Sofitel La Reservas Cardales Buenos Aires

... and had an early dinner and an early night after a long day of travel....<br><br>The next morning we got up early and made use of the free bikes our hostel provides to take a long ride to the neighbourhoods of Palermo and Recoleta. This time we brought our camera -- so we have some pics from the day. We saw the metal Flower sculpture which opens and closes with the light just like a real flower (only it's 30 feet highl!). We also rode around the Palermo parks with ...

... from the hotel go towards her Niños Foundation, which helps feed, shower, and teach the local children as well as provide them with dental and medical attention. She started opening what she calls Niños Restaurants, which are not true restaurants, but places where the children can go and eat. She expanded the program to include all of the other things mentioned above. She now has several of them around the city and feeds 600 children a day.<br><br>Anyway ...

... insects and coloured fibres grow under your skin (lost all credibility, however, when the prime interviewee was from Nimben) and the light bulb in my room died a long and crackly death right at a big climax of Welcome, Ghosts. <br><br>Tonight was a fiesta a la casa del costa rica (Dustin and Marianne´s house), again a top night that ended up in Palermo bars. Talked to quite a few locals, really friendly and recommended their favourite nightspots.

... even be worse, as we passed by one of the city's most run-down shantytowns on the way past the Old Port back to the centre. What a contrast between the sprawling European-style mansions and luxury of the northern part of the city and the abject poverty visible in the south. Argentina's economic collapse at the beginning of the decade took its toll, to be sure.<br><br>The not-so-picturesque waterfront<br><br>The Old Port isn't much used anymore. The new port, Puerto Madero, is ...

... and later in Patagonia and it was enlightening to find out the reason why. There is even an episode of the West Wing where they discuss this alternative map projection of south up, but CJ vetoes it as the map was "freaking her out". Mary and I caught our Buquebus back to BA and had a relaxed night in San Telmo to prepare ourselves for one last BA adventure on Sunday before catching our Monday flight down to ...

... failed to give a tour of the facility and charged a hefty tasting fee...but we did them anyways. By the end of the day, about 8 glasses of wine each slowed our biking down a little bit, but we finally made it home. We'll admit, it was far, about 45 km in total, but it was well worth it just to beat the system. Steph and Chad, two, tour companies, zero. Mendoza was a beautiful town, and possessed some nice squares, parks ...

Hey! So I'm pretty sure that not one licensed driver in Buenos Aires would be able to pass the state permit test back home. I am serious when I say that I fear for my life almost every time I take a cab around the city. Not to mention, crossing the street is like playing chicken with the cars. If you are in the way of a vehicle, be it car, bus, motorcycle, dirt bike, or truck, they will not hesitate to run you over. Something like 10,000 people are killed yearly by traffic related ...

... On our walk round we were taken to an excavation of a 'concentration camp' where some people were kept, it was the basement of an old police station. The station was knocked down in the late 80s and a flyover road know coasts above it, so excavation has been difficult. Interesting that they chose that exact site to build a new road. We were also shown the points, each commemorated with its own plaque, where 5 people were killed by ...

... was staying there with his highschool freind, Juan. Is is definitely not a backpackers place, it was a nice change to be around local spanish speakers and off the gringo trail. Juan and Dave took pity on Nick and I and let us stay in their apartment for a couple of days, this was great as saved us loads of money. 4 Guys from BA followed us so there was a little crowd to see the NY in. We were hoping for relaxation on the beach....we were so ...

... there is dog **** everywhere (nearly as bad as Paris!) so you really do have to watch where you walk at times! Dogs are in great evidence here. Everyone seems to own one despite the fact that most people, at least in central BA seem to live quite small, high rise apartments (hence the reason for all the dog **** I suppose). The Palermo area also has lots of shops in which to by groceries etc. and there are also a number of Carrefour and Disco supermarkets ...