we made this place our home for five weeks. we loved it. being new to buenos aires we knew we wanted to be in "palermo." this apartment is near the palermo chico side of town between las heras and libertador and its location is IDEAL.

this turned out to be a central place near cafes, restaurants, a long string of parks along avenida libertador, walking distance to many museums and, happily for us, a microbrewery in recoleta.

there's a grocery store about 40ft down the block and it turns out they have some of the best prices in town and they're very friendly. there's a disco (grocery store) and a carrefour a few blocks away, too. and for the beer drinkers out there, take note: you will be charged extra money for the bottles so that you return them. we had no idea this extra charge was being added to our grocery bills. thanks to martha for clearing that up for us!

we loved tiendas naturales down the street, a fantastic, organic-minded fresh cafe with very good salads (kinda hard to find in BA), wraps and inexpensive glasses of wine and the friendliest wait staff in the world. they helped us with our spanish every time.

tip: get to know the bus routes and use them. from this part of the city all lines pass a block away and can take you anywhere for .30 cents a ride anywhere. the buses seem intimidating but don't let them be. it's a blast. also, the bulnes subway stop is a ten minute walk away near the alto palermo shopping area. las heras park is a block away and if you want to sit around and watch BA, it's all right there. mate drinkers, dog walkers, construction crews, badly behaving children and sidewalk salespeople.

the apartment is on the 10th floor on a corner with windows all around and the views make you feel like you're not in the middle of such a huge city. buenos aires is enormous and having a respite "above it all" every time you come "home" is wonderful.

mariana and her partner martha are fantastic hosts and just genuinely good people. we have no problem renting from them and they have answered all of our questions and needs and running into them around town has made us feel like locals. we could talk for hours.

this is a one bedroom apartment with a kitchen, a large sofa, great wifi and a dining area. after 4.5 months in southeast asia it was great to have a kitchen! for the light sleepers out there, bring some earplugs. after a few nights, though, we didn't even need them. this is a big city and traffic is never too far away.

we absolutely recommend this apartment and when we return to buenos aires, and we will, we'll contact mariana and martha and ask to stay here.