American Expats in Buenos Aires: Day 2 - The Search for KFC and Wendy's

On day 2 of our Buenos Aires Trip, we took advantage of the hotel’s complimentary breakfast, and it was okay. They didn't have bacon, but then again, beggars can't be choosers. Am I right? 

Then we headed to the Ministry of Education building so I could validate my diploma and transcripts from the United States. After presenting my paperwork, I was told that there was a chance that my validation might get rejected because my name on the transcript was different from the one on my passport and my Argentine DNI. There was also a discrepancy in the birth date that was on the transcript. In situations like these, I tend to go crazy on people, but as my spouse kept reminding me, you get more out of people with patience and kindness than with rage. 

So, I smiled and I pleaded that they at least make the attempt to validate the documents. They told me that they would do their best, but there were no guarantees. Either way, I’m going to find out online if the validation was approved in 60 days. If approved, I have to return to Buenos Aires to pick up my proof of validation and return to Cordoba to present to the university. A lot of money, time and effort went into getting here, so I sure hope that the validation gets approved. 

After we left the Ministry of Education building, we headed for the Alto Palermo mall, which we believed to house a Wendy’s and a KFC restaurant in its food court. Along the way, we found the Ateneo bookstore, which was once an opera house. 

The place was HUGE! There were books, a coffee shop, and the biggest selection of DVDs and CDs we'd seen since we left the States. 

By the time I walked up to the top floor, I looked down the spiral staircase and cringed. It was way too high. 

We didn’t buy anything, but we took a lot of photos before heading to the mall. By the way, if the photos are too small, click on them, and they'll enlarge. 

We finally made it to the Alto Palermo Mall. On the outside, we noticed that there was a T.G.I.F. restaurant. Since we had already visited another T.G.I.F. the day before, we chose to enjoy Wendy’s or KFC instead. Maybe both at the same time. 

 

We chose Wendy’s because they offered more variety, like chicken Caesar salad, baked potato with melted cheddar and bacon, and chili. While, chicken Caesar salads are possible to find in Cordoba, the other two items are not, and because there aren’t any KFC’s or Wendy’s in Cordoba, we chose to splurge. 

We bought practically every item on the menu. People were looking at us like we’d committed the ultimate sin. Gluttony, is it? We didn’t care! We were on cloud 9 with all this food that reminded us of home.

Afterwards, we walked around the mall to burn some of the calories off, but there really wasn’t much that we wanted to buy. Someone told us that the clothes in Buenos Aires are cheaper than in Cordoba, but we’ve found that the prices relatively match. So, after an hour of strolling around the mall, we headed back to the hotel. 

We were tired of walking, so we took an hour nap. We were going to spend the rest of the night in the hotel room watching cable television. 

Then we thought, we could do that at home. We were in Buenos Aires. We haven’t seen the city at night. Let’s go out and explore. So we did. 

New York was lively at night. Cordoba on the other hand shuts most of its doors by 7 or 8 p.m., with the exception of the nightlife in Nueva Cordoba, of course. I came to Buenos Aires under the impression that it was the second "city that never sleeps". I was wrong. 

A lot of places in the tourist district (known as La Caba) were shutting their doors by 8 p.m. There weren't even that many people near the obelisk. This proved to be a security issue because we found ourselves in areas where there was practically no one nearby except for a few shady looking characters. So, after taking a few photos and a few close calls with some potentially scary elements, we decided to walk back to the hotel. 

Day 3 of our experience visiting Buenos Aires should be up in a few days. So check back often. In case you missed it, click here to read about our experiences from Day 1.