Happy New Year 2013

It is amazing how quickly the holidays came and went by again. The transition into the new year also seemed to have sneaked past us, and now I have to write 2013 whenever the date comes up in an email. On the one hand this feels strange but then again strangely familiar after only 5 days into the new year.

But I am feeling weird in general at the moment. Unlike the last two years we spent both Christmas and News Year’s here in Buenos Aires. Perhaps that put me a bit out of sync.

My in-laws were here, we had the decorations up and the German Christmas sweets on the table, the presents were under the tree as usually, the husband read the Christmas story as it is the tradition on his side of the family, we prepared typical food like lamb with homemade Spätzle ... but it just wasn’t the same.

The whole family had a bit of a problem adjusting to the holidays in the southern hemisphere. And like any good host Buenos Aires pulled out all the stops to give us tourists a good show for our money. On the 24th, the temperatures went up to 35 degrees with humidity of 90% and a Sensación Térmica of 52 (!) degrees. And believe me, this number wasn’t just something crunched by the scientist. No, we really felt it.

Thank God the weather gave in after that, with temperatures going down and rain bringing a refreshing break. And luckily the weather on the 31st of December only brought a cool wind but clear skies so that the celebrations did not drown in the predicted thunderstorms.

We had opted for dinner at the Osaka in Puerto Madero since we already knew the Palermo outfit and wanted to combine great Sushi with the view of the fireworks over the skyscrapers in downtown Buenos Aires. The combination was a success. The food was great as always, and after starting off with some Pisco Sours and Osaka Mojitos – the signature drink of the restaurant – we enjoyed ceviche, sushi rolls, octopus carpaccio and more seafood creations. When midnight approached the waiters handed out blinking accessories like bunny ears and glasses and asked all guests to gather downstairs for a glass of bubbly and the countdown orchestrated by Natalia Cociuffo, a local musical star.

The atmosphere in the restaurant was great and we probably could have danced the night away there. But we were eager to see some fireworks so we went to the waterfront of Puerto Madero where we had a fantastic view at the colourful rockets lighting up the skyline. After a while the wind got a bit too chilly, though, and we decided that we had enough entertainment for the night and to drive back home.

Today, it was time to say goodbye to my in-laws who flew back home, and this got us thinking and talking about how we want to spend the next holidays. As much as we enjoyed the Christmas-in-the-height-of-summer-experience we are pretty much decided that this should rather be a once-in-lifetime-experience, thank you very much, and that we will be spending next Christmas in Germany. It just wasn’t the same in this infernal heat. As to New Year’s, we are not sure yet. The last two celebrations here in Buenos Aires were a lot of fun, so we might actually go for taking advantage of the best of two worlds again, celebrating Christmas with the family in the cold and coming back in time to welcome the new year in Buenos Aires.

Hm, with this outlook I feel I am slowly getting back in sync again. Yep, I can definitely live with that idea.

With that thought I wish you all a happy new year and all the best for 2013.

Happy New Year 2012

Last year’s New Year’s Eve (meaning 2010), we spent on board of the Lufthansa flight 510 to Buenos Aires, returning to Argentina after our Christmas vacations in Germany. I had always wanted to see what it is like to start the new year up in the clouds, having heard that it is an interesting experience with a kind of special atmosphere. It fit our schedule, we didn’t have anything else planned, having just moved to Buenos Aires and being still in a state of transition, so we booked it. You see, in my mind we were going to make a party of it, toasting every hour when entering yet another time zone.

Well, the reality was a bit different – I guess, you will just never turn me into a party animal that kick-starts a polonaise in a Boing 747 booked to the hilt with a group of strangers. No, around one hour into the flight, the captain announced that we would be passing over Paris at the turn of the year, but that a cloud cover would prevent a view at the fireworks. Instead, at 24:00 the flight attendants appeared wearing party hats and streamers around their necks, pouring out bubbly and wishing us a happy new year. Then they got down to serving us dinner – and that’s it. I fell asleep before they even brought around desert, and the next thing I knew we were approaching Buenos Aires on the first day of 2011.

