We Welcomed 2020 at the Sheraton in Argentina

(UPDATE December 2020: The Sheraton in Cordoba City has closed)

For the past few years, we've had to contend with our neighbors turning our street into a night club complete with lights and insanely loud and obnoxious music. And we were sick of it! So this time, we decided to welcome 2020 at the Sheraton in Duarte Quirós 1300, Cordoba, Argentina, and it was pretty much heaven on Earth.

For starters, the hotel is literally next door to the Nuevo Centro Shopping mall. So we checked into our hotel at 2 p.m., which was an hour earlier than the check-in time. But the clerk at the front desk was very accommodating.

So we walked past the lavish lobby and took the elevator to the 9th floor where our room awaited. We intended to leave our belongings there and head to the mall before they closed at 6 p.m. But the air conditioned room and comfortable chairs and bed made it difficult to leave.

The room reminded us of the Miccosukee Resort & Casino, which we frequently went to when we lived in Florida in the early 2000s. But this was our first time staying at a 5-star hotel in a long time, and the luxurious accommodations were alluring.

We were really hungry at this point, so we freshened up and headed to the mall to eat at Burger King and then made a quick stop at Starbucks.

Fortunately, there was a Disco supermarket in the mall, so we bought a bottle of cheap champagne and grapes to celebrate the new year.

Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel and took some photos to share with you guys.

The view from our hotel room window on the 9th floor

The view of the pool from the 9th floor

They have a gym for hotel guests!!!

He does a great impression of someone who knows how to play the piano

But we still had a couple of hours to go before midnight and we had to think about our New Year's Eve dinner. The hotel was offering a New Year's Feast and were charging $4,650 Argentine pesos per adult ($77.84 USD) and $1,900 Argentine pesos for children under 10 ($31.81 USD).

This was their menu.

Now, I'm not saying the menu options were bad. But there were only one or two items that appealed to us, and we didn't think it was worth the price. So we opted for room service instead.

The price for room service menus were a little more down to Earth as you can see below. They charge $45 Argentine pesos ($0.75 US cents) for room service. The prices are all in Argentine pesos. Tipping isn't necessary, but I gave them $200 Argentine pesos anyway ($3.35 USD). Don't judge me. That's a lot in Argentina. You can enlarge the menu images by clicking on them.

We opted for the burger, which admittedly wasn't the most original item we could have gotten, but it was delicious! We didn't go crazy ordering food because we were still stuffed from eating at Burger King. We also bought two mini-empanadas in case the burgers weren't enough.

Now all we had to do was wait until midnight, Argentine time. We assumed that the view would be spectacular with all the fire works. But as it turns out, the night sky was virtually silent except for maybe five or six fire works in the far distance.

It was a bit of a bummer, but that's okay, because for us, it's not officially New Year until the ball drops in Times Square. Luckily, I brought my laptop with me. So I hooked it up to the room's flat screen TV and found a link to a live feed of Times Square. Then we set up the champagne and our grapes and waited for the countdown.

Even though we are thousands of miles away from home (and our loved ones), this tradition of celebrating with them from a distance always makes us feel closer to them somehow.

The next morning, we ordered ourselves the American breakfast, which was more like a continental breakfast minus the fruits (unless you count us). 

Admittedly, they could have added some pancakes. The cereal didn't come with milk, and I've never had yogurt for breakfast in my life. But it was still nice. The pastries, the scrambled eggs and the bacon were decent. I wish they'd given us butter for our toast, but next time I'll ask or I'll bring my own.

All in all, the experience was amazing and it opened our eyes to an obvious truth. Yes, it might cost a lot more to go to a five-star hotel, but it's worth it for the cleanliness and high quality service. And no matter where we travel, we'll always look for a Sheraton or a five-star hotel.

But how much did we really spend for one night? $8,455.54 Argentine pesos ($141.54 USD) and that includes our dinner meal and the American breakfast.

