As part of our trip to Patagonia, we had planned on spending a couple of days in Buenos Aires before heading back home. We were planning on spending New Year’s Eve there and decided to stay at the Brick Hotel – Sofitel in the Ricoleta district. The hotel is in a very nice location in a pricey neighborhood with lots of fancy shops. The lobby is very spacious, as were the rooms, the bathroom was very nice and the amenities were great. After the king sized bed, there was still plenty of room to move around and there was a nice desk with a few chairs that fit easily in the room. We had not made any prior reservations for New Year’s Eve dinner and headed straight to the concierge for help. She was extremely helpful – a special shout out to Belen for all her assistance in getting us a table at a water front restaurant in Puerto Madero. She even helped in arranging a for a taxi ride back to the hotel – as we learned, Buenos Aires shut down on New Year’s Eve and taxis are impossible to find. Belen called the taxi driver and told him to meet us at the restaurant at 1am and when we found him she was on the phone with him to make sure that we were picked up. She even made sure to talk to us and check on us. Once again, cannot thank her enough. This is the kind of service that we look for in a new place and we were extremely happy with the Brick Hotel and of course with Belen.

Hotel Link:

http://www.sofitel.com/gb/hotel-8932-the-brick-hotel-buenos-aires-mgallery-by-sofitel/index.shtml

Sights to see:

Ricoleta cemetery where many celebrities are buried, very good architecture and it looks like small town in itself.

San Telmo market – it is an outdoor as well as indoor market place with all kinds of vendors – we did have very good empanadas there.

Puerto Madera district is a very nice waterfront area with cafes and restaurants. We had New Year’s dinner there and then went back the next day for a nice steak lunch.

Barrio La Bocca is a nice colorful areas in Buenos Aires – it also has lots of cafes and is very pretty to walk around – we were able to get taxis back and forth easily.

Basilica del Santisimo Sacramento - pretty church near the Plaza San Martin, the bus stations and the Edificio Kavanagh. Pope Francis's first assignment

Catedral Metropolitana - This 1827 cathedral, a mixture of several architectural styles.