Buenos Aires is for Lovers

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Buenos Aires is for LoversThere is nothing quite like the butterflies you get when you are first falling in love. Those few moments before you see the person who has been occupying your thoughts since you last parted. The light beads of sweat, the summersaults in your stomach, the final check in the mirror to make sure you look your absolute best. Summer in the city is hot and sultry, and Buenos Aires provides a perfect background for romantic dates and steamy nights. Whether you have picked up a new Latin lover or you are visiting the city with your significant other of 20 years, here are some tips for a day of affectionate adventure and sensual treats in Buenos Aires.

A perfect spot in Buenos Aires for a romantic picnic.For a morning coffee try the Café Tortoni on Ave de Mayo, its old world charm and traditional setting will set the pace for your romantic outing. Buenos Aires is crammed with delicious restaurants, but little is more romantic than a picnic in the park. Pick up some take away sandwiches or tortas, strawberries, and chocolate desserts, and head to the Rosedal, the Rose Garden of Palermo. Pick a quiet spot in the shade, and enjoy the summer weather and lovely blossoming surroundings. After lunch rent a small rowboat or paddleboat and drift on the water, soaking up the sun and each other’s company. A movie is traditional date fodder, but try something new and take your special someone to a show at the planetarium. A few hours in a dark quiet room with some stimulated star gazing, romantic and educational.

I don’t know what it is that is romantic about cemeteries, but strolling hand in hand through the ornate mausoleums of the Recoleta Cemetery definitely provides a distinct background for a tantalizing date. The resting place of Eva Peron and the rich and famous of Argentina, the cemetery is open to the public and well worth a visit. Darkly inviting, the cemetery is a maze of varied and over the top gravesites, statues and stray cats. Steel a kiss under a statue of a cherub, and discuss the fate of famous star-crossed lovers. After visiting the cemetery walk down through the Plaza Frances and across Avenida Libertador to the giant silver tulip in the Plaza de la Naciones and watch as its sun sensitive petals close with the sunset. For a special tour of the city, every Saturday you can join the “Erotic Buenos Aires” tour at 7:30 pm which leaves from 1200 Ave de mayo, call Ayres Viajes at 4383-9188 for reservations.

If you want to heat things up a bit, try dinner at the notoriously sexy Te Matare Ramirez, in Palermo at 4062 Paraguay. This aphrodisiac restaurant will please your pallet and rev your libido. With sultry décor and tantalizing dishes, such as the Yucatan cheesecake starter, entitled ‘Lovely Spreads of Pleasure’, or for a main course you can order the ‘Feverish hugs, Indiscreet caresses, Extraordinary pleasures’ lamb stew, and for dessert treat yourself to the ‘Morbid Desire’ tequila mousse. Dinner entertainment varies between sensual jazz, pornographic puppetry and erotic dinner theatre on Sunday nights.

If after a long romantic and sexy day your date offers to go to a hotela, don’t be offended. Renting rooms by the hour in Buenos Aires does not have the amazingly risqué connotations it does elsewhere, in fact it is very common and totally acceptable for young couples in Argentina to frequent ‘telas’ as they are known, since youth often live with their parents until they get married. ‘Telas’ can be found all over the city and are identified by their usually dim lighting and a sign that reads ‘albergue transitorio.’ They rent rooms by the hour, and rooms come with standard amenities like mirrors and sexy music, some even have kitsch themed rooms.

Puente de la Mujer in Buenos AiresIf you aren’t quite ready to call it a day, then grab your loved ones hand and venture into the passionate night. Tango is traditional and extremely sensual, but not all of us are coordinated enough to partake. Another sexy South American favorite, Salsa, is just as sexy and a little more user friendly. Shake your hips at Azucar or Sunset to vibrant salsa music, and get your heart pumping and your pulse racing. For a more intimate stroll, cruise the waterfront in Puerto Madero and exchange a lingering kiss on the Puente de la Mujer. Don’t be afraid of public displays of affection, as they are the norm rather than the exception in this amorous culture.

Buenos Aires is for lovers. Look around and you will see the signs, literally, banners declaring everlasting love and explicit graffiti are all over the city. So if the summer sun has got you hot and bothered then grab a date and make the most of what the city has to offer.

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[…] But while we’re waiting for that, Isabelle Lagarde of Argentina’s Travel Blog has come up with an interesting post about a day for lovers in Buenos Aires, which wasn’t part of my original meme, but fills a gap until Maya has finished her ’sexy day’ research (wow, can’t believe I didn’t make a silly attempt at innuendo there!) […]

[…] Alan: Also, I really encourage tourists coming to Buenos Aires to avoid the bus tours. They herd you around to the different areas of the city like cattle. It’s like woooooosh there goes the Obelisk… did you see that? And then they throw you off the bus so you can spend 5 minutes in Recoleta cemetery, looking at Evita’s tomb and nothing more. Walking tours give you the chance to get up close and personal and to see things at a more relaxed pace. […]

[…] Alan: My favorite public space in Buenos Aires is the Recoleta cemetery. I can get lost for hours wondering around in there, taking in all the fantastic architecture of the tombs. Not so good for people watching though! Maybe dead people…. […]

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