Normally when I get to a new town, I give myself the first day to just do nothing. Dinner at a nearby restaurant, assuming I don't opt for room service, and a short walk around to get my bearings for the next day.
I don't buy the "don't go anywhere by yourself at night as a single, female traveller" line outright-you have to be smart and use common sense. When I just arrive somewhere new though and am tired and don't know my way around, I lean towards being a bit more cautious.
No need last night! Zach, of the Indian rickshaw rally fame, is in town about to start a 20,000km run around south America to celebrate his 30th birthday and raise some money for a charity he founded...as you do! He sent me an email just as I was leaving Toronto to say that he was going for dinner with friends and they had an extra spot. I toyed with pulling the lame "I'll be tired" card but I wasn't sure when and where we'd have the opportunity to meet up again, and honestly...why not go and have some fun?!
He was kind enough to come and get me at the hotel. Within minutes I was taking my first ride on the 'subte', the underground system in Buenos Aires. It's so much easier being shown around. Sometimes it's fun to explore on your own but I was okay that that lesson was being taught vs. learned.
Once we got to the flat he's renting, two of his friends, Lily and Nancy, joined. We had a mini happy hour with champagne and cherries on the patio before heading out to Chez Felix. At this point it was about 21:45. Yup - those crazy Argentinians really do eat late. That will take some getting used to but fortunately I was still on Calgary time which is four hours behind and therefore right about time for dinner!
There's a 'movement', for lack of a better term, of what's called 'closed door dining'. Chez Felix isn't a restaurant so much as Señor Felix's house. Some of these closed-door places only have a communal table. We were seated at our own and there were three other tables there too.
They started by giving us a pre-dinner drink in their back garden which was perfumed with jasmine. We could smell it all night-it's intoxicating. There were about 5 courses plus an 'intermedia' and they were all amazing! Local recipes, fruit, vegetables, flowers and spices from their garden, amazing flavour combinations. Did I ever luck out! With two bottles of wine thrown in, the cost was 250$, about $60...but really worth it! Granted I won't be able to indulge like that very often, it made for a wonderful welcome to Argentina!
