Buenos Aires: The Paris of South America

Over Christmas and New Year's our family traveled to Argentina and Uruguay, getting to spend time in its metropolitan capital Buenos Aires, as well as relax in the countryside of Córdoba and in the historical village of Colonia.

Spectacular View: Crossing the boarder into Argentina

We started our trip with a flight over the Andes Mountain range, which was a magical experience. Flying over the expansive range -- miles and miles of huge snow-topped mountains -- really put the remoteness of Chile into perspective, and set the stage for a vastly different capital city, just a couple of hours' flight away.

Buenos Aires is commonly called the Paris of the South, not just because they boast cutting edge fashion and a keen attention to high quality ingredients and foods, if not customers. At several points in its history, Argentina has been one of the wealthiest countries on the globe, due to vast natural resources and some of the best beef in the world. That opulence, that c'est la vie (that is life -- in French) attitude continues despite Argentina's current political and economic turmoil, evidenced by their most common expression: es lo que hay (it is what it is -- in Spanish).

Snapshot: Buenos Aires offers unique vistas.

But the Parisian connection is stronger than just attitude. When the country was still a Spanish colony, Spain gave favorite families thousands of acres throughout Argentina. Fifty of those families bought up the vast majority of the country, and those families are still the ultra-elite today. Centuries ago, those aristocrats of the country wanted Buenos Aires to rival European culture and brought Parisian architects to plan out the city. They designed a city filled with green spaces, ultra-wide avenues and exceptional architecture -- with some of their expansive estates truly being mirror replicas of European architectural feats.

Getting to Know Buenos Aires

One of the things we've learned in our years in South America is that it's better to start any adventure with someone who knows the ropes. It can be extremely daunting to get from point a to point b, not to mention a bit unnerving if you are not fully aware of unspoken rules and unsafe neighborhoods. Knowing this, we booked a tour for our first day with the No. 1 private tour guide in Buenos Aires, Loli with The Hummingbird Trip, and we quickly discovered why she is so highly recommended.

Despite the chaos of the impending Christmas holidays and the traffic that ensued, Loli drove us around Buenos Aires, identifying key points of interest, and weaving an entertaining mix of history, culture, art and food into our conversations. She showed us the off-the-beaten-path gems that only (some) locals are privy to, and gave us all the pertinent information we needed to explore Buenos Aires on our own in the coming days. Touring with Loli was like getting shown the city by a cool foodie (She's a former chef.) friend who wants you to love her home as much as she does.

Phaedy and Patrick visiting with local artist Ema Herbin.

In that, we ate bondiola from food trucks on La Boca, and were welcomed into the home of notable Porteña artist Ema Herbin. While we munched on cheese and talked urban art with a true urban artist, Trippie painted and played with Ema's son.

Where to go in Buenos Aires

Trippie explores Palermo Soho

We book nearly all of our travels on AirBNB because we're able to get out of hotels and into homes, where we have room to play and cook and be. We spent many an hour daydreaming for this trip, but settled on a cute little apartment in the heart of Palermo Soho, which is the center of everything cool, with cobblestone streets lined with many expats who come to drink coffee in little cafes, peruse the many fashion-forward shops and experience the never-ending nightlife. (In fact, when we awoke one morning to catch a cab to the airport, the bars and clubs were just starting to spill their patrons out onto the streets as the sun came up...)

Recoleta Cemetery

We enjoyed walking the streets of Recoleta, discovering the Recoleta cemetery (where "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" Eva Peron is buried) and ogling the architecture. We toured the amazing opera house Teatro Colón, but could have skipped the tourist-trap El Caminito.

Caminito was kind of the pits, but we still got a cute picture.

In hand with its amazing beef, Argentina has wonderful leather goods. We loved discovering a family-run leather shop and the ultra-exclusive gaucho-styled Cardon leather shop, but the leather district was kind of a bust.

Eating in Buenos Aires

Patrick ordering some of the best cheeses and meats we've ever had.

As I mentioned, food is fabulous in Buenos Aires -- with fresh ingredients like exquisite beef, fantastic wines, nice cheeses, extensive dried meats and wonderfully diverse fruits and vegetables. Even if the service is lacking, the food is amazing, and well worth the (long) wait in restaurants; and corner fruit stands, neighborhood butcheries, pastelerias (bakeries), groceries and ferrias (food fairs) making cooking at home worth it.

Serious Business: A butcher at work in the Progreso Ferria

Our favorites during this trip were the Progreso Ferria, filled with masters of their craft and some of the best fresh ingredients we've gotten our hands on. We loved having a nice steak dinner at Don Julio, which is a family-run parrillada that has earned its reputation for being one of the best. Well worth the wait for a table, La Hormiga (the ant) was excitingly posh, super tasty and unbelievably inexpensive.

Happy about steak at Don Julio

On Christmas Eve, we went to a little neighborhood restaurant in Palermo, walking from our apartment. There was a set menu, and only a few tables. All the Argentineans were either family or practically so, and the other three tables were foreigners. The food was wonderful, and the atmosphere interestingly intimate. The meal was timed so that dessert was served 15 minutes before midnight, and the owner then put on the TV to watch the countdown to midnight, when Baby Jesus was born. It was very much like our Apple Drop, and after the initial toasts, everyone went outside to set off fireworks, and then came back inside to open Christmas presents.

Celebrating Christmas Eve with fireworks, neighbors and new friends.

I think that you could probably eat at a different restaurant every day in Buenos Aires, and still have new places to discover.

Tips for Visiting Buenos Aires

1. The blue rate for exchanging US dollars into Argentinean pesos is kind of sketchy, but worth it.
2. The Buquebus tourist bus system run by the government was a complete bust. Don't rely on it.
3. Beware pickpockets. Be careful with your money and any electrical equipment.
4. Taxi cab drivers are famous here for speaking the truth about the government and can be very enlightening and entertaining. Don't be scared.
5. I understand the police are somewhat questionable. We steered clear just in case.
6. Drink the wine, especially Malbec. Every.Day.
7. There are two airports in Buenos Aires. One is the national one, right on the river Rio de la Plata and very easy to get to where you are going. The other is the international airport which is at least an hour outside of the city, and expensive to get to. Try to fly in and out of the national airport.
8. Book Loli Delger with The Hummingbird Trip. She'll do an interview beforehand to put together a custom tour just for you. It's worth it, I promise.
9. Check holidays, especially national or religious ones. The city closes, and food/services are scarce on holidays.
10. Go with the flow. That's part of what makes South America and Argentina worth the trip. You have to embrace "es lo que hay," and be willing to stray from plans to really appreciate life here.