First Night in BA

Since my original plans were foiled by United Airlines, I've never actually spent any time yet in BA. But Marc made his flight, so we got to enjoy our first day in BA together. This is not "traveling" this is a holiday. It's like taking a vacation to New York. Not that there's anything wrong with this type of trip, it's just different than we're used to when we're out of the country.

Our hotel is a gorgeous little boutique hotel in Palermo Soho. We only planned to stay here one night but after seeing our room we immediately splurged and booked a second night. There are only about 14 rooms by our count, with a full breakfast and a small spa. The staff are also incredible. They're so helpful and enthusiastic. We love it here.

Marc's flight landed in time for him to catch the end of breakfast and then check into our room and get settled in. I landed soon after and met him at the hotel. Not wanting to waste the day, we set out to explore the neighborhood and grab lunch, ending up at a nice parilla that the front desk staff recommended. The food was good, but honsetly the steak wasn't the best I've had on this trip. I'm still dreaming of that first steak I finally got cooked right in Mendoza. I think that might go down as the steak to which I measure all future steaks. I almost considered trying to convince Marc that we needed to go back to Mendoza just so I could have that steak again.

We were both tired from travel and wine so we took a nap before exploring the neighborhood at night. Palermo Soho could be picked up in it's entirety and plopped right into the place of SoHo in New York, or even Abbott Kinney in (Venice) Los Angeles, with it's upscale shops, hip bars and trendy restaurants. We had a beer at one of the hopping bars, listening to live music and watching all the pretty people walk by. Then we started to wander, looking for a place for dinner.

Marc had read about a place called Don Julio, not far from our hotel, but one of the top rated parillas in BA. The place was packed to the gills when we arrived, with loads of people waiting outside. I took a chance and asked how long the wait was for two people and was surprised when she said only ten to twenty minutes and came out with glasses of champagne for us while we waited. True to her word, we were seated not long after and enjoyed one of the most delicious meals of grilled steak and asada. Although the grilled chorizo and mozzarella appetizer might have been Marc's favorite. I think I can get used to this town.