I'm going to be a part of B.A.

I'm gonna be a part of B.A., Buenos Aires, Big Apple

I’m going to be a part of B.A.

The phone in my room rang making me jump. It was the reception desk, letting me know that Nacho was downstairs waiting for me. I told them to let him know I was on my way down. After we had done hellos I managed to tell Nacho what I had done since I last saw him using my basic Spanish as we headed to the subway. “Necesito comprar un billete” I said, deciding I would try speaking a bit more Spanish than I had managed the other night. He told me it was fine and let me in through the gate using his card. We took the subway to Palermo, to the house of one of his friends, Ariel (no, not the Little Mermaid). We were joined there by another couple of people, Santiago and Luis. I was introduced to everyone and managed to explain that I was travelling for a year around the world. Trying to explain the concept of 80 Gays with my limited Spanish vocabulary was a little more tricky though.

Ariel and Nacho told Santiago he needed to practice his English so he asked me a few questions in English and I replied in Spanish, asking him some questions back in Spanish so he could answer in English. We covered the basics – we asked each other “What is your name?” moving on to ask for each others age and where we were from. The next question from Santiago threw me slightly although it was good to see he had learnt the important questions that any gay needs to know. He asked if I was top or bottom. I blushed and didn’t answer.

We got through a couple of big bottles of beer at Ariel’s before jumping into a couple of taxis to head to a bar called Sitges. On a Friday night there was a cover charge of 35 pesos and then once inside the drinks were free (although the gin was some brand that even I had never heard of). We made our way in and found the rest of the gang who were already there – Pablo, Dario, Leandro and Markitos. The place was fairly busy and there were a lot of people up dancing. The music being played was perfect for me, a good mix of pop and chart music in both English and Spanish. They even played a bit of Girls Aloud at one point. I think I was the only person singing along to Biology though. A few songs later a song came on that I had never heard before. Nacho asked me if I knew who was singing. I said I didn’t. He said it was Antonio Banderas and asked me if I knew who he was. I said that I did but over in England we knew him by his English name, Tony Flags. It was a great night out with my new friends and I got back to the hotel around 5am, meaning much of the next day was a write-off.

Buenos Aires

Nacho with Mafalda

I was back on form by Sunday and arranged to meet up with Nacho so that he could show me the San Telmo market. I made my way down to his place. It was sunny out so I walked down to his through a very quiet Buenos Aires. The city seemed very different without all the traffic and people on the streets. From Nacho’s place we headed over to San Telmo. The market runs along La Defensa for several blocks. Most of the shops along the street were closed but the occasional antique shop was open. Down both sides of the street were market stalls selling all kinds of handcrafted tut. It was a really nice atmosphere though and we wandered the entire length of the market. At one end was a small square where an elderly gentleman was teaching a young woman how to do a tango. We stood and watched for a while.

We made our way back through the market, stopping to get a photo of Nacho with the statue of Mafalda, an Argentinian cartoon character, before carrying on to the Galerias Pacifico shopping centre which is housed in a stunning old building. We grabbed a spot of lunch and afterwards headed upstairs where there was an art exhibition going on. We made our way back through the streets of Buenos Aires to my hotel where Nacho dropped me off. He told me he would see me later for dinner. There were a group of guys who got together every Sunday for dinner and a few drinks and I had been invited along.

Big Apple

After a siesta, shower and change I headed back down to San Telmo to a restaurant called Gran Parrilla del Plata. We were meeting at 10pm. I had stopped a couple of times on the walk down to take some photos of the buildings all lit up so arrived at around 10:10pm. Nacho, Markitos, Dario & Leandro were already there. I apologised for being late. The restaurant was large, they had two rooms both full of diners. It seemed to be the place to go. Over the next thirty minutes the rest of the group arrived and we finally got seated at a table around 10:45pm. I was asked if there was anything that I didn’t eat. I gave my usual response of “I will eat anything apart from kidneys” which had never raised any issues before. At Gran Parrilla however, they served kidneys as well as every other type of offal.

Dario took charge of ordering for the whole table which saved a lot of hassle and time. I said that I would give everything a try but that it was probably best to let me eat it first and then tell me what it was afterwards. Several bottles of red wine appeared and everyone raised their glasses. A couple of the gang even remembered my toast and said “First of the day”. It is always first of the day regardless of how many drinks have already been consumed. In return I said “Primer del dia”. I tried to explain the concept of Sunday Funday to the group but something got lost in translation.

The food arrived and plates were passed around. I sent my empty plate down the table and it came back with a selection of meat on it. I helped myself to some salad and fries. It reminded me a little of being back at junior school where two people on the table would be in charge of dishing up and people would be passed a plate of food. I tucked in, trying not to look too closely at the food on the plate and concentrate on the taste. Everything tasted amazing. I’m not sure what exactly I had for dinner but apart from the steak and chicken I think I probably had some chitterlings and sweetbreads. I could see why the place was so popular though, it was all so delicious.

The gang at Gran Parrilla

Dinner was rounded off with a glass of bubbly and another toast. I really had been accepted into the group. We got a few photos of the gang, settled the bill and then headed outside. There was a discussion as to what the plan for the rest of the evening should be (even though it was gone midnight). From the bits of the conversation I could understand the options seemed to either be going for ice cream at a place nearby or heading over to Pablo’s for a few drinks. The ice cream place was closed so we headed to Pablo’s. A couple of the gang who had to work the next morning headed home, the rest of us carried on drinking for a while.

We had a few drinks at Pablo’s while sitting round his dining table chatting. I tried my best to chat to one of the guys, Emanuel, but his level of English was about the same as my level of Spanish so the conversation was rather stilted. It probably didn’t help that we had both had a few drinks (although I was definitely not as drunk as he was).  As the evening drew to a close both Pablo and Nacho told me that I had a place to stay in BA should I return. I thanked them both and told them that I would probably take them up on the offer as I had really enjoyed the time I had spent in BA. I got a taxi back to the hotel in the early hours of the morning and then grabbed some sleep before an early start the next morning.

I was up and awake early to pack my case. I grabbed a quick breakfast and some strong coffee to wake me up and checked out of the hotel. Pablo had told me about a minibus service that ran to the airport and would be a lot cheaper than getting a taxi. It hadn't shown up on any of the searches I had tried. I made my way to the place the minibus went from, bought my ticket (20 pesos for me, 20 pesos for my suitcase) and boarded. The journey to the airport was stress free and I checked in for my flight to Santiago.

“I'm gonna be a part of B.A., Buenos Aires, Big Apple” 
Lyrics from Eva and Magaldi / Eva Beware of the City from the musical Evita