3/15 - Buenos Aires, Argentina and Flight Home

We were able to exit the ship with the first group (a lot of snotty people sitting around sipping coffee in the SS United States Restaurant, kind of like the ones in first class on the plane, looking at us like we were way too young to be there). It was good to be able to leave first, because we found our bags in the port area, went through customs and got a taxi all very quickly (total of maybe 15 minutes?) before the 3,000 other passengers exited the ship.

We went to the Marriott Plaza Hotel Buenos Aires as our home base to explore from while waiting for our 11:30 pm flight out of the city. We had decided to get a hotel room for the day even though we wouldn't be staying there that night, as our flight was so late, and were really glad we did, as it was hot and humid and we were grateful to have a place to take showers and relax before heading to the airport. We could have done a shore excursion that lasted all day that started from the ship, which would then take us directly to the airport.

I had been second guessing myself a few times, thinking maybe we should have done that excursion as we would have seen more of the "sights" rather than just getting a sense of the place on our own, but after our day, we were glad we didn't do this, as it was much more relaxing and fun our way. Less structure. We could just imagine ourselves (especially Jim) getting crabby after being on a 10 hour tour (many of that time probably on a bus) and not knowing what kind of food we would be having during the time, etc. Also, we ended up talking to some other people sitting nearby on our flight home who had done that excursion and they said it wasn't really worth it and was exhausting.

So, this is what we did. After lying down for a nap as Jim had started to get a cold and was low-energy, we had lunch in one of the hotel's restaurants. Again, "Sin Gas" on the water came in handy, but no weird food this time. Our food was almost *too* Americanized (maybe because Marriott had acquired the hotel recently - no one referred to it as the Marriott, but as the "Plaza Hotel") and I wasn't crazy about my lunch. I had ordered broiled chicken with honey mustard sauce on the side, rice and vegetables, and I thought it would be a skinless, boneless breast. Nope! It was half a chicken, with skin on. One of my idiosyncrasies is that I hate having to pick at stuff (bones, shells, etc.) to get at my food. When we get crab legs or claws or lobster, or even ribs, Jim will "kill" it for me (we are goofs, we call it that) by picking out the meat with his fork or other implements, and giving it to me. I know, it's kind of like what you'd do for a kid, but he likes spoiling me that way. With chicken, though, I just never order a half a chicken - only the breast, as I hate all the other parts. This was way too much discussion of chicken and my weird food habits - sorry if it was TMI. Simply stated, Jim had a roast beef french dip type of sandwich, which was pretty Americanized as well. Our lunch was OK but nothing to write home about (even though I am, ad nauseum)- typical "hotel food".

So having had lunch, we decided to walk around outside in the area.

We had chosen the hotel for its proximity to the Plaza del San Martin, which was noted as a nice historical area to start a walking tour from. The plaza square was really pretty, and there were a lot of what looked like college students sitting outside on the lawn on this nice warm day.

We gathered that some of the memorials had to do with the war in the Falkland Islands, as there was no English, but there were some Spanish words we picked out and a map of the Falkland Islands. We couldn't take a picture straight on, as there was a military guard there and I thought it might be disrespectful, but here it is from outside the memorial.

I didn't know much about this war, but Jim is a war and history buff so he got the significance.

After walking around, we tried to figure out where the next Harley dealer was, as Jim had the address in his dealer manual. We looked at the subway map and found one of the cross streets for the dealer, but not the other, and we debated on whether we should walk over to the cross street we did see on the map (about 2 miles away) and then try to find the other cross street, or just take a cab. Finally, we decided to just take a cab, as we weren't sure how far we would have to go to find the other cross street and/or what type of neighborhood it would be. We were really glad we took the cab, as the ride took FOREVER. It went through a lot of nice neighborhoods, no worries about that (the only time we saw any slums was off the highway on the cab ride to the airport that evening) but it took us to the complete opposite end of the city and took 45 minutes or so. When we got to the dealer, it was indeed a normal dealer with T-shirts and chatchkes, but it was 2:45 pm. The dealer didn't open back up until 3 pm, as they apparently participated in the custom of a sort of "siesta" that they did throughout Latin America.

As a detour, let me say a few things about this custom, as it did impact our trip in small ways. Our tour guide in Puerto Montt had told us that the typical workday throughout Chile started at about 9 am and then businesses (including offices) closed from around 1-3 pm. During that time, people typically went home, checked on their kids with their nannies (she said most working Chilean women had nannies in their homes instead of bringing the kids to daycare) and had lunch with their families. Then they went back to work until 7 or so. This impacted all (participating) shops as well, and really between 1-3 pm, only the restaurants and bars were open everywhere. Our guide did say that in the offices, many are starting to try to go to a more "traditional" schedule of 8-5, with a one hour lunch, but that it wasn't catching on consistently.

The thing we found was not all shops went along with this custom (at least not when a cruise ship was in port) so we would find some shops like drugstores, markets, camera stores, souvenir shops open during those hours, depending on where we were. Buenos Aires seemed to be large enough not to really even "notice" that a cruise ship was in port and that that day was one where over 3,000 passengers would be leaving (and probably spending time in the city for the day or even a few following days) and 3,000 passengers would be boarding for the last cruise of the season, with an opposite itinerary to ours. Especially not in this area. This area was beautiful. Tree-lined and residential, mixed with nice looking smaller hotels and outdoor cafes, it reminded me of somewhere else. Maybe even the Lincoln Park area in my own city of Chicago, with its cute small shops, restaurants, tree-lined streets and brownstones. I really wish we would have gotten a picture of the area!

