Hi everyone,

Well we are back in Argentina and couldn´t be happier! Buenos Aires is one of the best cities we have ever visited and was such a welcome relief after the chaos of Carnaval. We arrived on Friday night and went straight to our hostel in Palermo. It was about 10.30pm before we ventured out in the search for dinner. We went to an area called Las Canitas nearby that is full of bars and restaurants. Being a Friday night it was packed and the atmosphere was great. We found a great Parilla (grilled meat restaurant) and settled in for a juicy steak and wine....did i mention we were back in heaven?! The meal was devine and it was nice to have seasoned food again as we struggled to find even pepper in Brazil. The Argentines know what they are doing! Full as googs we wandered back to the hostel.

We made the decision on returning to Buenos Aires that we would look for our budget as we seemed to have left it there (with my wallet and phone!) before heading to Brazil. Brazil was more expensive than anticipated and being in the party mode i guess we weren´t good at taking note of our spend....whoops! Thankfully, our budget had been turned in at the hostel desk and my trusty accountant was able to work the numbers! Mark has now created a spreadsheet on his phone to update our expenses...oh dear! What were meant to be romantic meals, enjoyed over a bottle of wine, have now turned into meetings about past and planned expenditure! Ladies, I must ask, does this bid well for the future?!

With finances on our radar we have also returned to dormitory rooms....ick! This hostel was a 6 bed dorm with a bathroom the size of a pantry. As seems to be the case in most "mixed" dorms they are normally packed to the rafters with sweaty men. It smells like a teenage boys room! After a fitful first nights sleep it was Mark that swung his head down from the top bunk and moaned "We have got to get out of here!" Our room had very little ventilation and so even I will admit it was uncomfortable. We enquired about a private room and were told to come back in a few hours but during another of our "expenses meetings" decided it was in the budgets best interests to tough it out (ha!).

We took advantage of Buenos Aires´sprawling streets and took off walking on our first day. Mark had read about an english language bookshop in the centre of town and he was out of literature. Those that know Mark will know that when he can´t read he becomes a grumpy troll so it was in everyones interest to get there quickly. The bookshop, Walrus Books, was a paradise. Most of the books were second hand but in very good condition. We managed to get 8 between us and were very happy! Mark has spoken to me since by the way......! The guy in the shop recommended a cool cafe nearby for lunch where again we enjoyed an immaculate meal....and wine.....and herbs.....and did i mention wine?!

From lunch we took a cab to the area called Recoleta, the most exclusive part of the city. Here we would find La Recoleta Cemetary, which hosts the grave of Eva Peròn (Evita). This was definitely an unexpected sight. I was expecting Evita´s grave to be grand but the entire cemetary is filled with many elaborate marble mausoleums, decorated with statues, in a wide variety of architectural styles. The entire cemetery is laid out in sections like city blocks, with wide tree-lined main walkways branching into sidestreets filled with mausoleums.The Cemetery includes graves of some of the most influential and important persons of Argentina, including several presidents, scientists, and wealthy characters. Mark lasted about 5 minutes before finding it all a bit wierd but I wandered around quite fascinated by this mini "city".
We met up with Mark, Jenny and Kate, who we partied with in Salvador, and some of their friends for dinner on the Saturday night. We went back to Las Canitas as that is where they were staying and enjoyed, you guessed it, another amazing meal and wine. The wine lists in each restaurant our varied and tempting. Patrick Cunniffe you must visit Argentina!! They have red wine almost on tap everywhere and I am sure, if given the chance, they would replace the water utilties with the stuff!

