How to Prepare for a Argentina Vacation
May 20, 2010 by admin
Filed under Argentina Culture, Headline, What to see
One of the things anyone would surely look forward to after burying their heads in work for more than a year or so is a week-long vacation. Imagine getting that chance to do all the things you had wanted to do in a long time like immersing in myriads of water activities, enjoying the sun, viewing scenic spots, and other similarly exciting adventures. Bear in mind, however, preparations for any vacation should be made way ahead of schedule so that any possible glitches would be minimized.
Among the very first things that you should do a month or two before your planned trip is to settle on a vacation destination. Search the internet for popular vacation destinations and select at least three. Remember that some of these tourist destinations may be out of the country and so it is important to familiarize yourself with these places by doing some online research. Try to have a comparison and select the one that have numerous attractions, an adequate transportation and accommodation, and the highest level of tourist satisfaction.
Check with your local travel agency if they provide service to your selected destination. Ask them about accommodation and transportation rates and see if they can make reservations on your behalf. Seek their advice on the best time to travel to your preferred destination. Do not forget to ask if they offer any tour packages since this is usually the most hassle-free option. If you will be traveling to Argentina, for instance, try to check the best time and method to get there.
Try also to seek additional inputs from your friends or relatives who have been to that place and are familiar with Argentina attractions. Remember that your vacation should be a time well-spent. In order to do that, you have to experience everything that Argentina has to offer and so any information that would be helpful to you should be noted.
You must also bear in mind that during the peak season, there would be a lot of Argentina tourists like you. This is why it is always a good idea to confirm your travel package at least a three days before you board the plane or ship to check if everything, especially your accommodations, are in order.
Having that week-long vacation and have the chance to finally see the countless Argentina attractions can truly be very exciting. Preparing for such trip in advance would guarantee a gratifying holiday which would surely recharge your tired body.
What to Do During Holidays
May 20, 2010 by admin
Filed under Argentina Culture, Featured
After working in your company for so long, you were finally granted a week-long paid vacation so that you can relax and recharge a bit. Though a one week personal holiday may seem long, it will just swiftly pass by if you spend every day of it lazily sitting in a couch, watching every show your television has. So what do you do during your one week vacation? Try to spend your time wisely by going out and exploring other parts of the nation, or the world if your finances allow you to do so.
Visiting other countries may not be as expensive as you think it is. It always depends on where you are going. For instance, spending a week-long vacation in Argentina is not always as expensive as staying in other places like Tokyo. For starters, transportation expenses will not be as huge since the country of Argentina is located just down the tip of South America.
Another benefit in making Argentina your vacation destination is that accommodation and food are quite affordable when compared to other vacation destinations. You also get to enjoy a lot of beautiful and pristine beaches like those found in Mar del Plata and San Bernardo where you will be able to take pleasure in various water activities.
Your vacation would truly be more delightful, however, if you do it in time for any of the Argentina holidays. One of the most popular holiday in Argentina which you will truly enjoy is the National Sea Festival where myriads of fashion shows which feature the most recent haute couture artists and designers. Other holidays include the world renowned International Film Festival and the Carnaval which is similar to the Mardi Gras festival in New Orleans.
During these Argentina holidays, many foreigners flock in droves to Argentina cities like Buenos Aires, Mar del Plata, Cordoba and Rosario. If you time your vacation with any of these festive occasions, you will also get the chance to meet new friends, making your personal week-long holiday truly a meaningful one.
So if some time in the future you will get the chance to have a few days off, try to spend your time in Argentina. An Argentina holiday is one vacation you will surely never forget.
Fiesta Gaucha at La Alameda
April 21, 2010 by admin
Filed under Argentina Culture, Featured, What to do in Argentina?
The La Alameda ranch, 120 kilometres away from Buenos Aires and located by the Chascomus lagoon.
The ranch dates back 1798 and has its own 15 hectares forest reservation, plenty of native flora and fauna such as deers, peccaries, capybaras, wild boars, llamas, guanacos, all of them in their natural habitat.
The saloon has a capacity for 800 to 2500 people with a movable stage. The main house is divided into 7 halls, air-conditioned rooms with all the necessary technical equipment.
We will taste the delicious “empanadas” as soon as we reach the ranch. At lunch time, we will enjoy the typical Argentine barbecue(“asado”) together with the best selected wines. The ranch offers attractions such as typical Argentine shows with a young group of dancers, dressed with typical suits. Then, the gauchos will show their native skills on horseback.
Our guests can enjoy different activities such as “sulky” and horseback riding, fishing, bird-watching, photographic safari,
Guided lagoon rides are also available but are not included in the price.
Dinner Tango show at Piazzola Tango
April 21, 2010 by admin
Filed under Food & Cusine, What to do in Argentina?
Colors, sensations, impactcs, subtlelies, hugs, looks, lips, turns, steps, more hugs, the spectacle is begins…
Piazzolla Tango shines each night with its show in alive.
The it traveler through by the tradicional tango and of a parlor, to those with symphonic sparkles and contemporary dances permits us to know all the shades of dance, the song and music.
It based on the “Estaciones Porteñas”, by Astor Piazzolla.
Each one of them: Spring, Summer, Autum and Winter are incluided in the different repertoire leading to musical qualities, styles, gestures…
A Tango Show to enjoy and to share in a magnificent theater with all the luxury of the Buenos Aires of long ago.
Soccer Game Argentinas True Passion
December 22, 2009 by admin
Filed under Argentina Culture, Sports in Argentina, What to do in Argentina?
Come experience the national sport of Argentina! We´ll provide round trip transportation from your hotel to the stadium. Then get ready for action because from the moment you enter the arena, the sights and sounds can be almost overwhelming. Feel all the passion of Argentina as some of the best players in the world fight for the win before your eyes. Be there when the team scores and the crowd goes wild!! Your guide will be with you the whole time, helping you understand all the traditions of the soccer match.
INCLUSIONS:
A TANGO DINNER SHOW
December 22, 2009 by admin
Filed under Argentina Culture, What to do in Argentina?
Sabor A Tango is the best way to live the tango experience in all its glory. Over 27,000 square feet of the building are devoted entirely to the performance of Tango. Deep in the heart of Buenos Aires, the venue offers guests a professional dance floor and stage where renowned Tango artists make their appearance.
Or take a lesson in the “El Patio de la Morocha” hall, which is specially devoted to the “Milonga Italia Unita.” It houses Tango lessons for beginners.
Enjoy dinner in between dances. The restaurant serves up some of the best Argentine and International cuisine in the city.
Features Include:
To confirm your booking details, please send an e-mail to info@graylineargentina.com within 48 hours of departure. You will receive e-mail confirmation to the e-mail address from which you submit the following details:
TOUR HIGHLIGHTS:
Rally Dakar 2010
December 22, 2009 by admin
Filed under Sports in Argentina
The adventure began back in 1977, when Thierry Sabine got lost on his motorbike in the Libyan desert during the Abidjan-Nice Rally. Saved from the sands in extremis, he returned to France still in thrall to this landscape and promising himself he would share his fascination with as many people as possible. He proceeded to come up with a route starting in Europe, continuing to Algiers and crossing Agadez before eventually finishing at Dakar. The founder coined a motto for his inspiration: “A challenge for those who go. A dream for those who stay behind.” Courtesy of his great conviction and that modicum of madness peculiar to all great ideas, the plan quickly became a reality. Since then, the Paris-Dakar, a unique event sparked by the spirit of adventure, open to all riders and carrying a message of friendship between all men, has never failed to challenge, surprise and excite. Over the course of almost thirty years, it has generated innumerable sporting and human stories.
2010 Course: the sand asset
The triptyque designed for the 2010 Dakar on the territories of Argentina and Chile promises to each kind of driver a sequence adapted to their qualities. The long stay in the Atacama Desert will be the climax of a 9000 kilometres loop through the continent. But the global balance of the course with varied difficulties force all to be consistent and careful to the end.
