TravelStream™ news feed for member bradleyb on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/bradleyb en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Thu, 13 Dec 2007 00:55:24 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bradleyb/argentina_2007/1196494080/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bradleyb/argentina_2007/1196494080/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bradleyb/argentina_2007/1196494080/tpod.html Thu, 13 Dec 2007 00:55:24 -0500 Lisa and Brad invade South America for the first time. First victim: Argentina. just added Uruguay

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Buenos Aires, Argentina

Our flight home didn't leave until 9pm so we had time to squeeze in one last day in Buenos Aires.



We went on a Architectural walking tour that Time Out suggested. It took as past dozens of amazing old buildings in the fancy Recoletta area (think beverly hills) many of which were now Embassies.



Hungry at the end of our walk we stumbled into the Museo Nacional de Arte Decorativo, which may have been one of the most interesting museums we visited in Buenos Aires. It used to be an Chilean Aristocrat's mansion built at the turn of the century by a French designer and is now museum which allows people to transport themselves back into time. It was incredible as most of the original artwork, furniture, etc was still there. I took a couple of photos before getting into trouble for doing so.


There was a nice little restaurant in the courtyard, which was a perfect last lunch for us.






We finished off the day by getting an ice cream (Besides steak, ice cream is argentina's best dish) at a place called Scannapieco. An Italian family has been serving ice cream there since 1938, and the grey haired brothers are still there in white coats scooping the ice cream. So delicious.



The Airport was complete insanity and we were definitely glad we got there over 2 hours early.



We had such an incredible trip. Buenos Aires was great, maybe not as incredible as we thought it might be, but still amazing and unforgettable. Patagonia completely blow us away and the 5 spontaneous days we spent in the lakes region were probably the highlight. Two weeks, 5 plane rides, one hydrofoil, 2 buses and one boat and we still didn't get to go wine tasting in Mendoza, see the desert of Salta, view the Iguazu Waterfalls or see the whales and Penguins of Puerto Madryn. Sigh

Argentina is definitely special and we highly recommend it to anyone that is considering travelling to that part of the world. The lakes region of Patagonia is a must as is El Calafate. I think 4 days is probably the right amount of time for Buenos Aires.

Hope you enjoyed. Hope its not too long before we are travelling again.

Oh and a good place to see all of our pictures, including a best of section is at our
flickr page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/djbradleyb/collections/7215760 3430941300/). Be sure to check out the map feature and you can see where the pictures were taken on the map. very cool.

Brad & Lisa
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bradleyb/argentina_2007/1196256540/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bradleyb/argentina_2007/1196256540/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bradleyb/argentina_2007/1196256540/tpod.html Tue, 04 Dec 2007 02:51:41 -0500 Lisa and Brad invade South America for the first time. First victim: Argentina. just added Uruguay

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Buenos Aires, Argentina

(lisa is typing this one) First on the list for today: check out La Boca. This is where the original port of BA was situated, until the late 19th century and reportedly, where the tango was born. There's a really cool old transporter bridge there, that is sort of an icon for the area.

We also found and abandoned old ship, a bunch of run-down warehouses, and the main place that visitors go to see: Caminito (little walkway). Caminito is a cobblestoned street with brilliantly colored old shops and restaurants - which looks really cool - except the area is now a total tourist trap.

We actually went out of our way to walk around the block from the opposite end so as not to be accosted by the creepy street tango people that try to get tourists to dance and pose for photos with them. Needless to say, Brad still ended up becoming trapped by a crazy tango-man that was dancing with a tango rag doll. He blocked Brad and would not let him pass for an uncomfortable amount of time... Lisa was entertained by this from a safe distance, as she bolted when she saw crazy guy approaching.

We tried to visit the Fundacion Proa - a supposedly amazing collection of South American contemporary art, but it's closed for renovation till next year. Instead we stopped for beers at El Obero, one of the original pubs of La Boca. It was such a cool place and seemed to be frozen in time. There were old photos all over the walls with celebrity visitors and soccer stars. We enjoyed the break from the afternoon sun along with a few Quilmes - the popular (and delicious) Argentine beer.

Apparently La Boca went into decline once the port moved to where it is today - Puerto Madero. So next, we decided to hit Puerto Madero.

At Puerto Madero, we found an old turn of the century military ship that had been in service for one hundred years. It had been just about everywhere in the world and was now converted into a museum. It was so cool to check out their old uniforms and the furniture and decor of the boat. It was so ornate and beautiful.

