[11th - 17th December 2006]

It’s back…what is surely already your favorite weekly round-up of the Buenos Aires blogosphere…putting aside the small issue that it is the only weekly round-up of the Buenos Aires blogosphere! We made it to a 2nd week, which is a mild surprise because last week’s instalment took so long to write due some heavy blogging in the Buenos Aires area.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your viewpoint, there were less relevant Buenos Aires blog posts to report on this week, but still a fair amount for you to get through, partly thanks to my hyperactive blogging this week. Here they are…

Buenos Aires Sightseeing

• As I was saying in this week’s post on Caminito, there is more to La Boca than touristy tack, and these photos reveal some of the gritty modern reality of this famous barrio.
• I wrote a post about the history and modern day use of the wonderful El Mercado de Abasto building.
• All about El Cabildo, the government house during colonial times in Buenos Aires.
• The Buenos Aires Japanese Gardens are a nice place to relax in an oasis of Zen tranquillity. The Buenos Aires city government (blog in Spanish) also notes that the gardens are in a top ten list of the best places to read in peace in Buenos Aires, along with the Botanical Gardens and Plaza San Martin.

Info, News & General Comments about Buenos Aires

• Diva has her finger on the pulse of the BA festival calendar - urging us to go to Mutek for ‘emerging music, digital art & new technologies’, and Cambalache, a ‘non-touristy tango festival’, if there could ever be such a thing…
• News just in, it’s Christmas time….in Palermo Viejo! With snowflakes, despite the fact that temperatures here are in the mid 30s (Celsius)…
• Trendy Palermo Viejo also reports on the ‘Festival de Buen Dia’, it having occurred, where else but in Trendy Palermo Viejo, and not just any old place, but Plaza (Trendy) Palermo Viejo itself!

Where to Stay in Buenos Aires

• I suppose you could plan where you stay here depending on where all the famous people in Buenos Aires live. Many are in trendy Palermo, it seems.
• The Argentina Travel blog has some extra advice on renting an apartment in Buenos Aires, which will come in handy if you want to live near those celebs in Palermo, I guess.

Buenos Aires Food, Drink & Restaurants

• Winners of the hotly-contested (literally ’smoking’) Argentine Asado contest are announced.
• Saltshaker reviews the Empire Thai restaurant in the Microcentro, which is is one of the better Asian restaurants in Buenos Aires, and Chere Sophie, a decent restaurant attached to a school for hotel, tourism and restaurant management, just about in Recoleta.
• Yes, you can get Belgian chocolate and beer in Jumbo, the Buenos Aires supermarket with most variety = expat heaven. It imports Duvel and Chimay, two of my favorite beers of all time! Bit on the pricy side though…
• And if that isn’t enough good alcohol-related news for you, Robert Wright published the seventh instalment in his Divino Vino Buenos Aires wine review series, all (cheaply) available in supermarkets here.
• The best ice cream / gelato in the world, in Buenos Aires? Oh yes! And you can even just about see the place to get it in one of Karine’s daily photos this week!

Strange things in Buenos Aires

• The BA city government steals a Buenos Aires blogger’s photo of a milanesa napolitana.
• American adverts are being shot in Buenos Aires, presumably because of the nice cityscape, good looking actors, cheaper production costs and readily available supply of milanesas (if not their photos).
• Common pitfalls of using public transport in Buenos Aires
• While not stealing innocent blogger’s photos, the city government blog is telling us when we can watch meteor showers in Buenos Aires (in Spanish). Hang on, doesn’t that photo look familiar too?
• Comically astute social commentary on the differences between tourists and locals in Buenos Aires.

And what’s all this about a Buenos Aires ‘Meme’?

• I wrote a post about ‘My Perfect Day in Buenos Aires‘, and invited, no, urged, all other Buenos Aires bloggers to do the same. This is called an internet meme, IF it spreads. And I think out of it will come many interesting ideas for things to do and see in BA…
• No bites yet, although Diva, Karine and Laura have all kindly displayed an interest
• Come on the rest of you…please don’t ignore me, I won’t go away that easily!

Thanks for reading! Please add links to any interesting Buenos Aires blog posts I missed this week in the comments below…