Post by Ella.
We spent the day on Easter Sunday moseying around San Telmo, one of the oldest barrios in the province of Buenos Aires. Known for its antiques market in Plaza Dorrego, Sunday street fair, young tango dancers jostling for space to perform (and pass the hat afterwards), the place was crammed for blocks with vendor stalls and people.
Another two hour walking tour to hear local history. The best deal ever.
If you are a fan, you can sit next to Mafalda, a cherished cartoon character from the ‘60s. There was long queue waiting for the opportunity.
After the tour, lunch at a local favorite, Pulpera. We tried the bife de chorizo. Argentines sure like their steak well done.
After a spell, Grubb veered off to the side and plopped down on a rickety wooden chair outside a bar/cafe, said he needed a cappuccino. And I dunno, the word Negroni sorta leapt out at me. It was double the size and half the price of one you’d find at a bar in the U.S. After that, Grubb was solely in charge of getting us back to our AirBnB.
Wow, Mafalda was a big deal. People compare it to Peanuts, but more political. Amazon has dozens of collections. There is a similar statue in Oviedo, Spain. We might go there in a month. If so, we’ll definitely check it out.
The queue just to pose on the bench with Mafalda stretched a full block. A lot of adults who must have grown up with her. I don’t know if you came across this, but brief explanations of other characters https://turismo.buenosaires.gob.ar/en/atractivo/comic-strip-walk
I think of Argentina as a big beef place (google says they are #1). I’m surprised they like it well done. Chefs hate that.
So many people rave about the beef here. I’m not a big fan of beef anyway but we are taking a cooking class while we are here so I’m going to check out what the chef recommends. For sure, I’d order it muy jugoso next time.
Any New Yorker would recognize the Aqua con Gas as an old fashioned seltzer bottle. I think they have died out, even in New York.
Interesting. I’d never seen it before. Here you can also buy large bottles of sparkling water with the same kind of spouts in the little 7-11 type convenience stores.