Today the temperature was 10 degrees cooler, only 80 F, and the humidity was 50%, so the weather was perfect and a nice change from our other days. We spent the morning walking through the neighborhood to see what was going on. Nothing. The streets were quiet with only a couple of cars and a few people outside. But we did see some sights along the way.

We headed to the Parque Tres de Febrero, one of the biggest parks in the city and, lucky for us, not far from our apartment. We spent a couple of hours walking around, exploring the park, and we discovered that this is where people headed when they were going stir-crazy on Christmas day.

As we headed home, we passed two kioscos (little shops that sell candy, chips, and drinks) that were open and one cafe. Everything else was shuttered.

We had lunch at home with the balcony doors wide open to let in the breeze, and then relaxed for a couple of hours.

We went back out for another long walk mid-afternoon since the weather was so nice. At this point, we saw a lot more people out, and cafes and gelaterias were open for business. People in Buenos Aires like their afternoon coffee and pastries and like their ice cream.

This time it was a little warmer outside, so we came back home to some air conditioning for an hour.

Then we headed out again at 5:30 for another walk to see what was open. Things were still pretty quiet around the neighborhood.

Then we found an intersection in the hipster area Palermo Soho with bars and snacks and sidewalk seating and lots of people. It makes sense that things would be open here since this part of the neighborhood is young and vibrant. We had a cocktail and then headed home for dinner.

Christmas here has not been quite what we expected. When we went to Madrid in November/December 2019, the city was decked out for Christmas.

When we made plans to spend Christmas week 2025 in Buenos Aires, I expected a grand celebration of the holiday and thought the city would be decorated. Instead, almost all of the decorations have been in shops. We’ve just seen a few things in public parks. And while things were quiet this morning, at the end of the day, the streets were bustling again, almost like it was a normal Thursday (but the shops were still closed).

But we have also seen these fun things. Merry Christmas!

And my personal favorite, a sign in a pet store. “Perro” means “dog”, so Perry Christmas!