After all the dramas with the bus, we FINALLY arrived in Salta in the early evening. It was very quickly noticeable that we were in a more affluent place, as the bus station was much more modern and Argentine-looking (if that makes any sense!).On the cab ride to our hostel, we got to see just how beautiful the city was by night.Lights twinkled all over the city, which consisted of small streets lined with an interesting mix of modern and colonial buildings.We checked into our hostel and whilst the staff were absolutely lovely, the people weren't so friendly.The crowd seemed a lot older, but that aside, nobody smiled, said hello, or even really acknowledged that we were there.Exhausted from the journey, we decided to have an early night and face the world fresh the next morning.

The next day was much the same story, so we decided that we would check out and find another hostel whilst we were out and about, and move our bags later in the day. After a typical Argentine breakfast of medialunas (small, sweet croissants), we went to explore the city with our trusty guide books. We headed north out of the center towards what was supposed to be a large artisan market, however when we got there, it was nothing but a few stores arranged inside a building with ridiculously marked up prices.Nonetheless, it had been a nice hour long walk, complete with the most amazing and cheap ice-cream cones ever, but to save time we caught a cab back to the centre!The main square was really beautiful and as the weather was pretty warm, it was a nice place just to sit and watch the world go by. On one side was a stunning pink cathedral (yes really) and the other sides were framed by typical colonial arches. After a leisurely lunch, we continued our tour, taking in lots more colonial churches, buildings, and a few museums.We also wandered around the shops a bit and couldn't get over just how cheap everything was!!The clothes weren't as cheap as Bolivia by any means, but they were much closer style-wise to the kind of clothes we would buy back home, thus making sneaky purchases all the more tempting!!We successfully resisted though and after walking for a few more hours, we ended our day by getting a cable car up one of the mountains for a panoramic view over the city.

Whilst we had walked round the top of the mountain and taken in its various statues and artificial waterfalls in under 5 minutes, the view over the city was breath-taking as everything is surrounded by yet more rolling hills and mountains. With the help of our map, we were able to pick out all the buildings we had been to that day (and then some), before settling on the steps to watch the sun go down. Back in the city, we walked through the park where the cable car station was based, to find crowds listening to a small rock band comprised of three boys, none of which were over 18!They were pretty good however, and after stopping to listen for a while, we left to move our bags to another small hotel, which for a smaller fee was MUCH nicer, although there still weren't many people around.That evening we went for dinner on the square and tried to go to one of the nightspots listed in the guidebook, only to find that it didn't exist!!!There is definitely something to be said for traveling with 5 year old guide books!!

The next day we checked out and moved our bags into left luggage at the bus station, since we were catching a bus to Mendoza that night.On the way back into the town, we passed through the park again, where this time a military band were playing as the flag was raised on a monument.We continued our explorations of the city, but as it was a Sunday, things were pretty quiet and there weren't many people around.We dipped into a museum on the square, and from the balcony could see a small stage and millions of men in cycling shorts with their bikes!!Slightly bemused, we watched as an announcer called out rider's names and they each took it in turn to ride onto the stage and then off again.It turns out that a massive cycle race was due to take place in a few days and they were simply introducing all the contenders and giving them their numbers for the race!To end our day, we headed back to the park once more to play on the pedaloes on the lake.It was a good laugh as it is something we always seem to end up doing whenever we go away on holiday together, so it seemed highly appropriate! On the way out of the park to the bus station, we passed yet another random sight - some kind of pet festival!!Everwhere around us were different breeds of dogs dressed in the most ridiculous costumes, or glammed up with bows and frills in all sorts of colours!It was pretty hilarious and we stuck around a bit waiting for the show to start, but unfortunately we had to leave to catch our bus before we really saw anything.After settling comfortably into our seats on the bus, we had a rather interesting journey to Mendoza?