We spent 6 days in Buenos Aires and it’s time to review the big three B’s: Brilliant, Boring & Brutal.

Brilliant

Buenos Aires has a lot to offer. Lots of restaurants, shopping, entertainment, museums, art, history and much more. It’s safe to say there is something here for everyone and that’s what is brilliant about Buenos Aires. Additionally, there is a metro, buses, boats, and most Ubers are fairly inexpensive so transportation is easy. There is a large tourist industry here so there are plenty of alternative options such as private tours. We managed to find Pho, Ramen, Italian (Michelin rated), and Argentine cuisines during our trip.

Boring

As Brilliant as Buenos Aires is there are a few things that bored us. First, internet and Wifi speeds were slow. We’ve traveled the world on T-mobile service from the USA and Argentina is the first country it has failed us. The service worked but it was extremely slow. We’re not sure if the cell infrastructure in Buenos Aires is strained, obsolete or simply broken but it was a painful experience trying to get online.

The WiFi in our hotel never got faster than 25mb up/down and that’s surprising given we had 100mb in Uruguay for most of the time we were there.

The Museum of Fine Art had an audio tour by scanning a QR code at various stations but the free WiFi within the museum failed to work most of the time and the QR codes didn’t lead to anywhere useful on the internet when it did work.

Countries that want to thrive in the 21st century need to up their game with internet infrastructure or may as well become Amish.

Brutal

The two things that stand out as Brutal were the fluctuating currency exchange rates and heavy taxation.

Currency

Let’s start with the currency issues. First no one really wants the Argentine currency! Many places preferred payment with credit or debit cards. Many places also advertised that they take USD for payment. Walking along the main tourist and shopping areas there are endless touts offering to exchange money by broadcasting “cambio!” to everyone passing by.

We had problems taking money out of ATMs because there are strange restrictions on withdrawals. There seems to be a limit of $15 USD withdrawal and there is often a $15 USD ATM fee so you get nothing! We gave up on the ATMs and exchanged USD to Argentine pesos and used credit card for all other purchases when we could.

The locals warned not to leave the country with Argentine pesos because they may become worthless by the time you return.

Taxation

There is a 21% VAT on every sale. In Uruguay we were given receipts to get our taxes back for large purchases but that doesn’t seem to exist in Argentina or the vendors aren’t interested in doing the paperwork. We were surprised at the Pandora store in the mall that said they don’t do tax free receipts.

Bonus: AVOID Taxis

AVOID Taxis at ALL cost and just use the UBER app. Taxis are always a rip off and our first and ONLY time we used a taxi we got ripped off. The clown at our hotel quoted us $50,000 for the taxi and when we arrived the driver charged us $62,500 for using a credit card to pay. Didn’t argue with the taxi but I will never use a taxi in Buenos Aires again and suggest you do the same. Ironically, when you use the Uber app, a taxi might show up but they can’t rip you off because payment is set through Uber.

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“La Casa Rosa” is Spanish for “The Pink House” and the equivalent of America’s “White House” so it’s the center of government. We started our day at the obelisk below which was walking distance to the Pink House.

We did stop at this Metropolitan Cathedral. “Save Your People” in Latin below.

“La Casa Rosa” is listed below although with a shadow cast on it it looks more dark than pink.

There is a nearby museum that showcases the design and structure and some of the old structures from the 1800’s.

After the Pink House we wanted lunch and were told that “Napoletana” pizza is often served as a thinner crust than the traditional thick “Pan” style crust most pizza restaurants serve here.

While the crust was a bit more like “hand tossed” and a bit doughy it was great!

Here’s was $24,400 looks like in Argentine currency and the cost of the pizza and two drinks.

After lunch we headed to the Museum of Modern Art. We were surprised that it’s not only modern art but metamodern art which takes things to a whole new meta level!

Can you dig the meta modern?

One of my favorites below, the meta modern is mesmerizing.

My favorite artist in the museum was Valentina Quintero and below is some of her work.

Then I saw this and was mesmerized for hours.

There are many basilicas, cathedrals and churches and we didn’t have time to stop and see them all.

Walking around we saw a realtor shop and this was posted outside, a 4 bedroom apartment with balcony and 90 square meters 968 sq ft for $125,000 USD.

Not a bad deal? One of our guides told us the property taxes and upkeep can be expensive in some districts.

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Our first stop this morning after our free club lounge breakfast was a stop to BASÍLICA NUESTRA SEÑORA DEL PILAR.

