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Ryan’s friend Eric came to visit us in Puerto Vallarta and we had nine whole days of fun.  Here’s a recap of some of the things we got to do.

Malecon

One of the most popular and inexpensive ways to pass the time in Puerto Vallarta, the Malecon is a mile long stroll at the edge of the water.  The only issue we had was the heat as the Malecon is not shaded.  Ryan almost died, or so he thought every time we took the twelve-block trip (which was nearly every afternoon).  But not me.  Buy me a breezy dress and I’m well on my way to having a great time!

Walking Tour

This free walking tour took us up to an amazing view of the city.  We walked into churches and past schools and restaurants and shops.  Our guide even took us inside a few of them to investigate their treasures and to try the free tequila!

Zoo

The zoo in Puerto Vallarta may be small and out-of-the way.  It may have tons of tiny biting insects.  But you can play with baby lions, and tigers, and monkeys!  We pretty much had the place all to ourselves (aside from the attack mob of geese) and most of the walk was right up the mountainside in the shade and very pleasant.  I’ve made a request to Ryan to return for a birthday trip next year to play with lion cubs, because who doesn’t want to play with lion cubs!  I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Botanical Gardens

This was a large and beautiful area although unfortunately, it was also hard to get to.  I enjoyed the gorgeous flowers and kept an eye out for creepies and crawlies while Ryan and Eric took in a swim.  This was apparently where the movie Predator (starring Arnold Schwarzenegger) was filmed in 1987.  Beautiful scenery.

Pirate Ship Dinner Show

It might be more accurate to describe this adventure as a Booze Cruise.  Or a completely awesome night out.  There was music.  There were games.  There was sword fighting and fireworks.  There was chicken cordon-bleu (in my case) and fruity drinks containing a dark-purple-colored liquid boasting the name “Pirate Punch.”  But there’s more.  For one night and one night only, I had a personal pirate named Ludias.  It’s the stuff dreams are made of.

Marietas Islands Excursion

I’ve never been a huge fan of snorkeling.  The truth of the matter is that I’m horribly afraid of sharks.  But the gorgeous dark-green water was warm and I was feeling brave.  While the tides were not cooperating enough to allow us entry into the island’s main attraction–the hidden beach–there were plenty of Yellow and Blue-footed Boobies hanging around.  In addition, we were able to try out the paddle boards and sea kayaks.  However, the highlight of my excursion was definitely on the way home when we were joined by a group of curious dolphins.

Food and Drink

I must have gained ten pounds during the nine days Eric was with us, and I’ve never drank so much in my life!  With lots of food and siestas, it was definitely my kind of vacation.  Thank you Eric!!!

I promised my good friend Erin that I’d write an email to her fourth-grade class regarding the Day of the Dead festivities here in Puerto Vallarta.  My email is as follows:

Hello fourth graders and greetings from Mexico!

Here in Puerto Vallarta, la Día de los Muertos celebration (or the Day of the Dead) lasts from October 28th clear until November 2nd.  During this time, many local families gather to remember and pray for their loved ones who have passed.  They build altars in their homes and in special locations around the city in honor of those who have died.

They also visit the cemetery and decorate the graves of their loved ones.  While death can often be a sad and even frightening thing, the Day of the Dead focuses more on the celebration of these people’s lives.  When my husband and I visited the local cemetery in Puerto Vallarta, we found it full of color and teaming with life.  It wasn’t a sad occasion at all.  On the contrary, there was live music and good food.  People were smiling and greeting one another.  Children were running around the old stones and people were gathered around the graves of their families and friends now decorated and vibrant with color.

We followed a lively parade all the way back into town.  It finally stopped near the middle of the city where a stage had been erected.  We were able to watch from our balcony as people from all over Mexico came and showed off their different styles of dance.  Horses pranced in perfect lines and children much like yourselves danced and sang.  The only difference between them and you was that their faces were all painted white to look like skulls.

Skulls have a very important significance in Mexican culture but they all center around one specific figure.  They call her “Catrina.”  La Calavera Catrina (or the Elegant Skull) was first created by artist  Jose Guadalupe Posada sometime between 1910 and 1913.  His artwork depicted a female skeleton wearing the hat of a wealthy aristocrat.

The figure of “Catrina” was made famous by another artists years later named Diego Rivera who has since become a world-renowned Mexican artist.   To this day, people decorate everything with “Catrinas.”  You can find them displayed in shop windows, printed on fabric and clothing, and blowing in the breeze as decorations.  And people paint their faces.  Here is a picture of me with my husband Ryan and our friend Eric with our faces painted.

