Buenos Aires, Argentina

We thought it would be fun to stay put for a while and practice our Spanish. We rented a studio overlooking the infamous Cemetario de Recoleta (where Evita is buried) and had a relaxing 9 day stay in Buenos Aires – one of our longest stays in one city at a time!

Our first introduction to South America was a lesson on how to walk without hitting one of the bio hazard land mines that are placed throughout the city sidewalks every morning.

We reunited with Margo, our travel buddy we had met in Africa, and rented some bikes to tour around the city. Lucky for us, our new Argentinian friend Adrian knew a good route and all the good spots for chorizopan and hamburguesa completa! He even knew of a local tango spot where it seemed to be quite normal to take a dance lesson in 90 degrees. We perfected our steps so that we mingled near the one and only fan.

It was summer in Buenos Aires and there were loads of fun city hosted festivals for “Verano en la Ciudad”. There was everything from creating a fake beach in the park to a tango circus variety show and ExTrEmE TaNgO where the dancers were attached to bungee cords!

We couldn’t help but notice a pharmacy or an ice cream shop (heladeria) on every corner. We first had had to sample from the entire menu of different varieties of Dulce de Leche! Cooling off with air conditioning is also a must, and one of our favorite spots was El Ateneo Grand Splendid, an old theater converted into a bookstore where you can have a coffee on stage, or enjoy a book in one of the box seats!

We really loved Buenos Aries and offer a few bits of advice for future travelers.
1. take advantage of the blue/black market money exchange. We were getting 7:1 instead of 5:1 (shot out to xoom .com)
2. if you are into race car driving, sit in the front of a bus and watch how they weave through traffic and come screeching across three lanes to pick up passengers
3. find a way into a local’s fridge and check out the milk carton, or lake there of!