Rochester Hotel Buenos Aires

... in this area there were markets shopping malls cafes and heaps of people. The atmosphere was great.

Monty and I appear to be suffering jet lag pretty bad. We got home yesterday at 5pm from our day out I fell in to bed and rose again today (Sunday) at 9.00am. Missed dinner we even went to the supermarket and bought sausages to cook for dinner. Oh well always tonight.

Our ...

... We went for the super cama class (even better than the last one) because it wasn't much more for a proper bed that lies flat. When we had booked that we caught the Subte (Metro) to San Telmo and had a look around the Antiques market which was really good fun. We then headed to La Boca, a very colourful bohemian district close to the docks which was first settled by the Italian migrants. We walked up the famous street “Camonito” where the ...

... and is a major national event. Whereever you are in the country, while someone may support their local squad, they will also be a fan of one of these two teams. Nearly all of the top division's clubs hail from Buenos Aires province. As I said before, these people know how to live. Touring the Neighborhoods of BA San Telmo, the neighborhood where we stayed, is the oldest barrio in BA, the heart of tango culture ...

... has 42%. They are the top two favourtie teams and when they plan itīs madness. Thank god they werenīt playing today as River and colon were crazy enough! River has not been doing too well and Colon had beaten their last few opponents. This is the first game of the season although our guide did mention that they have been playing in some other winter league..... It got confusing! Anyways after strict instructions from Jono to NEVER ...

Landed in Buenos Aires this afternoon and immediately felt a million times better, although the flight was nerve-racking - I may have to travel exclusively by bicycle for the rest of my life, or develop a serious Valium habit. The sun was shining, I had that lovely feeling of stepping out into warm air as I left the plane, the people were tall, good-looking, well-dressed and pleasant-smelling, soft drinks were on sale in cans rather than only in plastic bottles (a pet hate of mine), and ...

... a cozy lounge called Ambient House in Palermo as it was his friendsī birthday. The lounge - on the second floor - was on the small side but the vibe was great- older crowd than the night before which was nice - place was packed. When we arrived they were playing lounge-house music but lo and behold, before we knew it the music switched to tons of retro and just like the night before, switched yet again at the peak of the night (230 -3am) to a latin mix. Gabriel says the ...

... Aires would be like Santiago. But it wasn't at all. There is a stark contrast to it all. Like most cities there are streets in Buenos Aires that reek of money with glass-shimmering designer shops with highly polished cars waiting outside. Jewellery shops with a bell outside and ominously expansive gated buildings with watchful security guards and CCTV outside. However, over all parts of the City there is a layer of neglect and decay. Beautiful historical buildings are just closed ...

... a ticket to Rosario, Argentina, just up the road a bit. Finally, in the middle of June, I was off! Just a short note: when I arrived, there was a huge uproar going on almost daily with the farmers, and later, truckers, concerning the tax hike that the govt had just installed on exports of soy. Almost daily demonstations, in the plaza, occurred, and blockades of the roads by the farmers in protest. These blockades were to impact me later in my travels.

... and 15 mins later ANOTHER 15 people showed up, so there was no room to swing a cat, it was way too crowded.

Katie was dragged up at one point to dance with the instructor, and was clearly ...