During our first few days in Argentina we stayed in the Palermo neighborhood of Buenos Aires. Most of the streets were lined with trees, and the murals and street art were abundant. Things we love!

There were several garden parks northeast of our place so before to my cooking class we checked out the rose and poet gardens. While there were not as many blooms as expected, we did see lots of geese and some other water birds. There was also an unusual paddle boat picking up trash and leaves in the lake.

At this point I went to my cooking class and Eric went on the nearby free zoo. At some point I got a photo of a hippo on my phone! He saw lots of Patagonia mara lounging about, along with giraffe, ostrich, (the aforementioned) hippo, a condor, and nutria. Lots of families were enjoying the nice weather, but there were multiple pathways and exhibits closed.

His next stop was the Refugio Climático Jardín Botanico Carlos Thays which was nicely shaded and boasted lots of different plants and sculptures. The lily/lotus pond was a standout.

Meanwhile, I finished my class and met him in the garden. After resting our feet, we walked over to the Palermo Hollywood area to view some murals around the antique market.

On our last day in Palermo, we left our luggage at the hotel and walked over to the Saturday morning Palermo market, but many stalls were still being set up at 10:30am. We took our time wandering, enjoying the street art and shady streets.

Our next stop was the Basílica del Espíritu Santo, a charming church with a beautiful exterior and lots of interior details. Free to enter and worth a stop if you are in the area.

I was interested in visiting the Zoo de Palermo, so Eric walked me through all the animals he saw on Thursday, including SO many mara, peacocks, ducks, a handsomely whiskered nutria.