To summarize, my experience of the Day of the Dead while in Mexico is this.  The holiday is not about death at all.  It is about life and celebration and serves as a reminder to us that life should be celebrated.  It was a lot of fun.

Your Friend,

Amanda Vredenburg

Irony is a funny thing.  Ryan and I chose to visit Puerto Vallarta over Cancún because it’s Mexico’s hurricane season and historically, Puerto Vallarta has less risk of being hit.  That’s why, when Puerto Vallarta’s “tropical storm” turned into a full-blown hurricane alert, we were both very surprised.  And yes, we were a little worried.

The weather on Thursday, October 22nd was nothing special or unusual.  A little gray.  A little gusty.  Ryan and I went out for drinks and sat enjoying the slight breeze on the second-story balcony of the Cheeky Monkey.  Below, people walked along the Malecon like usual.  We each had a margarita and shared a small taco pizza.

It wasn’t until around midnight that Ryan interrupted my movie.  He stood in the doorway of our current bedroom looking a little nervous.  “So,” he said, “You remember how we didn’t go to Cancún because it’s hurricane season?” he began.  I was completely bewildered to hear that local authorities were recommending evacuation, but relieved to find that Ryan was so on top of things that he’d already gotten us bus tickets on the first available bus back to Guadalajara.  And then we both showered and packed our bags.

It was still dark outside when we hailed a taxi on Friday morning (October 23rd).  It appeared the city was still asleep as we left it behind.  On the way to the bus station, the driver spoke about the hurricane, saying that we were wise to leave and that a lot of people were choosing to stay, for one reason or another.  He also seemed convinced that the gay community was to blame for the hurricane bearing down on us (what?!! I don’t think so…).

The bus station was no more packed or crowded than usual.  Everything was operating on schedule and the bus we got on wasn’t even entirely full.  I slept the next six hours or so very comfortably as light rain pattered against the bus windows.  The trip was only slightly delayed.  (We would hear reports of the six-hour trip taking later buses up to ten hours.)  We reached Guadalajara without incident.

That night we stayed at a very nice hotel and sat planted in front of the TV.  For the first time in over a year, we had CNN and watched in mixed awe and horror as information about Hurricane Patricia, “the worst hurricane ever recorded in history” was reported live from the very city we had just fled from.  We recognized the locations captured in the live footage and kept our fingers crossed while I prayed for those who had not been able to evacuate as we had.

Ryan woke up every two hours all night long and by 7:30 the next morning (Saturday, October 24th) we were assured that Patricia had not completely devastated Puerto Vallarta as she had been expected to do.  The storm had moved beyond us and had left very little damage in her wake.  It was truly a miracle of sorts.

By 10:00 am that same morning we were back on the bus and returning to Puerto Vallarta to pick up our guest from the airport–only one day after we had evacuated.  Eric’s flight arrived right on time without any delays and Puerto Vallarta was completely functional once again, although it was a little less crowded for the next few days and the waters remained murky for most of the week.

It was as if nothing had ever happened.  While many locals claim that Puerto Vallarta was never in any real danger because the surrounding mountains protect the city from this sort of thing, I remain skeptical.  Most importantly I remain grateful.  Patricia, the strongest hurricane in history, chose to be merciful.

WHAT?

Murder.  A knife in the back.  Cold, silent, and deadly.

Dinner theater is a happening event on a Saturday night in Ajijic.  Ryan and I attended a murder mystery dinner show called Murder at La Mision and enjoyed two complementary margaritas, a three-course meal, and a lot of laughs.

WHY?

That is the question, isn’t it.  Margarita wasn’t exactly popular.  She never should have returned to Mexico.

The cast was a group of seven local participants deliberating over the murder of their rather unsavory acquaintance, Margarita Bonita.  One-by-one, they each pointed their nervous fingers at someone else sitting at the table.  “I hold in my hand an entry torn from Margarita’s diary showing that she had been recently threatened by Don Juan Diablo and was afraid for her life,” said ex-fiance Warren Peace.  “Yet Desert Flower was standing right behind Margarita before she was stabbed,” Kay Pasa commented.  “Well she was stabbed with the knife belonging to Warren Peace,” Agent Orange countered.

WHERE?

La Mision, where Ryan and I found ourselves studying the seven suspects seated before us, was the very place where a woman lost her life.  One of them was the killer we knew, but which one?