Another Puerto Madero highlight - this cool bridge:

We then headed over to MALBA: Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires.

They had a fantastic collection of contemporary Latin American art, and they were featuring an exhibit with work by Oscar Bony. He did some really interesting and controversial work in the sixties when he rented and displayed working class families. They were payed their entire year's salary to participate in the art. Other highlights from his work were pieces that he created and framed with glass, then shot bullet holes through them. One of the pieces was of the New York City skyline wtih one bullet hole in each of the twin towers. The piece was done in 1996. It gave us the chills.


Later that night, we went to a neighborhood parrilla, where Brad enjoyed some more meat. Then we headed off to a Wednesday night club call Zizek. (Thanks for the recommendation, Disco Shawn!) It was a really cool group of people - mostly our age - and mostly really good music.



It was definitely the most underground thing we experienced. The flier described the night as a mix of hip hop, dancehall, reggaeton, mashups, Grime and Bastard Pop. It was definitely its own unique scene which was really fun to be a part of. The best part was this hip hop group (lavarap) that performed. the dj kept playing a sample of an air horn and it made me laugh every time. classic stuff and the crowd was eating it up.



The next band were from Chile and they weren't so hot and it was pretty late so we headed home
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bradleyb/argentina_2007/1196221020/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bradleyb/argentina_2007/1196221020/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bradleyb/argentina_2007/1196221020/tpod.html Tue, 04 Dec 2007 02:50:37 -0500 Lisa and Brad invade South America for the first time. First victim: Argentina. just added Uruguay

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Buenos Aires, Argentina

(lisa is writing this one) After a delicious breakfast in our hotel, we headed to Recoleta, one of the nicest and priciest neighborhoods in Buenos Aires. It is also the area that is most often compared to parts of Paris. There are lots of wide, tree-lined streets with monuments honoring national heros (among other things) and beautiful old architecture.

We went to check out the famous cemetery, Cementario de la Recoleta.

Built in 1822, it's where hundreds of important Argentinians and their families have been laid to rest: former presidents, doctors, fallen soldiers - and probably the most famous - Evita Peron.

The cemetery reminded Lisa very much of the cemeteries in New Orleans as it consists of a maze of above-ground masoleums. It was incredible to walk through the narrow passageways and see various styles of architechture of structures that spanned so many years. We ended up spending quite a while here exploring. It was really beautiful, and our timing was perfect, because we pretty much had the place to ourselves.

One of the things that we were suprised to find was that we were able to see into a lot of the above ground graves, many had doors with windows or just iron gates. It was so interesting to see how some of them had been decorated and what items had been included in them - or to see fresh flowers in a grave of someone that had passed away over 50 years ago.


Once finished touring the cemetery, we decided to have lunch at a spot that our friend Monika recommended, called La Biela. It was this great outdoor cafe situated below a huge gomero tree. We loved this spot, and sat there for quite a while watching the people go by and discussing plans for the week.

After lunch, we continued to wander through Recoleta a bit checking out little shops along the way, then headed back to our neighborhood. One of the cool things about BA is that it's so easy to get around. You can walk everywhere (nothing ever felt skechy or unsafe), the subway is very easy to use, and cabs are very cheap and always available. We spent the rest of the afterrnoon exploring.

For dinner, we decided to go to Thymus, just outside of Palermo. This is our friend Monika's cousin's restaurant that is housed in her father's (Monika's uncle) former home/art studio and included amazing sculptures throughout, that he had created.

We were bummed that we didnt get a chance to meet Maria, but we're happy to report that the staff were super friendly and helpful and the food was absolutely delectable. Every bite. Another amazing dining experience. We win again.

After dinner, we headed over to Bar 6 for cocktails. It was a great space with a super high curved wood ceiling and eclectic decor with a modern sensibility. And they were playing great music. We sank into a comfy counch with cocktails and enjoyed our stay.

Since this was Tuesday night, we decided to pace ourselves and call this one a night. Here's a shot of the neighborhood on our walk home...

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bradleyb/argentina_2007/1196404980/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bradleyb/argentina_2007/1196404980/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bradleyb/argentina_2007/1196404980/tpod.html Tue, 04 Dec 2007 02:42:21 -0500 Lisa and Brad invade South America for the first time. First victim: Argentina. just added Uruguay

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Buenos Aires, Argentina

We spent most of Friday wandering around Palermo Viejo. Despite everyone raving about the shopping, Lisa and I had surprisingly little luck (which was probably a good thing during a 2 week vacation). Two of the coolest shops we found were a paper store (we bought a limited edition print from a local artist) and a family-run soap shop.


