Here are some tips I should share with you regarding my father’s arrival and first few days in Buenos Aires.
1. Check the Terminal: Dad arrived on Friday morning at Ezieza International Airport and it should have been a very easy pick-up. The only problem was that I didn’t realize there was more than one international arrival terminal at the airport. My taxi dropped me off in front of one terminal and I just figured I was in the right place. An hour later I decided to ask the information desk about his flight and realized I was at the wrong terminal. Smart. I spent an hour and a half waiting for him in the wrong terminal.
Good Site For Checking Flights into Argentina: Aeropuertos Argentina 2000
2. Search for Airport Taxi: The one thing that sucks about the Ezieza International Airport is that it takes about an hour by car to get there from the city center and there is no good public transportation that goes out there. The Sheraton Hotel doesn’t offer a shuttle service either. I guess there is a bus you can get in Puerto Madero that takes you out there for around $40 pesos or something but that just sounds like a headache. If you pay more than $140 pesos to get to the airport from around the city you’re getting ripped off. Also, always arrange a set price before you take off. When you are leaving Ezieza you should only go to the main taxi stand that is located in the middle of the walkway after you come out of the gate. The flat rate for return from the airport was $118 pesos (It was $90 pesos when I first arrived in Buenos Aires).
Good taxi for $88 pesos to the airport: Taxi Ezieza (Same company you use to return)
3. Forget the Traveler’s Checks – I have never used travelers checks in my life. It seems like an old thing and a pain in the ass. Well, my dad brought a bunch down so we spent a good amount of time Friday afternoon trying to figure out where we could cash them. No banks would so we had to go to the American Express office (Arenalas 707). It actually worked out pretty well because it was right next to the hotel. Can someone justify why getting travelers checks are a good idea?
4. The Sheraton Hotel @ San Martin is Awesome: With dad on a mission to collect reward points from the Sheraton I luck out big time. The last few days I’ve had a REAL breakfast fit for a king, my first gym workout in 7 months and countless cannon balls in the hotel pool. With that being said… I want to say sorry to the old Brazilian lady who was swimming laps this morning but I was really feelin’ it.
5. Don’t go to the bathroom first: We have a tradition with my Dad, brother, sister and I that who ever goes to the bathroom first in a restaurant that it is automatically their birthday. This works out great at Applebee’s and Fridays but it doesn’t have the same affect when all the waitresses don’t do their own miserable rendition of a birthday song. However, sticking with tradition, I took dad out to La Cabrera for his first dinner in Buenos Aires and sure enough Tatiana (H2oh! Fame) went to the bathroom first. Surprise!
DISCLAIMER: I know its not good to lie, but man is it fun watching how embarrassed people get when a group of strangers sing to them at a busy restaurant (especially when it isn’t even their birthday). I just hope people don’t catch on and start checking our IDs.
6. If you wear a superman t-shirt, you better back it up: Saturday night we went on the Buenos Aires Pub Crawl Booze Cruise and dad decided he would rock a superman t-shirt. The party was a ton of fun, just the right amount of people, perfect weather and one 55 year-old man on the dance floor doing his best Soulja Boy Superman dance [Learn How] while everyone chanted superman, superman, superman… I really should stop encouraging these type of things. The Pub Crawl guys also came up with a great idea to give everyone a sticker that had a matching sticker given to the opposite sex so it forced people to talk and meet. I had Ashton Kutcher and ended up doing three-way tequila shots with Demi Moore (and Bruce Willis).
