In – Part 1 – of this blog series posted a fortnight ago, I talk about backdrop events to our visit and our hotel. In – Part 2, which went out last week, I give suggest what to do and see in Buenos Aries.
Ranch day trip – museum
We noticed what we thought were Native American Indians playing pan flutes and drums in the streets. We loved the music and bought a CD from them. Turns out they are the original inhabitants of Argentina. It’s hard to get that. The native people are present in such small numbers that you don’t see them. Much like indigenous people in Australia.
There are multiple bus tours available. Your hotel should be able to provide you with options or tour companies will give you details. Buenos Aries does not have a tourism office that you walk into. But there are kiosks where you can get free maps and pamphlets.
Ranch day trip – gaucho
Here are some ideas: –
A day trip to the beaches in – Uruguay – and – Montevideo
The – Tigre Delta
City – bus tours
A day trip via the – Pampas – to a hacienda
including traditional food, Tango dancing and Gauchos showing off their skills with horses and lassos
Visit the – Gran Chaco – area to see the arts and crafts of the indigenous – Toba – people
Ranch day trip – Barbecue
Do I even need to say that finding food for vegetarians is tough? Meat in Argentina is supposed to be the best in the world and steak houses abound. They have a fair amount of Italian food so pizza and pasta is readily available. We found a food hall in the city that had a vegetarian vendor – Green and Co – which was great and we headed straight there every evening.
Ranch day trip – gauchos rounding up horses
As far as safety is concerned. We were warned to be vigilant. There are street people. Whole families live on the streets. There was a family who slept in the street opposite our hotel. People beg for money and accost the cars trying to sell anything from tea towels to hats.
Giving money to beggars only perpetuates the problem as people learn to make a living scrounging and continue to do so. If you do feel moved to make a difference, donate to a charity that uplifts impoverished people.
At the top of this page is a link for travel and safety tips which are applicable anywhere in the world.
Vegetarian food at Green & Co in the city
In the end we had a city break with two day trips. We did the Tigre Delta, which is this amazing area where people live on the water. It is only accessible by boat. And we did the hacienda or ranch day trip. We got to see a bit of the Pampas from the bus when were taken to a lovely big old house on a ranch.
Gauchos strut around and help with the midday meal and then impressed us by getting their animals to do all sorts of things. We had a display of tango dancing which was nice. At La Boca the dancers would only dance if you gave them money. We ate our fill at the ranch. There was plenty food and wine.
We did as much as we could but I do wish we had managed to visit Uruguay.
Maybe next time.
Go to – My Holidays and Trips – at the top of this page to read about other places we have visited. Or just click on – this link.
Last week in – Part 1 – I talk about backdrop events to our visit to Argentina and the hotel we stayed in.
Buenos Aries is the same latitude as Cape Town so the is similar. Mild winters and warm summers. Buenos Aries was a complete surprise to me. The Spanish influence is immediately evident. Locals look Spanish, speak Spanish and the architecture was much like I had seen in Spain. It felt like I was in Europe. This wasn’t the South America I was expecting. Where were the indigenous people?
Caminito area
And there was a lot more I wasn’t expecting. Like the immense diversity of the country. Argentina extends far south toward the Antarctic to Tierra del Fuego where you can see glaciers, across west in the direction of neighbour Chile is Mendoza where they produce wines. Near Mendoza are some of the highest mountain peaks in the world in the Andes mountains. And there are lakes, wetlands, deserts, salt flats, forests and more . . . Phew!
Tango dancers in the street – he’s checking I put money in the box
We thought a week would be enough.
We had to accept we were not going to see it all and prioritise. Since we were based in Buenos Aries and not hiring a car. We chose to combine self-guided walks with bus tours.
In the city of Buenos Aries our must-do’s were –
Florida Street
Water taxis – Tigre Delta
Follow a map and see as many of the famous districts and landmarks as possible
Visit – Eva Peron’s – tomb in the Recoleta cemetery
Take a trip on the old – underground train – with manual doors from Peru station
See and stroll along the Waterfront area
Take advantage of the favourable exchange rate and do a bit of shopping.
Have a custom – leather jacket – made up
Walk along the – Caminito – in the – La Boca – area
Enjoy a coffee at one of the many street cafes
Eat lots of local – ice cream
Also worth trying if you have the time or inclination –
Watch a – football – match at one of the many stadiums
Take – Tango – lessons
Visit a – parrilla – or steak restaurant
Watch a – polo – match
Street people
Next week in – Part 3 – I suggest day trips, eating and give a link to safety tips.
Go to – My Holidays and Trips – at the top of this page to read about other places we have visited. Or just click on – this link.
