Travel with Indigo

Buenos Aires (BA) is a large city located on the Rio de Plate and the people who live in the city are called “portenos”.  There are approximately 11 million people in BA and the surrounding metropolitan area and the city itself is divided into 28 (I think) neighborhoods or barrios.  Puerto Madero where we were docked is obviously the neighborhood where the port was though it is no longer used to load and unload ships and store materials in the warehouses that line the waterway.  Now those warehouses are bars, cafes and restaurants that are very popular.  There are always people on the streets and I have already concluded that there are more people on the streets at 3AM than there are at 3PM.  This is definitely a city of nightlife–and it lasts all night!  Apparently it is normal to get home from work, sleep until about 10PM, go out to dinner around 11PM and then go to a club for the rest of the night.  I still haven’t figured out how people get up the next day and go to work.  Someone told me that they go right from the clubs to the offices and when I asked how they could possibly be productive, the answer was, “That’s why we are still a third world country!”

Phil, Grant and I went to the new Palacio Duhau/Park Hyatt Hotel in the Recoleta neighborhood at the invitation of the president (Juan Scalesciani) and the vice-president (Norma Vitale) of the company that developed and now owns the hotel.  It just opened this past summer and believe me, this is the place to stay in BA and not like any Hyatt I have ever seen in the U.S.  At the cost of $75 million, Juan and Norma’s company bought the Palacio Duhau, an old family home, and totally renovated it.  They also built an adjoining structure that is part of the hotel.  You can imagine the rules and regulations they had to deal with since the Palacio Duhau is an historical building and the Catholic embassy next door was not exactly inviting.  The two structures are connected by a beautiful garden and an underground passageway and the juxtaposition of an ornate neoclassical mansion with an elegant modern building is breathtaking.  The decor, thanks to Juan’s wife whom we met later in the week, is decidedly modern and elegant and the contemporary art collection is said to be the best in the city.  There is marble everywhere but not cold feeling; the spa is unbelievable; and even the gym looks inviting.  After a delicious lunch, Norma introduced me to “lagrima”.  As you may know, I never drink coffee and I think I was the only one in the whole city who could say that.  But Norma suggested I try a lagrima, which was mostly frothed milk and a little coffee with a bit of Splenda stirred in.  I was sold immediately and couldn’t wait to try it on the boat.

After lunch, we went walking and shopping in the Recoleta neighborhood, which is very similar to Paris with wonderful shopping, broad boulevards, elegant buildings, parks and a famous cemetery where Evita Peron is buried.  That evening, we sat on the sun deck at the top of the boat and drank wine and ate cheese while we watched the sun go down and the city come alive.  This is a wonderful place and well worth a visit.