Right next to the church is the famous Recoleta Cemetary. The cost to enter the cemetery was $33 USD for two people. It is worth the price if you appreciate the art designs, sculptures and architecture of these structures. A few famous people are buried here including Evita Peron.

La Recoleta Cemetary

The soldier tomb above had detailed intricate carvings on metal.

Some of these tombs have many sculptures and intricate designs.

Another interesting one.

Not all tombs are well maintained. A few seem to be on the berge of collapse.

The columns on the image below seemed to be buckling from the other side and the area was closed off so this photo was taken from the opposite side. Note the cracks on the column, the opposite side was worse.

My favorite tomb was the simple one below.

A necessary quick stop to re-energize and rest for our next visit.

Next stop was the Museum of Fine Art.

Tons of art work and some of my favorites were works from Juana Romani, Amedeo Modigliani, Emilio Pettoruti, Alejandro Xul Solar, Rafael Barradas, Pedro Figari, Juan Del Prete, Alfredo Guttero, Fritz Burmann, Felice Casorati, Jorge Larco, Carlo Carra, Abraham Regino Vigo, Cesareo Bernaldo de Quiros, Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, and Joaquin Torres Garcia. Honorable mention to Escuela de Sebastiano Ricci.

After the museum we headed to the Floralis Generica. A large metal flower that opens and closes.

Nearby is this Botero sculpture in honor of Fernando Botero. We found a Michelin rated restaurant across the street from this sculpture and were happy to get seated without a reservation (thank goodness for low season)!

Part of the cubiertos….

The dish below is “milanesa langosistos” but the real winner was the dark brown sauce made from pear that stole the show.

We ordered a steak and split it and it was mouth watering tender and delicious.

And the cost was about $75 USD.

After lunch we headed to “El Caminito” which is a part of Buenos Aires that serves as the melting pot of the city. Lots of elaborately colorful houses, shops and restaurants in the area. It’s a must visit place if you’re in Buenos Aires.

Famous building in image below.

It’s been a long day so we headed back to the hotel and hit the lounge for afternoon tea and snacks.

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Today was a bit of a work day but we did manage to go eat lunch at a recommended restaurant called La Pipeta. The restaurant has an extensive menu and a ton of quotes.

A few of my favorites, this one reads, “Adam was happy, he did not have a mother-in-law.”

“A gift horse does not have its teeth looked at.”

Lunch. This restaurant did charge “cubiertos” charge but it was only $1.37.

The meal above was $41,000 Argentine pesos ($32 USD). The currency fluctuates wildly, it was 1290 to 1 when we got here and its 1274 today.

The strange thing is I went to a “casa de cambio” or exchange house today by stepping into a secret backdoor inside a news stand and the guy gave me $129,000 for $100 USD. If the current rate is $127,400 then someone got screwed somewhere along the currency line.

I dont know how people here live with the currency chaos but it explains why many prefer payment by USD or card.

Our wine tour was at Miravida Soho Hotel & Wine Bar…

Our wine tour was an intimate experience with just us and our sommelier guiding us through Argentina’s wines.

A review of the regions.

First wine, white Torrontes…..

Second, a delectable Pinot Noir.

Third, a nice Malbec…

Fourth, a cosmic blend of intriguing flavors…

Each wine was paired with cheese & fruit.

We bought a couple of bottles of wines. It was a late night so we got back to the hotel and had a snack at the club lounge (free for platinum members).

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Our primary purpose of the day was to get a sampling of Buenos Aires food so we had a great experience.

We started at Picsa which is Italian for pizza.

Beef empanadas, flaky pastry, delicious tender meat. In American chicken wings usually accompany pizza and here it’s beef empanadas.

Our second stop was El Preferido.

Oilve oil from Patagonia. Black olive is called Isabellina.

Here we sampled a chicken milanesa and torta.

Third stop was Fuego y Vino (Fire & Wine).

The owner also wrote a book featured below.

Amazing grilled provelona cheese.

And a ribeye steak cooked to perfection on wood fired grill.

The salad was delicious and the owner prides on farm to table veggies.

A quick stop here for a chocolate sample.

Then finished the tour with gelato.

Salted caramel below bombarded the taste buds.

After the tour we walked around some of the open air markets setup in the area but didnt buy anything because we have been unable to withdraw money from ATMs.

Our food tour guide recommended against pulling money out because banks charge excessive fees and provide a bad exchange rate.

