Alison: We arrived in BA (that's what the cool crowd call it) after an 18 hour overnight bus journey. The journey was fairly comfortable as it was a cama bus (almost flat seats) and we were right at the front so had a bit of a view and some extra leg room. We also met a nice Argentinian lady from BA who offered to show us around. The downside of the journey was the food. We got a snack pack as we got on which was a nice touch but it got to10pm and no evening meal had arrived yet. People in Argentina eat their main meal very late....definitely after 9pm but usually after 10pm. I'm not too sure why this is but I think it may be something to do with the long afternoon siesta that everyone seems to take so they stay up later?? We had previously been given a meal on another bus around 10.30pm so I was half expecting the same but this time, just as we had given up hope and were settling down to sleep, the bus driver pulled over at a heaving roadside restaurant and we all had to get off the bus and go in for food - this was at 11pm. Nobody else batted an eyelid but ours would have been batting like crazy if it hadn't have been for the matchsticks holding them open! I've never eaten a spag bol and a bowl of jelly at midnight before and I'm not sure I will again.

I bet you can guess what we did on the first day in BA......yep, we went on a free walking tour! They are just so good for introducing you to a city and to help you get your bearings. On this tour we started in Plaza del Congreso and spent 3 hours seeing the main attractions until we ended up at Obelisco de Buenos Aires. The most interesting area was the Plaza de Mayo which contains the main cathedral and the Pink House. The Pink House is where the current president works and it is also where Eva Peron fought for the right for women to vote and won. She famously spoke to the public from the balcony of the house and this is the same balcony that Madonna later stood on whilst singing 'Don't Cry for Me Argentina' during the filming of Evita. The house has a fence as you would expect but there are also some bigger heavy duty fences that are used intermittently to keep crowds of protestors back. Protests are very common in BA and we were told that there is often up to 10 a day in the city. They aren't small either. When people protest, one of the major roads leading to the Pink House is closed and the big fences are pulled across to completely protect the house as the protests end right in front. There is a permanent riot police presence outside the house because of the constant stream of protests. There must be a lot of angry people in BA! We saw a couple while we were there. One involved hundreds of people marching up the road with banners etc in the usual protest style but the other was a little different as it was a permanent demonstration outside the Pink House. These guys are all ex soldiers and have been there for 6 years. Their grievance is to do with the fact that they were waiting to fight in the Fawklands but the war ended before they actually went over there and so now they don't get the privileges that veterans do because they didn't actually fight. I'm not sure how long they will last there but fair play, 6 years is a long time!

Following on from the walking tour, we then arranged to meet up with Susan who was the lady we met on the bus. We weren't too sure how the meeting was going to go as her English was very limited and our Spanish is virtually nonexistent. In the end it was a very nice evening. We saw a few other things that we had not seen on our earlier walking tour and we also got to see some people do the dance that Argentina is famous for...the tango. It was really nice that Susan took the time to show us around and it was also good for her as she is visiting Australia next year and wanted to practice her English.

Nigel: The following day we decided to take the open top bus tour and see the sites which we hadn't seen the previous day. Before we did this, we had to venture over to the bus station to book our next bus and then head down to a street called Florida (pronounced more like the musician Flo Rida than the state) to change money. Fortunately for us, there was a "tour agency" in the bus station which changed money so we could kill two birds. The rate they were offering was not the best but we thought it was safe and easy. It could have turned horribly wrong if it wasn't for Alison being vigilant (...nosey nature (Norma)!!). When we were changing the money there was a guy stood near the next counter, who kept looking over at us. We didn't think too much abut it but we changed our money and left the station. It was only when we walked for about 5 minutes and stopped at the traffic lights that Alison noticed the same guy from the station next to us. He was acting a little dodgy and when we took a while to cross the road, he stood back and didn't cross until we had. Alison noticed this and she told me to stop and cross to the other side of the road. We let him walk by and after a while he turned to look back. It could have all been innocent but well done Alison!

After our escape from death, we caught the bus to take the tour. There are several stops which you can get off at but for us there was only two main ones. The first being the cemetery where Eva Peron was buried and then Bocca Juniors football stadium and its surrounding area.

The cemetery was a very strange place but well worth the visit. There are many dignitaries that are buried there, and you walk around through alleyways. It is not your typical graveyard as instead of having head stones everywhere, the cemetery consisted of big buildings/tombs which may house several family members. The buildings are constructed out of different materials but most had marble cladding. They're tightly packed and some were grand and tall. When looking in on some, you could see the coffins of the deceased and even ladders which went underground. You wouldn't make this a hobby of walking around graveyards but the displays of the buildings was very impressive. Next stop.. lunch.

After eating in a restaurant nearby and a walk to the next stop, we continued going around BA on the bus until we reached our next destination. Boca Juniors stadium. Although I like football, I am not an avid fan of South American football. I hear it is good to go to matches but for us there was no games scheduled during our time in BA. We were told on our first day that if we want to go to the stadium, you shouldn't walk there and we should take public transport. When we were going through the area of the stadium we knew why. It was rough. Around the stadium it was ok as there was police presence. After a quick look around the stadium and the club shop, we headed to a part of town that was walking distance away. Famous for its colourful painted buildings, the area is often seen on post cards.It was good to see but at this stage we were ready for a rest and our minds were on heading off to Iguazu Falls in Northern Argentina the next day.