Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires - the city of tango, mate tea and all night partying was definitely a memorable one. Yes the architecture and greenery of the city is beautiful and very European, but really makes BA a must-see city is the culture of non-stop, all hours drinking, eating, socialising and dancing. We really don't know how they manage to eat and party so late and then function at work the following day!

We stayed in an apartment style B&B in the Palermo district which was a little like the Surry Hills equivilant - leafy streets, endless cafes and restaurants and boutique shopping. It was there that we enjoyed late breakfasts chatting with our roomies and the staff. You know you're on holidays when you need to set your alarm for 10.45 to make breakfast which ends at 11 : )

Some pics from our day at the Japanese Gardens & Zoo

Cafe Tortoni - BA's most famous cafe, serving up caffeine hits since 1858

Brightly coloured buildings in the La Boca district

Elise lapping up the antiques at the San Telmo Sunday market

 

Day at Tigre - riverside town where the locals spend their weekends to get away from the city

Buenos Aires is famous for two of it's football teams - Boca Juniors and River Plate, which have some of the most loyal and crazy fans in the world. We were lucky enough to see River Plate play against Velez one night, buying some tickets from a scalper who tried to screw us over on the price. This is where our Spanish comes in handy. Conversation went a little like this:

E&B: How much for 2?

Scalper: $200 pesos

E&B: No way, $100

Scalper: OK

Price halved within 2 seconds.

 

The game was AMAZING! Never have we seen such die-hard football fans before. They are so passionate that security needs to completely segregate both teams - providing different, secured entrances, barbed wire fences around the opposition and an entire section between the two teams empty so that nothing can be thrown at each other. It was quite hilarious for a regular season game!

It was also interesting to take in some tango in a milonga (tango salon) where we saw some amateurs and professionals dance while we enjoyed wine and empanadas with a Canadian/Australian couple from our B&B.

It's not often that a cemetery is a 'must-see' on our list, but after rave reviews online and from our friends in the B&B we decided to take a look. The cemetery is 'home' to some of the most important people in Argentina including Evita and it is so huge and elaborate that there are even street names and a map!

The one thing that made our stay so memorable was our friends in BA. Elise's friend from home, Kerry, made a surprise earlier than expected visit with her fiance while we were having breakfast and we enjoyed having some nights out drinking and eating with familiar faces! We also came to become friends with the staff and other guests where we were staying.

Our friend Juan (who we met in Mexico) and his circle of friends were unbelievably hospitable and went out of their way to make our stay as enjoyable and authentic as possible, showing us some out of the way sites and inviting us into their homes. We particularly loved a night with Juan and his semi-girlfriend Manuela (the Argentinians have turbulent relationships) to see a modern rock-style tango band play. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yUEQ5qREt0.

Ben enjoyed having some nights out with the boys and managed to get 6 hours sleep within a 48 hour period before we headed off for Ushuaia.