People here recommend you send yourself money thru Western Union or use the black market exchange houses.

We were too tired to head out for dinner so we stopped at the Sheraton club lounge and had a second food tour. Mini burgers, mini milanesas, mini empanadas and flavored rice (free for platinum members)!

There are also sandwiches and pastries along with a variety of beer and wine but we opted for tea and soft drinks.

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We left Uruguay this morning and landed in Buenos Aires in the afternoon. After checking into our hotel we stopped at the club lounge for tea time then went for a walk about.

Views from the tower.

For dinner, we found Vietnamese food! A food that I sorely have been longing…

First up egg rolls!

Next up Pho Ga! Yipeee!

Let’s talk money. The meal cost $59,900 Argentine pesos and the card was charged $49.51 USD. According to the exchange rate app, the charge should have been $46.60. We were warned that we would get “ripped off” if we used a credit card to pay for things here in Argentina but I think that is odd because banks typically set the best rates amongst themselves.

What I think is happening is that the exchange rate is so volatile that it does move in very rapid directions up or down on any given hour. As I typed this post, the exchange rate changed again from when we did the initial charge a few hours ago.

On our walk back to our hotel we stopped by a busy market street with lots of shops and lots of people. There were tons of leather goods, restaurants, and other shops selling various wares. It’s a busy bustling market place on a Saturday night.

Got back to the hotel very tired….more to do tomorrow.

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We spent 15 days in Uruguay and it’s time to review the big three B’s: Brilliant, Boring & Brutal.

The Brilliant

So let’s talk about what we loved about Uruguay.

1. People – The people were kind and helpful everywhere we went. We didn’t have a single incident of anyone going out of their way to be a “Karen” or creating any kind of issues. Generally, most people were friendly and talkative (in Spanish).
2. Beef & Veggies – The meat is outstanding, very organic and I can practically commune with the cow and the grass it’s been fed to produce majestic beef. The veggies are fresh and organic and loved every bite.
3. The Promenade – The “Rambla” is a large boardwalk all along the cost of Montevideo and it features a pedestrian and cycle pathway. Loved every minute of the expansive endless coast line and sea!
4. Museums – Many of the museums were free and interesting although some had odd hours or were closed some days – always check before going.
5. Wine – There are a ton of great tasting wines and they are relatively low cost too!
6. Art & Teatro Solis – The Solis Theater was impressive and great. Truly love the art scene here with various artists developing some really great art from hand crafted sculptures, paintings, T-shirts, jewelry and other items.
7. Safety – We kept hearing “stories” of someone somewhere being threatened by a man with a machete but never saw any crime or felt unsafe anywhere in Montevideo. There are a few homeless people so don’t let your guard down but we felt safe 99% of the time. Crime does happen everywhere.
8. Card Acceptance – My credit cards were accepted everywhere and didn’t have any issues with ATMs although a few expats we talked to said they had issues withdrawing money at some ATMs.

The Boring

Let’s talk about what we found boring and needs some improvement.

1. The restaurant scene is boring. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of great restaurants in Uruguay but the main problem is variety of dishes, expansion of different cultural foods, and more variation within menus. Practically everyone here has the same menu and there seem to be only four main food groups: milanesas, asados, chivitos, pasta. We ate at a highly recommended Indian restaurant run by actual Indians but the food was bland even after ordering “spicy” and we suspect it’s because the people here don’t like flavorful spicy food so it’s toned down and boring. The story was the same for other variations of food. We hope that as Uruguay grows there will be more food variations.
2. Punta Del Este – Visiting this seemingly large city with towering high rises along a very long coast you would think there would be a lively food scene and more things to do but it’s a tourist town and fairly boring if you go during the off season. We’re here in the winter and there is really zero reason for visiting Punta Del Este aside from visiting a few landmarks. The few restaurants that were open were good but not enough.
3. Apartments – We stayed in an apartment during our first couple of weeks here and it was a great little apartment but it did not have amenities like a gym, swimming pool or remote work office space. Many of the apartment buildings don’t feature any amenities as far as I can tell from reviewing property websites so if you desire a pool or gym you may be disappointed.
4. Office Hours & Services – Perhaps off season is different than on season but many shops or offices seemed closed during prime time and it was difficult to do things when offices/shops were closed. We arrived at one restaurant at 5 pm and were told they were closing and to come back at 8 pm!

The Brutal

Let’s talk about some serious transformation issues.

