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Our lengthy sleep ended late in the afternoon and we all awoke refreshed and ready to explore La Boca football stadium. After taking a bus (a new cheap mode of transport for us which pleased Dan greatly) we found ourselves in Camineto street, a quaint artist strip with an array of primary colours flooding the buildings, portraying a pop-art style. It is a great disguise for the shabby buildings beneath the paint noticed on closer inspection but still reels in the tourists!
After a speedy lunch in a restaurant covered in stuffed animals, we finally found ourselves at the entrance to La Boca football museum and ground (after walking past it three times!) Laura taught Emma the basics of football and explained about Maradonna to whom Emma was oblivious and also impressed at Laura´s footie knowledge. After watching a bizarre short film about the feelings behind football and scoring goals which had originally broken on our first attempt at watching it, the five of us headed through the throngs of spanish people to reach the english stadium tour.
Sitting in the stands then passing the changing rooms, press room and boxes, the boys pretended they were footballers and posed for pictures and interviews! ... Oh how little boys entertain themselves!
Grabbing a 37 minute power-nap (apparently that´s all you need according to Dan) we dressed up for the tango show with Emma finally having an excuse to whip out the maxi-dress just to prove it was worth bringing! The night began with a tango class where Laura, being single, was paired with a fat old woman with no sense of rhythm who insisted on treading on her feet whilst jabbering in spanish despite Laura having to play the leader as the man! In comparison to the previous class this one was much more basic and seemed as if we were regressing except Dan and Emily, who felt they were pros after their additional tango lesson whilst we were on the ranch!
Moving onto the next part of the evening we were led into a banqueting room for a three-course meal whilst enjoying a tango theatrical experience and live music. We were amazed at the ugliness of the female dancers with their drag-like makeup and scraped back unattractive hair! Much to our amusement and egging them on, these lovely ladies danced with Dan and Jamie during a break in their routine! The show was no ordinary dance extravaganza - but was accompanied by old men singing and action scenes in Spanish where we became slightly lost! Despite the lack of enthusiasm for the show, we thoroughly enjoyed the evening as the food was top-notch!
The following day - and our last in Buenos Aires - we headed to Cafe Tortoni (highly recommended by Dan) an exclusive restaurant with a mile-long queue. Being convinced the wait would be worthwhile, we hung around for what turned out to be an average meal! Following this, Jamie and the two of us went to Recoleta market for a leisurely stroll whilst Emma raced ahead on a mission to find a leather bag! The market sold all kinds of handicrafts and made a refreshing change from the Peruvian weaving we had become accustomed to.
For our last dinner in Argentina we chose to go to the final region of Puerto Madero for steak. Overlooking the water at the port we reflected on our last eight days in Buenos Aires and our first eight days together. Argentina has a different vibe from Peru and Bolivia, it is a city reminding us more of the hustle and bustle we are used to in London and the weather definately reflected this! Having explored all the main regions and the lack of culture in the relatively new city, the only stone left unturned seemed to be the Synagogue museum which was closed when we visited and we instead hunted for an avocado for which we both had cravings!
Excited for our final country, Brazil, although it will be our last chapter of this trip, it was a shame to leave behind Buenos Aires but not so much the dog-poo lined streets!
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