Although we didn't buy much, exploring the shops was still fun since they put so much effort into the overall design of their stores. Many of the stores had solariums (at least we think thats how you would describe them) within the store that let lots of natural sunlight into the stores. Its amazing (and cool) how much space is set aside just for design as opposed to maximizing the productivity of each square foot.



Later that night we went to a Tango show. It was held in a turn of the century theater. It was very touristy and the show started off a little slowly (after two seasons of "So you think you can dance?", my expectations are much higher), but it ended up being pretty good. We sat next to a couple from Westchester, which is about 3 miles from us. weird.


We went to the fancy smancy Faena hotel in Puerto Madero, to check out the hype and get a drink, but it was full. Probably for the best since they had a band in the bar doing bad cover songs. The bathrooms were completely over the top.




By the time we got back to our hotel to change, around 1am, Lisa's allergies had got the best of her (spring had sprung in BA), so she called it a night. I pressed on and walked down the street to a club called Lost. There was a large line, witht the typical mass at the door of people trying to bypass said large line. I waited in line for about 15 minutes, as people lit off firecrackers. eventually i gave up and took a cab to the Niceto Club, which on Fridays is a club called Compass. The main room had some alternative argentine band. they were ok, but i had heard they play at lot of dance rock on this night, so i went into the smaller room. they played a good mix of stuff like scissor sisters, lcd soundsystem, gang of four, etc. The mixing was awful, but the music was mostly good, as was the crowd. Plus the dj had the same sign i have in the hangar (hippies use side entrance). Drinks were expensive, $7 each, almost what they are here. They also have this annoying system where you have to buy your drink first at a register and then give your receipt to the bartender. i have no idea...

I went back into the main room where they were playing average to good prog house and techno. I headed home about 4:30. Overall a fun night
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bradleyb/argentina_2007/1196357460/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bradleyb/argentina_2007/1196357460/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bradleyb/argentina_2007/1196357460/tpod.html Tue, 04 Dec 2007 01:54:34 -0500 Lisa and Brad invade South America for the first time. First victim: Argentina. just added Uruguay

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Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay


Uruguay is only a 1 hour hydrofoil boat ride from Buenos Aires, so it was a great chance to see another country, if only for half a day (For those counting, thats 4 plane rides, 1 bus ride, 3 boat rides and one week of car rental). At the ferry port, we had to go through customs and then through a maze of construction and weirdness, winding in and out of buildings, down dark halls. Very strange.



The boat goes 30 knots and the sea was calm so it was a quick and easy ride over.



The town we visited is called Colonia, a town with a big history as the Spanish and Portugese fought over this important port town for over a century. The town was founded in 1680 and is unique in that it's the only town in this region founded by the Portuguese. Visiting Colonia was like was like stepping back in time with
early cobblestone roads (more like rocks and boulders), winding streets with old gas lamps. It felt a lot like Pirates of the Carribean (and back then, it probably was). One section in particular, Barrio Historico, was named a UNESCO heritage site in 1995.


Its in this area that we spent most of our time on a walking tour of area which included Puerta de Campo, the city gate and wooden drawbridge built in 1745 to safegard the city

and El Faro (the lighthouse) which was built in 1857 from stones from the ruins of Convento de San Francisco, located right next to it.





After the walking tour, we ate lunch and had delicious sangria at a place called La Drugstore.


Once again, incredible huge green trees were everywhere.

We had just enough time to get an ice cream before heading back for the last hydrofoil of the night, which was at 10pm. Uruguay is actually an hour ahead so we got back in time to have dinner at another great restaurant called Providencia.

We found this place thanks to two tips, one from our new tipster Disco Shawn and Sharon C's friend. It was located in Palermo Soho, but the only sign on the front says "Gulpe Fuerte " (knock hard).


It's a converted warehouse and the vegetarian menu changes daily, with 3-5 items, depending on what was fresh that day. It was a full house when we arrived at about 11pm, well lit, paint coming off the walls and The Rapture playing over the speakers. It would have fit right in in Silver Lake.





We felt like we found another secret spot and were well fed and happy and all for only $25. Lisa was tired, but I wanted one last nightcap, so we went to Olsen, another new hip restaurant and bar. This place was featured in the Wallpaper guide. It's Scandinavian and has a huge selection of vodka. I had a completely overpriced shot of vodka, complete with snotty waiter. The design was great though. I finished off my drink and we headed home.


