Viewing posts in: South America

07 Oct 2015 Travel

Buenos Aires, Argentina | Travel Diary

Happy Humpday! I hope everyone’s week is going well, we’re halfway through!

I’m totally kicking myself for falling out of the momentum I had going with my South America posts, it takes so much longer to remember the little details and memories when too much time has passed. Luckily, this is the last post of Buenos Aires and soon we will be exploring Brazil! We added Buenos Aires to our intinerary at the last minute because it’s just so close! It’d be a shame to travel that far and not pay a visit. As I mentioned previously in my Iguazú Falls post: we landed on the Brazilian side but decided to cross the border into Argentina immediately to explore the falls before flying out for Buenos Aires.. it saved us an international flight! I noticed that flights within Argentina and within Brazil were much cheaper than from one country to the other even though everything is relatively close.

We spent two nights and two days in Buenos Aires at the gorgeous Four Seasons Hotel! We didn’t get a chance to do much research before arriving in Buenos Aires (since we added it on so last minute!) so we kind of winged it. Not mad about it at all because I absolutely loved the city, it really is Paris of South America. However, I definitely want to make a trip back with more time and having done a little more research, there’s so much to see and we only grazed the surface. I’ll chat as we go

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16 Sep 2015 Travel

Cementerio de la Recoleta, Buenos Aires

The most expensive real estate In Buenos Aires might be reserved for the elite of Argentina but, ironically, only the dead. It might sound like an odd place to visit but La Recoleta Cemetery became my favorite stop in Buenos Aires. If our trip was longer I probably would have returned daily with coffee in hand to just stroll and take it all in. The cemetery began as holy grounds but after the practice of using churches for burials became outlawed.. the first public cemetery of Buenos Aires was created in the vegetable garden of the convent. The elite thought: (I quote our tourguide from our second visit) If I can’t be buried close to my God then I will bring my God close to me! These “graves” are so much more than just that, vaults, mausoleums, tiny ornate churches; I couldn’t help be be impressed with the level of excess and vanity that was so important to all of these people even after they’ve passed. It’s all about the legacy. There are over 6400 mausoleums and the architecture is a such a mish mash resembling Gothic chapels, charming homes, Greek temples, little boutiques and some so modern that they look like ATMs haha! Maintenance is all up to the families so while most are kept in immaculate condition, we did spot a few abandoned grave-sites with broken glass and garbage thrown about.

This massive 14 acre cemetery is a true necropolis organized just like a city with streets signs, blocks, and even a town square. A quick walk down any of the passageways at La Recoleta will have you rubbing elbows with Argentina’s rich history (& the plain rich!): ex-presidents, celebrities, politicians, Napolean’s granddaughter, & the most famous and visited tomb: Eva Peron. Yes, Evita! Evita’s final burial here was extremely controversial and a slap in the face to Argentina’s high-society that opposed her so much during her time. She is buried with her family under her maiden name, Duarte. You can’t miss her site, just look for the crowd paying their respects!

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03 Sep 2015 Travel

Four Seasons Hotel Buenos Aires

Good afternoon from LA!

My husband and I got home from South America yesterday and spent the day on the couch with our cats watching netflix and just recuperating from our busy two weeks away! I’m back to work today and ready to share with you some of our travels! As you may have noticed from my previous two posts – I will be breaking this trip down over several posts instead of one large travel diary. There is just too much to share!

We began our trip in Puerto Iguazú & then made our way to Buenos Aires where we spent 3 lovely days at the Four Seasons Hotel. This was my first Four Seasons experience and it was nothing short of luxurious! Located in the cultural center of the city in the affluent Recoleta neighborhood; the area was super safe and very close to historical landmarks, great restaurants, and shopping. All of Buenos Aires feels like different parts of Europe but Recoleta is all Paris!!!

I fell in love with everything about the hotel upon arriving. The hospitality and service were absolutely amazing, every recommendation the concierge made for our nights out were a slam dunk! An equestrian theme runs throughout the Four Seasons Buenos Aires beginning with a gorgeous sculpture on the front lawn which is even more beautiful at night. Splashes of blue are found throughout the lobby representing the sky of Buenos Aires as well as the Argentine flag – the lobby was my favorite place in the building because I loved the color palette so much. We stayed in a mansion-view junior suite where we had stunning views of the city as well as the largest avenue in the world: 9 de Julio. Our suite was super spacious with separate living and sleeping areas each with large balcony-like windows – directly above the hotel’s heated Roman-style pools.

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28 Aug 2015 Style

Travel Style | Buenos Aires

¡Buenos dias!

One thing about Argentina I was super excited for was opposite seasons! It was the tail end of winter during our stay in Buenos Aires and the temperature felt amazing — I always miss Michigan like crazy during the fall and those are the types of feels I was having. Buenos Aires purposely feels like Europe and is known as the Paris of South America so I made sure to pack a couple chic coats to look and feel good during my stay. You’ll notice that I forgot closed toe shoes though haha oh well! Be sure to head over to Waseem‘s blog too to check out his full look, enjoy!

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27 Aug 2015 Travel

Iguazú Falls|Sheraton Iguazú Resort & Spa|Argentina

Las Cataratas del Iguazú is one of the seven natural wonders of the world and was an amazing place to begin my first trip to South America! To clear up any confusion over nomenclature – the falls are located on the border between Brazil and Argentina; Internationally, they are known as Iguassu Falls but locally they are named Cataratas del Iguazú in Argentina & Cataratas du Iguaçu in Brazil.

The falls are easily accessible from either country and the border is a very quick and easy journey as long as your visas & paperwork are all squared away. We flew into Foz do Iguaçu International Airport in Brazil and crossed the border into Argentina straight from the airport via taxi. You will need a visa to enter Brazil; the cost for Americans is $160 but luckily, it is good for 10 years. While Argentina doesn’t require a literal visa, there is a reciprocity fee of $160 which is also valid for 10 years. You will not be able to pay the Argentinian fee at the border so be sure to get it done online ahead of time and have your printout ready. Aside from the visa and reciprocity fees, the rest of our journey to Iguazú Falls was pretty easy and we totally had luck on our side. We landed in Brazil around 6pm and were in our cab within an hour. We headed over to the taxi line and asked about a flat rate to our hotel across the border in Argentina. We paid about $40 USD. Our driver drove us to a station to get our Brazilian exit stamp and even escorted us inside; we then drove over to the border and were able to pass very quickly and easily. We were traveling on a Monday evening and there was no line at all. Very simple; It felt very much like crossing the US border into Canada. The whole journey airport to hotel was about 45 minutes. 

We stayed at the Sheraton Iguazú Resort & Spa in Puerto Iguazú, Argentina. The ultra convenient thing about this hotel is that it is inside the Iguazú National Park so starting our day the next morning was very easy and convenient. Our time in Puerto Iguazú was limited so the little time-saves really added up. Sheraton guests are required to pay the entry fee for the park as we enter the grounds to get to the hotel – but remember how luck was on our side?? No one was at the booth and the gate was open! The concierge even said that we were fine as long as we stay in the park. Woop! I believe the entry fee is about $23 USD per person.

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