Everywhere you turn in Buenos Aires you will find a tribute or a reminder of Eva Peron. We decided to visit the Evita museum and see what all the fuss was about. I only had the hyped up Madonna film (which I have never watched) and Rice/Lloyd Webber songs as a frame of reference. (I can remember Norm, my welsh step dad, singing 'Don't Cry for Me Aberystwth' when it first came out) As we wondered around the exhibition (humming the aforementioned song) it became clear why this lady became such an icon for the Argentinian people. She was married to the then president, Juan Peron and was the first Lady of Argentina and although she didn't take up any official position in the government of the time, her work concentrated on the poor and poverty stricken, orphans, children, health care reform, the elderly, the homeless and the rights of women. She worked tirelessly setting up a social welfare system that radically improved the lives of the vulnerable, needy and less fortunate people of Argentina.

The out pouring of love from a nation who lost her to cancer at the age of 33 was intense.

She was given a state funeral when she died. … but that wasn't the end of the story (and this is the bit that really got me)...her body was embalmed and the process took over a year.

Her husband had made plans for a national mausoleum to be built in her memory but a military coup drove her husband's government out of the country and her body was apparently 'lost!!! Eventually it was discovered in an Italian cemetery under an assumed name having been hidden in various places over the years including inside a sofa at a generals house!

In 1971 her body was returned to her husband who by this time was living in Spain. Juan Peron put her in a glass case on a dinner table and there she stayed for years! He requested that his third wife should lie on top of the case every day to absorb some of Evitas strength of character and people skills. The new wife also brushed the corpse's hair every morning (appearance is everything!!)

Eventually after Juan Peron's death Eva Peron was taken back to Buenos Aires and interred in her family tomb at La Recoleta cemetery....maybe one of the coffins I saw yesterday was hers???

At the end of the walk around the museum Ray and I were gob smacked and exhausted...what a story!!! ..

That evening at about 9.30pm we headed back across town on the tube to a non-touristy steak house that had been recommended by the lovely people at the hostel. While we were on the train, we and the other passengers were approached by three children begging for money and trying to sell us chewing gum. They were aged between 9 ish and about 4, very dirty and wearing shabby filthy clothes...I kept comparing these poor kids to my own nieces and nephews who by now would be snugged up in their beds, having had a lovely day, decent meals, a bath, bedtime story and who had closed their eyes secure in the knowledge that they are warm, safe and loved by their parents and family. These kids will never know that...sadly it seems Eva Peron's vision for a safe, clean, healthy and happy future for the vulnerable members of Argentinian society didn't quite work out.....Ray and I continued on our journey to the meaty steak emporium and totally pigged out !!!....well ya gotta eat!!

The next day we walked for about 5 miles around the city following a quirky bohemian market that extended the length of one of the longest streets in Buenos Aires. It was full of music from across South America, food, crafts, street acts and crazy characters such as a tiny, wizened old lady 'one man band'. She was playing a small children's drum kit with a pair of rusty spoons and kept the rhythm on the cobbled street with the tap shoes she was wearing. Every now and then she squeezed an old car horn and shouted 'ole' so loudly and randomly that it made me jump every time...... hee hee brilliant!!

We came across the most fantastic gypsy jazz duo and two guys playing flamenco/classical/Spanish guitar whilst an elderly couple danced the tango in front of an adoring crowd. The couple must have been there every week for fifty years and must have been dancing together since they were young; they were so passionate, (the guy wore a jaunty hat and had a definite twinkle in his eye still!) so enthusiastic and beautiful to watch.

I know I have said this before but this is another city that I will return to, in fact I think it's my favorite city so far, better I think than London, Paris and New York. It just has this wonderful atmosphere with beautiful people, a fascinating history, Parisienne architecture, constant snogging on street corners and lust for life... it's a passionate city, even the two old guys having a punch up in the supermarket over their groceries was passionate and the removal of them by the security guards on to the street was also a passionate and beautifully executed process!!.......have loved every minute of it!.....