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Buenos Aires is where we spent most of our time in Argentina, apart from our random forray to Rosario and Salta in the middle. It´s a very addictive place. And no place more addictive than our hostel, ¨The Clan¨, near San Telmo. Nowhere else we´ve stayed in yet is more addictive... no one could ever leave! Also, in keeping with the nocturnal BA lifestyle, no one ever gets up in daylight and as such we saw very little of the touristy side of BA. It was far too tempting to just sit in the kitchen in our pjs eating dulce de leche (o! Don´t even get me started on the wonder that is dulce de leche! I´m bringing two tubs home especially). It was a wonderful kitchen, if you sat there long enough you just kept getting fed as everyone made their various meals... The only way I could return the favour was by making proper English tea with teabags sent from home. I had 60. Now I have none. But a hostel full of Brits were very happy. Anyway, me and Amy got ourselves a reputation for sitting in the kitchen all afternoon eating breakfast foods. It was a good place.
So, I´d best begin, now that my elegy to food is over, to talk about BA, so I´ll begin with nightlife. Amongst other adventures, we went to an unofficial gay night, and on a ¨party train¨in Palermo, which was a bus made up to look like a steam train covered in strobe lighting where we got carted to a club in, whilst being plied with alcohol. Bands played at our hostel a few times,which was cool. About four of us were also invited to a house party by this very talented Israeli magician (drunks make the best audience to magic tricks, it seems: ¨WOW! How?! DO IT AGAIN!¨) and our whole hostel (literally) ended up going. What a night! Also, ¨La Bomba de Tiempo¨is this drum show every Monday that we all went to, and is meant to be amazing. Sadly blighted by the fact that I managed to leave minus my camera. s***zenhause! Luckily only lost my photos from Tokyo and Huacachina as had just changed memory cards, but still annoying to put it mildy. Wanted to go back to La Bomba to experience it again, better, but cancelled both weeks due to swine flu!
Yes, swine flu just refuses to go away! In BA nearly fifty people had died of it whilst we were there and so lots of public places got closed down, cinemas and theatres and clubs etc. Sad for us! Part of the reason we went to Salta actually. All universities and schools went on holiday early too. It´s a massive overreaction, but now we do all have fun dwelling on whether or not we have swine flu. Me and Amy do have a theory that it´s us spreading it, we do always seem to be one step ahead...
On a medical note, how can I not mention Blancs´ tongue piercing? Pierced on Monday, removed under hospital supervision on Saturday... If any of you reading this ever plan to get your tongue pierced, do I have graphic and cautionary tales for you!
Anyway, so due to all aforementioned tales very little achieved by day. And yet still we did the odd thing. The first of course being TIGRE! After days of everyone moaning about how we hadn´t left the hostel (or in mine and Amy´s case, kitchen), we actually managed to both FORM and EXECUTE a plan. Huzzah! That plan being TIGRE! It has to be said like that, with the exclamation mark, incidentally. Trampy, trampy day of drinking wine on trains and by rivers. But still! We left the hostel! Success!
Also went to San Telmo antique market twice, which is very cool, got some jewelerry and a nice big leather bag (I can now confirm after six months travel that a 40litre backpack IS too small). Saw a little bit of (very awkward looking) tango. Also went to the famous cemetry is Recoleta, which is very cool, not to sound too creepy... didn´t find Eva Peron though, it´s a labyrinth in there! Managed to get to the Japanese Gardens with Emma too, and the art museum. Success! Less successful was our next outing which was brought to a hasty halt by a pickpocket on the tube and Emma´s purse.... cue my second outing to the tourist police in as many days! On our last day in BA me and Amy really felt like going to the cinema (miraculously open in spite of swine flu) and watched ¨Transformers¨in Spanish, the only ones in the cinema. Fun times.
So, that is about it for BA. It´s a beautiful, stylish and nocturnal city where the Spanish is intelligible. I may well live there one day.
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