Part 1 – of this three part blog is about speaking French and free things to do. Part 2 – deals with must-sees and getting to and from airport.
Markets
Les Halles translated into English means – the markets. There are food markets galore. Find them – here, here, also here and lastly here. Self catering suits me. Western European countries, apart from Italy, are hell for vegetarians. French cuisine may be all that, but I gave their bistros a wide berth. I wasn’t willing to risk ordering something in French and not know what I might be getting. Plus, the French are inclined to sneak meat into most soups, salads and vegetable side dishes.
Bicycle hire
Instead, we stocked up on French wines, cheeses, breads and pastries. We bought yummy fresh fruit and vegetables from the markets and we ate well. The few times we ate out, we went to one of the many Lebanese restaurants where the food was well priced, full of fresh salads and excellent quality. And it worked out infinitely cheaper.
Entrance to our apartment
Paris self catering apartment
River Seine
When it comes down to it, you have to decide why you travel. Do you want to visit every museum and place of interest? Or do you want to see how other people live and experience another culture. With Paris that question is particularly relevant. You can run yourself ragged posing in front of every tourist spot for pics to take back home or post on facebook. I tend to pick just a few must-sees and focus more on soaking up the vibe. I love nothing more than to walk about, get lost and just enjoy exploring a new place away from the hoards of camera ready tourists. I like to pretend I am a local. No big camera at the ready or obsessive massive map following all the while missing the views. Nor do I do tourist clothes. The safari pants and jackets with a million pockets and survival gadgets – not me.
With that in mind, my must-dos are –
The Seine from Eiffel Tower
An evening stroll along the banks of the River Seine crossing back and forth over the bridges
Wandering along the Champs Elysee to window shop
A coffee and a pastry at one of the street cafes
Visiting the food markets in Les Halles or any of the other excellent food markets
Relaxing and enjoying your market food in one of the many beautiful gardens
A trip up and down the River Seine on one of their boats
Bon voyage!
Go to – My Holidays and Trips – at the top of this page to read about other places we have visited. Or just click on – this link.
In – Part 1 – of this blog last week, I discussed speaking French and free things to do.
Sorbonne
The classic Paris must-sees are –
Notre-Dame
Centre Pompidou
The Louvre
The Arc de Triomphe
Montmatre
St Germain-des-Pres
Jardin du Luxembourg
The Eiffel Tower
Musee d’Orsay
Versailles Palace
Montmatre
Moulin Rouge
Most guided tours include a night at the Moulin Rouge which can work out very expensive with a meal thrown in. We found there are a few cabaret shows and you don’t have to have a full meal. Don’t be suckered into the expensive options. There is a cabaret at half the price of the touristy ones.
The Louvre
There are two airports in Paris. Charles de Gaul and Orly. I arrived at Charles de Gaul and took a train into the centre of Paris. One snag was that the rail staff were all on strike. So I couldn’t buy a ticket to exit the station. I couldn’t figure out how to use the auto ticket vendors either. Thank God my husband was meeting me at the station. He had spare tickets and he passed one over to me so I could exit through the turnstiles or I may have had to do like a couple of other people and jump over with my luggage. When we left Paris, the train staff were on strike again, so we both took the Roissy which is actually a better option.
River tours of the Seine
My husband is a great planner and I leave him to plan things furiously. He does a good job and he seems to enjoy the planning as much as the holiday. He found us a self catering apartment via Loving Apartments in the Les Halles vicinity. Les Halles is located in the 1er arrondissement. Paris is divided up into arondissements or districts and each has a number.
The smaller the number, the closer to the inner city. It follows that the bigger the number the further out the district or arrondissement. The great thing about being in Les Halles – it was central. My advice is to try and base yourself as close to the centre as possible. Acommodation in Paris is not cheap. Most places are minuscule. Our little apartment was the size of a small garage for a car yet it had a double bed, dining table, a kitchen and a bathroom. We were amazed at how they managed to make an apartment in such a small space. But it had all we needed and we were out most days anyway.
One piece of advice for Paris. Pack old tired walking shoes. You may be visiting the style capital of the universe but the streets are littered with dog mess. And if you come from a country like Australia where you have to make sure your shoes are clean before coming through the airport, rather buy a swanky new pair of shoes and toss your old ones at the airport. Much easier.
Part 3 – next week talks on eating in France and my recommendations for things to do.
Go to – My Holidays and Trips – at the top of this page to read about other places we have visited. Or just click on – this link.
Find – Part 1 – and – Part 2 – of Croatia is the last two blog posts.
