Tuesday, January 5, 2010

12-31 New Year’s Eve in Buenos Aires

We arrived at the Ayres de Recoleta Plaza in a snap.  Didn’t take hardly any time since the airport is not that far away and the traffic wasn’t bad since it was about 8 pm.  It’s great here though – it’s still really light out so it never feels that late!

We checked into the hotel (after a long wait while the couple in front of us argued that they had pre-paid for reservations online – but the hotel didn’t have their reservation and said they never ask for payment online), and got a great room on the 7th floor overlooking the Recoleta cemetery where Evita is buried.  The room is fantastic – it’s a studio suite with a little kitchenette, glass dining table, faux leather chairs, a huge couch and chair and a king size bed.  Great bathroom, excellent A/C, and a balcony that has a view of the cemetery, plus the river and the park and is wide enough for 2 chairs.  Fantastic!

We dumped our stuff and ran to the grocery store right across the street before they closed to stock our kitchen.  Managed to grab beer and wine and some snacks which will keep us going for the evening.  Back at the hotel,  we showered and changed and wandered out into the night.  The area around the hotel is great – packed with restaurants and  cafes and little stores.  We looked all around at everything – trying to decide where to eat. Unfortunately it was so late, that all the little cafes were closed and the only options left were the big expensive Prix Fixe meals.  We didn’t feel like a huge meal since we had the huge lunch – and didn’t want to pay $100 US each for a dinner – so we ended up snacking in the hotel room.

After our dinner/snack, we headed back out to explore and found a great bar down the street where we could get just drinks.  Sat on the sidewalk people watching  for an hour or so before heading back to the hotel for the New Years celebration.  We took our chairs out on the balcony with our beer and wine (and crackers for snacks) and listened to a band that was playing at a restaurant in the Park.  They were great – playing a mix of Spanish and English songs.  We counted down the New Year with them – then got to watch fireworks being set off all along the river and in other districts of the city. 

What better way to celebrate 2010?  We called it a night around 1 or so, and hit the hay for a good night’s sleep so we can start exploring BA tomorrow.

No comments: