BsAs Musings

Our hotel in Buenos Aires was the Hotel Bauen, a worker-owned and run recuperated business. OK, so sometimes the service wasn't super responsive, but you know, when we were having an impossible time getting a cab to the airport, and it looked like my friend might miss her flight, Mario, one of the staff, piled us and our luggage into his decrepit van (which I wasn't sure would get us around the block, let along to the airport) and drove us for a reasonable fee. Plus, the decorations were "seventies-tastic" as another friend said. I'd stay again.

I just love these funky thermoses, filled with strong, sweet coffee. They were accompanied by tiny little cups, just the appropriate amount of coffee, no big-ass venti grande crap here!



If you visit Buenos Aires, you will spend much of your time trying to change your bills for smaller bills. 100 and 50 peso bills (about $33 and $16, respectively) will get you nowhere. Banks will do you little good, giving you 20 peso bills, which will still be rejected by cab drivers as too large. Acquiring 10, 5, and even 2 peso bills is a major accomplishment, and the 1 peso moneda is like a miracle. If you are lucky, you will be the one at a restaurant with a group of friends to casually replace your friends' bills with your 100 peso bill when it comes time to pay.

A friend of mine pointed out to me that Argentinian women favor that shade of maroon red hair dye that I wanted to use in college, but never got around to. It's really true - you see it everywhere.