Slept in until 8am and had breakfast at the cafe next door, which is included in our stay at the Eco Suited. Steered clear of the amazing looking sweets that they sell, but so tempting.
We headed out as a group to explore more of Buenos Aires. It is a city of 20million people, who live in apartment or condo style dwellings. I think most residents also own dogs and we encountered many dog walkers, walking 5-8 dogs at a time of all breeds and sizes! We also managed to find several CrossFit gyms!
We found some 100 year old botanical gardens, and a Japanese Garden, which were lovely oases is this huge city. We witnessed a wedding in the Japanese garden, along with some interesting plants, trees and koi fish.
From there we headed to the Recoleta district, the “Paris of South America” and after walking endless streets we stopped for some fuel (2 large pizzas and 2 bottles of wine for about $40CDN) . We then ventured to a Necropolis (meaning “city of the dead”) and located the mosoleum of Eva Peron.
For supper we had 7pm reservations for 8 at a steakhouse restaurant called Don Julios. Sue had read an article in the Chronicle Herald about the top restaurants in Latin America, so we booked this reservation about 6 months ago. When we arrived (about a 1km walk from our hotel), there was a line up outside, but we walked to the front and when it opened at 7pm we were escorted to our table. After selecting our wine, we were taken to the Parrilla (grill) to be shown the cuts of meat! One of the items that they were known for was Offal (organ meats), so Jody ordered that for the table as a starter. It included chitterlings (intestine), kidney, and sweetbreads (pancreas). Some felt it lived up to the pronouciation…awful!
We each ordered our steak and received huge amazing cuts of Argentinian beef, which were cooked to perfection, along with sides of beets, sautéed chards, asparagus! There were a few jokes about the Old 96er from The Great Outdoors as we struggled to finish. If we took any with us we were worried a pack of dogs would follow us home. It was a meal to remember for sure! Splitting the bill 8 ways resulted in about a $50 meal per person! Well worth it!
On the walk back to the hotel, we stopped for some yummy dulche de leche gelato! The theme of the night was YOLO…(you only live once)!!
Step count for the day: 26,378.