All we had heard were positive things about Buenos Aires and so we were pretty excited to get there. A city thats famous for tango, steak and red wine sounded like a good combination to us. As Nick only had 3 nights we decided to start touring the city straigh away and not waste a minute. We were staying in an area called San Telmo which is a traditional part of the city with cobbled streets and lots of tango clubs. We wondered around there looking for the tourist info which was closed down and had lunch in san talmo sqaure where buskers play and dancers dance in the hope of making a little money. At the weekend it is also the scene of the famous san telmo antiques market which fill the square and the streets around.

We decided to see a tango show which some say are a bit too sensationalised but as it was the start of the week and the real tango doesnt really happen til the weekend we thought we would give it a go. We had an a mazing dinner and lots of wine right in the shadows of boca stadium before the theatrics begun. We were treated to some scene setting in the mock 50´s town that was part of the complex, before the real tango begun. There was a live tango band, two singers and six dancers who made up different combinations of dancing singing and music. The dancers were amazing, legs were going everywhere and they moved so fast. Unfortunately we werent allowed to take pictures maybe because they were afraid of other tango shows seeing what they were up to but we had fun none the less! The singers were very powerful and we preferred the band alone. It also seemed that the accordian player is the leader of the band, cheering the dancers and getting the biggest applause at the end. It might have been sensationalised but it was a lot of fun!

Buenos aires isnt really a city with lots and lots of activities to tick off but more a city where you can just wonder around and find your self confronted with gorgeous buildings and cobbled streets where you can enjoy a glqass of wine and watch the world go by. We decided to take in the city the next couple of days. We just wondered from our hostel in San Telmo to the centre of the city happening across many beautiful churches and a few interesting museums. In the centre there are massive shopping streets thronging with people and one of the most famous malls is decorated with murials on the ceilings in a fabulous old building and tango dancers dance in the squares outside at the weekends.

One of our friends we had met for carnaval was back in BA for her birthday so we met up with her in the stylish restaurant district. Unfortunately we decided against a taxi and jumped on the metro only to be greated with a 15 minute walk in the pouring rain the other end. We dried off quickly and enjoyed a lovely indian meal in the heart of the city. It probably wasnt the most authentic choice but it was nice to have some spice which seems to be almost lacking in argentinan food. Unfortunately for us who are out of practice with staying up late, BA is really a city that doesnt sleep. The nightclubs dont really get going til about 3 or 4 am which is normally when we are tucked up in bed. We trried to find a bar that was open but even that was proving difficult so early so we headed to an irish bar, as you can always trust them to be open! Needless to say, we didnt make it til 4am!

So the next day we continued our wanderings. We headed to what is apparantly the widest road in the world, at its widest it has 8 lanes in each direction with two side roads of 4 lanes each. Its not that easy crossing 12 lanes of traffic especially when they dont like pedestrians. But somehow we made it across and headed to the much less busy but very sophisticated port. It was full of yachts, high rise appartments and nice restaurants so we settled there for lunch. We decided to look for some green space after lunch and headed to the park district for a wander. The area was home to the japanese gardens which was a tranquil break from the masses of traffic we had seen earlier.

As it was nicks last night we decided that we must celebrate with an argentinian steak and some red wine! We found oursleves yet again in san telmo square with our friends from rio and tucked in to a nice juicy fillet. We were more prepared to stay up later so headed to a tango club where we watched the more traditional tango and the boys even joined in and had a lesson. The singers were just as loud as before but the dancing was a lot less flashy and it was nice to get a view of both sides. It felt like we were back in the 1950s in some sort of smoking club with velvet chairs but it was a good night, although only 3am we were happy with our effort and called it a night!

We said goodby to nick at the airport and tried to pay for our tickets to el calafate we had bought but could not pay for online, we think they were trying to get us to call england to pay so we gave up and booked new flight. We had an easy rest of day, visting a famous cemetry with tombs the size of small houses, where evita is buried amoung famous politicians and important families. We stumbled across an exhibit of bears from around the world which was really cool. Unfortunaltey the british bear was rubbish but some countries had gone all put trying to represent their culture. We had an easy night in san telmo. On saturday we decided to go to the square as at the weekend tango dancers dance all day but just as we got there it rained so we didnt get to see much.

That night was Sat night, a big night for partying so we decided to give it our best effort and go all in. We met some of vikkis friends from the uk and left it late to head out. Unluckily it wasnt late enough as unbeknown to us the clocks had yet again gone back so we were an hour earlier than we thought. The taxi driver knew this but only decided to tell us after he took us to the closed night club. So we killed another hour before heading to the club. We managed til about 5, which was pretty lame as the argentines normally make it til noon but we obviusly arent as young as we used to be. We discovered on the taxi ride back that the nightclub had given us fake pesos which is quite common in argentina, they obviuosly decided that us two drunk girls wouldnt notice that the bills werent even printed straight!

Most od sunday was a write off but we were still an hour in front of everyone else so dragged ourselves out of bed to the antiques market and to see the hundreds of dancers, miming artists and bands performing around the aquares before we were told as we waited for our pick up for the Boca game that we were infact yet again an hour in front of everyone else! We had decided to go with a tour to La Boca as even though they rip you off, Boca is far from the safest of districts and you definitely dont want to be stranded their if they lose. The ground was quite small but size truely doesnt matter when you can make a whole stadium rock by jumping. We got there just in time to see the reserve match which ended in a brawl with the goalie punching a few players and getting sent off with a few of his team mates. The real game was a little less exciting with Boca winning 3 nil against argentine juniors but every time they scored the whole stand went wild and the chanting mainly against river plate didnt stop throughout the game! At the end of the game we had to wait for all the away fans to leave which felt like forever before we were finally let out on the streets. The atmosphere was a little intimidating and you would probably fear for your life if you found yourself watching the infamous boca-river games but we managed to get home unscathed and ready for our flight to el calafate in the morning!