San Telmo

We head out to San Telmo, the oldest barrio of Buenos Aires. It's quaint with old churches, cafes and shops. The cobblestone streets are gorgeous (tho littered with dog poop).

It was rather cold and the antique market seemed rather schmaltzy, so I ditched the shopping to go drink mate with the bus drivers. :) When I walked in, they quickly hid their girly magazines from sight. They were gracious enough to share their hot drink with me and to explain all the different drinking options.


Chris and I opted to stay behind to explore the area a bit more.

It's so cold, we warm up with some milke tea and coffee at a really charming cafe.







As we browse the stalls, a hawker selling empanadas goes from stall to stall. We try some of his wares. Delicious! I also try some fresh roasted nuts.

We try go to the ice cream parlor (Lonely Planet says ice cream in BA is fabulous and a must eat). I love how they scoop and serve the ice cream. Soooo good. The cones are really tiny. Heh. The toilets have no toilet paper, so we start building a hoard from the napkins at the ice cream parlor. Is that TMI?



We find an amazing mate shop with a very cool lady. I buy 1 Kilo of Yerba Mate and a bunch of gourds and straws!!! I'm so a mate fan now.






The streets are full of street performers and musicians. We spend a lot of time enjoying the atmosphere and soaking up the vibe.





We see a looooong line outside of a parilla and decide to join the queue. :) The guy cooking the meat insisted we take photos with him and his butcher knife. He kept saying, "Mine is beautiful."
Not sure what he was referring to.

Chris is leaving a day early and heads back to the hotel. Awww. . . Ciao Chris!!


I catch a cab to get to the Okinawan center for the closing reception.