Adventures of Cameron & Emma in Buenos Aires

Emma and I have found a new full-time job here in Buenos Aires… as tour guides. Of course, the work is unpaid and we work entirely with people we already know, but it keeps us occupied nonetheless!

We spent a full two weeks with our friend Daniel, who flew into BA from Portland at the beginning of the month. Daniel was a laid-back guest who put up with our bouts of insanity and un-socialness, and even took us out for a few excellent meals (advice to all you future guests, anywhere– we like good food, if you haven’t noticed). And, while we are on the subject, we might as well elaborate- after Asian starvation, we went to a sushi restaurant where we ordered 3 bottles of sake and a 60-piece plate of sushi. Another night, we went to a restaurant we have been dying to go to, called Guido’s. It is a family-owned Italian hole-in-the-wall, located on a small street across from the Buenos Aires zoo. There, they serve the food family-style, but there are no menus- guests sit down at the table, and are immediately brought about 8 antipasto plates, followed by a vegetable course, then 4 different pasta plates, a meat course, and finally dessert. The plates are small, so we were able to get a good taste of everything without the stress of having to finish a heaping plate of food. Once we get our appetites back, it will be a good place to satisfy an Italian craving again (although Emma, the most indecisive orderer of all time, was surprisingly turned off by the no-menu system).

The day Daniel left, our two friends from home, Claire and Manida, arrived. We realized that we wanted to squeeze in a small side trip before Emma’s mom and sister came, so after 24 hours of flying they graciously jumped on an overnight bus and we went back to Mendoza. I would normally aspire to write about Mendoza separately, but since we have been so lazy, I’ll list our top three experiences and hope that we will get on top of it:
1. Wine Touring at Vino Cerno
We got a tour from the owner’s daughter, who was so passionate about wine that every time she described a glass she would smile. We hit it off so well with her that she and her cousin invited us to a barbeque next time we are in Mendoza. We also purchased a bottle of tempranillo that was impeccable.

2. Biscuits and Parks

Mendoza is a lazy city, and we had a few great days just lounging around in the giant San Martin park. Just a few blocks from there is a health-food store that Cam frequented when she lived there, where the owner bakes fresh whole-wheat and fruit biscuits daily. Our mornings revolved around them, and Cam was happy that he remembered her from before

3. hostel madness

Our hostel was crazy- we ran into a ridiculous amount of people we knew. We ran into one of Paige’s friends from BA, and a friend she was traveling with, and Claire shockingly ran into someone from her alma mater, Oregon State University. Cam also came down with food poisoning and became a little too acquainted with the hostel’s communal toilets. Other than that, we met a variety of characters and had some home-made cake.

In store for the week ahead: Claire and Manida get to know BA, Emma’s mom and sister explore the city, and Cam and Emma start to wind-down their time in BA.