Hotel Mayo Buenos Aires

Hi all

Well we have had our first full week here in B.A. We have walked and walked got lost many many times and seen some wonderful things. We have been to Palemo this area has pubs and clubs and is a lot quiter than the city. Although it was lovely it was not the right day to see it given the weather. On Wednesday Monty decided we would find a place which sells leather goods. Well what an adventure that was we arrived in the area (murillo ...

... forward compared to NZ! - we were seranaded in a second hand store by two opera singing ´Rapheals´; approached on the street by a guy in broken english .. ¨My heart (dramatic pause)... is yours¨, ; and received the phone numbers of shop clerks via reciepts. All in good humour and adds another whole dimension to shopping!

The history of argentina fascinated me .. its a pretty interesting one between their military governments, Evita Peron years ...

... most famous soccer teams in the world. Home games are every Sunday. We had no definite plan in BA so we ended up spending the week in BA, with plans to go to a futbol game the following Sunday. We just needed to get tickets. We looked on the internet and talked to a few people about getting tickets. We could go on a tour with a guide but it would cost $150 US, and we're not into being lead around like cattle. We ...

... Artes (the museum of fine arts). Both were free and interesting. I think the Latin American one would've been more interesting if I'd taken a tour or could understand more Spanish. There were pre-Hispanic objects plus religious art from the early colonial times. The fine arts museum had some fantastic art. There were some sketches from Degas' ballet series, paintings by ...

... the country. I spent most of my time in the city relaxing and recovering from treks and bus journeys, although it was made difficult by the inescapable heat that was quite oppressive. Downtown BA was the usual city business - lots of cars, pollution and noise - and I was quite lazy in terms of visiting other areas so not too much to report here.

Good I am not making reservations and backpacking since I just keep changing my plans. I decided to spend the last couple of days of my trip in Uruguay. I chose to stay in Colonia del Sacramento and day trip to Montevideo. Via Bariloche bus reached Buenos Aires around 11:00am. I started to walk to the Buquebus station where I could take the boat to the Colonia del Sacramento from there ...

... At midnight, Jorge, Katerina and I went out for dinner at a restaurant where locals hang out. And guess what I ordered? YOU ARE RIGHT!!!! Steak!!!!! It was again a fabulous meal with wine, dessert at a great price. At 1:30, Katerina and I left the restaurant and took a taxi home. Jorge, went back to the practica to continue dancing tango. I bet he stayed until 4 a.m. or so. I am going to deal with some serious time and meal adjustments when I get home.

... by Evita's mausoleum and it proved quite exhausting.

First we were talked through the various changes in locations which Eva & her husband's remains have experienced, mainly between Argentina & Italy while their families waited for the old military "junta" dictatorship ...

... morning. By taking the overnight bus, we loose no travel time, and save on two nights of hotel. They even serve dinner and breakfast during the trip. We put the air tickets on hold and stroll over to the Retiro Bus Terminal to learn more. Continuing along Florida we arrive at Plaza San Martin. This is an elegant part of the city, where the best hotels are located. The Plaza is a lovely wooded green oasis ...