March 03 - Gil's Birthday

Today was Gil’s 65^th birthday.  For dinner we went for a traditional Argentina BBQ meal which is known locally as Parrillas.  We went to a recommended restaurant called LaBrigada.  It was a great restaurant in the San Telmo neighbourhood of Buenos Aires.  The restaurant was a sports oriented restaurant with many soccer and formula one displays.

We all ordered steaks for dinner. The steaks were so tender that the waiter was able to cut them with a spoon, to show us the internal colour of the meat.  This beef was juicy and among the most tasty steaks we have ever experienced. Gil ordered a steak that was more like a small roast, but he did manage to eat most of it  The waiter recommended a wonderful Mendoza wine from the western area of Argentina.

In the morning we had gone on a walk to the government district of Buenos Aires.  Along the way we stopped at small mall that had handicrafts made by local artists that had been harassed by the local authorities over the years.  It was so sad to see a display of the military government prisoners that had just disappeared.  The families are keeping their memories alive is a special display twenty years after they had been kidnapped and presumably murdered by their government. Some of the victims were children.

We stopped at the Buenos Aires cathedral.  There were several beautiful chapels in this cathedral.  The most important chapel was dedicated to Argentinean general, Jose de San Martin, who was the Argentinean equivalent of George Washington.

Later in the walk we stop at building which was at different times the Parliament building or the city jail.

This area has been the scene of many military coups and large demonstrations during the last fifty years.  There was an informative video presentation that showed newscasts from these events, the latest being only twenty years ago.

During the afternoon we spent our time with Catherine and Gil on our hotel’s rooftop swimming pool.  Here we had a birthday cake for Gil.  This was provided by the hotel, which was very much appreciated.

We are staying at the Erurobuilding Hotel Boutique.  It is pleasant hotel that I would rate with four stars.  The rooms are very clean and are a normal North American size with a huge washroom area.  The Internet is responsive.  The provided breakfast is tasty and plentiful.  The bed is very comfortable and fully adjustable.  Catherine says the sheets are the softest she has ever slept upon.  But the main reason we love this place is the staff which is among the best we have every encountered in any hotel, in any city we have stayed in.. Anna on the front desk is very personable and caring and a true treasure.