Anyone curious as to how the cast members had come by their suspicious contributions of evidence need only ask.  We were assured that the cast members would answer any questions we had and were assured that they were not allowed to lie.  In fact, audience participation was encouraged and we shot question after question.  The correct group to solve the crime by the end of the night was promised a fabulous prize and we all wanted it.  “Let me see that diary entry!” one audience member demanded.  “Is Agent Orange free for dinner tomorrow night?” another inquired boldly.  He may have been on to something, but it was unlikely to win him the prize…

WHEN?

Saturday night, that same evening, only hours before we had arrived to take our meal.  Hopefully the killer would be content with one victim before the night was through…

In fact, the audience was a bit more rowdy than the previous night’s had been.  “You guys ask too many damn questions!” Senorita Bonita informed my table at intermission.  She was playing the bitter sister of the victim and seemed determined to stay in character, letting us know that the previous night’s audience hadn’t been nearly as meddlesome.

WHO?

The possibilities are endless…

Apparently every one of the cast members had it out for the victim–a scheming and ambitious woman recently returned to Mexico–but only one of them got to kill her.  The verdict could have gone any way, and at the end of the show we discovered that it really could have!  A different killer had been identified the previous night with the very same evidence.  Although my table did not guess the correct killer, we sure had a great time trying!

I love our house in Ajijic.  It has a great view, a big bed, and a huge bathtub.  The stained glass and tile give it plenty of character.  It’s in a great location, right near the center of town and a close walk to almost every restaurant in Ajijic.  It is pretty much perfect.

There is one drawback.  Since the first of October, I have been woken every morning between 5 and 6 am to the ear-splitting sound of bottle rockets.  The cannon-like boom is followed by live mariachi-type music that lasts for a minute or two and then the sound of chanting ensues.  Not to mention, they’ve woken up the roosters.  This repeats for the next hour as the mob makes their way from one block to the next.  In short, it is really fricking noisy.

So what’s the story with these disconcerting wake-up calls?  A small amount of investigation reveals that it is exactly that: a walk-up call.  It is apparently issued to wake people up and get them to church (although they seem to begin worshiping in the street in front of our homes).  The entire month of October in Ajijic is devoted to the Virgin of the Rosary.  As we live in the less touristy area of Ajijic–north of the carretera (highway) and not in a gated community–we suffer the brunt of it.  EVERY MORNING.

In the pitch black I startle awake as the peaceful air explodes around my head and I have to remind myself that I am no longer in Cartagena–nor am I on the coast–so a pirate attack is impossible.  I stumble up the winding staircase and lean over the balcony to glimpse the locals pouring from their homes to join the mob gathered in the street.  I glare at the mariachi band, so live and awake and full of staccato.  And then, as the entire mob moves on, a calling of roosters can be heard in their wake.  I am as confused and disoriented as they are but I return to bed and try to go back to sleep.  As soon as I have, another cannon-like blast sounds in the night and I am awake again.  And it’s 5:45am and pitch black outside.  And the roosters are still crowing.

Because Ryan and I are members of the Lake Chapala Society in Ajijic, we get to participate in all of the cool activities that are organized by the LCS.  Last week, I was thrilled to be included in the Guadalajara zoo excursion.  This was a truly sweet deal.  All we had to do was pay our discounted price (members only) and show up at the pick-up location.  From there, we boarded a comfortable bus and rode a little over an hour to get to Guadalajara. Everything else was taken care of.

The Guadalajara Zoo easily made it into my top three zoo experiences ever.  Not only was the entire trip a cake-walk for us–with everything organized ahead of time–but in addition to the expected lions, tigers, and bears this zoo had the most incredible monkey domain imaginable.  In this zoo of zoos, we were able to enter the monkey enclosure and allow them to climb all over us.  It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I think I stayed in there for at least forty minutes.

Who knew that monkeys have a thing for babies in strollers?  They went crazy every time another unsuspecting family entered the monkey pen.  They literally ambushed the strollers and began crawling all over them.  Of course what they really wanted was food and they made a big deal searching the nooks and crannies of the strollers for anything of interest.  When they were not satisfied–because food was not allowed in the enclosure–they even gave the babies a once-over until the zoo attendant chased them off with a spray bottle.

