Happy Birthday to me!!

Thursday was my birthday. I've really gone all out the past couple of years. Last year was spent in Auckland, NZ (only a few weeks before I would meet Jess for the first time!) and this year I'm in Buenos Aires with Jess! Officially taking suggestions for next year. Bonus points if you have jobs for the two of us. Jess had decorated the room the with the happy birthday bunting I had used for her birthday. We decided to keep it with us as you never know when a birthday might break out!

Happy Birthday to me!

We started off with breakfast in bed. Well not really in bed. More like on the coffee table while sitting on pillows from the bed. We called it Japanese style and it was great. We lounged for a little while longer then headed up to the rooftop hot tub for a quick soak before going out for day two. 

Our first stop was across the street to Alice's tea house for an afternoon snack. It's very unassuming from the street but inside was a beautiful courtyard where we had an afternoon drink (spoiler alert: Jess had tea, but from Patagonia!)

Jess enjoying her tea in the courtyard at Alice's

After refueling, we set off to explore San Telmo again to see what we missed the previous day. Within one block, we found the San Telmo market. It's a beautiful indoor market full of vendors selling everything from food to vintage cameras. I even came across a few He-Man action figures my brother and I destroyed as children! This was all set up under an elegant iron structure with a large glass skylight.

San Telmo Market

As we were walking from San Telmo to Puerto Madero, we came across some playful statues just hanging out. So we did what any tourist would do: we posed for pictures with them. It turns out they were part of the popular Argentine comic strip, Mafalda. Finding multiple characters made for a fun walk as we chose to do alternating pictures with whomever we found first.

Everyone loves Mafalda!

Puerto Madera is a newer barrio which has popped up along what was built up as locks for the Rio de la Plata to deal with the shipping. As ships got bigger, they had to move the docks so the area has been recently redeveloped into housing and entertainment along the water (that was a total mansplain). The area itself was really nice and got high marks from me until I saw the TGI Fridays. 

Puerto Madero across the canal

Walking through Puerto Madero led us to the nature reserve that runs out to the banks of the Rio de la Plata. It wasn't the most exciting nature hike we've done but it was a nice escape from the city. With everyone having a holiday on Thursday, either for my birthday or the feast of the immaculate conception (not sure which!), it was a very popular spot. After the quick little walk we headed back to the hotel for a power nap before dinner, but not before a stop for more ice cream!

Dinner was a total surprise for me. Jess had set all of this up beforehand and I had an absolute blast. Instead of a traditional restaurant, she found a very cool supper club, Casa Saltshaker. We were part of a group of 10 people that went over to a chef's house and he cooked a 5 course meal for all of us. We didn't know anyone else but given the intimate setting, the conversation flowed fairly well between strangers. Most of the talk was on travel and we got some very positive feedback about Patagonia. The food itself was delicious and the wine pairings were excellent as well. We'll be on the lookout for some of the Mendoza based ones when we get there in a few days!

The birthday meal menu. The ceviche was my favorite! Jess' favorite was the dessert wine!

After a long day, we made it back to the hotel and it didn't take long to fall asleep! Thank you Jess for an absolutely unforgettable birthday!

-Nick