Day 1
Our bus journey was a lot shorter then we thought and we arrived around 2pm at the bus terminal. It was massive and hectic. As we were now on to a new currency we had no cash so searched for a good half an hour around the terminal for a cash point trying out the Spanish we had learnt on our bus journey. Eventually we found one and jumped in to the first taxi we could to our hostel. Our hostel was conveniently located quite centrally to all the buildings we wanted to see on Mayo Avenue. We had booked a private room thinking we would be tired after our red eye coach journey. The hostel receptionist easily convinced us to upgrade for £2.00 to a room with a balcony looking on to the streets of Buenos Aires and our own bathroom. The room was lovely and nicer then some hotels I've visited, and still much cheaper!
As it was raining and not possible to walk round the city as easy wet we decided to treat ourselves to a night at the best steak house in BA, La Cabrera. La Cabrera is well known and we had always decided it would be our first steak in South America even though it probably would be the equivalent of about 4 nights worth of meals. I decided to get out of traveler mode and dress up for the occasion, well as dressed up as you can with no hair dryer, no straighteners, a backpack of limited clothes and limited make up! Josh went to the hostel bar and got us a bottle of Malbec to share whilst I was getting ready. We easily finished the bottle, definitely already feeling tipsy after not eating since the morning! We FaceTimed Josh's parents and had a quick catch up as they'd also been away in St Ives, then jumped in a taxi to La Cabrera.
As we hasn't booked before we knew there would be a waiting list. The door porter told us that she would come collect us from the small bar next door when our table was available, so we happily went to consume more alcohol while we waited. There was an offer on at the bar for cheap cocktails so I ordered a strawberry dakeri and Josh ordered a lethal Caipirinha. Mine was so nice that it was literally gone in a few minutes! We then ordered a large bottle of beer between is which is around enough for 2 pints. Josh had gone to check how long it was until our table was ready. The porter could give us one that very second under the heaters outside. So with 3/4 of my pint left, to Josh surprised I downed it in one gulp! We were seated at our table and quickly ordered another bottle of Malbec and a bottle of water. The waiter came back with both and also bread and dips to share. After reading some reviews before we decided to go for the Lomo to share as we had heard that should be enough. By this point I was pretty wasted and we started to talk to the table next to us. They were a lovely couple from Minnesota who now lived in Bogota in Colombia. After learning that we would be passing by the guy gave Josh his card and told him to get in touch as they could help us out. God knows where Josh has put the card! Our steak came and looked good! It was accompanied with some small sides such a mash potato and pickled onions. All tasting good! We enjoyed sitting outside as although it was absolutely pouring it down it was fun to sit and watch in the warmth from the heater.
I don't remember too much of the meal after this point as I was completed wasted. Josh has told me at one point I started slurring and he had absolutely no idea what on earth I was going on about. However, he soon caught up on my drunken level and somehow between us we managed to slur some kind of conversation together. The meal came to £42.00 which wasn't nearly as expensive as we had predicted. I did really enjoy it and the quality of the meat was quite obviously good. However Josh and I agreed that for the same amount of money in England we would expect the same standard.
Stumbling in the rain we flagged down a taxi back to our hostel. Before I knew it I opened my eyes and was being poked by our taxi man to wake up as we were there. Josh and I had passed out in a heap on each other! So all in all a good night and a lot of alcohol consumed! I fell asleep literally praying I wouldn't feel too bad in the morning!
Day 2
So I felt horrendous! Firstly I was woken at 5am from the busy traffic outside. We were on a Main Street and I can't emphasise how loud it actually was! I couldn't get back to sleep so stole Josh's iPod to help block out the honking of horns and loud traffic! We woke again around 9am and made our way to breakfast. All I wanted was juice so help soothe my head. To my disgust all we were provided with was a big basket of oranges and a squeezer. I've never needed juice so much in my life, and today of all days I was going to have to work for it! Two oranges didn't even fill a small cup! We made the most of the scrambled egg and croissants provided and I poured myself a strong coffee then made our way back to the room. We were thinking that we would move to another room because of the ridiculous early morning noise, but I just couldn't bare it. All I wanted was a power nap before exploring the city!