Another high point of the Guadalajara Zoo was the safari.  This was exactly what it sounds like.  Ryan and I were able to board a long jeep-like bus and were driven out into an open animal sanctuary were zebra and ostrich and gazelle all grazed the green open landscape in utter bliss.  The giraffe herd sauntered up to us and ate carrots from our eagerly outstretched hands.  Who knew those big lips could be so gentle?  It was so, so cool.

And yes, they did have lions and tigers and bears and they all looked well-fed and happy as they slept in the sun.  Every so often the train would go by, carrying many of the other members of the LCS to the other end of the expansive zoo.  Overhead, the chair-lift carried more happy zoo patrons who peered down in delight.  In the distance, the Howler Monkeys would get a little carried away but the rest of the animals napped on in peace, undisturbed.  And all were happy, especially me!

The small city of Ajijic is located on the edge of Lake Chapala, the largest lake in Mexico.  It is a quiet sleepy town, at the foot of lush green mountains.  There are flowers everywhere and the air smells like guava.  The weather is perfect and the sunsets are beautiful.

It was in this town that The Lake Chapala Society (LCS) was first founded in 1955.  Today LCS organizes many services and activities for members and non-members alike.  As of yesterday, Ryan and I are both official members.  This means that every Monday from 1-4 pm, I get to come to this beautiful outdoor Utopia and enjoy playing games!

The LCS Gaming Group is a fun friendly crowd comprised mainly of retired expatriates.  Paul and Sue serve as the group’s leaders and organize a social dinner every other week in addition to their weekly gaming obligations.  They were especially friendly and helpful to me, the newest member.

Yet the same can also be said for everyone else I met.  One friendly face after another came over to introduce themselves and exchange pleasantries.  One member is even famous for appearing in a PBS special on the retirement scene in Ajijic (she is the woman walking her three dogs).

After three hours of playing Royal Rummy, I was pleased to have placed a close second.  It was the perfect day in paradise and I am ever so grateful to have many more Mondays to look forward to while staying in Ajijic.  Who knows, we are enjoying it so much that we may decide to stay longer than expected…

I was thrilled to hear that my cousin Leanne would be coming for a visit in mid September.  And where better to entertain her than Buenos Aires.  I think Ryan was fairly horrified by the long detailed itinerary I sent her way listing my suggestions for activities, but I wanted to accomplish two things.  Not only did I want to help Leanna plan for the visit but I wanted to ensure that our young guest did not get bored in our company.  I am happy to announce that we succeeded.  We had a busy but enjoyable visit and saw as much of Buenos Aires as time could afford.

San Telmo Market

On Sundays the streets in the San Telmo area are lined with booths selling fabulous Argentinian treats.  Leanna found several gifts for her friends and family, as well as some souvenirs to keep for herself.  But she wasn’t the only one.  I too picked up a few treasures along the way.

Meat, Meat and More Meat

The first thing I learned about my cousin is that she doesn’t care for breakfast sausage.  However, this didn’t deter Leanna from trying the local choripan which is like a sausage sandwich.  To my delight, she liked this type of sausage much more.  Better yet, she was a big fan of empanadas which accompanied a lot of our meals.

Being in Argentina, we tried to get her as much steak as she wanted.  At Parilla Pena, she tried a steak that she reported was the best she’d ever had.  At Las Cabras, we shared her favorite wine and an enormous meat plate.  Leanna was interested in trying anything and everything and she did too, cautiously chewing the intestine and slicing off a thin sample of yet another type of sausage and something I’m guessing was kidney.  She only faltered at the blood sausage but who could blame her?  The purple color is certainly off-putting and no matter how pleasant the flavor, the mushy texture gets me every time.

Wine

Not only did we get to try a new bottle of wine with every dinner but we participated in a fancy wine tasting at Anuva.  During this tasting, we were able to try five different Argentinian wines paired with five typical Argentinian appetizers.  We tasted and jotted down notes and had a great time–but not too great, concerned parentals.

City Walking Tours

We enjoyed two free city walking tours while Leanna was with us.  The guide on the first tour was funny and a little brusk.   We clipped along behind him at a brisk pace for hours, snapping photos of the beautiful French-influenced architecture whenever we got the opportunity.  He explained that Argentinians are basically Spanish-speaking Italians who wish they were French.  Buenos Aires is apparently a city of immigrants (mainly Italian) who gesture a lot with their hands and place stresses in strange places (like Italians would).  For this reason, many fluent Spanish-speakers have difficulty understanding the Argentinian dialect.  Although Ryan and I have been traveling all year in different Spanish-speaking countries, we couldn’t get used to the -ll having a -sh pronunciation.  Leanna, who had taken three years of Spanish in high school didn’t fare much better.

