1. It’s Argentina!!!
2. The food.
Exhibit A: Cintas negras con mariscos
Although this pasta happens to be from a high-end restaurant, you can get delicious pasta at your neighborhood pizzeria.
Exhibit B: Sorrentinos con crema
This pasta is also from the same high-end restaurant as the picture above, but I’ll reiterate the fact that you can get mouth-watering pasta from neighborhood pizzerias and even the supermarket.
Exhibit C: Café bonbon (which has coffee, condensed milk, and pure happiness)
Seriously, this café is just across the street from my uncle’s house. Argentina is the Italy of South America.
3. Buenos Aires
Pictures from top to bottom: view from my grandparents’ apartment, Monumentode los españoles, and Parque Rosedal.Not to mention Palermo Viejo, La Boca, and Recoleta (all places you should definitely go to if you go to Buenos Aires). The city vibrates with energy and contains a vast amount of culture. Go during the fallit’s spring there. There is not a lot of holiday traffic, and if it’s sunny, the temperature ranges from the 60s to the 70s.
4. Ushuaia
From this website
Considered the southernmost city in the world (with a population of more than 56,000 people), it’s called “El Fin del Mundo” (“The End of the World”). Its temperatures range from about 34 to 49 degrees Fahrenheit. You can take a boat to see seals and even penguins. When I went there, I saw huskies, too!
5. El Calafate
Via this website. Near a town called El Calafate is the Perito Moreno glacier, which is absolutely stunning to see in person. You can see chunks of ice breaking apart and falling into the chilly water.
6. Córdoba
Via this website. This gorgeous city is about 430 miles up north from Buenos Aires. It’s the second-largest city in Argentina after Buenos Aires and it’s known for its Spanish architecture and fantastic nightlife.
7. Mendoza
From this website. Not only is it stunning, but it’s the home of Malbec wine. Lovely vineyards everywhere. The culture there is quite rich, revolving around theatres, universities, museums, and art galleries.
8. The dialect
Remember I mentioned that Argentina is the Italy of South America? It doesn’t only go for the food, but it goes for the language itself. We call it “castellano,” but we might as well call it Italianish. People who don’t know Spanish sometimes ask me if I’m speaking French or Italian with my parents. We even use the same hand gestures as the Italians when we mean to say, “What the hell!”
9. The people
Although we are considered the “coldest” Latin Americans, we’re extremely warm, caring, and passionate when you get to know us. Even if you’re strangers, we’ll most likely strike up some sort of conversation with you or just tell you about our life stories. Of course, there are always people who are averse to foreigners, but if you study the history, the politics, or the language of our country, people are much more likely to welcome you with open arms.
10. The wine is relatively cheap.
From this website
I don’t even like wine that much, but when I had wine in Argentina, I enjoyed it. You can maybe get a high quality, tasty Malbec for about USD$15 at COTO (which is a large supermarket chain). Sounds good, huh?
I hope I’ve convinced you to go to Argentina in the future!