Apparently many people in South America claim, “The first time I went to Europe was in Buenos Aires.”  After visiting, I totally get this sentiment.  Buenos Aires is a gorgeous, European-esque city with a lot going for it – especially the fact that I found it extremely cheap, even compared to Kansas standards (Kansas is one of the cheapest places to live in the states – 7th cheapest according to this article).

 In addition to being cheap, there are tons of green spaces.  For a city – especially one of this size (almost 14 million in the metropolitan area) – I was super impressed with how many parks, there were, and how many people were taking advantage of them!  We came across people biking, running, rowing, having Zumba classes, and all sorts of other outdoorsy/athletic-y activities.  There’s even a free botanical garden, and a Japanese garden that’s free on certain days, and only a few dollars on others. 

Where to Stay and What to Do

We stayed in the Palermo Soho area, which was so nice for walking around, and had great shopping.  Our airbnb was baller though, so I basically didn’t want to leave it ever, but having a fun neighborhood around us made it easier to get out.

 My last night I stayed in the cultural Recoleta neighborhood and discovered tons of fun stuff like the theatre-turned-bookstore, El Ateneo Grand Splendid - well worth the trip to see.  (These pictures are just screen grabs of a video I took and definitely don’t do the place justice - go see for yourself.)

 There’s also the Recoleta cemetery, which is truly a work of art. 

We did a bike ride through an Airbnb experience, and it was great! There were tons of options, so you can decide whether you want more of a city/street ride, or a park/green space ride. We took a ride with Daniel, and it ended up being me and Mitchell, and Daniel and his whole family - so basically it was like we were crashing a family ride, but that’s the best way to be, I think.

We also booked an Airbnb experience to do a leather working class, but the dates ended up not working out. It looks amazing and has great reviews though, so you should do it and tell me all about what I missed.

Where to Eat and Drink

And then there’s my personal favorite, Rapa Nui ice cream shop.  Y’all, I am truly a connoisseur of ice cream, and this is THE GREATEST ICE CREAM IN THE WORLD.  I say that with complete confidence.  Just trust me. 

 I also enjoyed a quick empanada dinner (before round 2 at Rapa Nui) at La Cocina – so good, and I got some to go for breakfast the next morning to avoid airplane food prices before my 11 hour flight to Toronto!  The empanadas were delicious both hot, and cold, and super cheap.  (Are we seeing a theme here?) (I’m a terrible blogger and only got a photo of myself in the restaurant - no actual food shots, sorry.)

 Thanks to one of Mitchell’s new friends, we also found out about this super cool bar called Uptown, that looks just like an NYC subway station (underground and all), and you have to walk through the subway car to get to the hidden bar.  Loved it, and loved that fancy cocktails were only $5!  We also went to Crobar to dance afterwards, and paid $12 to get in, which included all you can drink.  No, that was not a mistake, it was seriously a club with all you can drink included in the cover.  Insane.

How to Get Around

We mainly walked to get around, but we did have to use Uber a few times, and let me just say, I have no idea how or why, but it is dirt cheap!  We literally paid $16 for a 45 minute drive from the airport to our airbnb, and then only between $2-3 for every other ride.  Don’t even bother with public transportation, no need!

What else?

My only complaint with Buenos Aires is that literally every restroom has only one-ply toilet paper.  I’m sure it’s because of the old plumbing systems or something, but come on!  It’s 2019, my butt demands better!

I know there are a million other important things I did, ate, and saw, but I felt like these were the cream-of-the-crop don’t-miss items. What did I not mention that you’d like to know?

Side note: Though we saw everyone and their dog drinking mate, we never got the chance to. Someone who knows better, please share the secret of where to get it and how! I felt like such a failure being in Argentina and not drinking mate!