So this time we wanted to do things differently and go out to celebrate. We came back to Buenos Aires on the 28th and after putting in one and a half days at the office I sat down to plan our night on the town. But after stumbling across not only one but several travel blogs with similar descriptions of a New Year’s Eve in Downtown Buenos Aires I got a bit nervous. Trotting through the deserted streets in search of an open restaurant or bar, even a MacDonald’s pulling down the shutters way before the Argentinean dinner hour, no public transport or available taxis at all and spending the turn of the year in the hotel room with a bag of crisps and a few cans of beer was mentioned more than once.

But a facebook posting led me to an online article that brought a bit more light into the matter. Yes, obviously all Porteños leave the capital on New Year’s Eve if they can and spend the night in the country with their family and friends. And no, you should not count on public transport, since the bus schedules for the night are a bit iffy, the trains don’t go at all and most taxi companies don’t seem to value the income to be made and close for the night as well. But the article also listed great options if you still had your heart set on the Capital, such as organized parties, restaurants with fixed menus and tips for the best open-air spots to watch the fireworks.

We went for a combination of the last two categories, booking dinner at a restaurant in San Telmo and reserving two tickets for a special tour at the Palacio Barolo, the latter not only promising scenic sightseeing in one of the landmark buildings of Buenos Aires but also a scenic midnight view of the city from the lighthouse rooftop. Securing the tickets at the Palacio was child play and took only one call to friendly tour guide Tomas, but finding some place to eat … well. Most restaurants in San Telmo and the area close enough to Palacio Barolo that we knew or came recommended in our guide books or online were – guess what – yes, closed for that night. But luck was again on our side and we came upon the website of Sagardi, a Basque tapas franchise that had found its way over the Atlantic to San Telmo and offered a New Year’s Eve menu full of fish, fish and more fish.

After strolling through an indeed almost deserted San Telmo we arrived at the restaurant at 20:30 and were – don’t laugh – the only guests. More followed later, but at first we were on our own. I usually don’t like being the only diner in a restaurant but this time the waitress kept me happy with the food she put in front of us. Super fresh oysters as a starter, followed by grilled king prawns, cod in a heavenly sauce, tender lamb and finally ice-cream with strawberries. Each course was served with a different wine or bubbly, and towards the end we both had to wave the white flag and decline the final coffee and Basque Petit Fours. Completely stuffed, we paid the bill, almost rolled out of the place and managed to grab a taxi (defying the rules above) that brought us to Palacio Barolo.

And that was the second reason why I didn’t mind the early solitary start at Sagardi’s. Because we barely finished our food in time for hopping into the taxi – well, clumsily clambering into it with our big bellies – and meeting Tomas in the lobby of Palacio Barolo at the arranged quarter to eleven.

True to the Divine Comedy by Dante that inspired the layout and the whole concept of the building, the tour led us, together with a few other tourists, from hell (the ground floor) to purgatory (6th floor) and then up to paradise (the roof top and lighthouse) where we were able to enjoy the 360 degree midnight view of Buenos Aires and the fireworks. We could even toast with some bubbly that Tomas had brought up before the tour, and when they finally switched on the rotating light to greet the new year we felt we had picked something very special to make up for the sedate New Year’s Eve on board of the Lufthansa flight.

Proving again that I am not the born party animal we called it a night after staring at the illuminated sky some more and went back home to the quiet suburbs. Which weren’t so quiet that night since the neighbors at the front were obviously listening to a DJ playing the latest dance hits at full force and the neighbors at the back were entertaining themselves with a karaoke machine. I was so knackered that I fell into bed and was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. And hubby luckily remembered those fantastic earplugs he had stashed somewhere so he also managed to get some sleep that night.

In the meantime I keep wondering: If every Porteño leaves the city, who blew off all the fireworks we saw from up there? Hm!

Well, I wish you all a very happy 2012 and lots of health and happiness!