I'm sitting in my hotel right now in Buenos Aires! I arrived here this past Wed evening, (Nov. 5th.) I'm here with my friends Amber, Ingrid, and Michaela from the SCSU group. We left Tues, Nov. 4, 2008 right during the 2008 Presidential elections. Got on an overnight bus to Santiago. Arrived in Santiago early Wed. morning, headed to the airport and got on a 1:40pm flight to beautiful BUENOS AIRES!

This city is absolutely amazing! Our hotel, (The Grand King) is right in the center of the action: The corner of Florida and Lavalle. Sitting here, right now in the lobby I can hear Tango music every time someone opens the door. The Argentinean tango is the highlight of the city. People dance it EVERYWHERE! Anywhere you walk, you're guaranteed to see a couple setting up their stereos and speakers and dancing away for all to see. Along with tango dancers, there's street performers (magicians, vocalists, bands) and vendors of all sorts (sweaters, jewelry, painters, other various artists, etc.) The streets are lined with shops of all sorts, cafes, tourist attractions, etc.

The first day we got here, we were pretty exahuasted and just got ready and went out for some dinner. Steak is also extremely popular in all of Argentina, (including leather items as well of course) which also means it's very cheap! We ordered a piece of steak to share between the four of us. I'm not even kidding...This piece had to be about 50 oz and it was less than $10 US!!!!!

The next day, (Thurs, Nov. 6, 2008) we walked around and toured the city on our own. We ate lunch at a cute cafe and then headed to the Plaza de Mayo for "Las Madres de los desaparecido." This is an event that's been going on for 31 years, (since 1977) where all the women of kids who have disappeared from past dictatorship acts get together and march around the plaza at 3:30pm every Thursday afternoon in honor of their disappeared children. It's very emotional and occurs every Thursday. They sell t.shirts and other commemorative items to gain support. After the march, we headed to the oldest cafe in Buenos Aires, "Tortoni." This cafe was created in 1858 and is where famous poets sat and created their works of art. It's gorgeous with it's colorful, stain glass ceilings; red, leather chairs, mahogany wood floors and the waiters dress up in tuxedos. I ordered a glass of red wine with a tomato, onion, and palm heart salad. Mmmmmmm!! :)

The next day (Friday) we woke up early and headed on a 9am tour throughout the city to get a better feel of our surroundings. We saw some gorgeous architecture, cute neighborhoods of the city, (Buenos Aires is divided into 48 neighborhoods) and of course learned some interesting facts about the historical city. After the tour we went on about an hour and a half walk through the city to have lunch at a cafe in a cute neighborhood we saw on our tour. After that, the girls and I got ready for a night out and started at a restaurant with a pitcher of sangria to share.

We relaxed most of Saturday, with a late start around 1pm (it's 4 hours ahead of MN time here in Buenos Aires) and went to the famous MALBA museum, "Museo America Latina de Buenos Aires." This museum is gorgeous with many famous artists' work there, such as Frida Kahlo, Deigo Rivera, and Garcia Lopez. After the museum, we went to a HUGE Argentinean art fair that was set up in a park nearby. After the art fair we had to quickly rush back to the hotel and get ready for a TANGO SHOW we had made reservations for. The show was only $19 US and was worth EVERY penny! With 20 artists, it was unbelieveable! There were two vocalists, (one male, one female) two accordianists, two violinists, a pianist, cellist, and 5 pairs of tango dancers.

I woke up early this morning to enjoy the REAL coffee the hotel offers with it's continental breakfast and start my day right. Not quite sure what we have planned today, but the city has so much to offer I can't wait to get out there and explore!