October 14, 2018: Exploring Buenos Aires and Meeting Loli's Family!

We really explored the whoooooole city today... and it was awesome!

I started my morning by working out and showering and that made me feel productive... even though I only did it to avoid having to do my homework! My parents and I met up soon after and walked to the Jardín Botánico. Today was sunny and the perfect temperature outside. We explored the garden - with my dad stopping to touch, smell, and take a selfie with every plant - and then headed to Parque Rosedal.

On the walk there, we passed a huge mass of garbage that was actually a piece of art work to raise awareness about recycling. It was so cool and powerful.

Rosedal was beautiful as ever today and the roses were in full bloom. They had roses of every color and style and they all smelled incredible. Tons of people were in the park enjoying the glorious day and I'm happy my parents got to see this wonderful part of Buenos Aires!

Stop and smell the roses baby!!!!

Just by chance, the 72km bike race of los Olímpicos was taking place on the road that runs alongside the park and we got to see 3 laps of it!

We then ordered an Uber to go to the actual Olympic stadium to watch track but this was an utter failure. They had reached maximum capacity and the line to enter was over half a mile long so we headed straight back into the city. I guess the one positive takeaway is that we got to see a new part of the city... plus we ended up going to the microcentro which we hadn't planned on!

The bus dropped us off right by the Plaza de Mayo which has incredible historical significance. This is where Peron gave his speeches and where a bombing happened that killed hundreds of innocent civilians. A lot of protests take place here nowadays. It is also the location of La casa rosada, which is kind of like the White House.

We actually went to the Centro Cultural Kirchner first which is a free cultural center with a random assortment of exhibits. We went to this one room that had some interesting visual / audio components but some rude girls were hogging the one interactive part so we didn't get to disfrutar (enjoy) mucho.

There were a bunch of tents set up near Plaza de Mayo and it turns out there was a feria de consumo responsable (fair for responsible consumption)!!! So cool. They were selling products and foods made responsibly. We decided to get our lunch here: a massive empanada filled with pumpkin, corn, millet, and other things to spice it up. We also bought 2 little jars of jam that were delicious! I really enjoyed this fair... responsible consumption is incredibly important and something we can all work towards.

We then walked towards the most downtown-y part of downtown and mis padres saw the famous Obelisco. Like the tourists we are, we made sure to take some tourist-y photos!

We made one last stop at Plaza Lavalle, as I felt it was necessary to show them the place I've fallen asleep in so many random times. We were all pretty exhausted from traveling so much and being on our feet all day so we didn't stay very long and were soon on the subway back to Palermo.

Once back, my mom and I walked to the grocery store but it was freaking closed. Meanwhile, Fat Mike was grabbing a drink at a bar on my block. We walked back to him, regrouped, and made dinner plans.

When 9:00pm rolled around, it was time to go cenar with Loli and her family!! It was SO FUN. Her parents were just such warm, funny, and kind people and we were all laughing the entire meal. Loli's sister, Pili, is hilarious too. It was also funny to see who understood what. Their mom speaks almost zero English and my mom has a very limited knowledge of Spanish, so at certain moments it was obvious that only a select number of people could understand what was being said.

We ordered an assortment of meat, fries, and salad and were not disappointed in the slightest. Yum yum yum. I think I am gonna go the La Pampa where Loli is from and visit her home. After tonight it's hard not to want to...

The restaurant gave us all a free glass of champagne and we cheers-ed to new friends and Loli's almost birthday. I am so thankful for this experience and feel lucky that my parents visited Buenos Aires at the same time that Loli's parents did. It feels awesome that our families got to know one another and especially that my parents could meet my best friend in Argentina!

I'll be sleeping well tonight with a happy heart and a very full stomach :)

Song Recommendation of the Day: "Redemption" by Zacari, Babes Wodumo, & Kendrick Lamar