Today began with an empanada, Coca Light, and a one-hour tour of El Zanjon as recommended in the NYT’s 36 hours in Buenos Aires. It was only me and two other Americans from L.A. who were there for the early tour. But our tour guide was great. She gave the tour in English (and might even have a better English vocabulary than I do…)  Her tour consisted of  a walk through an old building in San Telmo with foundations that date back to 1536. In learning about the building’s past, I also go a history lesson on Buenos Aires, which was fascinating through the eyes of this one building that’s ‘seen it all.’  I highly recommend the tour.

After that I walked seven blocks to Plaza de Mayo (or “May Square” in English) in the rain, snapped a few photos and just kept walking.  I continued on Libertador  and stumbled upon an architecture museum —Museo de Arquitectura y Diseño. This museum was actually really small and didn’t offer much, but I did enjoy the 3D building models it had on display.

I continued on Libertador and took a detour through an almost abandoned Recoleta, which was a sharp contrast to what I experienced on Sunday. No more swarming teenagers and families sprawled on the grass.   With almost no one in sight, I walked towards the Buenos Aires Design centre, which houses several cool furniture stores that I would totally shop at if I lived here…

Not far from there was another musuem Megan and I almost went to on Sunday — the Museo Nacional de Arte Decorativo, which houses a stunning collection from the Louvre and an interesting moving exhibit of poetry and art en Francaise, which is on display until Sept. 25 (hurry – it’s free).

From there I kept walking all the way to the Embassy (six miles in total today!) and joined Mgean and her friend Petra back at her home for some R&R.

The weather should be better tomorrow — here’s hoping!

Today began with a quick stroll around the Palermo region to take some photos of the Monumento de los Espanoles and the surrounding area before meeting up with Megan and fellow SNDers Jon and Tyson for lunch nearby. We went to a cafe called Nucha, which was great.  Meals here are really an experience – with service so slow, you better want to talk to the people you’re with or face terribly long silences…  Luckily I was in good company and got to catch up with Jon and Tyson with Megan leading the way with her great advice on where to go in the city.

After lunch Jon, Tyson and I grabbed a cab to MALBA (Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires) to explore some of the local modern art Buenos Aires had to offer. I really liked the museum.  And maybe even more than the exhibits – I loved the architecture of the museum itself and the interior design – including this wicked cool bench.

After that we decided to walk around a bit to a nearby park – which was swarming with teenagers who had the day off as some kind of first-day-of-spring holiday.  And it was the perfect day to be outside so I couldn’t blame them for being outside. In fact, it’s really refreshing seeing so many people taking advantage of the city’s green spaces.   I couldn’t have imagined better weather for spending a day outside.

From there we moved on to the Jardin Japon (Japanese Garden) which was cool, but might have been more serene without the swarming tourists (myself included?)…

Tyson led the way with his Lonely Planet iPhone app map towards a very cool neighborhood a ways past the park that the locals refer to as Soho.  Jon and Tyson dubbed it the “Beverly Hills” of Buenos Aires because it offered several cool boutiques, shops, restaurants and bars.  We ducked into “Sullivan’s”  (an Irish pub) for a quick drink and then continued on to explore more of the area.  Tysone and I also grabbed some Argentine ice cream ( I got Maracuya, a flavor I haven’t enjoyed since my summer 2004 in Costa Rica) – which was amazing.

After that we enjoyed another near-death cab ride experience back to Jon and Tyson’s hotel where we met up with another SNDer (Dorsey) and Megan for drinks, and later, dinner at a sweet hidden restuarant a few blocks away.

Another gorgeous day in the city and I couldn’t have asked for better company.  Looking forward to tomorrow!

Today started off not as early as Megan and I planned – having stayed up really late on Saturday catching up on everything since last Spring after I arrived from the airport …

Around 11 a.m. we both hurried out the door to meet three of Megan’s friends from the Embassy – Heather, Jamie, and Sophia – at a lovely cafe called Oui Oui.  Brunch isn’t the biggest thing in Argentina – but it is for Megan’s ex-pat friends who make it to Oui Oui at least twice a month – alternating between there and their other favorite brunch place for their favorite American tradition.  I was happy to come along for the experience, which I truly enjoyed. I ordered the huevos revueltos completos – or scrambled eggs, toast and bacon – which two others also had.  We also split two pitchers of a local mixed natural fruit smoothie and cups of tea.

Brunch took a few hours, from waiting for a table, to waiting to be served (service in Argentina is not a priority) and then for our meal, followed by a really great conversation on traveling and working for the foreign service (I was the only non-FS officer at the table but sounds like a great fall back if I could pass the FS exam

French Embassy in Buenos Aires

).

I highly recommend Oui Oui (at 6068 Nicaragua) for brunch, if you’re ever craving it.

After brunch, Megan and I taxied to the French Embassy, where we planed to take part in the open house for visitors she was invited to as a member of the U.S. Embassy. Once we got there, we reconsidered when there was a huge line around the block and we decided to walk around the neighborhood toward some of the museums.

Along the way we passed what looked like a palace or another Embassy, but it wasn’t marked as such so we asked the guard there and it turns out is it a palace that was recently converted into a Hyatt hotel… The guard invited us into the Park Hyatt Buenos Aires, aka the Palacio Duhau, and we took some pictures.

After that we walked up to one of the city’s famous sites: the Recoleta Cemetery. The walled mini-city houses masterpiece tombs and is unlike any cemetery I’ve ever seen.  It has rows upon rows of highly ornate tombs, including Eva Peron’s (Evita).

Then we decided to take a break and walk to a nearby cafe, Le Biela, for some Coca Light (which is magically much better than Diet Coke).  We stumbled upon some (really great) tango performers in the park along the way.

Afterwards we strolled along through the parks to the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (free admission) where I fell in love with some original Degas paintings and other hidden gems.

We continued walking up Libertador past beautiful city parks and sculptures and more embassies… I was blown away by the amount of green space Buenos Aires offered and even more impressed by how Argentines take advantage of their parks by spending much of their day basking in the sun.  Americans: take note!

The day wouldn’t be complete without some shopping…  Megan and I perused the markets that were scattered throughout the Recoleta neighborhood earlier and then walked to a well-known shopping mall in Palermo… where we both indulged in some new shoes.

We cabbed it back to her place for a quick breather before heading out to a traditionally late dinner at Don Bar a little after 9 p.m.  I had steak and a Mendoza Cabernet (which was delicious) .

All in all, I couldn’t have asked for a better first day in Buenos Aires. The weather was perfect. The sightseeing was refreshingly mixed and original. And the company was best.  Can’t wait for manana!