All the steak you can eat!!!… in Buenos Aires

May 21, 2013 – 3:17 pm
IT IS unavoidable to measure every steak you will ever eat against the carnivorous celebration of the cow in Argentina. Leopoldo Bar and Restaurant. Picture: Kathy McCabe Whether grilling slabs of meat at an outdoor market or tricking up a fillet in a fine-dining establishment, the portenos of Buenos Aires bristle with a braggadocio about their beef that would silence even the most boastful of Australian backyard barbecuers. Thousands more of us are heading to South America for one of the world's premium culinary experiences as our love of cooking drives foodie tourism. While meals have always served as a potent sensory postcard of a holiday, the plethora of cooking game shows that have crowded Australian television programming have helped stoke a desire to make dining experiences more interactive. We want to stroll around the markets, dine with the locals and immerse ourselves in cooking classes to take home skills rather than posting a snapshot ...

Luxury Real Estate opportunities in Buenos Aires, Argentina

May 17, 2013 – 12:44 pm
Roderick Chapman, a 50-year-old marketing specialist from Vancouver, British Columbia, was in Buenos Aires last month, looking at one-bedrooms in the city's posh Recoleta district. "I'm absolutely amazed by the number of choices," said Mr. Chapman whose budget for a vacation property is 130,000 U.S. dollars—the currency in which most Buenos Aires real estate typically is traded. "It is overwhelming, really." With prices for luxury apartments down by 20% to 25% since last year, according to local real-estate agents, expatriates like Mr. Chapman are finding great buys in Buenos Aires after nearly a decade of steep price climbs. Nicely renovated apartments with parquet floors and terraces in Recoleta—the neighborhood that gave Buenos Aires the moniker "the Paris of South America"—are selling for roughly $185 per square foot, down from roughly $240 in 2008, according to local agent estimates (closing prices aren't published in Buenos Aires). One-bedrooms in trendy Palermo list for about $150,000 ...

Buenos Aires, in the TOP 6 cheap places to retire abroad

May 17, 2013 – 12:24 am
Over the 20th century, many retirees moved from New England, California and the Midwest to the sunny and sparsely populated Sun Belt, where low taxes and warm weather beckoned. Today, many Americans are moving much farther afield to enjoy a new life at a low cost. Thousands are migrating to Asia, South America, Europe and beyond to stretch their retirement dollars. And foreign countries, eager for the boost to their economies, have taken notice. With so many nations interested in attracting retirees from abroad, Americans are spoiled for choice. Bankrate uncovers six up-and-coming destinations where retirees can easily live on an income of $2,000 a month. In some cases, retirees are already living there for far less. Read on to discover the affordability of housing, food and medical care at these retirement destinations. 1. Chiang Mai, Thailand Thanks to its weather and low cost of living, Thailand has been on retirees' radars for ...

The Best Football Game on earth! Boca vs. River, by KICKTV

May 10, 2013 – 1:19 pm
KICKTV was in Argentina for the best Football Game in Buenos Aires: El Superclásico -- Boca Juniors vs. River Plate. Fmr. U.S. International and KICKTV's resident faux-journalist-in-chief, Jimmy Conrad was at La Bombonera for the biggest derby in South America. River Plate visited La Bombonera for the first time since they were relegated in 2011 and the Boca supporters made sure they didn't forget it.

Buenos Aires, a Mecca for international Street Art

May 8, 2013 – 5:44 pm
In most major cities, street artists create their works under a cover of darkness, spray-painting their graffiti quickly to elude arrest. Not so in Buenos Aires, where painters have found a surplus of empty walls to splash their colors on, building owners who readily consent to having their walls painted, and a local government that has subsidized some of the urban murals. Buenos Aires' welcoming attitude has made it one of the world's top capitals for international street muralists, drawing well-known urban artists such as Blu of Italy, Jef Aerosol of France, Aryz of Spain, Roa of Belgium, and Ron English of the United States. International artists come here to spray-paint graffiti as well as other styles and methods of street art on the walls of plazas and buildings because local authorities have shown themselves receptive to the creations, said Matt Fox-Tucker, an Englishman who created the website buenosairesstreetart.com, focusing on the ...

