Our little journey starts in the heart-land of tango: Buenos Aires. The culture here of dinner after 10pm and parties and clubbing after 12am lends itself well to sustaining the raw tango art form. And apart from the myriad dance souvenirs, there is real reason to visit this city if you are serious about tango; many professional dancers make a yearly pilgrimage seeking the wisdom of the masters and some of the most awesome tango shoes on the planet...

But don't expect to achieve much while you're here. Not only is the time zone different (and did I mention I'm really feeling that right now...) but the dimension of time is dilated to allow for regular early morning ends to the day. Very confusing to someone who has just had day and night flipped and also forgot to bring an alarm clock...

I decided to situate myself (and no prizes for guessing why) in the fashionable part of town featuring some of Buenos Aires' most popular restaurants and cafes. Stores containing the latest fashions abound; and there is no shortage of creativity. Everything is artsy or funky or both. And all this in a neighbourhood reminiscent of inner suburban Melbourne: low-rise 1920s flats line the streets, but with supremely modern interiors. This is certainly the place to be seen. And did I mention the eye candy...

This comes at a price though: the best restaurants in the area are always booked out with queues lining up out the door (as I said, time here is dilated, and preferred that way). So after being disappointed a few times, I eventually settled for second best in the restaurant scene. My first meal was a huge slab of steak. But this was steak that sliced like cheese, was an inch thick and covered in fried bacon. I'm not normally a fan of steak, but I've been converted. And to top it off I had seven different sauces to mix up the flavour with. Definitely converted.

Weekends here are packed with entertainment and shopping. I made my way through the Sunday markets at San Telmo, accompanied by a cool American chick I'd met at the hostel. This had to be the best street shopping I've seen in a while! Street performers were plentiful. And quality. The latin percussionists drew the largest crowd, but I really enjoyed the folk band (accordion, drum and clarinet) and also some ad hoc dancing on the sidewalk. And apart from this, the shops lining the main street house the most stunning collection of art deco/nouveau furniture and household accessories.

In the evening the market square became the dance floor for a milonga (tango dance party) that stretched late into the night... I'm already in love with this place!

Addendum: I'm still trying to find a card reader here (another thing I forgot) so that I can start uploading photos. Your imagination will have to suffice for the moment. And I have to confess that the image for this entry is actually Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and not my photo...