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Published: January 28th 2006
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Argentina
Argentine flag. ¡Hola! Finally we arrived in Buenos Aires after a 9.5 hr pretty painful flight from Atlanta. The flight was overbooked, and for some odd reason, there were many kids on the flight. Kids could be cute and all, and they always spread around in the aircraft strategically that almost in every single rows and aisles, there was at least one kid. If one started to cry, it was loud, and of course the crying is contagious, therefore, almost throughout the whole flight, we heard different kid crying at different time. Not a good restful atmosphere, which oddly enough makes me really appreciate my parents and all parents in general for their sacrifices.
Thanks mom and dad!
We went through the immigration and custom with a breeze. Ezeiza International Airport is located about two hours bus ride from central BsAs, which gave us a quick glance through the city. Gasoline fumes and thick black smoke quickly filling our lungs, as things such as AC are never heard of in this crowded local bus.
Hipólito Yrigoyen is a street where our hostel is located, within walking distance to the famous
Casa Rosada, and after checking in and putting our
Galerias Pacifico
A Christmas decoration at the shopping mall. big arse bags away, we went directly to the Uruguay Embassy in
Las Heras Recoletta to pick up my visitors visa.
BsAs reminds me of a mixture of Rome, Paris and Mexico City. With cold winter nights in the northern hemisphere in mind, BsAs has a perfect weather in the 80s F (around 29°C). No winter clothes is needed, which reveals a fashion show display on the streets of BsAs, as most residents dress up like Europeans.
BsAs has a big potential to grow on you, and it impresses me so far. The people look white European, and everytime we asked whether they speak English,
¿Hablar inglese? the answer is
¡No!, even though they all are friendly and willing to help. The good thing is that we are forced to speak Spanish, and I have a strong feeling that by the end of this trip, my Spanish will be significantly improved.
We had an opportunity to pay our respects to Evita Peron at the
Cementerio de la Recoleta, where the rich and famous are buried. Rows and rows of expensive marble and granite mausoleums form avenues and intersections of a city of the deads. In many tombs,
Floral Generica
Big metal flower sculpture at the Plaza Nacioner Unidas. the glass sidewall allow us to peek in and see the coffins within our reach. Pretty creppy.
We decided to take it easy after a restless night and our jetlag started to settle in. Chilling by the
Floral Generica overlooking BsAs skylines at the
Plaza Naciones Unidas is something we had in mind, and continue on to check out the
Galerias Pacífico in a pedestrian friendly Florida street. We also managed to walk across the
Av. 9 de Julio, which has the reputation of being the widest intersection in the world, with twenty vehicle lanes and three strips of island (one of them which the famous BsAs obelisk is proudly standing). Supposedly this intersection can accomodate the crazy Argentine soccer fans whenever they have celebrations or parades.
BsAs is cheap especially if one is traveling with US dollars. I had one of the best dinner in a long time, with the famous Argentine sirloin steak and a glass of house wine. One of the biggest Argentine economy come from beef industry, and even though there is no ranch in sight in BsAs (home of 13 million people, a third of Argentina's population), there are plenty outside the city
Cementerio de la Recoleta
The entrance to the fancy cemetery limit. Even Ryan who is usually picky with his food tried my steak and had an instant liking, which is very unusual. My thick, juicy steak cost me less than US$7, and I can't imagine how much they would sell steak like this in Atlanta.
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Nathan Meyer
non-member comment
You the man!!
Good to hear that you are enjoying the Argentina atmosphere! My Argentinian office mate says that you should try Las Lilas in Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires (close to downtown) one of the better steakhouses (expensive) in the city. Siga La Vaca is a less expensive steakhouse and is worth the money. Keep up the fun and keep the pictures coming. Have a great trip