Centro, San Telmo and a Parrilla

Our café

We walked for over 15 kilometres and it felt like it when we got home later that evening.

I think we must be getting into the rhythm of this city where no one moves much before 9 am and eating early is 8pm.

We went to our favourite café for our daily coffee fix. The coffee is very good and up to a standard we might get in Wellington. While there we met a couple who were from Adelaide and who were spending a month here. They do it every year so they can dance tango which they then teach back in Adelaide. Bob sent me a list of the restaurants and places to visit which was most useful. He also gave us instructions on how to get a Sube card (like a Snapper or Opal card) and that you could use one on the buses and Subte (metro system). It is safe to use despite the warnings in Lonely Planet and other guides.

An obscured Pink Palace

We managed to negotiate the language gap in a Kiosk and got our Sube card and then was able to load it at the station.

As it was off peak trains we not packed but we had to stand for most of the trip to Centro. The Pink Presidential Palace was not easy to see as they were renovating the Plaza de Mayo. This the plaza that the grandmothers of the disappeared come and protest every Thursday.

Plaza de Mayo being renovated

Part of the reason for coming down to Centro was to go the Puerto Maduero to book our ferry ride to Colonia Del Sacramento in Uruguay. This is a lovely harbour area which is and has been developed very nicely. Expensive restaurants along port and of course apartments above. We found an information centre that directed us to the company runs the shuttle service across the Rio de la Plata to Colonia and we booked a ticket which was a surprisingly bureaucratic process. I suppose it employs people.

We walked back portside and there were a couple of old sailing vessels which we could have entered but we were tired and ready to move on to San Telmo. On the way we came across this crowd of football supporters who were very loud and

Outside an old Antarctic sailing ship

rather drunk. I have no idea about what they were chanting but as we went through them this woman followed me chanting loudly something. B was ignored. The passion for the game was amazing.

San Telmo was the next stop and much to B's amazement I navigated us there accurately. It is another older residential area which is well preserved even with cobbled streets. The buildings are cute in a Spanish sort of way.

On the way back to the apartment we called into a bar B had spotted for a drink. They don't tend to have glasses of wine so I had a beer and Bev had a gin and tonic.

Traffic and development

We had booked a table at this restaurant called La Carniceria which is highly recommended for its interpretation of traditional Argentine parrilla food (which is grilled meat). It was just up the road and so a quick walk there and we entered through a locked door into the inner sanctum. The menu was not extensive but interesting. I had sweetbreads to start and B had chorizo sausage with eggs and peas. The sweetbreads were a bit over cooked but flavoursome. B's sausage was really lovely and tasty. Not hot as they seem to make them in NZ. Our main was a grilled steak which was huge which we shared. We also had a some nice grilled vegetables. We accompanied with this with a nice Malbec that was a winner of some award and which was a deep dark complex wine. It was very nice.

We left about 10pm for the next shift of diners to take over. All in all an interesting experience with good but not great food.