Buenos Aires - THE place to be

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Ah that feeling when I arrived in Buenos Aires, after a 5 hour flight from La Paz - indescribable - it was like being at home again with all the usual comforts like central heating, modern shops and wide clean roads. The word contrast is an understatement.

I’m not too keen on cities, but after much travelling on 12 hour chicken buses I felt the need to settle a little bit and not feel the need to do too many touristy things. Buenos Aires has such a cool vibe to it - even when the weather was so dreary. It was interesting to note the difference in the people. Argentina is distinctly European. I did not see one black face, except for tourists of course. The only difference is that the roads are wider, more ‘American’. Everything else looks like it has been taken straight out of Madrid.

Another thing I noticed: the men. ‘Que Linda!’ a classic phrase. Is it because sexuality is somewhat suppressed here that men feel the need to express their machissimo in any shape or form…of a woman? Or is it the Spanish/Italian mix of their ancestors? It really is incredible…they are on heat. And I’m not just talking about random men on the street, I’m talking about police men, passport control officers, even pharmacists. My friend had a guy sing to her on the street, another friend was getting the winks from a guy who was having his neck kissed by his girlfriend and I had a bus conductor telling me seriously that he was falling in love with me, please! Incredible, and incredibly unique.

But apart from that, and the men are pretty harmless, Buenos Aires is the place to party. I couldn’t stop myself from doing at least a couple of touristy things, like the bike tour and a tango show, oh and visiting the graveyard in Recoletta to see Evita’s tomb. But the main attraction in Buenos Aires for me was the socialising, partying, shopping and of course, last but not least the all-you-can-eats!

There is something on every night. Despite staying up until 3am most nights, I only went out clubbing once, to club Nicetta and Club 69 - both very different and very….Argentinian, but cool. Shopping was an all day event with a couple of English gals I met at the hostel (Lindas I call them). Palermo is the place to go for good quality boutique gear. I am soo proud of my hand-made leather boots at bargain price, all with a very posh bag! Oh and the food - disappointingly I didn’t get a melt-in-the-mouth steak as promised in all the guide books, but the all-you-can-eat buffets were DELICIOUS, and the sole reason my waist line expanded a couple of inches by the end of my stay.

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Photos

La Boca
a bit touristy for me, but pretty

The bike tour
the streets of BA

Boca Juniors stadium
One man was hung there painting away in yellow

Food was just too good
Fiver for a slap up meal!

My friend FOT
and I was mini-FOT

It's usual to have this much meat
Krissy Krossy

Recoletta graveyard
So OTT, so unneccessary

Comments

[juan]

boca mi pacion
boca mi pacion