But if you're ever in Cordoba, Argentina, on business, vacationing, or you're an expat, who just needs a break from the rowdy neighbors, then I highly recommend the Sheraton. Oh, and did I mention that you can get a massage, too? I didn't do that this time around, but I'm definitely going to consider it the next time I come.

Caribbean Flavors Saved Our End of the Year 2019 Holidays

2019 has come and gone, but the end of the year is always my favorite time. It's when we get to decorate our house and spend every last penny on food and decorations for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. This year, however, we did things a little differently.

For one, we didn’t buy a turkey for Thanksgiving. Instead, we ordered from an amazing Venezuelan spot in Córdoba City, Argentina, called D'Lucas Gourmet. We’ve been ordering from them for about a year now and absolutely love their food. Since it’s spring and summer during the holidays here, we decided to skip turning on the oven and ordered out as much as we could. The meal might not have been traditional, but overall, it made for a lovely Thanksgiving.

Then, of course, came the second Comic-Con of the year, which you can read about here. But just a few short weeks later, Christmas rolled around, and I was battling the flu. Fortunately, a couple of cups of Vicks tea a day helped us still enjoy Christmas Eve.

Another big change for us in 2019 was the lack of gifts. Don’t get me wrong, we still bought gifts for ourselves, but we decided not to buy anything for anyone else. It may sound selfish, I know, but we’d learned that some of our friends felt uncomfortable with things like stocking stuffers and gift exchanges. When we asked one friend to make a wish list last year, she responded by saying, “I don’t feel comfortable asking my friends to buy me gifts.” We kind of pushed her into it, and afterward, we felt bad about it.

It turns out that Argentines aren’t big on buying gifts, which is a real shame because we feel completely different. We get a lot of joy from buying things for the people in our lives and seeing their reactions when they unwrap their gifts. But we learned the hard way that Argentines don’t like opening gifts in front of people. They’d rather take the gift home and open it there. Otherwise, they feel embarrassed. This isn’t just for Christmas presents either—it applies to birthday gifts, too. While we don’t quite understand their perspective, we respect it because, well, this is their country and their way of thinking. I’m sure they find our approach just as confusing.

On Christmas Day, we had a quiet celebration with just the two of us. The food was mostly whatever was left over from the night before, but we also made stuffing and served hallacas from a Venezuelan restaurant called Naguara Resto-Bar. They’re similar to the Puerto Rican pasteles my husband used to enjoy with his family in the States.

But to ring in 2020, we decided to do something different instead of throwing another party at home. And no, it wasn’t another trip to Buenos Aires—nice guess, though!

We spent New Year’s at the Sheraton Hotel in Córdoba City and had an amazing time. I’ll share more about what that was like in my next post.

Our Stay at Hotel Mundial Was Ruined by Bed Bugs

Ever since we started traveling to Buenos Aires in 2013, there's always been one constant and that's the Hotel Mundial in Avenida de Mayo 1298. It's a two-star hotel, so you really can't expect much. But it had become like a home away from home whenever we went to B.A. And then something happened on our latest trip that guaranteed we will never set foot in that hotel again.

It started out as nothing more than a seemingly harmless skin discoloration in my arm. But the following day, my arm started itching. Again, I didn't think much of it. It was hot and sunny, and I wasn't used to being outdoor so much. So I just threw some rubbing alcohol and the itching went away. 

Then on our last day, I saw what appeared to be mosquito bites forming on one of my arms. Again, that didn't raise any alarms because it's summertime and there are mosquitoes everywhere. So we packed our bags and checked out of room 410 to head to the bus terminal.

But by the time I was home, those mosquito bites had multiplied and they weren't just in one arm but in both arms. They had also spread to my stomach, my back and my legs. I started panicking. I thought I'd contracted measles, but that was impossible because I was vaccinated as a child. I was never around anyone that looked infected either. Then I thought it was a heat rash, but they kept multiplying. So, I wondered if they were stress bumps. Things had been pretty crappy in our lives lately, so it wasn't out of the question.