After a power nap I made myself presentable and Josh and I headed out to explore the city. Josh had a route ready so we could visit all the historical and monumental buildings which was fine by me! I didn't really want to do much thinking today! On route we visited the famous Café Tortoni which opened in 1858. They have kept the old authentic style which was pretty cool, and the waiters are dressed smartly. Josh had some water and I had a small coffee. It is suppose to be the best coffee in BA, at that moment it felt like the best in the world! It perked me up and we continued our walk. It was such a lovely day to walk around, perfect 23 degree heat. We passed so many interesting buildings but for me two things stood out. Piramide de Mayo, this is a tall monument in the centre of Plaza de Mayo which interested mostly because of its history. During the dirty war in 1976 to 1983 Argentina experienced the military dictatorship. In the night thousands of left-winged party members family's disappeared The children were thought to of been sent to families loyal to the dictatorship to be raised. The dictatorship censored newspapers at the time so these disappearances were not public knowledge. It was against the law to congregate in groups larger then 14 due to this being seen as a 'gang'. Therefore women who's children had disappeared congregated in groups of up to 14 around the Piramide de Mayo to silently protest. They wore white scarfs to symbolise the nappys of the children who had been kidnapped. Around the monument there are paintings of the white scarfs, and still today every Thursday women congregate to remind Argentina of the past and to ensure it is not repeated.
Another building that interested me was Casa Rosada, not so much for the history but more because it is the balcony that Madonna sang 'Don't Cry For Me Argentina' when playing Eva Peron in Evita! However I later did find out that the balcony was used by Eva Peron, not to sing to the crowds but to make announcements such as when she was diagnosed with cancer. Juan Peron also made some important speeches from the balcony.
We walked quite a few miles taking in all the different architecture and historical buildings before eventually my hangover caught up with me and we needed food! We stopped off at a lovely Italian style restaurant in the Puerto Madero district by the canal and sat outside. We shared a pizza between us and soaked in the rays! After another walk ending up in Plaza San Martin I decided my hangover couldn't cope any longer and we jumped in a taxi back to our hostel rather then walk the 3 miles back and relaxed!
Day 3
Feeling much better then the previous day Josh and I woke up relatively early to get breakfast. Josh had organised another long walk to the Recoleta district. The sun was shining again so it was a gorgeous day for a walk. After around a mile and half walk from our hostel we entered the beautiful district. There seemed to be lots of parks. They had these gigantic trees with roots that were just massive. It's hard to actually emphasise the size of them!
I spotted a Starbucks, so we sat and enjoyed a coffee, for some reason they have josh a free caramel coffee cold drink. Probably his smiley face! We walked down to the Recoleta Cemetery. This isn't just any cemetery it's actually insane! It's like a mini town, the tombs look like mini church's. Rich and important people are buried there included Eva Peron. We made our way through the cemetery eventually finding Eva's resting place. For such a important historical figure in Argentina I have to say although like all the graves in the cemetery it was a lot more the your average grave stone it was quite modest compared to some of the other tombs. It's half hidden down an alley in the grave yard, she is has also been buried in her family tomb under her maiden name of Duarte rather then with her husband. Apparently it took 26 years for her to finally end up in the important cemetery, some even doubt her body is actually in there. Her body actually went missing for 16 years under the dictatorship.
After the cemetery we visited some more important monuments including the memorial monument for Eva Peron. We then decided to check out a place that did tango. Josh and I weren't really bothered about the tango but thought we would check it out and see if we fancied it. All the shows we had seen so far were really expensive and that was for a seat at the back! After just under 2 mile walk where I had a dramatic incident where a fly flew into my eye we arrived at the supposed tango address. It was a betting shop.. So there was fate telling us not to do Tango!
We made our way back to the hostel my feet hurting from walking so many miles! My calf muscles are going to be solid by the end of this trip! We got ready and walked round the district looking for a place to eat. We found a lovely place which was cheap and shared steak and lasagne. It was yummy! We also shared another bottle of melbec, you kind of have to in Argentina! We spent hours in the restaurant and I can honestly say it could possibly be on of my favourite meals yet!
Day 4
Josh and I woke up again quite early and had our freshly squeezed orange juice and croissants. It was time to check out of our lovely room. Back to bunk beds for us! We had heard there was a one hour boat journey to Colonia de Sacramento in Uruguay, wanting to take in a different culture and visit another country we booked a 2 day trip. So off we went to the port to get our boat to Uruguay!