1. Dirty streets and trash everywhere. It was a bigger problem in Montevideo than Colonia or Punta Del Este but there is trash on virtually every street in Montevideo. Seriously, it makes the country look like an “emerging market” rather than the upcoming economic metropolis it can be. Easily fixed by picking up the trash, fining people heavily for littering and educating the population. Also, there is dog poop on every sidewalk, someone teach these people how to use poop bags!!!
2. Cost & Taxes – The cost of items is on par with items in the United States and Europe so don’t think you’ll be coming down here to save a ton of money. Exchange rates impact the “value” you derive from visiting down here but the real problem is heavy taxation of stuff. There is a rule/policy/law that foreign charged credit cards get a small refund and you’ll see that on our posted receipts and that helps a bit. Uruguay is known as “Switzerland” of South America and cost is the reason.
3. Closed Shops, Hard to Find Items – I travel with two carbon monoxide detectors when I travel and one needed a new AA battery. I had to visit a few stores before I found one that sold batteries and they were $1 USD each! Also had to travel to several shops to find a wine opener and several stores to find a network cable for a computer. Many shops in different parts of town are simply closed or have strange hours and we were told many people close shops and go on holiday in July. I had to visit 19 pharmacies to find a back brace.
4. No Mass Transit – Yes there is a bus system but with traffic it is slow, stops frequently and it’s often cheaper to take a taxi. If you plan on being here a long time, you will likely need a car to move about or be prepared to pay for taxis, Ubers, or wait on the bus.

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We headed out this morning to explore more of Montevideo so we took a taxi to NuevoCentro area.

Nice shopping mall and boots seem to be in fashion.

Mo boots.

Sadly, there is a great deal of trash on the streets of Montevideo. Part of the problem is trash cans overflow or people are lazy and toss it near the trash and not in it. We have seen trash like this everywhere in Montevideo.

The image below is of a military memorial.

After visiting NuevoCentro, we headed back to Ciudad Vieja to eat at a famous restaurant but we ran into the Uruguay Constitution Day parade.

Nicely decorated horses.

More horses

and yet more horses.

The parade was very cool featuring soldiers dressed from different eras in Uruguay’s past.

After the parade we went to this spot where Anthony Bourdain ate some great asados but it was closed.

We did find an alternative that was really good.

Ribeye steak below, cooked to perfection on a grill.

After lunch, we ran into another parade for Candombe.

After the second parade, we headed back to our hotel. To give you an idea of transportation charges from Ciudad Vieja to Punta Carretas see the options below. Taxis are usually cheaper and quicker but not always. The taxis are also a bit older cars with limited space. The taxi we took was about $10 USD from one side of town to another.

For dinner we used a popular service everyone here uses to have Rudy’s Burger delivered to our hotel. The service is called PedidosYa (Requests Now).

The service was fast and it helps the restaurant is around the corner but we were busy packing.

We leave Uruguay tomorrow for a new destination and have a final synopsis scheduled to post after we leave the country.

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Its very cold and windy outside today with a touch of drizzle so its the perfect time to visit the spa.

Nice tea setup after massage.

After searching a while for a massage place we were told about this one from an expat group. It is located in the basement of a co-location space called Opta Co-Living.

The massage was decent and only cost $40 USD.

We had tickets to theatro Soliz for Las Brujas de Salem and that’s where we spent the evening.

What do the songs YMCA, Born in the USA, Gangsta’s Paradise and Faith have to do with witches?

Well thy are featured in The Witches of Salem. It is a theatrical whirlwind—crazy zany in moments, yet rooted in serious, unrelenting truths. With non-stop action and superb acting, it catapults the audience through a kaleidoscope of emotion: from funny and absurd, to sad and sobering.

What begins as hysteria and chaos quickly unfurls into a haunting reflection of society’s recurring dance with fear, power, and persecution. This is not just a historical retelling—it’s a presently profound meditation on groupthink and the cost of silence.

The cast breathes fire and nuance into every scene, embodying the extremes of humanity with chilling conviction. In the madness of Salem, we see the madness of our own time reflected back at us. It’s a spellbinding reminder that history doesn’t stay in the past—it lives, breathes, and convicts anew.

It was a great play to watch in Theatro Soliz here in Montevideo.

Impressed with the youth of the crowd.

The theater seems to have a strange rule that couples must be seated apart. At least three couples in out area were separated. The ticketing system clearly needs improvement.

