Guest house in Buenos Aires

There is a guest house, only one block from my apartment, that came to my attention when a tango visitor from the UK rented a room.  I met the owners Juan Reartes (an architect) and his wife Josefina who speak English.  Here is a photo tour of their 110-year-old house that Juan redesigned.   The central milonga venues are within walking distance: Club Gricel (9 blocks), Celia Tango Club (11 blocks), Centro Region Leonesa (14 blocks), Obelisco Tango (11 blocks), La Nacional (15), Casa de Galicia (15), and El Beso (16).

Take a video tour of the house.

You don’t have to go far from the house to buy food or dine out.  There are many option within three blocks of the house.

Jose Luis and his mother Elsa run the corner fruit and vegetable market on Av. Independencia 2429.  When Jose Luis isn’t busy with college classes and studying, he likes to practice his English with customers.

Ezekiel and his brother Martin own the local health food shop at Alberti 582 (2 blocks from the house) with hundreds of products including beans, grains, nuts, seeds, tofu, teas, and spices, and  natural personal care products.  The shop is open from 8:00am to 9:00pm, Monday-Saturday.  Ezekiel, who speaks English, is in charge from 3:00-9:00pm, and all day on Monday.

There is a shop around the corner on Matheu selling fresh media lunas every morning.

The local ice cream shop Castellon is two blocks from the house on Av. Independencia with a long list of delicious flavors.

One of the city’s notable bars–Bar de Cao— is right around the corner at Av. Independencia 2400 for lunch, coffee, and dinner.

You can drop off clothes in the morning with Sun, the owner from China, and pick them up in the evening at the laundry in the next block on Chile.  It’s 55 pesos for washing/drying a bag of clothes — about $4.

Empanadas, spaghetti, ravioli, salsas, etc. are homemade from the kitchen at Ali’s on Av. Independencia and Pichincha.

When your tango shoes need repairing, Enzo is the expert in the neighborhood.  He’s added rubber soles, heel tips, and repaired many pairs of shoes for me.  His shop is just a few doors down from La Campina Dietetica on Alberti.

You can live like a porteno at Juan’s house.