Finding an Apartment in Buenos Aires
October 24, 2008 by admin
Filed under Argentina Culture
The magic site. Listing upon listing of Argentines eager to share their apartments with you. For the worried house hunter, it is a gold mine. And for the traveler used to American major city rents, from New York to San Francisco to Washington, DC, these prices will make your jaw drop. $400 a month for a bedroom in an apartment downtown; $300 a month for a bedroom in a big house in adorable Montserrat; $250 a week for a sunny, chic studio apartment in upscale Palermo. The sites are accompanied with pictures showing the windows that brighten up the space, the kitchen adorned with modern appliances, the bedroom with the full-sized bed and comfy bedding. And the best news, the icing on the cake: these prices include all utilities, usually Wireless Internet, and most of the time a weekly or bi-weekly cleaning service. In addition, your bedding, towels, and kitchen utensils will also be provided within these fees, and it goes without saying that the apartments are all fully furnished. What you see really is what you get, no surprisingly sky-rocketing electric bills or mounting receipts from house-hold items.
Here is the downside: Americans are over-charged. Plain and simple. These prices on Craigslist are truly inflated, and as an American renter in Buenos Aires, you will probably end up footing the whole of the rent, while your Argentine roommate or landlord is turning a sweet profit. Yes, it is frustrating, without a doubt, but it is the way things are done here. Truly, if you are not fluent in Spanish and do not know friends on the inside in Buenos Aires, there is no other way. And let’s face it: it is hassle free and a package deal. You take the good with the bad; you get ripped off, but you pay less than you would in the US, and everything is included. My advice to you is to rent a shared apartment with an Argentine, as renting a room is far cheaper than renting your own studio or one-bedroom apartment. Also, if watching your pennies, stay away from Recoletta, Barrio Norte, Puerto Madero, and even Palermo SoHo. I recommend researching Palermo Viejo, Palermo Hollywood, Caballito, Flores, San Telmo, San Cristobal, and Montserrat. Out of those more affordable barrios, Caballito and Flores are probably the safest neighborhoods, though a little removed from the hub of the rest of the city. Once again, these living decisions in Buenos Aires are a balancing act, and you must weigh the decisions.
When weighing these decisions, I recommend renting an apartment in a very safe neighborhood for one month, while deciding on a more long-term decision. If you pay a little more the first month, it will be a wise investment, as it will buy you time to search high and low for an affordable, secure, and comfortable living situation. A big plus side to these Buenos Aires renting shenanigans is that Argentines rarely ask you to sign a lease or an agreement to stay beyond one month, sometimes even one week. The apartment-renting scene is based on verbal agreements and Argentines have come to expect the comings and goings of travelers. Therefore, it would be rare to find yourself stuck in a living situation not suitable for your tastes or finances.
To give you some idea of the renting scene, let me tell you about my apartment. I live in San Telmo, a quaint neighborhood that my boyfriend and I love because of its cafes and community atmosphere. It is very affordable: together we pay $550 a month for a bedroom in a spacious apartment that is covered in windows and is flooded with light on sunny days. We are a 10 minute walk to a subway station and two blocks from 9 de Julio, the widest boulevard in the world, which is needless to say, littered with cabs and bus stops. However, with the affordability and accessibility come certain prices—it is not quite as safe as some of the Palermo neighborhoods or Flores or Caballito. We are aware of this, and take great care to avoid walking alone at night, and we keep English speaking on the street after dark to a minimum, as English conveys American tourism which signals dollars. We won’t stay in San Telmo forever, but for our first apartment in Buenos Aires, it is perfect, as it allows us to truly taste some of the Buenos Aires flavor and culture, and also to learn some of the ways in which the city moves. Here are some pictures of our place so you can see what you can get for this price:
Eating in Buenos Aires on $30 a Day
October 22, 2008 by admin
Filed under Argentina Culture, Food & Cusine, What to see
With an exchange rate of 3 pesos per dollar, Argentina is certainly a deal for the American tourist and the nomadic Yankee traveler. However, because inflation here is on the go-go-go, prices are on the rise, and it is not the dirt-cheap cosmopolitan metropolis it once was. However, it is still very possible to live a good life in Buenos Aires for relatively few American dollars; it is just that now, things such as eating cheaply require a little planning, which can even make things more fun. Who knows, your quest to find cheap eateries may even lead you to new culinary discoveries.
As an American now making pesos as an English teacher in Buenos Aires, and also as an American with a never-ending appetite, I have searched high and low for the cheapest way to culinary delight. Let’s start with breakfast. When my boyfriend and I first arrived in Buenos Aires, we had dollars, and were frequenting cafés in the Recoletta, Barrio Norte, and Palermo neighborhoods for café con leche and croissants or fresh fruit. Soon, though, these rendezvous began to take a toll on our finances; Recoletta and Palermo are chic barrios that are soft on the eyes, but no so soft on the wallet. Our morning coffees & fruit were beginning to cost us about 30 pesos a day, with the café con leche itself costing 7 pesos each.
