culture | TwoGirlsTrippin

Buenos Aires is the 2nd largest metropolitan area in South America and we are constantly discovering how unique it is every time we turn a corner. Every barrio (neighborhood) has something different to offer whether it be art, museums, music, cafes, and let’s not forget – the Argentine tango! It’s known for its European style architecture and has a lot of Italian influence as well, which means pasta and pizza are the main staples here. Oh yeah, there’s the steak too.

We are lucky enough to be staying in the Recoleta neighborhood, which is centrally located to some of the city’s most famous points of interest. We’ve hardly scratched the surface since we’ve been here, but we still have a few days left for more discoveries!

Relaxing and hanging out at our apartment (we got a great deal at $23/night!) has been a nice break from our hectic travels. We’ve been cooking lots of pasta! Here are some shots of our humble abode

Temperatures have been hovering around 85-90 degrees here! It’s great for strolling around the city and passing through some of the many local parks.

We went to see the famous Casa Rosada (the pink house), which you can think of as their version of the White House. It is rich with hundreds of years of history, and is the location where important political events take place in the city. This is where many Argentine leaders, including Eva Perón have given speeches to crowds of thousands of people. We walked around the Plaza de Mayo and imagined what it might look like during times of political turmoil, and also what it might have been like to see Eva Perón inspire so many people.

The Bicentennial Museum located under the Casa Rosada detailed the history of the architecture and politics of Argentina. It also houses many artifacts from the the late 18th century until around 2010. Talk about a time warp!

One of the many cultural staples here are the multitude of artisan street markets. The San Telmo Féria was one of the best ones we have ever been to! The beautiful cobble stone street called Calle Defensa was lined with bohemian style arts and crafts including leather goods, gourds used for making Yerba mate, paintings, jewelry, accessories and anything else you can think of! We were even lucky enough to catch a tango show in the Plaza!

So far BA has been so culturally enriching and we’re excited to see what else it has to offer!

The last couple days have just been a whirlwind of sights to see here in São Paulo! For starters it’s the largest city in the whole Southern Hemisphere, with a population of 11.32 million. Compare that to little ol’ San Francisco with less than 1 million people! By the way, the photo above is from our apartment balcony!

Japan Town was a few blocks away from our apartment building and a visit to their weekly Sunday street fair was a must. Nothing like some good Asian food, even in Brazil! São Paulo has the largest Japanese population outside of Japan and also a large Chinese population. Interesting to see Asians speaking Portuguese….mind blown.

We visited the famous Avenida Paulista which is located in an area consisting of a blend of the financial district, mixed with the mission and sprinkled with some Berkeley. We even stumbled upon a protest right underneath a museum! Other photos we took include those of the alley “Beco do Batman” in Vila Madalena which is filled with some awesome street art.

And let’s not forget that “when in Brazil, do as the Brasileiros do”…..samba!! We had a great time meeting new friends, having buckets o’ beer, listening to great music and getting a little taste of the samba culture.

Although we had just a few short days here, we seemed to have covered some good points of interest. All this according to our awesome host Ligia who has graciously put up with our endless questions during our stay here 🙂

We’ll miss you São Paulo!! Check out our gallery below!