2 women just knowing the city + shopping ;)
Well, this is not my idea of knowing a city, but a city tour was included in the package. I also was thinking it was the best to get an overview of the city and go back to the places we found more interesting and well, my mom is not used to walk as much as I do, so it would work. The tour operator was supposed to pick us up from the hotel al 8:45am. Therefore we woke up early, ate breakfast and were in advance. But, they came late. They arrived to the hotel at 9:20 am! I was getting impatient thinking about the time we were wasting… Anyway. First thing I noticed was that we were the only Spanish speaking people at the bus, mmm. All the rest of the people were Brazilian!
Ok, time to leave the bus, yeah! We went back to downtown; the neighborhood called Monserrat and stopped at Pza de Mayo, the main square in
My mom was getting nervous. I said to her: “ok, take it easy. I have a map with me.” I took a look and told her. Well, right now they should be in their way to “La Boca”. Mmm, we would go there too and maybe would be able to catch them there. (I have to be honest, I was hopping we weren’t able to do it…) My mom asked me if we would get a cab. I just said her: “Mom, you are with me and we will do it my style. So, time to catch the “Subte” (that’s how they call the Metro).” It was her fist time using a metro, but after seeing how I was checking the maps and everything she got confident, hehehe. With the Subte we arrived to the Constitucion Station. A really beautiful and old one. We wouldn’t have been able to see it, if we were still with the bus.
Good we lost them or they lost us, hahaha.
I asked to a policeman which bus will drive us to “Caminito” a very colorful and famous area in “La Boca”. He gave me the number of the bus, but we didn’t have coins, so we took a cab. Anyway, it was a short drive and the taxi driver showed us a bit of “La Boca” while we were driving. I asked him to leave us at Boca Junior’s stadium. The 2 main soccer clubs in
Well, now time to keep on walking and go to Caminito! Caminito is a colorful area with a nice vibe.
It is “picturesque”, a bohemian neighborhood ideal for a foot ride during the day. Caminito is an open-sky museum which recreates the oldest houses called “conventillos”. It was nice to walk around and there were a lot of small restaurants offering besides food tango shows. In fact, while you are walking by, they offered to take a pic with you and you have to tip them. Well, I was lucky, one of the dancers actually asked me to get a pic with me, hahaha. That was so fun. Well, it was almost 2pm, so we decided to stay there and have lunch.
I forgot to say, I didn’t see the bus there. To be honest. I wasn’t looking for it, hahaha.
After having a nice lunch it was time to keep on moving. We had a great day knowing the city, but it was time for other important stuff in our agendas: Shopping! :)
Ok, I have been reading about that in advance and also got some tips from friends.
I wasn’t sure if we would be able to check everything, but there was a place I couldn’t miss: the Outlets at
Mom agreed. I asked to the waiter at the restaurant which line we should take. He gave us some advices and we left.
We waited for a couple of minutes and the bus came. The Outlets were at
I asked the driver to let us know before turning.
I was checking everything at the map, when I noticed there were 2 girls lost. She were from
We arrived to
What to do know? I remembered there is a traditional café I wanted to visit. I talked to my mom about it while we were at the metro and she agreed to go. I told her we should go straight there �" it was just 1 stop away from ours �" otherwise we wouldn’t want to leave the hotel, haha. So, we did it. We arrived to the Station Piedras and found the famous “Café Tortoni”, but there was a long line waiting to go inside!!! We were so close, that we decided to wait.
We waited for almost 30min and finally went inside. This café is old and a tradition in
Uff it was past midnight.
It was a long day and we were more than tired and ready to go to bed. ;)
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The ambient is really nice, appointed in woods, stained glass, yellowing marble, and bronzes. Just the place will tell you a lot about the history of the city. This place is perfect for a coffee or a small snack. They serve some desserts and drinks, which have been forgotten by the others. And you can only find them here.
They offer tango shows too. But you have to get your tickets in advance otherwise, you won't be able to find space unless you want to do a long line.
Well, as they say: "who arrives to Buenos Aires has the entire city in the Tortoni: the past, in its walls; the present, sitting at its tables; the future, in the enthusiasm of the people who work there."
What makes the Tortoni all the more special is that locals and tourists seem to exist side by side.

You can't miss the Leather: jackets, boots, shoes, handbags, gloves, you name it you get it. Also the cashmere is nice. Clothes in general - they have trendy designs, but also classic one. And of course the wine! The Malbec is so good.
If you are looking for good deals go to Cordoba Avenue (starting at block 42), just walk and walk, be sure to be wearing comfortable shoes.
If you are looking for non common stuff, something trendy you have to go to Palermo Soho. And there are nice fairs on Sundays in different squares.
If you prefer the classic style, take a look at Florida.
There are a lot of "Shoppings" malls and a lot of stores offer the Free Tax.
Try to visit a leather factory too. You can find good stuff there.
Ok, to claim for your taxes. You have to keep the vouchers and bills the stores will give to you. Just stamp them at the airport and go to the Tax Refund. They can pay you in cash or credit that in your account.
Taxis: they are not expensive. Everything will depend on how long the ride takes. They are safe and most of the taxi drivers are friendly.
Metro: well known as "Subte", there are 5 big lines which can drive you to different parts of the city. It's cheap and the best thing is that you avoid the traffic. This is the oldest Metro in South America and line D is such a beauty. All made of wood.
Bus: know as "colectivos". There are different lines, which will drive you almost everywhere. But you can only pay them with coins. So save your change for them. There are bus stops, so it's easy to catch them.
You will need Pesos (local currency) for all of them.