]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bradleyb/argentina_2007/1195254600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bradleyb/argentina_2007/1195254600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bradleyb/argentina_2007/1195254600/tpod.html Mon, 03 Dec 2007 02:47:25 -0500 Lisa and Brad invade South America for the first time. First victim: Argentina. just added Uruguay

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Buenos Aires, Argentina

After a surprisingly quick 15 hour trip, including a 2 hour layover in Atlanta, we arrived in Buenos Aires at 9am. (we are 5 hours ahead of Los Angeles).

We arrived at our small boutique hotel, The Malabia House, which is a converted turn of the century womens convent.


Check in wasn't until 3pm, but we had already booked tickets with a guided group to see Argentina vs. Bolivia in a world cup qualifier match. We were shuttled with a motley crew of americans, italians, argentinians and chileans, by our guide Santiago(a burning man veteran) . The stadium was sold out with 60k+ fans and argentina didn't disappoint winning 3-0. The weather varied from rain to hot sun. so hot, the fireman eventually turned the hoses on the crowd. As you can see, the crowd was totally up for it and the ENTIRE stadium sang about 15 different songs in unison. so much fun and sure to be a highlight of the trip.

we got back around 7pm and finally got into our room.




malabia House is very cool, about 15 rooms. very clean and modern, or as modern a a converted convent can get. Lots of windows and natural light. breakfast is cooked to order for us no matter what time we get up.


That night, our first choices were all booked up, but we stumbled into a restaurant called Bar Uriarte which had a nice atmosphere with an upstairs art gallery. Food was good, not great.




It was around midnight and every club we went to didn't get going until 1:30 so we went to a late night Tango club called Confiteria La Ideal. It was pure argentina


After an hour we went in search of a club and it didn't go to well. First one, Mint, had a private party. We talked our way in and after hearing the bad music and lots of teenagers we walked out. We then thought it would be a good idea to walk to the next club called Jet. 3 miles later we got a cab and ended up at Jet (yes, lisa finally found her Jet), which had ok music and cheesy people.


Lisa even got groped in the crowd. We drank our complimentary champagne and hailed a cab while fireworks were shot off in the distance. this is at 5:30am mind you. Even the cab driver couldn't explain it. Over all, a great first day/night/morning in BA.


]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bradleyb/argentina_2007/1196127300/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bradleyb/argentina_2007/1196127300/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bradleyb/argentina_2007/1196127300/tpod.html Sun, 02 Dec 2007 08:20:42 -0500 Lisa and Brad invade South America for the first time. First victim: Argentina. just added Uruguay

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Buenos Aires, Argentina

After an incredible trip through the glaciers, we caught a late flight back up to Buenos Aires, the final leg of our trip. Its a 3 hour flight to Buenos Aires.





After a delay, we ended up arriving in Buenos Aires at around 1am. We stayed at Vain Boutique hotel which was great and a good price, especially since it was located in the hip area calle Palermo Soho.










We pretty much crashed the minute we arrived.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bradleyb/argentina_2007/1196078400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bradleyb/argentina_2007/1196078400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bradleyb/argentina_2007/1196078400/tpod.html Sun, 02 Dec 2007 08:14:31 -0500 Lisa and Brad invade South America for the first time. First victim: Argentina. just added Uruguay

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El Calafate, Argentina

Monday morning we got up bright an early for a 7am departure for our boat cruise through Glacier park. Things were festive at breakfast as a big up for it group lit sparklers and sang. Lisa suggested it was KC in about 20 more years. Check out the short video.


We opted for the VIP tickets which was the best extra $10 we spent. We were in the captain's club with about 6 other people (it held 30)
which included white leather seats and personal service which included coffee, champagne, scotch, seats in the front top of the boat and private balconies. Sweet livin.





Lisa is notoriously car/sea sick but she was perpared with her patch.



Our main destination was the Upsala glacier, which is the biggest glacier in all of South America (3 miles wide, 37 miles long and 197 feet high. About 4 days earlier, almost the entire front of the glacier broke off, so we had some trouble getting close to it earlier in the day.


Instead we visited the Spegazzie sp? glacier which is the tallest in the park and one of the few glaciers in the world that is actually growing.



They were all incredible. it was really cool seeing the glaciers up close from a different angle this time (looking up) then the day before. Navigating through the broken off icebergs was a trip too. They were so many different colors and shapes.









