GETTING HAPPIER, JUAN
"I still have that one peso menu," says my guide, Maria, as we pass a McDonalds in downtown Buenos Aires.
We had been commenting that the burgers should be especially good here as Argentina is noted for its fine beef. Already we had seen in other parts of the city, whole shopfronts taken up with a roasting carcass, twirling slowly on a spit in front of kiln-hot coals. Parrilladas in Argentina - aka barbecued meat restaurants - are some of the best you'll find anywhere.
"It was the day after the banks closed," continued Maria, "They should have charged three pesos, as that is how far our money had dropped, but instead they kept it at the old price - a burger for a peso - just for that one day. I still keep that menu."
That was in 2003, just a couple of years after the crash.
Today there are 3.7 pesos to the US dollar, but while the exchange rate is still low, the mood is rising.
Visitors to this ever-gracious city of eleven million, its street facades an intriguing mixture of Rome and Paris, with a splash of Madrid, are instantly beguiled by its Europe-in-the-antipodes style and dignity.
So much so that at the annual Australian Gourmet Traveller Travel Awards, held recently on May 27th, 2009, the award of Hottest International City (as decided by the votes of the Expert Panel of judges) went to (drumroll)…….you guessed it: Buenos Aires.
I was fortunate to be at the glittering dinner, held in the Guillaume at Bennelong restaurant (www.guillaumeatbennelong.com.au) in the Sydney Opera House, and I clapped long and hard after the announcement.
After all I have been lucky enough to go there and I love this city and want others to know and appreciate it as well.
Take a look for yourself and perhaps you’ll understand:
Buenos Aires (the names means beautiful air) was carefully planned and designed four hundred-plus years ago by the sixty Patrician families that settled there. Now, their gracious homes have become apartments, or prestigious homes for soapie stars and footballers. For these are the new ruling classes. Soccer is the national religion.
The opulent Alvear Palace Hotel attracts wealthy guests and no wonder. Located in a part of town flanked by parks and with boutiques and fine restaurants within walking distance, its palatial grandeur is everyone's fairytale dream. If you dine in its restaurant, La Bourgogne, headed up by chef Jean Paul Bondoux - the only Relais Gourmand chef in South America - then be very glad. There is not better food in France.
It was Madonna who sang Eva Peron's song 'Don't cry for me - Argentina'. Argentina is turning itself around. Don’t cry. Visit. And soon.
Leather is the inevitable by-product of Argentina's cattle industry. Shoes, jackets, handbags, belts - they're all here, and the price (despite the fine workmanship) seems to be about a third of what you would expect.
Dining is inexpensive, and the cost of accommodation (often in very elegant surroundings) is moderate compared to Europe. The cuisine? Think Spanish-French-Italian overlaid on barbecue and you get the drift.
Those gracious buildings and leafy streets, the dog-walkers deftly handing seven or eight large hounds in one group, the generous parks, the European buzz, the style - this, sprinkled with empanada shops, and 'whiskerias' - this is what draws you in.
Highly charged La Boca at the waterfront - think, Montmartre on acid - pulsates with life. Here, you can almost slice those bold colours that don't just brighten the amazing cartoon-like statues which hang from first floor windows or lounge on street corners, but spread over walls, balconies, roofs and windows. These few streets really rock.
Aerolineas Argentinas is the national carrier for Argentina.
