Buenos Aires


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South America » Argentina » Buenos Aires » Buenos Aires
January 14th 2009
Published: January 14th 2009
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Sorry ahead of time for no pictures. I cannot upload here and apparently I also forgot my USB cable. No worries though, I´ll figure something out.

So I made it here! After a long 10.5 hour flight with no sleep, I made it. I met some interesting people on the flight over. I sat next to an Argentinian named Fredrico who too was a musician. We shared music on the way over and talked about what we do. It turns out that he was in the middle of composing music for a movie by a famous actress in Argentina, Norma Aleandro. He introduced to a friend of his who so happened to be on the same flight. I forget the guys name but he was visting Broadway to check out some shows. Apparently he is going to be one of the main acters in The Phantom of the Opera in Buenos Aires. Fredrico offered to give me a ride from the airport, I took him up on it. Before heading over to my hostel we stopped by his house to drop off some luggage. He showed me the studio in his house where he records. His apartment was gorgeous for what it was.

My hostel is very nice. I´m staying at Estoril Hostel on Ave de Mayo. I´ve met a lot of people here already. My friends last night included an Aussie, a Brit, some people from the states and Canadian. It's funny, I would never have expected to be hanging out with people from Minnesota, Wyoming and Kanssas in Argentina. Israeli´s are everywhere! Some people are traveling together though a lot are traveling alone. Some people for a couple of weeks, some for months and others indefinitely. Everyone is very friendly.

Last night a bunch of us went out in Palermo hoping for a great dinner at a steak restaurant we heard about called La Cabarerra, but when we arrived the lines were around the block (It was the same place that Todd recommended) I guess it was the place to be. Palermo is a very trendy, expensive area where there is a lot of nightlife. Either way we settled for another restaurant around the corner which was pretty good. We had some steak there and a whole lot of wine for a very good price. After dinner we went around the bars in the area had a bunch more drinks and met new people.

Buenos Aires has a very late nightlife. We didn´t start eating dinner till around 11pm. Bars start getting busy around 2, 3am.

By the end of the night (or by the early morning) we ended up on the roof of our hostel. The roof has a bar and a great view of Ave de Mayo.

I can without a doubt say that my first night here in Buenos Aires has been amazing. Everyone has stories to tell and advice to give.

La Boca today was very fun. Myself, Chen and Emmy (two Israeli girls) and one other girl from California took the bus there. That reminds me. Taking the bus here is a bit complicated. Apparently there is a coin shortage in Argentina. Stores will not give you change as many do not have any. You can only pay for a local bus using coins which makes it very challenging. Still, we managed our way around and headed out. La Boca is famous for there football team La Boca Juniors. The stadium is gigantic! Also in La Boca there are many tango dancers. What really makes the area stand out are its brightly painted buildings painted yellow, blue and orange. It reminded me a lot of the houses in New Orleans. Generally, La Boca is not a very safe neighborhood. You are warned to stay near the water as that is where all the tourists are. The more you venture away, the more likely you are to be robbed.

The poverty here is pretty apparent. Taking the bus back from La Boca a family got on the bus, a mother and three kids. The kids were dirty, torn clothing and the youngest did not have shoes. You can see the homeless sleeping on the street, and the beggers asking for money. Just like anywhere else, there are places you go and places you don't.

I´m not sure what I will do come Friday when I do not have a hostel for the night. This one is fully booked and many others are too. I´ll keep everyone updated as to where I end up. I´d like to stay here longer though I may head south. Hopefully I keep this blog up. We´ll see.

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14th January 2009

Day 1
Well, glad u finally made it and having a good time. You'll start feeling like the world is alot smaller than u thought originally. Running into people from the states and around the world is awesome. keep us posted, stay safe and have fun. love ya
14th January 2009

Amazing!
Nate, it sounds like you're having an amazing time already. Take lots of pictures and keep blogging!
16th January 2009

upload some pics, man. Buffalo is currently 7 degrees, just thought i'd update you.
17th January 2009

Buenos dias
WHERE IN THE WORLD IS NATE?

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