So, back to 2:45 pm at the Harley dealer. It was not open and people were milling around outside waiting for it to open. One of the employees was inside standing around, and a number of people asked if he would open the door. No go. So we ran across the street and asked our cabbie if he would wait for us with the meter running, for about 25 minutes (15 til it opened and 10 to shop) as we were worried about catching a cab back in this area (we didn't see an awful lot of them.) He said no, so we paid him and he left. We walked around the area til 3 pm, then went to the store and finally bought our T-shirts. I didn't get any, as they didn't have any special women's long sleeve or tank ones like they usually do, and I don't do plain short sleeve T-shirts. He ended up getting them for himself and all his friends, so was happy. The interesting thing was, when we were talking to the woman who rang us up at the counter, she said there was another store RIGHT AROUND the corner from our hotel!!!! Ugh. It wasn't in the Harley book, and this is why I'm so NOT a fan of any type of printed reference guides with addresses/locations. The book was probably five years old, and even if it wasn't, those things tend to go obsolete as soon as they're printed. Why not just look online? Anyway. We decided that since we were here already, let's just get what we want here and not bother trying to find the other one.

After our shopping, we walked around the area and bought some bottled water, admiring the furniture stores (they had fabulous contemporary leather furniture in more than one shop in the area - I realized that the focus on leather goods and design/fashion in the area also probably engenders a strong furniture industry) then tried to find a cab. We walked about a mile, but then one stopped for us. It seemed like the cabbies who worked this end of town didn't really know the other end, and vice versa, as ours were consulting maps at traffic lights on both trips.

Oh, and mentioning another thing about the focus on fashion and design. There were model-looking women walking the streets everywhere on this Saturday afternoon in the city. Tall but small-boned, with long brown hair, tan skin and Italian-looking faces, they were hard to miss. They were all wearing very stylish clothes and great shoes, despite it being a weekend. Even the ones dressed casually in jeans were wearing very nice jeans and heeled shoes. We saw some others who looked like they could have been sisters of Penelope Cruz. The funny thing was, the men were non-descript and I can't remember what any of them looked like. I was telling my friend at work (the one who gave me the very nice Elann.com gift certificate because I had given her my jewelry-making/beading stash) about this and she was teasing me about having lots of "girl-crushes." Not quite, as I don't go that route (not that there's anything wrong with it - Seinfeld, LOL) but it was just noticeable. Jim didn't make any comments or even appear to notice. Love that man!

I'm also very happy to report that we got back home on our flight uneventfully (except for tons of hoopla with customs, carrying my artwork I purchased with me, etc. etc.) So that's the trip. Lots of different experiences packed into two weeks. We really enjoyed it and we are both really glad we chose this itinerary and cruise!

Comments

[sheila]

Great photos and glad you enjoy your vacation.

[kozy Kitty]

It sounds like your whole trip was fabulous! By the way--I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one who won't eat chicken off the bone. I hate eating food like that. Ribs too! Whenever I prepare them, I get the boneless ones! My husband always offers to cut my food off the bone which is a bit embarrassing. I manage to do it myself!

[Amber]

Wow, what an action packed trip! It sounds like you had a great time.

Also, I'm totally with you on the weird food quirks. I HATE having to debone/deskin/deshell my food when it gets to me. When cooking is a slightly different story, but when I've paid someone else to prepare it and bring it to me, I just want to eat it!

[Heather]

What a fabulous trip, great pics of Buenos Aires!!

[adrienne]

Your photos are AMAZING Robin! Feels like I was there!!! lol

[knittymuggins]

Great photos Robin! It looks like a fun way to end your trip (by yourselves exploring) and I'm glad that you found a Harley shop for Jim :)

I think it's sweet that he "kills" your food for you (love that term!) and I'm so with you on not liking any part of a chicken except for the breast! And lucky you that Jim didn't even notice those hotties in the city! R pretends not to notice, but I can see him out of the corner of my eye looking but faking like he's not. Boys! Oh well. I still got me a keeper ;)

Thanks for sharing all about your trip and I'm so glad that you had a great time!

[Stacey_CrimsonPurl]

So glad you got back to the states without all the travel drama! LOL

I love how you journal your trip as it was a big one! Thank for letting us vacay vicariously thru you! ;o)

[Mary Heather]

Your trip sounds like it was a lot of fun, I've been reading for the last few weeks! :) I agree with you completely about having to pick at your food to get the meat off, I just about refuse to eat chicken if it is still on the bone! It's too much work and I don't like to get my hands so dirty! :)

[Debby]

How frustrating about not finding the Harley dealer close to you, but I'm glad Jim got his T-shirts at last!

I agree wrt: chicken. I get skeeved out pretty quickly when it comes to meat, and don't eat much of it.

[Shannon O.]

I've loved reading about your trip, but my favorite part by far has been seeing you wearing your hand-knits!

[Robyn]

I'm finally caught up on your trip! YEY! Looks like you had a great time.

Which color ball of yarn did you buy (the stiff one) as a souvenir. Too bad it was all stiff & twiggy.

I miss the cruise I went on, makes me want to go on another one, seeing your trip!