The beautifully clear morning when we set off for the airport at El Alto gave us the best views ever of all the mountains surrounding La Paz - it was amazing to see them all, complete with their snow and glaciers. But what was even more amazing was that just after take-off, we found ourselves heading straight towards Illimani, the massive (6,402m) mountain that overlooks the city. In fact, as we flew past it with the plane's wingtip seemingly only feet away from scraping along the side of the snow and ice on the mountain, we were still looking up at the summit!Touchdown in Buenos Aires and it was like a different world - very European, well organised orderly traffic, and lovely and warm! After a fast drive into the city along the motorway it was a slower drive through city traffic along narrowish tree-lined streets until we reached what was to be our home for the next ten days - a furnished flat in the fashionable inner suburb of Recoleta. There are loads of furnished flats in BA to rent short term and loads of rental companies. We'd organised ours through a company called 4Rent and their rep, Clarissa, met us at the flat, quickly took us through all the (very brief) formalities and showed us how everything works. Although small and compact, it is comfortable and has everything we need, right down to supplies of soap and toilet paper. We are on the 8th floor with a balcony to catch BA's 'good air' (get it?) and from which we can look down longingly on the people from three neighbouring blocks of flats enjoying their swimming pools below. We too could have had a flat with a pool but they are much more expensive and on this occasion financial good sense prevailed! As soon as we'd settled in we went out to explore the local area, and what a great area it is - the aforementioned tree-lined streets are full of cafes, restaurants and little shops of all kinds, plus the nearby main drag of Avenida Santa Fe is a shopper's paradise. We both stocked up on our supplies of contact lenses and E bought a pair of sandals to replace his well-worn, nine-year-old Tevas (it took him days before they were chucked in the bin). We also stoked up on supplies of good value food, fruit, wine, wine and beer. We'll definitely like it fine here!A long leisurely stroll down Avenida Sata Fe, popping in and out of every bookshop we came across, took us into the city centre at Plaza San Martin, from where found our way via Calle Florida (a pedestrianised shopping area) to Plaza de Mayo, the city's main square. Whilst as the main square of a capital city it's not all that impressive, it does have one or two fine buildings such as Government House (called Casa Rosada because it's pink), the Cabildo (what's left of it) and the Cathedral which, with its portico entrance looks more like an art gallery or museum - but it is lovely inside. The square is to this day the centre for major frequent demonstrations which is probably the reason why it doesn't have a street cafe culture. A meal of delicious steak (how could we not in Argentina?) in a local restaurant topped off a fine day out. The area of San Telmo is known for its Tango clubs and its Sunday market, so there we went on a scorching Sunday morning. The street leading to Plaza Dorrego is lined with antique shops and was absolutely packed with locals and tourists alike. When we eventually reached it, Plaza Dorrego itself was jam packed with stalls selling all sorts of bric-a-brac, and with musicians and dancers playing and dancing the Tango. It was a bit like Portobello Road Market in London, or Monmartre in Paris, but with a distinctly Buenos Aires slant - and just a little bit crazy with lots of stall holders dressed up in a variety of outlandish costumes and live music being performed everywhere. All great fun. After savouring the atmosphere for a while we were in dire need of a sit down in the shade and ended up sharing a table with an English woman enjoying a lunchtime beer - she was over here working on her own and was glad of the chance to have a blether.Since we've decided to take a break in our travels early next year we've been sending off emails to family and friends to let them know. It's been really heartwarming to have received so many nice comments from folks looking forward to seeing them again - and we're certainly looking forward to seeing everybody too.Dog walkers are everywhere. They have 10-12 dogs on leads and can be seen struggling to cross intersections, whilst their charges are cocking legs and squatting at every opportunity.Over the next few days we had a really great time enjoying the city. Buenos Aires is full of museums and galleries and we took in as many of the important ones as we could. Many contained paintings and sculpture and was predominantly modern art (post 19th c) therefore very enjoyable. Malba and Fortabat are worthy of a particular mention. The latter is a personal collection of Amelia Fortabat, Argentina's richest woman, set in a brand spanking new building in the docklands area. The most famous item in the collection is her portrait done by Andy Warhol although there are masses of other interesting works. Other museums were the Evita Museum that gives insight into her all too brief life and her socialist work with women in BA. Other small museums around the city are worthy of a visit and we're sure we missed some gems.We seemed to walk and walk finding green areas and squares everywhere - Parque Tres Febrero (although a large part was closed off for refurbishment), Jardin Botanico Carlos Theys, Jardin Japones, and the Reserva Ecologica Constanera Sur. This is a huge area of reclaimed land, near the city centre and right on the Rio Plata which has been reclaimed once more for wildlife and a great place to walk, run, cycle, or simply to enjoy. The docklands area like so many around the world is a wealthy area of high (price and height) blocks of flats, cafes, restaurants and the like. One of Buenos Aires's must sees is Recoleta Cemetery which is the place to be buried in BA. It is remarkable, rather like a small town with streets lined with tombs - some exceedingly grand - where BA's former elite are buried. The most famous 'resident' is Evita in a much simpler tomb and it is this that attracts so many visitors. When we were wandering round, we saw a middle aged man with a huge bunch of red roses and we thought he was going to visit a family member's grave. But no, they were for Evita. Next door to the cemetery is the Church of Our Lady of Pilar which dates from 1732. We spent half an hour or so admiring its stunning golden altars and the items of religious art on display in the museum upstairs. Just across the gardens in the former Palais de Glace (ice rink) which is now another museum opf modern art where we took in another eyeful of interesting sculptures and paintings (a great way to make use of an old building like this). With time in BA running out and probably not as much relaxation as we had intended, we had to step up the pace a little. We hummed and hawed about visiting Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay on the other side of the Rio Plata (we did on a day trip - see the separate blog), we had to take in a tango show and we had to eat & drink away from the easy option of our own comfortable Recoleta area. We both had haircuts enjoying the thrill of what we would look like when we couldn't really describe what we wanted done! One evening we set of for Palermo Vieja which is an area recommended for eateries and bars. We had our mind set on 2 places - Congo, a highly recommended bar and Bangalore, one of BA's curry houses. BA has a reputation for ending the day, eating and drinking, late, very late (one bar we saw advertised didn't open until 2am!). So we weren't surprised even at 8pm to find Congo closed. On we walked to find the splendid Bangalore where we had a few beers (the restaurant didn't open until 9), and a few more when the power in the area went down. Bangalore seemed to take this in its stride as the staff calmly set about lighting candles and kept on serving the drinks. When the restaurant upstairs eventually opened we had wonderful and genuinely spicy food - E had a vindaloo. With a renewed spring in our steps off we headed and hey presto Congo was open. We seemed to jump the queue (the bouncers probably thought they'd better let the oldies in so they could get home to their beds) and were soon at the bar ordering the largest and most deadly cocktails imaginable.Sadly, all too soon it was our last night in Buenos Aires and we decided to go out with a bang - or at least go out on the town - so off we went to dinner and a tango show. There are loads of tango places in the city, most of them put on for the tourists and priced accordingly, and the one we went to, Piazolla Tango, was no exception. However, the dancing and music were excellent and extremely professional and the food wasn't bad either. All in all it was a good night out and an appropriate farewell to Buenos Aires.We've really enjoyed our time in Buenos Aires and with so many excellent or good points we've talked seriously about returning at some point and spending a longer period of time here. It is certainly much cheaper to live here than in the UK. For a large city we found the people friendly and helpful - as we were leaving with our rucksacks on our back the people in the local shops and cafes waved us their goodbyes.Lots of love

Eric & Margaret xxx