We eventually made it back to Upsala and got reasonably close.





Eventually the crew hauled up a small iceberg and we once again we were served scotch over Glacier ice.




Overall another amazing day among the glaciers. A once in a lifetime opportunity that we will never forget.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bradleyb/argentina_2007/1195992000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bradleyb/argentina_2007/1195992000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bradleyb/argentina_2007/1195992000/tpod.html Fri, 30 Nov 2007 23:32:02 -0500 Lisa and Brad invade South America for the first time. First victim: Argentina. just added Uruguay

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El calafate, Argentina

We are NOT morning people, so our hotel's spectacular breakfast before our big trip saved the day. As in many other countries around the world, its hard to get a substantial breakfast in Argentina. Not the case here (probably because so many people are off on all day trips).



Our first adventure was to visit the Perito Moreno Glacier and then ice trek on it! Perito Moreno is the most famous of the glaciers in the national park (Parque Nacional Los Glaciares) and the main destination for those who go to El Calafate. It feeds into Lago Argentina and is massive at over 19 miles long and 3 miles wide. We got on a bus for the 1 hour ride to the front of the glacier for a couple of hours. It just didn't seem real. So incredible. A million different shades of white and blue.


What was really crazy was the sound of the glaciers "calving" or pieces of the ice breaking off and falling into the water. The glacier made a loud creaking sound, followed by a strange sort of crackling noise, then loud crashes as the ice hit the water, or ice below. This happened every 5 to 10 minutes. It was so loud it made you realize how massive the pieces of ice actually are.



We spent a few hours here before getting back on the bus to the nearby port (10 minutes). From there we got on a boat for a 30 minute ride to the other side of the glacier. We then docked at a large red rock beach, and rallied with our group of 12 or so, to learn about glaciers from our English-speaking guide. Then we were off!



We hiked through a lush, green forest for about 20 minutes, till we got to the base of the glacier, where we were fitted with crampons - spikey shoes that fit to the bottom of our hiking boots.



We were briefed on how to hike in our crampons, then we set off, single file, up a narrow trail of ice. It was absolutely surreal.



The ice is actually layers upon layers of compressed snow, which absorbs all colors, except for blue, which it reflects. This is what makes the glacier these shades of blue. We had never seen anything like it. It was absolutely beautiful.





We hiked for a while, stopping along the way to appreciate our surroundings. At one point our guide asked us all to participate in a moment of silence, without snapping photos or moving. It was almost overwhelming being surrounded by these glacier peaks, valleys and streams. There was a slight, cool breeze and the sun was shining intermittently. What an amazing experience. We were in total awe.



At the end of our trek, our guide rewarded us with whiskey and chocolate treats. We enjoyed our whiskey on the rocks - of course - with frosty glacier ice!







As we began to wind down from our incredible little trek, our guide happened to mention an ice cave that was just around the corner. The whole group was up for checking it out, so we took a short side trip to check out the cave. What a trip to go under/inside of the glacier we had been hiking on! At the entrance, it was about 6' high, but as you walked into it, the ceiling became lower and lower until you had to actully crawl. The ice was solid and electric blue, and dripping everywhere.




]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bradleyb/argentina_2007/1195938660/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bradleyb/argentina_2007/1195938660/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bradleyb/argentina_2007/1195938660/tpod.html Thu, 29 Nov 2007 10:08:11 -0500 Lisa and Brad invade South America for the first time. First victim: Argentina. just added Uruguay

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El Calafate, Argentina


We took off from Bariloche's small airport to an even smaller (if not newer) airport in El Calafate. During the two hour flight, you really got a sense of the huge barren pampas that dominate most of southern Patagonia (the lakes region we just came from is where Patagonia is its most lush and colorful.




The hotel we stayed at in El Calafate was called Kau Yutan (pronounced cow shoe taan) and it was on a working estancia (or ranch). We were greated with flowers, wine and homemade chocolates (our preferred greeting from this point on).


The hotel is just outside of town and had some really nice views. they grow their own flowers and produce on the estancia. I had a drink in the living room of the hotel and watched puppies and dogs chasing the huge birds around the grounds.



The weather was clear and sunny, but windy (almost always windy here). A light jacket and you are ok. We are so far south the sun doesn't set until about 10pm.

After some down time we headed to Pura Vida for dinner which came highly recommended and didn't disappoint. they even had veggy empanadas for lisa.



We headed to bed since we have an 8an departure time for the Pertito Glaciers.
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