[as i stall for more time to edit and post pictures…]
1. buenos aires is a HUGE city. like, we knew it was big, but it’s gigantic.
2. the food and wine are excellent and very reasonably priced. it’s a perfect place for foodies!
3. buenos aires drivers are CRAZY. the general rule is to keep your front bumper a few inches away from the person in front of you’s back bumper. stop signs are considered a soft yield if you’re lucky. in the case of a four-way stop, whoever is the most aggressive gets to go. lanes are a joke.
4. people eat breakfast around 10 am, lunch around 2pm, and dinner at 9 or 10pm. the streets are fairly dead between the hours of 3ish to 8pm [except in big shopping areas], and many restaurants are closed during that time.
5. the people are super nice, even to americans who speak very little spanish. [except the cab drivers. we ran into a few cranky ones, but i would be too if i had to drive in that city.]
6. argentinians love their dogs! they also give them a lot more freedom, even in the city – we noticed a lot of dogs with collars roaming around freely.
7. in buenos aires, shopping. was. awesome. [especially in palermo, where we stayed.]
8. coffee comes in tiny espresso cups, so don’t expect your usual venti unless you plan on paying for 6 cups.
9. we decided that argentinians look a lot more similar to americans than europeans in the way they dress. many also seem to have more similar physical features. it was often difficult to tell an american from an argentinian in buenos aires, and this surprised us a bit.
10. leather a big commodity in argentina, and in august [the end of winter for them], every woman that walks by will have the cutest boots you’ve ever seen, and you will have boot envy a thousand times a day. just go buy yourself a pair of boots and get over it.
11. there isn’t a huge difference between the high and low temperatures of the day. nights don’t cool down very much [which is great when you’re there in the winter].
12. argentinians love their sweets and pastries. and for a good reason – they are superb.
13. so many of the shops had very creative and cute store windows and decor. it was refreshing and inspiring, and the window displays became one of my favorite things to photograph in ba.
14. there is a large european influence on buenos aires, especially in the architecture. the italian influence is very evident in the people.
15. overall it’s a pretty safe country. [as long as you don’t wander into the jungle or a jaguar or puma or other wild animal might eat you. seriously.] we never felt unsafe during the week that we were there.
argentina wasn’t initially “plan a” or even “plan b” as one of our potential vacation destinations; however, we ended up there and fell completely fell in love with it. that trip now ranks as one of our top vacations that we’ve taken as a family, and i highly recommend it to others! if you’re considering a vacation there, feel free to ask me any questions you have. :)