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So it was cold, rainy and foggy outside for most of the day so it was the perfect time to use the heated pool.

For lunch, I went to the mall as I needed more cash from the ATM nearby and saw that KFC was having their grand opening.

The line was very long to order.

The KFC adds to the McDonalds, Subway, Burger King and other American brands in the food court.

I wash hungry for a hot soup which seems impossible to find in Montevideo and this terrible dish below was as close as I got, couldn’t even finish a portion of it.

It was $600 pesos down the drain.

A much better lunch was at the hotel. The dish below was supposed to be lasagna but it ended up tasting pretty good. Two plates were $30 USD.

Uruguay Spanish

As for Uruguay Spanish, it’s time for another lesson. Walking around the mall there are all sorts of touts offering samples and one such example was a young lady selling scented diffuser liquids. She gave me a couple of samples and asked her if she sold them in solid form for luggage (“maletas”) because the liquids would not pass through airport security. She did not understand what I was saying. I then said “veliz” and she did not understand that either.

It turns out the word in Uruguay Spanish for luggage is “valija.” Curious I looked up the origin of the word and got this, “The word “valija” has its origins in the Italian word “valigia,” which refers to a suitcase or a leather bag.“

I had thought perhaps the word had Portuguese roots with Brazil next door but it’s actually an Italian derivation. The Italian makes perfect sense since there is a large Italian immigrant population within Uruguay and Argentina.

Breakfast

It’s been a battle ordering eggs every morning. The first few days I ordered an omelet and that was simple enough but they kept burning them so I switched to fried eggs.

Of course every time I ordered huevos fritos (“fried eggs”), I was bombarded with many questions with strange words. So to clear things up I had a conversation with ChatGPT on the topic.

In Spanish, the basic term for fried egg is “huevo frito”, but there are several types or variations depending on how the egg is cooked and served. Here are the common ones and how they’re called in Spanish:

Common Types of Fried Eggs in Spanish:

Regional Notes:

• In Spain, “huevos estrellados” usually means fried eggs served over fries and “broken” with jamón or chorizo – very popular in Madrid.
• In Mexico, “huevo estrellado” means a sunny-side-up egg (not necessarily broken).
• In Argentina and Uruguay, a fried egg is generally just “huevo frito”, but you might specify how cooked you want the yolk (e.g., “con la yema líquida” for runny yolk).

Chatgpt explains a lot but it didn’t have the terms the people here used such as “empapar el pan” or cooked running to soak in bread.

Another challenge at lunch today was when we were randomly served empanadas with our lunch. They did not appear on the menu as part of the meal we ordered. We asked what kind of meat was in them and they responded with words we had not heard before but it was pork. We always knew pork to be cerdo but the word used here was different and not even ChatGPT knows it because none of the words below match. We think it was “chancho” but not sure how that word is pronounced. Bacon we know as toncino but here it’s panceta (an Italian origin word).

In Uruguayan Spanish, the standard word for pork is:

“cerdo” – general term for pork or pig.

However, in everyday, informal speech, Uruguayans more commonly use:

“chancho” – colloquial term for pig or pork.

Here’s how it’s typically used in Uruguay:

• “Carne de cerdo” = pork meat (standard/formal)
• “Carne de chancho” = pork meat (casual/everyday)
• “Chuleta de cerdo/chancho” = pork chop
• “Bondiola de cerdo” = pork shoulder/butt (very popular in grilling)
• “Panceta” = bacon (pork belly)

Another interesting word we learned is “barbacoa” which is advertised on many apartments. Initially we thought they served breakfast because barbacoa in Mexico is a delicate and delicious meat derived from the cheek of a cow’s head and slow cooked for hours to make it very tender. In Uruguay, a “barbacoa” refers to an outdoor grill.

Uruguay has it’s own national sandwich called a “Chivito” which in Spanish means “little goat” however there is no goat in the sandwich, it’s generally a layered sandwich with egg, beef, ham, cheese, tomato, lettuce and lots of mayo and/or mustard.

Most of the challenge has been with food and menus but I wanted to find key differences so I asked ChatGPT and here is what it produced.

Food & Kitchen Items

Clothing & Everyday Items

Household & Objects

Expressions & Miscellaneous

I hope this helps as prep if and when you come down to Uruguay on holiday. Someone needs to fix the standardization and I suggest the countries with the largest populations control the language so Mexico and United States, start sorting it out!

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