Buenos Aires

We arrived in Buenos Aires on a Saturday after a very tiring bus trip in. Unknown to us, the weekends are quieter in BA. So after arriving, we spent a good couple of hours wandering around trying to find life. We finally stumbled upon an open 'Parilla' (meaning barbacue/grill) restaurant in the 'San Telmo' district, who seemed to advertise itself using a life size cow. Kenny had steak.

The architecture in BA is fantastic.

The San Telmo area, especially, has a real Parisian feel.

Every Sunday there is a famous antiques market, very similar to Portobello market in London. Music is played, cafes spill outside and tango is often performed.

We had very much wanted to watch a Polo game while we were here and, to our delight, we happened to be in BA over the biggest tournament of the year: the Argentine Open.

It was like being back at home (only much warmer), every ex-pat in BA seemed to be there. Most conversations we heard were in English, however (differently to home) all levels of society attended. We thought it would be rude not to visit the Polo Bar. (Technically "The Polo Pub". Although "Polo Bar" would be a great name for an Arctic themed pub - Kenny)

The ponies waiting for their moment.

The game is fast and furious. 4 players on each side gallop up and down the field, chasing the ball trying to score a goal. They play 8 chuckers a game with each chucker lasting 7 minutes. Although they only have 4 riders they will go through 20 to 60 horses a game, as even the fittest horses tire very quickly.

We saw only 1 fall but many goals in this very exciting match.

We could not visit BA without watching a Tango show. While there are expensive official shows, we opted for a free one, which we watched while having dinner in an outside restaurant.

So beautiful, and a lovely way to while away an evening.

As the night became dark the atmosphere was wonderful under the old street lights.

Once the Tango had finished, a jazz band set up.

It was such a relaxed evening.

They played until the wee hours.

There are a few other famous places to visit in BA. Since 1880, the Recoleta Cemetery has been used to house the most important and rich residents of BA.

The huge mausoleums are closely packed in and stand as lasting tributes to the dead. It is almost like a village with lamp posts and pavements!

The most famous 'resident' being Eva Peron the beloved Evita.

The grandeur of some of these tombs was impressive, here Kenny believed to have found the entrance to Doctor Evil's lair.
(Being a child of the Manse inevitably gives you a rather irreverant respect for these places! - Kenny)

Another must see are the dog walkers, they are everywhere! How they manage them all without fights I did not know, but all seemed to be calm with the ones we spotted.

Some more beautifully decorated restaurants.

They really love their coloured fronts here.

No more than in the area called 'La Boca'. Surrounded by a less favorable area this tiny district has painted all the house fronts in fantastic style.

A rainbow of colour supposedly from when the Italians settled here.

I could have taken pictures all day.

One of the streets is full of restaurants that spill out onto the road, all attracting custom with their free Tango shows.

We settled in a busy eatery with a very active show.

Part of which was a guy whose talent was to swing round small wooden balls on the end of strings (often called 'Poise'). As part of his show he invited a customer on stage, puts a cigarette end in their mouth and flicks it out with his balls (his 'Poise' balls).
(This is the closest I've ever come to smoking. Scared the hell out of me! - Kenny)

I think we spent all afternoon watching the tango and drinking wine (which is so cheap here!!! Fantastic!). Lunch finally finished at around 4:30pm!

Buenos Aires was a huge city and much like huge cities, you have to look for the good stuff. We loved the places we visited but found it more tiring being there than the smaller towns we have mainly stayed in. It was also so expensive so, earlier than we had planned, we moved on down the coast and into Patagonia!