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Buenos Aires for the second time... and thankfully it turned out to be better than the first (no illness this time!)...
Unfortunately, due to the cancelled flight from Bariloche, we arrived later than expected and couldn´t try for the tour at the Congress until the next day (this was the tour that we tried to do last time in Bs As but it was cancelled). So instead we had a quick rest, then went off and booked a Tango show for the following night and headed out for dinner (great little Korean resto where we had loads of food including the traditional dish of kimchee - quite spicy!).
Next day we arrived at Congress for an Ingles tour... only to be informed that the tour in Ingles was cancelled. Jo asked if there would be one manana... "No" was the response.... at this point I was more than slightly miffed with Congress as we had now tried on 3 separate occassions for a tour... we decided not to bother again. So instead we drowned our sorrows with a cuppa and some medialunas (croissants) then headed for a tour of Teatro Colon instead... which is undergoing renovation so all tours are cancelled...
So we cheered ourselves up by heading for Puerto Madero district. This is the dock area that has undergone massive renovation in the past few years... now it boasts some great restaurants, hotels and a few tall ships docked there. We had a very large lunch in the restaurant recommended by Carol and Ben... thanks guys, it was great... we kicked off the meal with a cocktail... I felt quite good sitting on the balcony overlooking the new docks with my margarita in hand!
Evening was our visit to a Tango show. The show consisted of a band, the tango dancers themselves (who managed to change clothing 4 times during the evening) and the singer/compere who looked just like William Shatner... and possibly sang like him too... although the toupee on this one was bigger than I´ve seen previously.
Buenos Aires is a great city to explore with some fantastic architecture and lots of cafes and restaurants... as a man who really enjoys his food, I was spoilt for choice. After spotting a Cuban resto called "Oye! Chico" on one of our walks, we returned there for a meal later... this night we really fitted in with the Argentinian habit of eating very late as we didn´t arrive at the place until 10pm. As we walked in, we were asked if we had arrived for the "show" which turned out to be a lady, complete with big feather headress, belting out some Carribean tunes on stage.
On Sunday 30 Sep we headed to San Telmo for the regular market and a wander amongst the cafes and antique shops. Quite touristy stalls lined the streets selling local artisan products. During lunch, the Argentina v Ireland rugby game was on the tv and although I couldn´t see it, we could hear the cheers from the home support as Argentina moved closer to the second stage of the tournament.
Next stop was La Boca, the district that is known for Boca Juniors football club, the colourful houses and a smelly area of dockside! While here we met the one and only Diego Maradona hawking himself for photo opportunities... how the mighty have fallen... ... ok it was only a good lookalike.
On the way back to our hotel we stopped in a cafe for a quick cerveza. A chap sat on the table beside us, ordered a coffee and then proceeded to target us and another table to beg for money to pay for it. When he tried us, he started speaking in Spanish, but after we apologised and gave the old "no entiendo" he switched into English... cheeky fella but top marks for learning one phrase in Ingles tho. Taking my queue from the other table (locals), I politely refused to give him money either. Anyway, he then pulled a few bills out of his pocket and paid for it himself! Some people you know deserve some change, but I don´t think this one did.
I had one of my more surreal moments on this trip that evening... being pursued down a street by a man with one leg on crutches. He didn´t take kindly to me refusing (in Spanish) his request for money so he followed me and switched to English to beg. At this point Jo says I got a little firm with him when saying no... he then continued to say something like "Amigo, I can see your wallet", so we moved on quickly and found a restaurant to escape into!
Last day in Bs As, we set off for the Brazilian consulate to try and sort out the issue with our customs forms (not having handed them in when leaving Brazil). Unfortunately they couldn´t do anything about it and said we would probably have to pay a fine to the Police when we next hit Brazil. Think I might investigate this further when I get home or just completely avoid Brazil in the future!
Visited the Palermo district and got a good head shave from Nico the barber... well, I´m sure you could all tell from the photos that it was getting a bit long.
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