Steph left us for Mar del Plata today, and we planned a reunion either back in Buenos Aires when she returned, or when she came home to Melbourne this coming November. That done, we head off into Buenos Aires to explore the district of San Telmo. This was an easy Subte ride and a shortish walk into one of the oldest districts. The first place we stopped at was the Plaza Dorrego. We were there on a Monday, but apparently if we went on a Sunday the entire plaza would be full of market stalls and tango dancers. Alas, our version was tiny; a couple of stalls along the edge of the plaza, restaurant seating inside and hawkers everywhere. Jeremy found a guy selling pikullas (?), a traditional Andean recorder type instrument made of clay, and spent some time learning how to play it.

Our next stop was lunch. Before arriving in Argentina I had read about a meat-friendly vegetarian restaurant in San Telmo called Herbabuena. It was quite close to the plaza, so we wondered over an enjoyed the quite bizarre meal of avocado gnocchi, and brie salad-that-wasn't-a-salad but more of a brie cheese pie. It was really yum though and very worth the price.

The bit that followed lunch I wasn't really a fan of. A venture into La Boca sounded great, but walking past the public hospital on the edge of town was not fun. I saw a terrifyingly thin single mother with twin toddlers and a newborn baby walking out of the hospital, countless homeless people, and countless old men that would leer at me as we walked passed and by the time we made it to the river 15 minutes later, I was shaking. Not fun. We abandoned the idea and left La Boca, found the antique stores back in San Telmo, and returned to Palermo after a couple of giant frappes at Havanna, a chain of chocolate and drinks.