On Sunday we headed into the Plaza de Mayo, the main square, where many important protests have been held and it has generally been a focal point for political activity. We took pictures and saw the Casa Rosada (Pink House) which is where Eva Peròn and her husband, the president, would make many of their speeches from the balcony. We wandered further to the Puerto Madera area which is another exclusive area of the city and quite similar to the Docklands (London and Melbourne!). It was getting hot so we caught a cab the rest of the way to La Boca, a much poorer area and one that tourists can only venture so far. This area is interesting because it is a region where many Italian migrants based themselves upon settlement. They painted the corrugated iron slats that formed the walls of their houses into many bright colours in a quest to make it a little brighter than the grim state it was. Perhaps of more interest and note to many others is the fact its the home of the Boca Juniors, one of the worlds most famous football teams. There had been a game on the day before but we weren´t able to make it. Its a tiny stadium famous for cramming in thousands seemingly beyond its actual capacity.

The area where tourists can go is a bit like a theme park and you are harassed upon entry and generally made to feel you have to buy, buy, buy! We wandered for a bit before sitting in a restaurant opposite another restaurant putting on a tango show. It was great to watch the dancing for awhile out of the heat of the sun.

Monday saw us head to the Evita Museum which was in walking distance from our hostel. We crossed through the Botanical Gardens and past the zoo. It is really is a pretty area with lots of trees and European architecture. The museum is in an old colonial house that the Peròn government purchased at the time and made into a children´s hospice of sorts. It has been in government ownership since then but for many years lay vacant. The museum is fortunate to have many pieces of her clothing, pictures and other wares that showcase her transition from moviestar to First Lady, and ultimately her resignation and death. Mark zipped through in 5 mins (mental note, i think i need to start leaving him at the cafe of all of these places!) and i found him later happy as a clam with beer and book, but not really any more informed about Eva Peròn!

On Tuesday, our last day we went to the zoo! I can tell you this wasn´t my choice but i figured Mark had endured his share of sights not up his alley and he was genuinely excited (see photo of him out the front!) I tried to reason that there were zoos in London and Melbourne, and everywhere else really and that i couldn´t see what this one would realistically offer but it was a fruitless argument. The zoo ended up having some quite good reptile displays (snakes that i never want to see again) but on the most part had enclosures that weren´t quite fitting the beautiful animals they contained. This upset us a little bit as some of the animlas looked genuinely depressed and those that weren´t were asleep. Alas, we managed to get some good pics and fill in the afternoon before our bus ride that evening.

We caught our bus to Mendoza at 7.45pm and made it in the nick of time even though we had been at the station for 45mins. They don´t announce the platform until the bus arrives, which is often with minutes to spare before scheduled departure. Thankfully, they weren´t checking passports against tickets because we had a slight name issue with Mark´s ticket again. He has now traded in Nirk for ´Marn Ciates´. Not quite sure where that went wrong!

We decided to splurge on Premier class seats as Argentina has the best buses in Sth America and we knew would be with the chickens and goats in future months. It is also quite possibly the closest we will ever get to First Class on a plane! The seats fully recline so you can lie down and come with pillow and fleecy blanket. We were served complimetary champagne as we settled in to watch a movie in english, "The Departed" with Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon and Leo DiCaprio (very good btw).
We arrived into Mendoza at 8.20am the next morning....but more about that in our next blog. All in all Buenos Aires has been a trip highlight. It is a fantastic city that could be described as Barcelona, Paris and New York all rolled into one. Mind you it has its own Argentine flavour as well! Its very multicultural and seems to offer something for everyone. I get tingles just writing about it. The people are initially quite straightfaced but once they see your attempts at the language or interest in their city they warm to you instantly. There was a great sign at the airport that said "You will be greeted in Buenos Aires with a handshake but you will depart with a hug"...ok, ok so its schmalzy advertising but i think its true! Mark´s language is improving greatly and my nodding and smiling has increased vigor! We had a truly fantastic time and hope that one day we will be able to visit this beautiful city again. Hopefully the rest of Argentina will be just as fabulous!

Much love to all xoxox
P.S. We updated a few pics to the Salvador album that were on our phone.
P.P.S Things we miss:

• PG Tips
• News (in particular newspapers)
• YOU Magazine (Jackie!)
• A hairdryer (Jackie aka Stevie Nicks)