Buenos Aires, Argentina (March 3 to March7, 2011)

We said goodbye to our host, Christian in el Hostal Del Barrio in Santiago, as scheduled on March 3, 2011

We get lost on our way to the airport, but after some slight nervosity in the air, everything returns back to normal. After Chile, follow us to

Argentina !

The first day, we discover the city on foot. Buenos Aires has Parisian airs, the influence of French architecture is in many places. It's a very large city (14 millions inhabitants with its suburbs), it's lively, very noisy but with many parks, activities, cars, buses, motorcycles that zoom by and around you, restaurants filled very early in the morning to very late at night. By the way, Buenos Aires is the home of the widest avenue in the world, Avenida 9 de Julio, 140 meters wide at his largest, with 16 lanes in total ! it took us 3 traffic lights on foot to cross it the first time ! The obelisk in the middle of the avenue is 67 meters high and was constructed in 1936 within one month.

We have decided to take advantage of the city bus tours for 2 days, where you can hop in and hop out. We will thus learn more about B.A. and its history, get a first good look and therefore be able to decide where we would like to come back.

We visit the Fine Arts Museum, the Pilar Church and the Recoletta Cemetary where Eva Duarde de Perron has been buried. She was loved by her people and still many years later, fresh flowers are on the tomb. She died at the age of 33 from cancer.

The Recoletta Cemetary also reminds us slightly (although much smaller) of the ``Cimetière du Père Lachaise'' in Paris with its many monuments.

Our third night in BA, there is the "Carnaval". It's not Rio de Janeiro, but it's lively, familial and fun. People dance and join the party in the streets.

We only eat a Choripan (sausage with a piece of bread), as we are not very hungry. We had eaten a delicious Pizza at "Guerrin'' with lots of cheese, oignons and ham !

It is important to note that BA owes a lot to its Italian community, namely from Genoa, who immigrated here in the 1880's.

That night was not the best (what a surprise !), not because of the hostel's clients, but because of the noise in the street. The mood is not the best in the morning, as in addition, there is no light, no hydro and therefore no breakfast ! We head for a small bar recommended by the Guide du Routard. We are disappointed by the service, we wait for a long time and it's expensive. No tip ! The mood has not improved yet. We decide to walk through the streets of San Telmo and although it is still early, the streets have been invaded by people. You have kilometers of stands of all kinds, many antiques. We are surprised by the talent of some of the artists and their creativity, not one stand is the same. Absolutely a Must see, when you are in B.A.

Our next stop is the neighbourhood of ``La Boca``, which means mouth in French, as this historical quarter is located at the mouth of the River Plata. This neighbourhood is colourful, very popular and extremely touristic, but still fun to see ! ... and what would La Boca be without its demonstrations of ``Tangos`` for the tourists ?

Alain et Lucille, on pense a vous, les amateurs de danse et de tango surtout !

A lone woman, dressed in a slit skirt and high heels casually looks here and there. Her gaze locks onto a stranger`s eyes and there it is, the pair head out towards the dance floor. This is the spirit of tango, seduction, sensuality with faces almost touching. No wonder this dance was scandalous at one time ! Its origin comes from the bordelos in the 1880`s of Buenos Aires and it reached his peak with the singer, Carlos Gardel (born in France) who came to Argentina with his mother at the age of 3.

We take the bus again, stop in the Puerto Madeiro where we can see the bridge dedicated to women ``El Puente de la mujer``.

We are exhausted at the end of the day again...

The night has been slightly better and the mood is now better. We take the bus again, make some pictures of the Eva Perron statue and walk to Floralis Generica Monument.

We walk and walk and walk again, stop for a coffee, then decide that we deserve... another pizza. Looks good, huh ? Yummy, too ! with some Argentinan wine, of course.... and for those who have been wondering about our many pictures of food,  please don't forget, that one of our goals during our trip is to enjoy food ! and wine or the local alcohol !

A couple more pictures and we finally head back to our hostel.

Four full days in Buenos Aires is a minimum to spend. A lot to see, a lot to do and a lot to enjoy ! Another coup de coeur during our trip !
Tomorrow, we leave B.A. and we are On the Road Again... to Al Sur...