After we moved to San Telmo, we discovered the joy of café con leche for 3 pesos. These cheap cups of joe can be found at any number of the corner Ma & Pa-run cafés that dot the streets of this barrio, as well as the neighboring Montserrat and San Cristobal neighborhoods. Often for 4 or 5 pesos, you can get a café con leche, a glass of orange juice and a little chaser of sparkling water, as well as a basket full of medialunas, croissants encased in a sugary glaze. Delicioso. And affordable.
A few hours after one’s memorable date with a croissant and coffee, it is already time for another date, this time with lunch. Lunch at a restaurant gets unexpectedly pricey, as such things as bottled water can be sold for upwards near 7 pesos a pop, with tap water being virtually unattainable in any café. The most economic way to have lunch in Buenos Aires is to go to a grocery store and plop down with your goods for a picnic, the good old fashioned way. It is cheap, and a great way to learn the layout of the land, and to do some people watching while you’re at it.
Grocery stores–supermercadeos or autoservicios in Spanish—come a dime a dozen per street. No matter which one you choose, it will certainly have logs of salami hanging from the deli counter. The salami here is scrumptious, juicy and full of spice and flavor. You must buy one. Sliced and topped with a hunk of fresh mozzarella cheese makes it a perfect picnic snack. On your way to check out at the store, grab a bottle of Quilmes to wash down your salami and cheese. I guarantee a liter will not cost you more than 3 pesos.
After you’ve got your goods, you will not find any shortages of plazas or small green spaces. I specifically recommend the river-front in Puerto Madero. The picnic benches overlooking the water make it a primo-picnic spot on a sunny day. However, any plaza will do just as well, from Plaza de Mayo to Plaza Italia to Plaza Evita. Bring out the meat and cheese, crack open the beer, and there you have it, a muy affordable bon appétit.
After a day like this, of maybe cutting back here and there, it is time to get excited for dinner. Dinner in Buenos Aires is a late affair, usually taking place around 10 pm. It is never rushed; this meal is as much for the social aspect as it is for the nutrient aspect. And the dinner menu in Buenos Aires is truly mouth-watering.
As I’m sure you have heard, the steak in this city is something to write home about. The city is filled with parillas, or steak restaurants, that serve tender and juicy servings of red meat cooked to perfection. It would be a crime to visit the Paris of the South without trying a parilla. Just like the café con leche, parilla lines the city, but the most affordable ones are found in the San Telmo, Montserrat, and San Cristobal areas.
My other favorite food in Buenos Aires is the pizza. I know, I know, coming from the US you want to try something exotic. But trust me, the pizza here seems exotic compared to what we are used to. The mozzarella cheese is softer in Argentina than in the States, which is not always a good thing, but when we are talking about being melted on top of a delicious focaccia-style crust, the softer the better. Toppings range from green olives to shrimp to thick pieces of salami to fresh leaves of basil. It is not the cheese soaked, grease drenched pizza of home (that don’t get me wrong, is sometimes just what you need). In Argentina, it is the barely greasy, fluffy, and delicately flavored pizza pies that must not go uneaten when one is in Buenos Aires. Please, at my insistence, order a grande and enjoy.
And there you have it, an affordable and highly edible three meals in Buenos Aires. Remember to top everything off with a glass, or two or three or four, of famous Argentine Malbec, and your day will truly be complete.
Buenos Aires Catching the Collectivo
October 9, 2008 by admin
Filed under Argentina Culture, Cities
Monedas. Some may say your days in Buenos Aires are characterized by a struggle to find coins. Yes, that’s right—coins, monedas, something that in the US piles up in our pockets and the bottoms of our purses and on the floors of our cars. We don’t really count it as money. I for one think I got something for free if I paid with coins in the US. But no, in Buenos Aires, they are indeed a precious metal.
