First international stop - Buenos Aires!

(Katherine) After an overnight flight from Houston by way of LAX, we finally arrived in BA! We had rented an apartment for 1 month through AirBnB, a SF based company who runs a kind of Craigslist-type web site which matches travelers with people who are looking to rent out their apartments or a room. We rented a small studio (click here to view) through a fellow named Mariano, who also arranged for a driver to pick us up at the airport. After about a 45 minutes drive, we arrived at our place which is located on the border of Recoleta and Retiro. I would basically compare the neighborhoods to Pacific Heights and the Marina in SF. Needless to say, we're pretty much in the nicest part of BA! Our studio is tiny, but it's safe and it's all about location, location location! Also, thank you to my Mom, Beverly, Robert's sister, Joanna, and my friend from college, Kristi, who all gave us Honeyfund gifts towards our Argentina lodging.


We decided to walk around a little bit and pick up some groceries, where I learned that we would need a LOT more preparation before we attempted any additional shopping. Let's just say I realized how impaired & damaged my Spanish skills have become (not that I ever mastered it in college anyway.) Language barrier + lack of sleep + hunger = recipe for disaster,but luckily we found a nice shop owner who spoke enough English to help us gather some essentials, and upon telling her we had JUST arrived in Argentina, she smiled and said “Welcome to Buenos Aires.”

After a much needed nap, we ventured a few blocks away to a restaurant recommended in our guide book called Rodi Bar. Our waiter spoke no English, but the menu had some English translations, so with a lot of pointing & gesturing we were able to order a lovely meal. Beef for both of us, of course, since beef is pretty much the national dish.

After dinner we walked around a little bit and found ourselves drawn to a venue that was pumping out American house music. It is called Piola, and it's an Italian pizzeria and bar. It is a chain, and they have about 5-6 other restaurants worldwide, but the BA location was the original (even before Italy!) Our bartender was awesome and we both spoke enough broken English/Spanish to order drinks and make a little chit-chat. Then one of the regulars came in to sit by the bar – and older gentleman named Esteban (Steven) and he befriended us quite quickly. He speaks English well, so it was nice to converse with a local and get his take on BA. He lives and works in the area, so he's at the bar most nights. He is also a travel agent and gave some advice on places we should visit. He was also quite fascinated by our honeymoon adventure – he has never met Americans who have done such a trip. Even our apartment renter, Mariano, was perplexed with the concept, and asked “what exactly are you going to DO while you're here?” I think the answer is “to live, and experience what it is like to be a porteño” (a person from Buenos Aires.)