¿Wassup BA?

It’s weird that I have already been here for almost 3 months. I feel like there is still so much I haven’t seen and don’t know about. Buenos Aires is full of surprises and every time I take a different way home, say yes to a spontaneous plan and go to a different café to study, I come across something new. I feel like I don’t appreciate this city enough and although there is still so much I don’t know, I will dedicate this post to the good old Buenos Aires and my discoveries so far :)

A few weeks ago, I went to CCK (Centro Cultural Kirschner), which is a huge cultural center full of really cool exhibits, ranging from installations to fashion exhibits. It’s a very impressive, old building and you can see the French influence, but also it is so modern inside. I went to a fashion exhibit by Jean Paul Gaultier, a French designer, and then went to different floors to see different exhibits. I could spend hours there so easily and I will for sure go back!

During the weekends, there are so many fairs all around the city! The book fair just ended and it was giant and so well organized! Apparently, it’s the biggest book fair in Latin America. On Sundays, there is a fair by Plaza de Mayo for different countries. Also, there are weekly fairs in Plaza Francia, Plaza Armenia, San Telmo… And more.

Last week, I learned about Barrio 11, which is an area with cheap shopping options. It isn’t the safest area, so I went with a friend and I was really careful and alert walking in the streets. The buildings in the neighborhood aren’t half as well maintained as the ones in Recoleta and Palermo and the streets look much more like how you’d expect a third world country to look like. It was a whole different Buenos Aires than my experience so far! There so many stores that sell crystals, incense, decorations, clothes… Basically everything you could think of. The best part is, everything was so much cheaper than the stores in Recoleta! So that’s where I will be going when I need something :)

Someone I met in Chile could not stop talking about this ice-cream place in Argentina, so I had to go and try it. It’s called Rapa Nui and there is a handful of stores in Buenos Aires. I got a raspberry and nutty chocolate ice cream and it was actually the best ice cream I’ve ever had! It’s a little bit more expensive than other ice-cream places, but it’s so so good! I promised myself that every week I’d go and try a different flavor. It’s a great motivation to keep going especially on Wednesdays, when I have class until 9pm.

Buenos Aires is big on the café culture and I usually go to different cafés to study or meet people. My favorite ones to study so far are Tea Connection, Cocu, Miranda, LAB and, of course, Starbucks. As for meeting people and chatting it up, Varela Varelita is a classic and cheap café and Birkin is a more modern option that’s also very nice.

Nightlife here has a ton of options. El Alamo is an American bar and there are different ones around the city. The one in Palermo has different floors and on each floor, they play different type of music and the top floor is a terrace. Chupitos is a cool and well-known place that you might want to check out, it has a good atmosphere and it's one of my favorites. I also love Buda Bar which also has a terrace, so if you get tired of the music and need a break, you can switch into a more relaxed and open-air environment. 

So far, my discoveries have been around these, but I still have a lot to check off on my list of places to go to. Like I said, this city is full of options, which doesn’t help my indecisiveness. But after 3 months, I definitely got the hang of the city and feel more like a local :)