The best way to tool around Buenos Aires (or any city in my opinion) is by bicycle. I checked one out from Casa Calma Hotel, minutes from Santa Fe Avenue, and was off exploring mile after mile of Buenos Aires streets, by-ways and pocket neighborhoods. You see everyone –– and meet everyone –– on a bicycle. I did get chased off the sidewalk a few times by police, but I mainly stayed to the streets and avenues. 

My wheels in Buenos Aires: a bamboo cruiser bicycle

Casa Calma has several bikes parked for ready access in its lobby. Built of bamboo, the bikes are low-slung, one-speed cruisers –– but no worries, because Buenos Aires is largely flat. There was no need to change gears during my two days of two-wheeled exploration.

Casa Calma is a nine-story high-rise termed a "vertical garden" by its owners. High above Suipacha Street, plants and vines rooted onto outer walls and balconies unfurl from the building's facade. A small lobby is bright, comfortable and welcoming, and just beyond, there's a small breakfast nook with an honesty bar, and a coffee machine, which I greatly appreciated.

The hotel has 11 superior rooms ($235 - $250 USD) and six deluxe rooms ($270-285). The rooms are slightly Zen in design, in that simplicity and comfort reign. Casa Calma has put an emphasis on eco-friendly design (beginning with the outside vertical garden which acts as a filter for sizzling Buenos Aires summers). Double-glazed windows optimally calibrate temperature, and the soothing woods in the property are sourced from Carolina pine, certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

To get one's bearing in Buenos Aires, simply locate Avenida Santa Fe (a short walk from the hotel), a principal artery that travels through the Palermo, Retiro and Recoleta neighborhoods. The passage dates to 1774, and begins at Plaza San Martin, planted with a massive ombu tree, native to South America.

A good cry at Recoleta cemetery

Casa Calma outfitted me with a helmet and bike lock as well. My first excursions took me to Recoleta cemetery (a 10-minute bike ride from the hotel), which a friend later described as a "series of little marble bank buildings, all in a row." The cemetery, which dates to 1822, was ranked number two by CNN on its list of the ten most beautiful cemeteries in the world. Eva Peron is buried here, along with other notables: Argentinian presidents, military officers, scientists, and Napoleon's granddaughter, among others.

You can visit the basilica next door, Our Lady of the Pilar (the city's second oldest church), and in fact, I walked in on a funeral (which seemed apt) just before stopping in at Recoleta. Recoleta has more than 4,500 vaults –– some in artistic disrepair, with ceilings bashed in, resting atop empty coffins. Walking the 14-acre grounds makes for a wistful experience.

I photographed cobwebs among the mausoleums' niches and corners (the thick webs looked ancient, as if they came with the century-old graves), and leaning against a hot-baked marble tomb, I had a good cry remembering some of my own loved ones who had died.

Palermo barrio

From Recoleta, I bicycled into the Palermo neighborhood, one of the more developed and upscale sections of the city. There's a thriving arts scene here, and the even the occasional graffiti had a certain flair, which is no doubt the reason it's seldom erased. Palermo has excellent botanical gardens and a zoo, along with lush parks, rose gardens and an exuberant art gallery scene.

Nearer to Casa Calma, I often rode through Plaza San Martin, sometimes just sitting under that titanic ombu tree, sipping a coffee and watching the locals (or they were watching me –– I got more than a few comments on my bamboo cruiser bicycle).

The final excursion from my hotel base: a 20-minute bike ride to San Telmo Market, a large outdoor market held each Sunday. San Telmo is the city's oldest neighborhood, lined with some cobblestone streets below romantic colonial architecture. The market stretches largely along Calle Defensa, and is also centered in Plaza Dorrego (Humberto Primero and Defensa streets). I picked up five small billfolds, $5-$8 each, some homemade art, and lots of delicious street food.

Casa Calma, Suipacha 1015, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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