Mar Del Plata: Day 4 - Tanning at the Beach One Last Time

Day 3 wasn't a total loss, thanks to Hell's Pizza. We also had a chance to relax in our room—something that's nearly impossible back home in Córdoba City due to our awful neighbors. Still, with our vacation nearing its end, we couldn’t pass up the chance to enjoy the beach and pool one last time.

Fortunately, the weather in Mar del Plata was absolutely perfect on our fourth day. The sky was clear, and a refreshing breeze kept the heat from becoming too much.

All day long, I kept thinking, "Man, I wish this could be my everyday life." The view of the beach, the sky, and even the people felt so refreshing—for both my eyes and my mind. For once, I actually felt safe, which is something I rarely experience back in our home province of Córdoba.

I didn’t want to leave. For a moment, I even seriously considered swimming out into the ocean and never coming back—that’s how much I dreaded returning to Córdoba. But I still had 24 hours left, and I didn’t want to waste them dwelling on the end. So, I did my best to soak in every moment.

After we finished at the beach, we went looking for a place to eat. And no—Antares was definitely not an option. There was no way I was going to wait nearly two hours for food again like I did on Day 2. Luckily, there were plenty of other spots to choose from near the beach.

We ended up at an outdoor restaurant, though I can’t for the life of me remember its name.

Even though they say you shouldn’t get in the water right after eating, we headed straight for the hotel’s private outdoor pool.

The hubs and I spent a few hours relaxing by the pool. Well—he actually got in for a bit, but I decided to stay dry and just enjoy the view.

Afterward, we headed back to the hotel to unwind. We had planned to dine at the hotel restaurant later that night, but the menu didn’t offer many appealing options—and the prices were ridiculously high. So, we took a stroll around town and ended up finding a spot called Torombolo. Sure, burgers and fries might be a bit of a cliché, but they totally hit the spot.

As much fun as this trip had been, my anxiety started creeping in as the night came to a close. We had to leave the next day, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to handle that.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Mar Del Plata: Day 3 - A Rainy Start and a Slice of Hell's Pizza

It was January the 1st and the hubs and I were looking forward to another beach day in Mar del Plata. But when we went down for our morning ritual (aka the hotel's breakfast buffet), we noticed through the dining room windows that it was raining.

We assumed it was just a morning drizzle. We were wrong. So, we consulted with the rest of our group to see what else we could do in Mar del Plata besides the pool and the beach. 

Hotel Costa Galana had an internal pool, but what we wanted was to walk on the sandy shores of the beach. So, we started searching on our phones for things to do in Mar del Plata and only a few options popped up. There was a casino and some museums in the area, but we needed a cab to get there. We weren't sure if they were even open on the first of the year. We tried calling a couple of places but no one was picking up. In the end, we felt there wasn't much of a point in spending money on a cab ride to places that might be closed. So, we chose to stay in the hotel and relax in our rooms.

The only problem was that the hubs and I were hungry. Then we remembered that we had seen a McDonald's near the hotel and decided to grab some lunch.

We couldn't resist getting this at McD's

But before we came back to the hotel, we took some photos of the not so sunny start to the new year.

By nightfall, we risked it and took a cab to the casino. It had been a few years since I'd been to one. The last casino I visited was in La CABA, and it was pretty cool. So, I was excited to (hopefully) make a little extra spending money.

As the cab rode through Mar del Plata, I noticed a lot of people walking around but there was virtually nothing open. Sadly, by the time the cab got to our intended destination, we discovered that the casino was closed too. So, we asked the driver to take us somewhere that was lively and had restaurants and shops. 

Well, when he dropped us off, there were only a handful of stores, none of which I found interesting. 

Everything else was on the verge of shutting down for the night, except for some restaurants and coffee places.

Then we stumbled on Hell's Pizza, a NY style pizza joint that was on our tiny list of things to see and do in Mar del Plata.

It was packed and with good reason. The food here was amazing! In addition to different pizza toppings that you won't find in Argentine pizzerias, Hell's Pizza also offered chicken wings and mac and cheese. 

Now if you're from the States, you're probably thinking B.F.D. But when you've been living in a country for over a decade that doesn't know how to make a decent pizza or chicken wings or mac and cheese, you learn to appreciate restaurants like these.

Hell's Pizza also got kudos for their "hellish" decor.

Of course, we've found restaurants that have offered these types of food in the past. Most of these restaurants were in Buenos Aires, and some of them went out of business because of the pandemic. (Rest in peace, Chicken Bros.) Uggi's in La CABA made a decent pizza but they didn't offer pepperoni as a topping. The pizza at Chicago American Bar (gone but not forgotten) in Cordoba City was okay. So was the pizza at PIBI Guemes, but Hell's Pizza in Mar del Plata is by far the closest match to actual NY style pizza.

Once we were done stuffing our faces and taking photos, we walked around a little more, but by this point, it was 10 p.m. Naturally, the mall and pretty much everything else you can imagine was closed except for an ice cream shop. 

Looks can be deceiving! This mall was actually closed.

This made me wish we were back in New York because you can always find something open in the city that never sleeps.

So that's how we spent day 3 of our vacation in Mar del Plata. Would we get to see the beach again on day 4 or were we headed for another rainy day? 

TO BE CONTINUED...

 

Mar del Plata: Day 2 - The New Year's Eve Party!

It was 8:45 p.m., and the hubs and I were 15 minutes behind schedule for our New Year's Eve dinner reservation.

