Krista Hotel Boutique Buenos Aires

Tobacco, leather and latino perfume ahhh the sweet smells of Buenos Aires. After a few days here I´m starting to feel like a real porteña!
Did I mention that BA is gigantic? I think I walk about one marathon a day here. As many of you know, I am very directional callenged, sooo this results in me asking about 10 times an hour, perdón dónde está this or that. And the lovely porteños are (usually) more than happy to show me where and how ...

... Argentinian - i,m contanstantly getting asked by Argentinians for directions, which is a good thing, because if i dont look like a gringo then i dont stand out as much as a target for getting robbed!! Only problem is my knowledge of the streets of Bs As is limited - the other day a frail old woman asked me the way to Av. Cordoba and i told her where i THOUGHT it was, and continued in the opposite direction of where i had directed her....next ...

... bad getting into Argentine time, but I´d been a good girl and I´d booked myself some Spanish lessons, but they started at 9am! What with getting over the jet lag I´ve been very tired!!!
In between my Spanish classes and eating, I´ve managed to have a tango class, and visit a couple of milongas (dance halls). The Argentine tango is amazing to watch, but very hard to do, I´m afraid to say ...

... guitar). The food was also divine and we can strongly recommend Malbec red wine from Mendoza! I think for a while now we are all steaked out!

Big cities are great for getting organised as all the resources are at your fingertips, so we spent quite a bit of time this week planning the next leg of our trip, helped along by a very friendly travel agent (who almost joined us because he was so excited about what we are going ...

... included a Chinese girl who lived in the States. It was amazing the amount of attention she received from those Argentine guys.. It was funny to think of a Chinese as being so exotic! So to all you girls in Hong Kong and the PRC, Argentina`s the place to be!

I did have a few adventures, one of which was drinking in a hostel until around 4 am, until it was the fashionable time to "go out", but by then I was too tired ...

... the bargain it apparently once was. I wouldn't change much except for doing a few things in a slightly cheaper way. However, I'd probably have spent slightly less time in Buenos Aires. Unless you want to explore specific aspects in greater depth then 4 days is probably enough, though you could spend endless nights. People I have met on my travels have told me of the wonderful experiences to be had elsewhere in this country, in Patagonia, Bariloche and Salta ...

... savings. You never know when the government is going to decide that it will take all of your pension savings, as happened in the last several months when the government realized it was about to default on its sovereign debt-it had to get money somewhere-why not the pensions (which were only privatized 14 years ago!!)? So, maybe I'm cut out for LatAm! Flexibility, adaptation, doing well with little data, being patient, being alert to and ...

... streets, and even the people themselves, descended mostly from Italian and Spanish immigrants, make you feel like you're in Europe more than South America. The elegant Recoleta neighborhood houses Buenos Aires' rich and powerful. Indeed, looking at some of the stately facades and exclusive retailers, you would think you were actually in Paris or Beverly Hills

... Oxford Street. It´s was very busy (especially during the Xmas period) but safe with a good mixture of recognised Westernised brands and obscure local shops. Christmas Eve Argentina celebrate Xmas eve in true party style with their friends and family. Xmas day is a lot more subdued, the opposite of a traditional Xmas back home. Night life also starts very late in Argentina, those in the know will have a power nap before dinner. After awakening from our ...

... The main street is called the Caminito, and is instantly recognisable as all the buildings are painted in various shades of bright colours, reds, yellows, oranges , blue, they have everything, there are lots of people selling paintings and art, even a guy who has a disability with his arms who paints with his paintbrush in his mouth. We stumbled across a great place to eat that day, instead of visiting one of the touristy restaurants, basically it was someones back garden, and they ...