Another interesting thing about the architecture in Buenos Aires is the contrast.  The guide on our second free walking tour (which covered a different part of the city) emphasized how much of the old European architecture is juxtaposed with modern construction.  Everywhere you look in Buenos Aires, you can see this juxtaposition.  After a while, we began to count (to ourselves) how many times he used the word juxtaposition.  It may have been fun for us, but he was was absolutely right.  Because nothing matches in Buenos Aires, everything does.  It was an interesting perspective and much appreciated, regardless of our teasing.

Recoleta Cemetary

Of course we had to go and see where Evita is buried and I took up the hobby of taking pictures of Leanna in front of beautiful doors.  My preference differed from Ryan and Leanna’s in that I like to take both full and close up shots.  To me, it was not only important to help her remember the things she saw, but I also wanted her to remember how she felt when she saw them.  Luckily she humored me, posing for each photo series and by the end of her visit, I think she had more pictures of her face than she could stand.  But I must argue that it’s such a pretty face and I wanted to capture the delight that always seemed to be shining in her eyes.

La Boca

Leanna loved this colorful neighborhood and all the art it offered.  She purchased a small painting and I later caught her snuggling it in bed.  Although she will adamantly deny this claim, I have documentation.  I was happy we found her the perfect picture to add to her home collection.

Puerto Madero

For me, the highlight of our outing to Puerto Madero was the authentic ship we were able to board and explore, although the buildings around the harbor were very nice and modern.  This appeared to be one of the more expensive neighborhoods in the city as Ryan and I found when we looked at the menus of some of the restaurants located here.

Tango

Besides the occasion shows we caught in the street, we attended a Friday-night milonga and watched local people dance the tango.  No matter the age or body-type or however casually dressed, the people demonstrated the true beauty of this dance as well as the social aspects it provides for residents of Buenos Aires.  Everyone was out dancing with everyone else and they were all having a great time.  So neat.

Florida Street

With hot drinks in our cold hands, we walked the length of tourist-trap Florida Street and back, counting how many times we were solicited to exchange our US currency on the black market.  It seemed to be a slow night.  The way up showed only twenty-five attempts.  We were expecting more.

Bike-It Tour

Our Bike-It Tour took us on a train and out of the bustling city.  We rode down cobblestone streets and took in some beautiful scenery along the Rio de la Plata.  We even got to walk through a beautiful nature reserve and see a few turtles.  We were the only three people on the tour so it felt very private.  Although there were several close calls, I never actually wrecked my bike.  We were all very sore the next day and ready for more walking.

Gardens

It was unfortunate that we were only a few weeks early to catch the rose gardens in full bloom.  There were a few early bloomers and they were beautiful.  Nevertheless, the gardens were perfectly maintained and manicured and some of the most beautiful I have ever seen.  The flowers in the Japanese Gardens were in bloom, although we’d missed the blossom trees.  It was like being transported to another time and place.

Art

Leanna and I perused two art museums during her stay.  We found a Frida in the MALBA.  Otherwise it was pretty small and had a lot of modern work we weren’t as pleased with.  El Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes was huge and had everything from Monet to Pollock.  I took pictures of anything and everything I though my Mom might enjoy (without the flash) and was impressed by how much Leanna knew about art.

Zoo

One of my and Leanna’s favorite adventures may very well have been our visit to the zoo.  What made the Buenos Aires Zoo so special were all the critters sniffing our feet and chasing each other playfully across the lawns and around the buildings.  They were everywhere, swimming the canals and making off with the elephant’s food.  They looked so happy and actually enjoyed seeing people, as we were allowed to purchase special food to feed them.  And just when we thought things couldn’t get any better, low and behold, there were rabbits!  Leanna had been missing her rabbit Darwin and anyone who knows me well knows I have a great love for rabbits.  So there it was, perfect day, perfect visit.

Thank you Miss Leanna for coming so far to spend time with us.  It was such a treat!  I will cherish the memories always and look forward to our next adventure together, whenever and wherever that may be.

I was thrilled to wake up this morning with a familiar soreness.  It has been over a year since I’ve ridden a horse, which is the longest I’ve ever gone, but yesterday I got back in the saddle and did something completely different.  I played polo!  At least I tried to play polo.