Despite the delay, we headed into the Hotel Costa Galana's restaurant to grab a table. However, we quickly learned that the hostess already had a table assigned for us. There was just one problem—she had us down for a party of eight. How could that be? I thought. I asked her to double-check, and she confirmed the reservation was for four adults and four children.

WHAT?!?!

After a moment of confusion, the hostess found a smaller table near a window for us. It turned out to be quite nice. We couldn't see the beach as clearly, but we did catch glimpses of the foamy waves crashing on the shore. We were hopeful we'd get a better view of some fireworks later that night.

After taking some selfies, we went over to help ourselves to food. I wouldn’t exactly call it a buffet, but it was all-you-can-eat. You just had to ask the servers to put whatever you wanted on your plate. It was that simple.

Speaking for myself, I was still full from our late lunch at Antares. It had only been a few hours since we ate, but that didn't stop me from trying everything they had to offer.

The food and conversation were enough to pass the time before the New Year. Oh, and the alcohol helped too. The servers kept refilling my glass with wine, which didn’t hurt.

It was almost magical. My empty glass was always full moments after I set it down. That’s how efficient the staff was. Unfortunately, I hadn’t drunk this much in my life, and I was starting to feel tipsy.

It might not look like it, but by this point, I was on my fifth glass of white wine. That’s probably why I was smiling so much. Anyone who really knows me knows I rarely smile unless I’ve had a bit of alcohol. But I switched to coffee and desserts to avoid a hangover.

Halfway through my second cup of coffee, one of the servers came by and filled our glasses with champagne. I thought, "Uh-oh! Here we go again." Then I realized they were serving us champagne because it was almost midnight.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

While the crowd inside the restaurant was cheering, clapping, and laughing, it was virtually silent outside. I spotted a small group of people gathered across the street from the hotel. But where were the fireworks? Then, we heard what sounded like fireworks—only they weren't quite what we were expecting.

The fireworks could've used a serious dose of pizzazz! At this point, we were starting to wonder if we would see any real fireworks.

Then...

About thirty minutes later, we took a midnight stroll to burn off some calories.

There wasn’t much to see except for a few people celebrating outside, drinking, and in some cases, dancing. After snapping a couple of selfies, we headed back to our room to follow one final New Year tradition.

We linked our TV to the internet to watch the ball drop in Times Square. For us, the New Year isn’t officially here until this moment. It’s a tradition we’ve kept since moving to Argentina, and we weren’t about to let this year be any different.

Well, now that we had officially welcomed 2023, we decided to rest and get ready for what was supposed to be a fun day at the beach. But Mother Nature had other plans for us.

To Be Continued...

Mar Del Plata: Day 2 - The One With the Breakfast Buffet, Pool and Beach

With less than 24 hours until the New Year, the hubs and I decided to check out the outdoor pool at Hotel Costa Galana and the beach. But first, we needed some fuel, so we took full advantage of the hotel’s all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet!

And here's a video of the breakfast buffet. Trust me, if your mouth isn’t watering after watching it, you might want to check for a pulse!

After breakfast, we got dressed for the beach and took the elevator down to a passageway adorned with paintings on the walls. It felt like walking through an art gallery. The corridor led directly to the hotel’s private pool and beach area.

Every hotel in the area has its own pool and/or outdoor lounge area. But once you reach the beach, guests from different hotels can use the same private beach area. The only restriction is that guests can't use another hotel's pool or beach gazebo. I'll show you what these look like when I post more about the beach on day 4.

There’s a public beach further away, which I imagine is much more crowded, but I definitely prefer the private beach area.

Now, let me share some images and videos of what our pool and beach experience was like.

Damn! It’s been a couple of years since I swam in the ocean. The best I could manage was the frog stroke. I’ll admit, by the time I was done, I felt like I was about to have a heart attack. Maybe it was that huge breakfast I had earlier.

After spending some time in the pool, we headed to the beach, which made me feel incredibly nostalgic for home. As some of you already know, I grew up in Miami. It was my hometown, and my parents and I would visit Miami Beach often! But those beach trips ended when we moved to Orlando, Florida. The hubs and I did visit the beach in Key West in the early 2000s, but there were too many rocks on the sand to enjoy a barefoot walk. And of course, we got even further from the beach when we moved to the Bronx, New York. Córdoba City, Argentina doesn’t have beaches. Alright, some locals argue that the murky ponds in certain wooded areas in the province are beaches, but I don’t agree.

Thankfully, life gave me the chance to reconnect with the beach in Mar del Plata, Argentina.

After strolling along the sandy beach and relaxing at the pool, we went in search of a place to eat. Fortunately, there were a couple of restaurants right by the beach. I’ll share what they look like when I post about day 4.

We ended up choosing a restaurant called Antares, but later, we regretted it.

We didn’t mind waiting a little longer for our food, but we expected it to take 20 to 30 minutes at most. We never imagined we’d have to wait an hour and a half. At one point, the waiter came over and asked us to remind him of our order. Later, he returned to apologize for the delay, but he never offered us free refills or a discount. Naturally, some of the guests who had sat down around the same time as us ended up leaving the restaurant. But we were too tired to do that, so we decided to wait.

Eventually, our food arrived, and it looked delicious. I can safely say that none of us had any complaints about the taste. But I wouldn’t set foot in Antares again, even if you paid me. The wait time was unforgivable.

By the time we finished eating, it was almost 5 o'clock. That gave us just three and a half hours before the New Year’s Eve party at one of the hotel’s restaurants. So, we headed back to our rooms to "make space," shower, and relax.

I'll share how we said goodbye to the New Year in my next post.

To Be Continued...