I managed to keep myself out of mischief on the next bus ride, and we arrived in Buenos Aires early Thursday morning. We had all been hanging out for the bright lights of BA and jumping out of our skin to have a week traversing the city... and walking off over indulgences from the past fortnight.
First impressions of BA... modern, vibrant, busy and lots and lots of fun! The city oozes culture with lively squares, outdoor cafes and restaurants, tango theatres, museums, parks and gardens... certainly the kind of place I could live (it's now number 2 on the wish list, behind New York). I am instantly in love and almost frantic in my desire to absorb every possible sight, setting a cracking pace that loses several members of our group.
This in itself is ironic as usually I'm the one content to people watching from a cafe` or park bench. But this place! It is just bewitching, and has me throwing superfluous adjectives all over the place.
We stayed our first night in the smart, funky Palermo Soho neighbourhood which is renound for boutique stores and first class night life. However central BA is where much of the activity revolves around and we moved there in time for the weekend... which of course was the beginning of much shenanigans! A good crew had formed at our hostel, and the precursor to each nights activity was many, many happy hour drinks at the bar... getting everyone cherry ripe and ready to unleash on the town.
In fact after shaking it at Crobar on Friday night, Luke, Kim and I decided it was a good idea to check out a late club (late as in 'its too late to turn back', the kind of place that only gets cranking once the sun comes up). A decision that was questionable at best, and took us to a seedy, dank place which contained every misfit in Buenos Aires... so we called it a night, caught some zeds and backed up at happy hour a few hours later, before onto a tango show and out on the town again.
Monday and it was time to put our tourist hats back on... we seedily traipsed to El Tigre, a port province north of the city. At times like this my fluent Spanglish came in handy, and after deciding the tourist boat wasn't for us, I approached a local sitting in his speed boat and asked if he could take us for a spin. He obliged and we headed out along the deltas for two hours... enjoying the forrested islands, holiday houses and a dip along the way.
We also visited Recoletta Cemetary in the heart of BA - aka the burial place of the city's favourite daughter, Eva Peron. It was intriguing reading the scripts on some of the old vaults and tombstones, and I found myself feeling nostalgic imagining what loves had been lost over the years.
And speaking of love. I'm quite happy to confess that BA is one place where I have actively checked out the real natural beauty - the women. Oh my, there are some amazing creatures roaming the streets. Both Kim and I found ourselves stopping mid-conversation on a number of occasions, to shake our heads and say wow, she was an eleven! Credit where credit is due as they say.
Our final day in BA was spent visiting the colourful artistan neighbourhood of Boca, with its famous painted houses. Whilst it's clearly a tourist mecca, the houses were cheerful and we had a lovely catch up with old friend Jo (...thanks for the coffee!).
Sensational weekend, first class city... can't wait to return one day!
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