Dia Dos – It’s all about the cow

Walk around in the morning & take the subte (subway) to Casa Rosada (Pink House), the presidential palace, where Evita (Eva Peron) gave speeches from the balcony before she died of cancer at age 33.

"Don't cry for me, Argentina..."

Adjacent to Casa Rosada is Plaza de Mayo, which historically has been the city’s site for protests and political demonstrations. I happened to be there on a Thursday, when the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo march to demand justice for their children who went missing during the “Dirty War” in the late 1970s/early 80s.

Banner with photos of young people who "disappeared."

Grace and Melissa arrive. Yenith's friend Chris has also come into town. We all meet for drinks by the pool at Hotel Faena, a luxury hotel designed by Philippe Stark. We head to La Cabana for a proper Argentinian beef dinner. To start, they give us the Argentinian equivalent of an amuse bouche: a spoon of chicken ceviche, a shot of broccoli soup, and a mini-empanada. We ordered more empanadas and some sausage for the table. I got the tenderloin medallion for my entree, expecting it would be small pieces of beef. Instead, I get a massive piece of steak, the largest steak of anyone at the table! I make a valiant attempt to tackle it, but it is way too much food.

Awesome stained glass at La Cabana. It's imperative to be reverent towards the beef.

We sat down for dinner a little after 11 pm and finish around 1:30 am. The neighborhood surrounding the restaurant is very residential (think Madison Avenue @ 72nd Street), but we want to go out a bit more. A guy at the restaurant tells us to walk several blocks to the cemetery (the famous Recoleta cemetery is nearby). Although it sounds creepy, we follow his instructions and do find a couple of blocks lined with bars and clubs across from the cemetery. We have a drink at an open air lounge that’s re-playing the 2005 Live 8 concert, and then we go to Sahara Continent, a bizarre Indiana Jones-themed bar/dance club. Stay out til about 4 am.