TGIF everyone! It’s been so much fun writing this blog and I’ve gotten some great responses from friends, family and even complete strangers. I wanted to host a small giveaway to let you all know how appreciative I am of your support and advice.
While in Buenos Aires, Luke and I spent one day wandering a street fair in San Telmo. There were all sorts of interesting local crafts for sale, but these earrings caught my eye.
(apologies the picture is so bad. I really need a better camera!)
They are hand-painted on a band of hardened-leather and were being sold by a young, twenty-something girl. I picked up a pair for myself and thought- “this would be perfect to use for a reader giveaway!”
Anyway, here’s what you need to do to be entered to win the earrings:
One entry: leave me a comment on this post telling me where your dream vacation is
Second entry: tweet a link to this post (ccing @ElizCron)
I’ll choose a winner at random based on all the entries next Friday, Nov. 13.
Well, we’re back from our awesome vacation to Buenos Aires! We had a wonderful time and thoroughly gorged ourselves on steak, wine and alfajores (delcious chocolate cookies filled with dulce de leche).
Despite not having many “sites” to see, Buenos Aires is a wonderful place to go for vacation if you’re looking to really imerse yourself in the local culture and live life like a Porteno.
During our nine days in BA, we quickly got onto the Argentian schedule- wake around 10am, spend a leisurely day walking around the city, napping in the afternoon, heading to dinner no earlier than 10pm and finally calling it at night around 2am! Being a night-owl, this schedule was ideal to me!
We also noticed some interesting things about the Porteno culture including:
– Living in the now. Since Argentina’s currency is not secure, Portenos are known for living it up while they can.
– The abundance of dogs. We regularly saw dog walkers tied up to 20 or more dogs at a time! And some walkers were specialized, only walking Beagles ect.
– The people are known for being “image-obsessed” and from what we saw, the majority of people were fashionable and skiiiiiiny!
– Their interest in psychology. Argentina has the most psychologists per capita of any country in the world! This article explains more.
– When Portenos greet each other, it’s always with a kiss on the left side of the cheek. Men even do this during business meetings!
– Their crazy traffic laws, or lack there of. No one paid any attention to the lanes and there were almost never stop signs at four-way intersections! No wonder they have some of the highest traffic-related deaths around.
– Hairstyles were very unique, with a lot of jagged short cuts featuring longer wispy strands of hair. It sort of reminded me of the rat tail or mullet. lol.
– Despite being known for their meat, Portenos rarely use marinade or seasoning on their beef. It’s usually just salted and then topped with different sauces AFTER being cooked.
We took a lot of pictures and video during out trip- I pulled out some of my favorites highlights from our trip below.
Our first night we went to a Tango show at El Querandi.
I got into the Tango mood myself!
The next day we headed to a real gaucho ranch called El Ombu. Gorg, huh?
It was so cool, I got to get really close to some untamed horses including babies not even a week old!
It was Luke’s first time on a horse (even though he grew up in the country!) and his did not want to stay on the trail. He kept stopping off for a little snack.
After our rides, we were treated to an asado BBQ and some music from Oscar, the ranch’s head gaucho.
The next day we walked around the streets of San Telmo where they have a weekly street fest. I bought some cute earrings here that I’m planning to use for a giveaway, so stay tuned!
While walking around we happened upon an impromtu Tango dance. Love it!
Luke and I stopped off for a photo near one of the beautiful parks in Palermo.
Afterwards I got a close up of a sweet family of ducks passing us by.
Another day we took a cooking class “Cooking with Teresita,” which was in the home of the lovely Teresita. Here we’re making Chimichurri! I’m planning to post the recipe for next week’s Sunday Supper Series.
The asado cooking at Teresitas. We ate soooo much meat on this vacation!
Yup- this was our dinner practically every night. Good thing I like red meat!
With some empanadas of course!
Phew! That’s about all I have to report on our trip. I hope you enjoyed the video and pictures. We’d definitely recommend you all visit Buenos Aires- especially if you’re a foodie!
I hope you all enjoyed the guest posts from my wonderful colleages (and friends!) Jenn, Guth, Amy, Gloria and Thi. Thanks again guys!
Hi everyone! It’s been a crazy, hectic week here for me wrapping up my projects at work and packing for a trip Luke and I are taking this week. We’re heading to Buenos Aires, Argentina for the next 10 days for a little vacation time!
One area where Luke and I are totally compatible is in our love for adventure and travel. Since Luke’s a consultant and racks up endless amounts of hotel and airline points, we’re able to go on some pretty awesome trips for next to nothing.
I cannot tell you how excited I am do experience everything Argentina has to offer. We’re planning to do a lot of shopping, eating, wine-tasting, tango-dancing, reading and relaxing! What’s even cooler is that one of my good friends just moved to Buenos Aires with her husband, so we’ll get to spend some time with them as well.
Some other things on the itinerary include a day trip to Uruguay where we’ll be renting scooters to see some old colonial towns and a trip to a real-life gaucho ranch in the countryside. The gaucho ranches are supposed to be really picturesque and our day will be filled with horseback riding and a big traditional Argentinean barbeque. Luke has never ridden a horse before, so I’m looking forward to seeing him climb up! lol.
Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about you guys! While I’m away, several gals from my office will be guest-blogging. They range from recently married, engaged, to a seasoned bridesmaid, so you can be sure they’ll have a wealth of information and interesting viewpoints to share. Do me a favor and leave them lots of comments!
I’ll try to post some pictures during our trip, but if not I’ll definitely update you all when I get back. Have a great week and adios!
