Wandering palermo, tango and clubs

  Buenos Aires, Argentina
Friday, November 30, 2007

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. 

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.

sample of the great shops in palermo

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.

our last night out in BA

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.

Bathroom at Faena hotel

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