I’ve seen only a very small part of Buenos Aires thus far, but like Tyler Cowen, I’m charmed. I should note I guess that I haven’t seen much of the low-income areas, and this is very much a city of haves and have-nots. Peronism, military dictatorships and a patronage/cronyish socialism have left a very large part of the city behind.

But there’s a kind of crumbling beauty to this city, even in the ramshackle high-rises I saw down by the airport. It feels very European, only the porteños (what residents of Buenos Aires are called) are much, much friendlier than at least my stereotype of most Europeans. The upscale parts of the city are incredibly beautiful. Even casual dining places and tourist spots pay lots of attention to decor. The moderate and higher-end eateries can be striking. Buenos Aires is a city that really pays attention to style.

Of course, it’s also nice that South America is one of the few places where the dollar is still strong (3 Argentine pesos to the dollar). So my first night out, Courtney and I had a really fantastic meal at a restaurant in the Palermo Viejo neighborhood called Malasaña: We started with a prosciutto, cheese, and marinated beef appetizer. Her main course was two thick-cut beef tenderloin steaks, au-gratin potatoes, and sauted mushrooms. Mine was a delicious cut of dark, salty pork dressed in spinach, plum tomatoes, sesame, and honey. We had two glasses of good Malbec. And for desert, pastries and cold chocolate truffles. The total bill? $31.

Buenos Aires is basically all the sophistication of a major European city at Latin American prices.

I don’t speak the slightest bit of Spanish, but it hasn’t been too terribly difficult to get around (provided you, like I, have a wonderful tour guide who does speak Spanish). It’s hard to get a regular cup of coffee (the standard coffee drink is a cafe con leche, which is a small cup of mild coffee with steamed milk.

Here are some pictures from my first couple of days (check my Flickr page for lots more):

Bikes for rent in San Telmo, an artsy neighborhood with a lot of Italian influence. Lots of open air markets, too.

There are also lots of street performers in San Telmo, including hot young tango dancers who offer to pose with tourists for a photo. This woman was quite a bit older, heavy, and I think was offering herself up for novelty photos. I didn’t know whether to feel bad for her or admire her moxie.

Another street in San Telmo.

A really photogenic open air market with lots of Italian influence.

Another shot of the same market.

This is the main cemetery in Recoleta, where the Argentine rich and famous are interred. We couldn’t get in — it was after dark and the city was closed. It’s supposed to be pretty amazing, though.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 13th, 2007 at 9:15 pm by Radley Balko and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.