The collectivo is the bus system in Argentina’s capital. In a city with 14 million people and nearly as many neighborhoods, the collectivo is shall we say, crucial. However, although its name may suggest otherwise, it is a privatized bus system. Yes yes, freedom to choose and all of that, but let’s put it this way: there are literally hundreds of bus lines in the city, different companies pulling the strings on different lines, each company with its own idea of a good route. And each route was unimaginably completely undocumented until the arrival of the GUIA.
Ten years ago, the GUIA was born, ingeniously invented to document each collectivo route into one guide. Landing in Buenos Aires and deciphering the collectivos without a GUIA would be virtually impossible if one so choose to also pursue other activities. This guide lists all of the streets within the city limits of Buenos Aires, from Acassuso to Zuviria, in the first pages of the booklet. Proceeding the listed avenues comes a map of the city, spread out piece by piece over 36 pages. Each page, or 1/36th of the entire city map, is further broken down into 24 squares. Each square is accompanied by a list of buses that frequent that area, which is 5 city blocks. However the collectivo list does not tell you the exact stopping point of the bus. Therefore, to find a certain bus, you must walk that square area of 5 blocks, and hope to find a marked spot, or perhaps a queue of public transportation veterans waiting with resigned helplessness at an unmarked but somehow designated point.
To make things just a little bit more adventurous, the routes are subject to change at any time the various owners of the collectivo lines so choose. Therefore, the bus that the GUIA points to for your destination square may have changed its route, may have voted your square off the island. But, the best you can do is hope that doesn’t happen, and wait for it to come. The good news is that because bus drivers see traffic lanes as suggestions, there’s really no way you could miss a passing bus, as it is usually the only automobile in three lanes.
Okay, so imagine that you have miraculously found the stop, and the route has not changed, and the bus has arrived. You hop on as the doors fly open and the bus driver removes his foot from the gas for a generous 20 seconds. You tell the driver “noventa”, because unless you are going outside of Buenos Aires, it only costs 90 centavos to go anywhere within the city. The bus driver starts the meter, and you drop your coins in. And here is where we go back to the aforementioned issue of monedas.
In an act of saving grace, the city of Buenos Aires has decreed that all bus rides within the city are 90 centavos, as I said before. The buses do not accept bills, only coins. And there is a coin shortage, to say the least, within the Capital Federal. When I say there is a coin shortage, I can not adequately convey the off-kilter supply and demand balance without examples. Take, for instance, a trip to the grocery store. I gather my groceries into a basket and head to check out. The cashier tells me the total is $20.80. I hand her $22.00. She looks at the money with such a look of disapproval that she barely stops short of wagging her forefinger at me. “Do you have 80 cents?” she asks me. Do I have 80 cents? Just luxuriously jingling in my pocket? And would I willingly hand it over to a grocery store? ”No,” I say without apologies. This is getting ridiculous. I see in the till that there are only a few coins, but enough to give me my 20 cents change. Let’s just think about that for a second. She asks me for 80 cents, when she only owes me 20. Where is the logic? Just as I am once again asking where the hell are all the monedas, the tiller opens up a locked drawer underneath her register, and I see the sparkling, rolling hills of hundreds of coins. She sourly hands me two 10 cent pieces, as if parting with these coins is a major infringement on her day. On my way back home from the grocery store, I take note of the dozens of kiosk and shop store window-fronts that warn customers that they “have no monedas.” Don’t even try it, they seem to say.
For this shortage, there are various rumors. One of my favorite explanations is that apparently, the metal that composes the coins is actually more valuable than the monetary value of the coin itself. Therefore, some shrewd swindlers stash away these coins, melt them down, and sell the metal on the black market. Perhaps an even more ridiculous, but no less accepted, rumor is that the Chinese mafia—yes, specifically the Chinese mafia—hoards the monedas until there are desperate shortages, at which point the Asian gangsters sell the coins for a hefty profit. I’m pretty sure that’s the real reason.
So, as if finding the appropriate bus is not hard enough, the Chinese mafia has now made paying for the bus an equal struggle. In a city that never sleeps with a subway system that closes at 10 pm, you do what you can to get to a bus, and you do what you have to to pay for it. When I walk down the street, I can spot the glint of the sun against a dropped coin from yards away. And I will knock people over to be the first to reach that fallen treasure. Precious metals and unpredictable routes. A day in BsAs. The upside of all this is that taking the bus now is really the only thing I need to do to feel as though I have led an accomplished day.
