A week ago, my spouse and I took a trip to Buenos Aires mainly to validate my diploma and transcripts so I could officially attend the university in Argentina next year. The cheapest way for us to get there was by train.
We bought the “Pullman” class seats, which is like 1st class in Argentina but equivalent to Amtrak’s coach seats in the United States. The cost of each ticket was 89 pesos (15.71 USD).
Sleeping compartments are available too, but are a bit more expensive. I wouldn’t recommend anything less than the “Pullman” class since the cheaper class doesn’t have well kept, or temperature-controlled compartments, and they tend to attract a shadier group of passengers.
My main complaint about the train was that there was a plastic partition in front of the window which distorted the view. This made it very difficult to film any scenery, but I understood very quickly why the shield was needed. As the train passes through the rural areas, dried tree branches scratch against the side of the train. These plastic partitions were undoubtedly placed there to prevent damage to the glass.
A complete dinner service was about 70 pesos (12.35 in USD) but I opted for a sandwich and a Coke, which was 24 pesos for each of us (4.23 in USD).
When we finally arrived in Buenos Aires, we picked up our luggage and headed to what I thought would be the street. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to find a station, somewhat similar to Grand Central, albeit 70 percent smaller. There were coffee shops, money exchange centers, stores, and ticket booths. It was quite different from the station in Cordoba, which only has a ticket booth and a bunch of train tracks.
When we walked out of the station, our jaws dropped! In front of us was this huge city with clean buildings, clean sidewalks and clean streets and lots and lots of people. I looked at my spouse and asked him if we’d been magically transported back to New York. In that instance, we knew that B.A. was worlds apart from Cordoba.
We were trying to figure out whether to go in or not. I’d checked online and everyone from Argentinians to U.S. tourists had given the TGIF restaurants in Buenos Aires a very negative review. So, we figured we’d check the prices at the door first. The meals averaged about 80 pesos (15.00 in USD).
As luck would have it, we ran into a U.S. soldier who was vacationing in Buenos Aires. This was his last day here. He told us he was heading back home the next day to prepare for deployment to the Middle East. He invited us to join him for lunch and we had a great time getting to know each other. It was great to speak with a fellow American and even better that we were in a TGIF eating food that we hadn’t had a chance to try since we left the U.S.
The only negative thing I have to say about the TGIF in Argentina was that they charged us 30 pesos for the use of utensils, the napkins and the use of the sauces. That’s something that TGIF has never done in the States. Everything else was great.
After we parted ways with our new friend, we started heading back to the hotel. Along the way we took some more photos. We even found a Staples. Alright, so it's not like there aren't any office supply stores in Cordoba, but come on! It's a Staples! Anyway, we continued exploring B.A., even though our feet hurt from walking so much!
By the time we got back to our hotel we were exhausted.
There’s so much more I’d like to share about our experience in Buenos Aires, but it's too much to fit into one post alone, so I’m breaking this down into several entries, which I’ll post over the next several weeks.
So stay tuned! Day 2 is available to read here.
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