Then I got tired of guessing, so I went to the pharmacist and later consulted a close friend in the medical field. And they both told me that it seemed to be an allergic reaction to bed bug bites. The pharmacist asked me if I had stayed at a hotel recently and then it hit me. I had gotten bit by bed bugs while I was at Hotel Mundial.

Two weeks (and a thorough cleansing of our clothes and home) later, the bites are barely noticeable except for a slight skin discoloration. But I think I'm going to have to spend a little extra for a more expensive hotel next time. So, if anyone can recommend a nice hotel in La CABA, I'd appreciate it very much.

Enjoying Our Final Buenos Aires Trip of 2019

The Comic Con was nice, but we wanted to revisit some of the other places that made us fall in love with Buenos Aires. So we took a moment to enjoy the water out by Costa Salguero. Admittedly, I got more sun than I'm used to, but it was nice.

Then we went to Donut Therapy in Thames 1999 to enjoy some delicious donuts. But instead of eating them at the place, we opted to enjoy them in our hotel.

But a few blocks away, we found this guy who was selling donuts and cinnamon rolls on the street. I was a little skeptical about buying from a street vendor. But my husband decided to try them. And as you can tell from the look on his face, he was very happy.

We also remembered how much we loved the mac & cheese from Chicken Bros at Thames 1795. So, we went and had ourselves some chicken strips and mac & cheese before calling it a night.

We also revisited the botanical garden, which was just as beautiful as the last time we'd been there. But it was such a hot day, so we didn't really stay too long.

Of course, we couldn't leave Buenos Aires without visiting Kentucky Fried Chicken and Wendy's. And in light of the fact that they closed American Chicken in Cordoba City this year, it became even more important to satiate our hunger for fried chicken at KFC. Of course, no one said we couldn't enjoy some Wendy's too.

Now we usually don't eat heavy when we know we're going to travel on a bus. But on our last day, we decided to risk it, and went to Wendy's for a second time. What can I say? Their baked potatoes are too good to pass up.

But nothing lasts forever, and it was time to say goodbye to this beautiful city once again.

Unfortunately, we hadn't realized that something had stowed away and followed us back to Cordoba City. But that's a story for next time.

Trixie American Diner in Buenos Aires Couldn't Get Our Order Right

The lines at the Argentina Comic-Con were super long, and we didn't feel like waiting in the hot sun. So, we went to the Trixie American Diner in Costa Salguero. The diner can make anyone feel like they've traveled back to the 1950s.

The bar with the stools reminded me of the scene where Marty McFly met his dad George in "Back to the Future." Suffice it to say, the 1950s theme, the jukeboxes, waitress uniforms, and pretty much everything else had us sold. We loved the place, but would the food blow us away?

We looked at the menu, which had tons of American style food items. I was tempted to try the New York Breakfast which offered the kind of stuff you'd expect at iHOP. The scrambled eggs, bacon and pancakes were tempting, but for some reason, I had forgotten it was 11 a.m. and ordered us two margaritas. Hey! Don't judge! It's 5 o'clock somewhere.

And then I saw an option for an apple pie. In the last seven years, we haven't had a decent slice of apple pie. So I decided to order that instead. But what I got was a plate with two overly toasted waffles and an ice cream scoop on top. I was very disappointed. I convinced myself that they wouldn't know the difference between an apple pie and waffles if it walked up and shook their hand. My husband was like, maybe you should complain. And I'm like, yeah, and then maybe they can do something disgusting to my order. No thanks. 

Afterwards, we headed to the Comic-Con, but decided to give Trixie another try the next day. I ordered the apple pie again and a bagel, while my husband ordered French Toast. This time, the waitress did bring me an actual slice of apple pie. It definitely wasn't anything remotely similar to an apple pie from back home. Where was the crust? Why were the apples cut into thin slices and stacked together like this? Then I was like, oh well, beggars can't be choosers.

