Barrio San Telmo in Buenos Aires

Tuesday, Feb. 8 (Part II)

I didn´t do much else on Tuesday due to the rain and to being tired. In my room, I finished reading Life of Pi. It was a very interesting book. I highly suggest it to people who like to read novels. It is unique and will not make you think of any other book you have read before.

Walking: 13,219 steps (8477 aerobic steps), 547 calories, 8.98 km (5.4 miles)

Spending Update: I have been in Argentina for a total of 28 days through the evening of Feb. 8. My expenses, including the hotel for the night of Feb. 8 are a total of $623.31 U.S. That represents an average of $22.26 per day and of $667.80 per month. With my air ticket prorated over 12 months at $240 per month, that means I am spending approximately $907.80 per month to be here in Argentina.

Wednesday, Feb. 9 (Part I)

My new hotel is so nice. After breakfast at the guesthouse, I came here. It is obvious that it is recently remodeled. All the tile work is nice and fresh looking. The light fixtures, furniture, and beadspread all look new. The TV remote control is not yet worn out as they are in many places. It is a bright, fresh place to be--The Odeon Hotel on Humberto 1 in San Telmo. What is amazing is that it is $3 U.S. cheaper per day than the guesthouse was and is cheaper than many of the places I have stayed elsewhere in Argentina. I would never have guessed that I could get a hotel this nice in Buenos Aires for $10.08 U.S. per night!
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I spent the morning exploring my neighborhood, Barrio San Telmo. It is a delightful area with low-rise building about 100 years old. There are many small bars and restaurants, including quite a few tango bars. Many of the streets are cobblestone with the old streetcar tracks in them, although the sad fact is that there are no street cars anymore.

I went first to the Danish church to try to meet Andres, the priest. There was no response to the bell, and everything looked closed up. He may still be on vacation in Bolivia. He told me he would be back the first week of February, but maybe he meant the END of the first week. I guess I will try calling him from my room.

There is an old market in Sal Telmo. It is one of the Eiffel-type designs that seem to be popular all over South America with ironwork supports and high roofs. Unfortunately, it is not too popular with only about half the space occupied. It is a perfect building, however, and in 10-20 years I predict it will be gentrified and be one of the IN places to shop and eat in Buenos Aires.

Defensa is one of the main streets in San Telmo. It is lined with many antique stores and restaurants. The antique stores are of high quality--not junk stores with some old furniture, but places filled with elegant and expensive pieces. They remind me of the places on Royal Street in New Orleans. The restaurants are small and have creative menus. What is amazing are their prices. For 15-25 pesos ($5-9.50 U.S.), it is possible to have a 3- or 4-course lunch. Of course, wine will add another 5-15 pesos ($2.75-5 U.S.) to that, although some of the menus of the day include a glass of wine in the price.

I have just had my lunch near my hotel. I had fideos con estafada. Here, fideos mans wide noodles with tomato sauce. Apparently, estafada means roasted, since the meat was a chunk of roast beef. I had a bottle (half liter) of the house white wine with it. The wine came in a half-liter cola-type bottle. Everyone in the restaurant was having this same house wine with their meal. The price for the meal with the wine came to 7 pesos. With a tip, it was 8 pesos for a total of $2.68 U.S.! Now I will go back to my hotel and relax for a while before going back out in the late afternoon.