Palermo and Puerto Madero

So the coffee from last night kept me up last night. As such you might have noticed me online as I used the Tryp's business center. However, I could not sleep in and got up for breakfast. I made my way to Palermo via the subte. I was surprised to know that the subte fare had more than doubled since New Years Eve. The hike was effective January 6th and went from $1.10 to $2.50 pesos - from less than $.30 to around $.60 USD.

After walking a few blocks, I was asked by a local where the zoo was. Not sure why she thought I would know, but I pointed it out to her. Allison had mentioned she really enjoyed the zoo, and it looked nice through the fence, but I was not particularly interested as I had seen lots of animals in Patagonia.

I headed to the Evita museum that was interesting with her clothes on display and old footage of her speeches and funeral. The museum is housed in the building of her foundation and only opened relatively recently in 2002.

Afterwards I headed to Plaza Serrano, supposedly the center of Palermo life and plopped a seat at a cafe to rest and read for a bit. The neighborhood was cute with various Asian restaurants, furniture stores, and etc.

I then headed to the most eastern part of the city, Puerto Madero. This old port is lined with fancy restaurants, hotels, and a few corporate complexes. There is also a famous women's bridge that is quite artistic.

Puerto Madero with the famous Women's Bridge

I decided to have a lunch / dinner at Cabana Las Lilas, considered one of the best steak restaurants in the world as they maintain their own estancia, or ranch. It was included in my "1,000 places to see before you die" book. They brought me the wine list on an iPad and immediately a gazpacho shooter and a plate of antipasto and bread rolls. As such, I opted not to order any appetizers and just got a ribeye. Probably the juiciest steak I have ever had! The glass of wine I ordered was an Alamos of Catena Malbec and they gave me a very heavy pour. The service was great too.

"Estoy Jugoso"!  (Translation: I am juicy)

To walk off the food, I did a bit of last minute shopping and walked around for a bit. Boy was my Spanish tested - most of the people did not speak English, but were quite patient.

After a full day of walking and lots of eating, I returned to the hotel to organize for tomorrow and rest up for my travels back!