Buenos Aires celebrates the coronation of Princess Máxima

April 30, 2013 – 1:35 pm
As Princess Máxima became Queen Consort of Holland, the Dutch Embassy in Buenos Aires organized three different events in honour of the new rulers. Starting at 7:30 AM, and along with the Argentine-Dutch Chamber of Commerce and Dutch Association and the AHB, the embassy hosted members of the Dutch community in Argentina to a breakfast in the Palermo Horse Racing Tracks. The guests were able to watch live as Queen Beatrix abdicated and Willem-Alexander and Máxima Zorreguieta were crowned kind and queen of the Netherlands. In the afternoon a short reception for diplomats and the business community will take place. The day will close with the celebration of the traditional Oranjefeest, a party organized by the Dutch Association in Argentina for Dutch and Argentine people. The Oranjefeest begins at 9 PM and will take place at Boutique, in San Telmo (Peru 535). There will be traditional food and drinks from Holland and Argentina and ...

Querido B&B review. In Villa Crespo neighborhood, Buenos Aires

April 29, 2013 – 2:22 pm
The Villa Crespo district is on the up, with new delis, boutiques hotels and this characterful B&B. Salvaged floors and furniture in the sitting room at Querido B&B Amid a mélange of cobblers, Jewish delis and fashion outlets, the bright and breezy townhouse that harbours Querido B&B is a symbol of leisurely gentrification in Buenos Aires's Villa Crespo neighbourhood. A stone's throw from hip yet over-subscribed Palermo Soho, Villa Crespo retains a quirky personality and for now, it's still largely residential. Recently, it has seen an influx of discount outlets flogging cut-price clothing. Shiny signs now jostle for attention with vegetarian restaurants and corner cafés. The place to rest your head in Villa Crespo is Querido, a new-build on a cobbled street that sports rescued features from the early 20th-century townhouse it replaced, and is one of a handful of B&Bs in the Argentine capital. The bed Although Querido is purpose-built, there's still a ...

Buenos Aires – Sydney flights improved!!!

April 17, 2013 – 7:46 pm
Aerolineas Argentinas will utilise new Airbus aircraft to service the Buenos Aires-Sydney route by the third or fourth quarter of 2013. During the Argentine Roadshow in Sydney, the Argentinian flag carrier revealed it has renewed 95 percent of its fleet, with the exception of those aircraft servicing the Australian route. The airline will employ new Airbus A340-300’s on the route, finalising its overall fleet modernisation. Aerolineas Argentinas Airbus A-340 “Aerolineas Argentinas has been servicing the Australian market for over four decades,” Aerolineas Argentinas sales manager Sergio Gomez said. “We currently have three direct flights per week from Sydney to Buenos Aires, with Virgin Australia providing convenient domestic connections from other Australian cities through Sydney on one ticket, providing convenience for customers and enhancing commissions for agents.” More than 40,000 Australians travelled to Argentina in 2011 and these figures are expected to grow. “There are no visa requirements for Australians to travel to Argentina,” Argentinian Consul General Ricardo ...

2014 Dakar Rally Route announced in Buenos Aires

April 15, 2013 – 5:41 pm
A reasonable distance from the start of the Dakar 2014, Buenos Aires is already buzzing about the race which has now become a part of Argentinean sporting heritage, since its first visit to South America for the 2009 edition. Last year, motorsports aficionados came in their masses to Tucuman for the rest day, but were invited to be patient in awaiting the thrills of another rally start ceremony. At the presentation of the next edition in Buenos Aires, in the prestigious setting of the Palacio Duhau, Etienne Lavigne encountered enthusiasm proportional to such expectations among the attendees, whether journalists, Minister for Tourism Enrique Meyer, the Governors of the San Luis, Santa Fe and Salta provinces or the Mayor of Rosario. "It feels like a reunion, and I’m proud to see that the Dakar has such appeal. The rally enjoys enormous interest and we are delighted to be starting in 2014 from Rosario, ...

Live music, tango and great restaurants. Buenos Aires vibrant life after 10 pm

April 12, 2013 – 1:07 pm
It's almost 10 in the evening and the temperature is as hot and sticky as it was at noon, the traffic noise in the busy street just as loud as it was at rush hour when people were making their way home. We're having an early drink at Esquina Homero Manzi, one of Buenos Aires' most iconic bars in a city of a thousand iconic bars and cafés. Nearby sit groups of hipsters in skinny jeans and Puma sneakers, women of a certain age with nicotine-stained smiles, and octogenarian couples dressed to the nines. Here, as in many confiterias and bars around the city, the night is just beginning, as is my search for the new Buenos Aires. My new friend Cristina Villamor, a painter and milonguera, or tango dancer, looks around the bar, which is named after a prominent tango lyricist of the 1930s. His bittersweet song "Sur" played earlier ...