This year for my birthday, my wonderful husband treated me to an Argentinian Polo Day.  Polo is very popular in Argentina and according to our guide Juan, polo horses throughout the world are supplied from Argentina.  They took some of the big strong European horse breeds and mixed them with their local Criollo’s (a small tough endurance horse) and made the perfect polo horse.  Mine was named Coco–I think that’s what they were trying to tell me–and he was a gem.

Apparently, polo is one of the oldest team sports around.  It was first created to train mounted soldiers, as the motion of swinging the mallet and the sword are similar.  But now it’s more of a gentleman’s game.  Polo is terribly expensive and requires the use of nearly fifty horses that Juan said cost the same as Ferraris.

Although you wouldn’t know to look at them, Juan said that the horses we were going to get to ride cost the same as nice BMW’s.  They were average-sized leggy horses still a little shaggy from wearing their winter coats.  Besides that, they were tired and sweaty from the match they had just played.  In short, they didn’t look like BMW’s but I know better than most not to judge a book by it’s cover.

Our polo day began by watching a match of 4 chukkas (like quarters).  Polo matches have either 4, 6 or 8 chukkas.  Our match was played by the ranch grooms, some of them with a lifetime of polo experience.  As we watched, Juan explained the many rules.  Our jobs were to drink wine, keep track of the score, and announce (via a big brass bell) when each chukka was over.

In polo, each team has four players and each player has their own position.  They each have to change their horse out to keep it from over-heating at the end of each chukka .  While the players were doing this,  we got to practice hitting the balls from the ground.  I was not surprised that Ryan caught on very quickly.  He was the first to hit the bell and win me a polo ball.  I later got this signed by the owner, Ruben, who was once a profession polo player.

After the match, we were fed a feast of Argentinian barbecue.  There was more wine and grilled vegetables, fresh salad and more barbecue.  There was even fruit salad for dessert.  Ryan and I enjoyed talking to the other people in our group and laughed at the puppies playing around our feet.  The weather was perfect.

Once we were stuffed to the brim and almost asleep, it was time to climb onto horses.  I managed better than expected, being as full as I felt, and spent the next hour and a half running around wildly swinging my heavy mallet at a moving white ball.  What I may have lacked in aim, I made up for in enthusiasm.  Just ask Coco and my stiff and swollen wrist.

By the time we were ready to play a little polo ourselves, I had worn out Coco and my wrist was so tired from wielding the mallet I could barely swing it straight.  That didn’t stop me from making two goals.  Ryan made three for his team and we both left tired and sore and happy, especially me.

It was a fantastic day out in the country with new friends, good food and most importantly, horses.  I may be sore today but the recent memory of being back in the saddle keeps me smiling.  That, and the scent of horse sweat still lingering on my hands.

After our Colombian adventures, my husband and I found ourselves back in Argentina with her abundant bidets, midnight meals and fast spoken Spanish.  Once again, trying to work the oddly shaped keys into the strange locks and riding the elevator down to floor 0.

Something that was immediately apparent about Buenos Aires was that it is one classy joint.  Attractive people bustle about in warm neutral-colored coats, wearing smart slacks and sharp leather boots.  Gorgeous wedding gowns decorate store windows.  And there are shoes galore!

Argentina certainly knows how to turn out her parks and plazas.  In fact, between Mendoza, Bariloche and Buenos Aires, I’d say Argentina knows how to do parks and plazas the best of anywhere we’ve been.  Even the pigeons which frequent the many parks are more attractive on average.  They are plump and sleek with an actual shimmer to their colorful feathers.  Their feet are vibrant orange.

Although Ryan and I wouldn’t know, being in Buenos Aires felt like walking around Europe.  There are even shiny red phone booths and compact little cars.  The massive stone buildings and bubbling fountains are truly gorgeous.  Without question, my favorite was the opera house.

You may have heard that Argentina hows to cook a steak and is known for her high quality beef.  Buenos Airs was certainly no exception–although I have to admit I had an unbeatable steak (maybe even two) in Bariloche.  Regardless, the steaks we were able to try in Buenos Aires were tender and flavorful and the service was phenomenal everywhere we went.

Don’t forget the cheep wine.  Malbec and Torrontes are fairly unique to Argentina and are certainly worth a try, even for non-wine lovers such as myself.  With beautiful plazas and great food, our very own wine tasting and our third(!) visit from Ryan’s parents Matt and Sheree, Buenos Aires has been a wonderful and unforgettable experience.