the park hyatt / palacio duhau, buenos aires, argentina. or, as i like to call it, "tim, this is how we should be living".

i know, right?

it's like moldavia, manderley, and tara
all rolled into one edifice.

this is where we stay when we're in buenos aires,
and i have to say it's in the top three of my favorite hotels.

a former palacio, purchased by the hyatt group and completely redone,
half the grounds are the original building, half are a modern hotel.
the courtyard that connects them, complete with waterfalls and terraces,
is one of my favorite places to sit and unwind:

the new building,
a limestone graceland,
is filled with modern sculpture, a pool, gray birdseye maple,
and the requisite sleek bathrooms en suite:

the original palacio duhau,
which contains two restaurants, the gym, a bar,
and a staff so discreet they barely exist to the eye,
is stunning:

having spent evenings in both sides of the hotel,
of course my heart went a little insane on the duhau side.
i don't know if it was the garret-like slope to the roof,
the enormous chandelier,
the mix of modern art and plated hardware:

or the curtains!

but regardless of the side,
it's the littlest things that make a hotel stay a respite for you
rather than a reminder of your distance from home.

take breakfast.

michael and i would meet on the terrace,
and talk about the day to begin:

somewhere between the sun and the baby cacti on the table,
this would arrive:

that's right.

those are semi-sweet chocolate eggs, my friends.
resting on ground cane sugar.

you drop them in the frothy heated milk.
and make your own hot chocolate.

and are spoiled for the rest of your life
to all other forms
of breakfast.