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Published: December 17th 2007
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And so, to the final place on our trip, and our final blog.
We arrived in Buenos Aires from Puerto Madryn to be greeted with beautiful sunshine and lovely warm days. Are you enjoying this in Blighty?! (Actually, by the time you read this we'll be back home so that'll wipe the smirks of our faces.)
We spent four days in the city, and what a fab city it is. Both of us agree it's the best big city we've been to, for a number of reasons. The architecture, even though the vast majority of the city is 20th century, is magnificent. Street after street lined with apartment buildings with ornate stonework, balconies that look down on the street below, and superbly designed doorways (and doors). There's alot of traffic of course, but the streets are packed with pedestrians also, making it easy to walk around the city and not feel overwhelmed, unlike, say, Lima.
We have put a few pictures up of some nice buildings like the Theatre Colon (which unfortuntely is closed for 18 months for a major renovation), the Cathedral (a bit different to your average South American cathedral), and a clock tower.
We could have added another dozen just as good.
At night the streets are just as alive, with street markets, and of course restaurants and bars by the score. We read in a tourist guide that at weekends the niteclubs don't get going until 2.30am and 'afterhours' bars stay open until 10am. That's 10am
the next day. Bridget nearly fainted.
Then there's the Tango shows. We went to one in a little restaurant where the dancers do their stuff in the middle of the room right next to the tables, then at the end of the show they ask the diners if they fancy a dance. Bridget had had a whole glass of wine so relished the chance to show 'em how it's done.
The food and drink is pretty good too. The wine is cheap and tastes good, as conneiseurs of fine wines like us know, and the steak is fantastic, T-Bone steak being the staple diet of Beunos Aireseans it seems.
On Monday we visited a town in the Pampas, San Antonio, to see what country life is like in Argentina. Unfortunately we chose the day of the inauguration of the new President,
1900s buildings on Avenue de Mayo
The hotel we stayed at on our last night was just down the road. so most places were shut, but we visited a silversmith where we watched the craftsmen work on silver buckles, spurs, and sports trophies. We made friends with a stray dog (well, a dog made friends with us) who, once latched onto us, followed us around the town for half an hour until we dived into a shop to lose him. He had vacant eyes, scraggy hair, and spit dripping from his chin. Our plan worked though, and once we'd seen him make new friends (with a couple of American women) we made a dash for the plaza.
The scenery on the road to the Pampas was pretty boring - acres and acres of flat farmland, which we were able to enjoy all the more when the bus back to Buenos Aires got ill and slowed down to 15mph for an hour, before we were transfered to another bus for the last 20 miles. We were starting to get worried because we had to pick our laundry up before 9pm, and Jez had no more clean pants...
And with that thought we will round off our blog.
We could get all emotional about what we enjoyed,
who we missed back home (and why), what "life lessons" (we think that's what they're called) we've learned, and how we might have changed during the last 15 weeks.
But that would require too much thought on our last full day, and there are shops that Bridget needs to go to, so we'll do a couple of quick lists instead:
Things (not people, that goes without saying) We Miss About Home Varied wardrobe (Bridget)
Painting nails (Bridget)
PG Tips (both)
Sainsbury's Olive Bar (Jez)
Cheese and biscuits (both. We haven't had a nice bit of Stilton for
months Putting toilet paper down the loo, instead of in a bin next to you (both)
Drinkable tap water (both)
Salad (both. We never thought it was possible to miss lettuce, but you do.)
Duvets, not layers of static-filled blankets (both)
Shops being open all day, instead of closing for three hours at lunchtime. Are they really sleeping? (both)
Wake Up To Wogan & Chris Evans Drivetime (Bridget)
Antiques Roadshow (Bridget, but secretly Jez also)
Things We'll Miss About South America Ceviche
Eating out every night
Luxury bus travel for
Pampas
Mile after mile of this. Makes a pleasant change after months of bloody mountains. about a pound an hour
Cheap, good wine. (Decent wine in boxes at a pound a litre).
Traffic-free roads. (Most places. Lima not incuded.)
The seemingly endless Andes.
The sense of space such a big place affords.
Volcanoes.
Lakes.
Icebergs.
Desert.
Woodland.
Mountains.
Glaciers.
Waterfalls.
And finally...
Bridget's advice to visitors to South America:
Expect the unexpected, and be prepared to be stunned and amazed.
Jez's advice to visitors to South America:
Breathe it all in. You won't be disappointed.
Ciao Ciao,
Love Bridge and Jez
xx
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Dawn
non-member comment
aaawww all good things must come to an end, so unfair!! I've enjoyed catching up on your adventures as you've globe trekked (well not quite, it sounds good) and I shall miss checking each day for an update!!. See you in the new year Bridget!!!