco are just a mere sample of the things we haven’t. But here’s our top five of things we have. To further heighten the already electric atmosphere of this post, we present them to you in reverse order:-
5. Choripan at Costanera Sur
It was a Tuesday unlike any other Tuesday. Probably because it was a Sunday. The sun was shining and we were un pocito hungover. In our hunt for street food, we had heard about the pavement parrillas (grills) along the promenade that borders the Costanera Sur nature reserve and the blog with two stomachs could wait no longer. After a short walk down the promenade, we sussed out the form and chose our stall (the best ones are those with the most taxis parked up). Six minutes and 20 pesos later, we held in our hands “El Choripan” . Half sausage (chori), half baguette (pan); all delicious, fatty goodness. It’s like the kebab that you can take home to your mum, especially when it’s all dressed up with salad and chimichurri. It does, however, pack a calorific punch, so we followed it with a walk round the Costanera Sur circuit. A perfect sausage-fuelled stroll on a sunny Sunday.
4. Fuerza Bruta
The best thing I can tell you about this show is absolutely nothing. Look it up. Book a ticket. Put some trousers on. And then go there. Oh, and perhaps wear something waterproof. It’s like the strangest dream you’ve ever had that doesn’t involve root vegetables or Yoko Ono.
3. Futbol with the locals
For a more in depth account on futbol con los porteños check out this earlier post. However, I will briefly say that futbol here is played with a passion that is simultaneously impressive, hilarious and utterly terrifying. Whether your playing style is Messi or messy, lace your zapatillas up and find a game. Oh, and it would help to know a little Spanish female biology before you get there.
2. La Cabrera
If meat is a religion in Argentina, then La Cabrera is the church. We were fortunate to be treated like hungry kings the first time we went and our waiter Alberto was a plate-bearing fountain of knowledge on all things cow. Yes, it’s full of tourists. Yes, the service can be a little cold. But they really know their meat and each cut comes with more side dishes than words in this sentence. Almost. Check out this earlier post for more information and book a table. And an ambulance.
1. Tango Lesson @ La Catedral
Pardon? Potentially humiliating group dance lesson? Where do I sign?
The outside of La Catedral (Sarmiento 4006) looks like a neglected Youth Centre if you’re being kind and a war-torn crack den if you’re not. You pay your 15 pesos (reluctantly) and haul your three left feet and looming sense of dread upstairs. You make your way around a curtain. And then your jaw drops. The place is absolutely stunning.
If La Cabrera is a feast for the stomach, La Catedral is most certainly a feast for the eyes. It’s like you’ve stumbled onto a Baz Lurhmann film set. Aside from the “dancefloor”, there are a number of shabby tables, a large bar, a smoky back room and some toilets that owe more to Trainspotting than to any recognisable standards of hygiene. But it’s all part of the charm.
The tango lesson itself takes about half an hour, and after that you can just slink back to your table and the comfort of your litre of Quilmes or continue to bust out “The Ocho” until you’re blue in the feet and have said ‘perdon’ more times than you ever thought possible. A word of warning though: at 3am the professionals roll in – probably best to put your feet up then and see how it’s really done.
-------------
More posts at www.senorsuitcase.com
www.twitter.com/senorsuitcase