The bagel with cream cheese was okay, but it certainly didn't meet up with the standards of a decent bagel back home.

I also found iced tea on the menu. Since we can't find any in Cordoba City, I ordered it. The closest thing we had to Lipton Iced Tea here was FuzeTea, but I haven't seen that in years. But I like my ice tea to taste sweet. If I wanted cold unsweetened tea, I would just make it at home. Trixie's version of iced tea was blah, but I managed to save it by adding tons of sugar packets to it.

As far as the French Toast was concerned, it was just a slice of bread dipped in batter, coated in honey or maple syrup and sprinkled with powdered sugar. I know. I know. That's technically what French Toast is. But I guess we're just too spoiled. In the States, you could order French Toast and the slices are three times the size of the one we got at Trixie. Plus, it doesn't like a wet rag on a plate like this did.

So all in all, the food at Trixie failed to impress us, but that didn't stop us from enjoying the rest of our trip. I'll talk a bit about what we did in the next post.

Here's How We Dealt With the Cab Mafia at the Argentina Comic Con

I know I mentioned this after our experience at the Argentina Comic Con in May 2019, but I wanted to emphasize on this topic a little more.

So, the cab driver only charged us $225 Argentine pesos ($3.77 USD) from our hotel in Avenida de Mayo to Costa Salguero where the Comic Con is held. But once we were ready to go home, we tried getting a cab. The only problem was, that the cab driver tried charging us $700 Argentine pesos ($11.72 USD).

I thought it was just some jerk cab driver who was taking advantage of us for being foreigners. But then it happened again in December. This time, one of the cab drivers was like, "I take US dollars, too."

And we're like, "No thanks."

The issue wasn't because we didn't have the money, we just didn't like people taking advantage of us, or anyone else for that matter. And it was clear we weren't the only ones they were trying to mess with.

A lady was walking away with her son in tow and she was pretty upset. It turns out that she had just had the same issue with a cab driver. "Es una mafia," she yelled, which translates to: "It's a mafia!"

And she's right!

These cab drivers are the same people who threatened to attack Uber drivers because they felt that they were taking jobs away from them. But you know what? If Uber drivers are more honest than cabbies, then you can't really blame people for going with the competition.

But we still had no idea how to get back to the hotel. There were no subways nearby, and walking would have taken hours. So, we crossed the street and found a bus stop. Then we started checking to see if any of the buses took us to Retiro, which is the bus terminal in Buenos Aires. It turns out the 45 bus took us, so we used our SUBE card to get on. From Retiro, we had two options. We either got on the subway or took a bus. Well, we found it easier to just take another bus that dropped us off near Avenida de Mayo. From there we walked two blocks, and we were back in our hotel room.

But I'm the kind of person that likes to correct injustices. In the States, it was pretty easy. You simply went online, spoke to a few people, the media, or even the Better Business Bureau (BBB), and something was done to correct the problem. But in Argentina, people look at us like we're crazy whenever we try to solve a problem that would benefit everyone. 

Still, I had to try. So, I reached out to the Argentina Comic Con and explained to them what had happened. But they told me that they had no power over what the cab drivers charge people who attend the event. I thought that was pretty sad, but I sort of expected that answer.

So, then I asked them if they would consider posting other ways for people to get to the Comic Con like the 45 bus. That way, everyone would know that cab drivers weren't the only option. But as it turns out, they already had that on their website, and  they pointed it out. So that as they say is that.

There was only one other place I could turn to for help. I reached out to the Defensa de Consumidor, which is somewhat equivalent to the Better Business Bureau in the States. They read my message, but never bothered to acknowledge it. I assume that this is because they are either unable to get involved or simply don't care. 

Typical!

But that's okay. Now that I know there's another option, I won't be giving those particular cab drivers a single dime.