Peaceful mooring
Like many of our holidays, this holiday was sandwiched around a bit of boating. Our next destination was in the direction of – Zadar – where we were to collect our boat. Getting to the harbour was a minor challenge as the bus driver and his pal didn’t speak a word of English. But we showed them a map and luckily for us they dropped us off on the side of the road next to the harbour at Zadar. Kind as the driver and his friend were, they virtually chain smoked the whole way. Public smoking laws have a way to go.
View from the galley
We were a bit early for our boat handover so we had a bite at the harbour cafe. I’m not a language expert but I recognised a good few Russians at the harbour cafe. I got the feeling Eastern Europeans flock to Croatia for sun and sailing holidays. Once we got our boat, we shopped for food at the harbour supermarket and the next day we left to explore the coast and islands.
Everyone deserves to do this trip. Basically we went off and found island upon island. Some islands have shops, markets and cafes. When we weren’t boating, we swam in the ocean, tanned on the deck of the boat and relaxed with a glass of wine under the stars at night. We slept with the windows and doors open listening to water lapping at the side of the boat. One night we discovered what we thought was phosphorescence in the sea water. I was mesmerised and played with the water in my hands watching it sparkle. It was a magical and relaxing holiday.
Another peaceful mooring
Our favourite island was – Hvar. If you are not boating it is still possible to get to the bigger islands by ferry from the mainland. On Hvar we found a bustling market where we bought lavender oil, honey, fresh figs and yummy cheeses. Some must-sees recommended by other travel sites are – here and here.
There are 1185 islands off Croatia’s coastline. Some islands were smaller and finding food was harder. But then they were so peaceful and the remoteness was a big part of the attraction. We managed to anger a donkey when we dropped anchor next to his patch. He was most upset with us. Obviously not a lot of people came past.
The only advice I will give if you decide to go boating is to make sure you have maps. We didn’t get much from the boat hire companies. Here are links to a few of the boat charterers in Croatia – Bareboat and Sail Croatia
Sunset at Marina Agana
No matter how much time a person puts aside to travel there is always more to see and not enough time. We never got to see the capital Zagreb and the northern inland areas which are very different to where we were in the southern coast. But then we did get to see some of the most beautiful coastline and islands on earth.
Go to – My Holidays and Trips – at the top of this page to read about other places we have visited. Or just click on – this link.
Go to last week’s post to read – Part 1 – of this Croatian holiday.
Split
One of the – must-sees – is Onofrio’s Fountains. Naturally, enthusiastic tourist that I am, I took an obligatory sip of water. I looked up afterwards and saw birds sitting on the top of this fountain. I did wonder if I had just ingested bird droppings and promptly decided that fountain water wasn’t for me. Apart from walking the city flat and exploring, it’s also possible to go – kayaking – or laze in the sun on one of their – beaches.
Rubbing Gregory of Nin’s toe
Split
We stayed at a guesthouse just off the cobblestone streets of Dubrovnik our first and last few nights. The standard of this place was good. Breakfast is usually included and I would strongly suggest always having breakfast in-house as finding breakfast on the streets in Croatia is a huge problem. These people don’t seem to have much more than a strong cup of coffee to start the day. I also have to point out that vegetarians can expect to struggle to find food. I get so tired of moaning about the limited options at restaurants and cafes for vegetarians but I have to be honest, Croatia was one of the worst places I have been to in that regard. Atkins, Dukan and Paleolithic diet fans will have no problem.
We moored in Trogir a UNESCO town
After a day in Dubrovnik we took a bus up to Split where we overnighted next. As we got off the bus a hoard of people touting accommodation came rushing at us. We decided to go with a sweet looking little old lady and followed her through winding roads and alleys. She rushed us into a room and before we even knew it – she was gone. The room was dreadful. The beds were basic, the carpets and linen threadbare. The towels were stained. The bath taps leaked and the bath was well worn. We probably should have left but we had no idea where we were, where to start looking and it was only for one night, so we stuck it out. And it’s not like we got a cheap rate for this run down spot. Lesson learned. Don’t ever go looking for accommodation in that manner. Rather book in advance on-line.
Trogir – where we moored the boat for two nights
Split is the second largest city in Croatia. Much like Dubrovnik it has an old town, but it’s also a modern vibrant city. I managed to squeeze in a mini shopping session at H and M. And yes I did stroke St Gregory of Nin’s foot like many other people have. That poor foot is wearing away and is quite thin.
The city is dominated by the palace of former Roman Emperor Diocletian and the waterfront area with cafes and bars. Here – is a list of beaches in split.
You can also take a ferry to visit one of the many Croatian islands from Split. Find a link to the – timetables. A lengthy list of to-do’s is – here.
Next week is – Part 3 – and the final part of the Croatian boating holiday.
Go to – My Holidays and Trips – at the top of this page to read about other places we have visited. Or just click on – this link.
