Buenos Aires - our first destination

The first and longest flight of the year flew by (excuse the pun) with a large selection of movies and excellent service. Thank you British Airways. The guesthouse taxi service was waiting to meet us at the airport and waited patiently whilst we attempted to get money out of the airport cash machine where the fun began. Firstly we naively tried to get out 1500 Argentinen Pesos and soon discovered that a single transaction limit is 300 Pesos (100CHF). The next thing not so quickly realised was that the machines only accept 4 figure pin numbers not the 6 pin on our Suisse Card. The result was Kate's bank card blocked after three attempts. One card down in the first hour :)

We spent four days exploring the city. With 11 million citizens it's certainly a full on experience. The traffic only abates at the weekend and the Buenos Aires buses hurtle through town at terrifying speeds, sometimes only slowing down enough for people to jump off or on. San Telmo is an area of run down streets with old colonial charm peeping through from decaying buildings and plazas hosting street musicians antique markets and gringo priced cafes. Palermo is where it is all happening at night. Trendy bars and restaurants jostle shoulder to shoulder along the sidewalks as we picked our way through crowded tables of party people both locals and exteranjeros.

La Casita de San Telmo is the little self catering guesthouse for which Amelia spotted an advert.		We shared the kitchen with the other guests from Zurich and Berlin who are here purely for 3 weeks to 3 months doing Spanish and Tango courses. We heard that Tango was big in Argentina but didn't appreciate how much of a sub-culture it really is, with literally thousands of Tango Schools....though some locals may say that it is for tourism.
We also share the kitchen with this black socialite called Negrita!	Kate relaxing in Plaza de Dorrega.... Favourite BA beer = Chopp	......where tango dancers entertained in the evening.
	LEFT: Av 9 de Julio is the widest boulevard in the world. It ends at the French embassy who were one of the few who refused to let the old building be demolished in the name of progress. RIGHT: The Boca stadium from where Diego Maradonna started out.
	LEFT: Kitty at La Boca the old port of Buenos Aires and famous as the original Italian immigrant area. RIGHT: The original immigrants used left over boat paint on their shacks to make them colourful.

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