Arriving back in BA felt a little different than I expected. When I left the first time I was almost glad to leave but this time I was looking forward to coming back. Maybe because it would be familiar now or maybe it was because I was meeting up with a mate who finally made his long overdue visit to BA and I could share the experience with a familiar face. I think it was a bit of both.

Finally got down to La Boca and immediately loved this place. It was more convivial than I imagined it would be and felt very calm and easy to walk around. It was quite touristy on a Sunday so we never felt unsafe but it did have a unique charm with all it's colour and characters. You can see why it is a working class area and could sense that at a different time of the day it may not be so relaxed around there but for some reason I really liked it and could have hung out there all day. When we walked down to the famous Boca Juniors stadium 'la bombonera' (chocolate box) you could sense the excitement of what it must be like on game day even though there was no game on. Right in the middle of the urban area, it felt strangely like going down to a local English club (before they moved to mega stadiums) in amongst all the council blocks but of course, with a lot more colour and flair. Plenty of murals of Maradona all over the place and you could just imagine how crazy it would be around here on game day. I was looking forward to perhaps coming back towards the end of my trip to get to a game.

The rest of the day was spent at San Telmo markets. Vijay was loving the bric-a-brac tat and bought some items that only he would choose but I eventually bought a couple of souvenirs for my self.

We also got down to Recoleta cemetery to see how grandiose it really was. I had read how over the top this place was and it lived up to it's reputation. This place was ridiculous! A very 'interesting' lady met us at the gate to sell us a map of the place, which for 10 pesos I was happy to purchase as it was worth it for her eccentric character and her stories of living in Camden a few years ago. As bizarre as she was, she spoke English with a much posher accent than Vijay and I could put together. The place itself was a myriad of massive buildings that were so ornate that they put many an 'ethnic villa' in Adelaide's eastern suburbs to shame (my Aussie compatriots will understand this). I have also seen bedsits in London smaller than some of these, with some having their own sitting areas inside so family could sit by the coffin and hang out with the deceased. One even had its own ventilation system! Most people come to visit Eva Peron's (Evita's) grave but this was boring compared to the others. I didn't know who any of the other people were, except that their names were all over Argentina as the names of streets.

Another highlight of this second visit were heading out to see the drumming group 'La Bomba de Tiempo'. These guys play every Monday night and the mainly student crowd get to enjoy a 20 piece drumming group that is quite a show and probably the best thing to do in BA on a Monday night. There was the after party at another club which may have been entertaining but I had promised Vijay a posh proper steak in BA and this would be the last night to get it, so we went off to La Cabrera. We missed the happy hour of course but it was still worth every penny.

Then of course there was the obligatory visit to Café Tortoni for a coffee and an alfajore. Yes it is touristy but something you probably have to do if you have the time as it is an institution in BA and a charming old Parisian style café. It's worth it just for the entertaining waiting staff. We were too early in the day to see any tango shows but we got our fix in San Telmo during market day.

Spending time in BA this time seemed a lot more relaxed than my first visit and coming back to stay at 06 soho suites in Palermo almost felt like coming home, but I guess hanging out with a familiar face also made a huge difference.