Last night’s meal at Don Julio, while tasty, didn’t agree with Clint and the poor guy spent the day trying to recover from something that upset his stomach. Ryan, however, went out and continued to explore the city. It was a pleasant day to explore, with temps in the mid-70s (F) and clear skies. Here are a few shots from the day …

The Retiro Clock Tower, formerly the English Tower, in the Retiro district.

Looking down a corridor in the Retiro.

A convent in the middle of the Retiro district.

A high-end shopping galleria near the Retiro. Christmas decor already already up.

Old meets new in architecture all around BA.

Av. 9th of July ... the widest in the city (also said to be the widest in S. America).

The Cervantes Theater - Argentina's national theater. Beautiful architecture.

Jewish Temple opposite Teatro Cervantes. Buenos Aires is said to have the world's third largest Jewish population.

National buildings in front of the national courts (Tribunales).

National Court ... Los Tribunales.

After a day of sightseeing, a nap was in order before we ventured out in the evening to our second closed door restaurant  … or puerta cerrada. Luckily, Clint was feeling better by the time we needed to head off.

Outside the puerta cerrada, Casa Felix.

The food at Casa Felix was fantastic … very fresh and creative. Here’s a run-down of the courses we were served.

We started with a welcome drink made from cachaca (a liquor made from sugar cane), lime, mint, and lemon balm. With that we had green tomatoes, basil, and bocconchino appetizers. (Oops, forgot to take photos of these two).

Onc seated, we started with …

Causa limena with oyster mushrooms and huacatay sauce.

Huacatay is an aromatic herb that Sanra and Diego, our hosts, grow in their garden and is native to South America. The green sauce surrounding this dish was a bit spicy … and quite tasty.

Next up  …

Papaya, almond, and ricotta stuffed hibiscus flowers with mixed greens and a guava vinaigrette.

The stuffed hibiscus flowers were amazing and Ryan’s favorite dish of the evening. The Malbec rosé paired with this dish was excellent, as well.

After this course we were served a mandarin orange granita to cleanse our palettes. It was delicious, but consumed before Ryan remember to take a photo.

The main course was next …

Grilled anchovy (we never knew anchovies could be so BIG) over a squash tamal with fennel and pecans, calchaquies pepper sauce.

Oh, it felt good to eat something light and healthy again!

Dessert was up next …

A strawberry and cashew mousse with an almond and date crust.

After dinner, we were served a cup of mate (mah’-tay), a traditional Argentine drink, but prepared in the Peruvian style. It wasn’t our “cup of tea,” per se, but was fun to experience a truly South American drink.

At the first puerta cerrada we tried, the groups ate ate at two large tables. At this particular one, though, we were seated separately, but we were still able to make conversation with those immediately around us.

Dining at Casa Felix

Our hosts, Sanra and Diego, were fun and very skilled. We had a great time at their home and left with pleasant memories … and very full tummies.

Sanra y Diego

We also met other guests at the dinner from around the world. We ended up speaking with a couple from Toronto for most of the evening, Mark and Sheila …

Post dinner pic (do we look full?) with Mark and Sheila from Toronto.

We would highly recommend the whole puerta cerrada concept to anyone traveling here and would especially recommend Casa Felix as a great option.

So now we have just a few days left before we make the journey home. As I (Ryan) have explored the town a bit over the last few days, I’ve felt a strange feeling welling up inside of me. I’ve identified it as a feeling that I know I’m going to miss this place once we have to leave. I’m not sure what, specifically, it is that I’ll miss … the city life, the very friendly people, the unique blend of Latin American and European cultures, the dulce de leche … something, though, has grabbed hold of of my heart here. Both of us have enjoyed it here a lot and expect to enjoy it more over the next few days before we go home. At this point, it looks like the mission of truly being on vacation will have been accomplished.