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Buenos Aires and Uruguay
I arrived in Buenos Aires on Saturday night and checked into a hostel in San Telmo which is quite an artsy, fashionable area, if a little rough around the edges. Iy was late and I was tired so I took a short walk and found a restaurant for a juicy steak and some vino tinto before hitting the hay.
The next day I spent walking through the artesan market in San Telmo which happens every sunday, and seeing the Plaza 25 de Mayo which is home to the Casa Rosado (made famous by Eva Perron). I then headed back to the hostel where I got to know my roommates, Chewy and Brie from Adelaide who very kindly invited me to share their dinner along with some more vino tinto.
The following day I decided to cross the Rio de la Plata to Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay which is a beautiful old colonial town (who`d have thought it?) by the river with cobbled streets and restaurants aplenty. It`s only an hour by boat from Buenos Aires but feels a million miles away. Having explored the town and taken in the spectacular sunset I found a restaurant and had a rather disappointing steak before going to bed. The next morning I took the two and a half hour bus trip to Uruguay`s capital city, Montevideo which struck me as something of a mini Buenos Aires. Feeling the need for some personal space I decided to check into a hotel (recommended by the Lonely Planet again). It was very basic but seemed ok. Until, that is, I realised my room was completely freezing cold. I don`t know how they managed it but it was significantly colder in my room than it was outside. I took my coat and scarf off when I left the hotel and put them back on when I returned.
Anyway, the following day I wandered the city. After stopping for a menu del dia at lunchtime I continued exploring the city and soon realised that I had wandered into a less than desirable neighbourhood. I did an about turn to head back towards the city centre and a few minutes later felt my pocket being picked. Instinctively I turned and went after the culprit before I (and he) realised that all he`d got was a map of Colonia out of my back pocket. I indicated to him (in English) at he could keep it and continued back towards town at a faster pace.
The next day I got the bus back to Colonia for one more night in Uruguay before taking the ferry back to Buenos Aires where I was going to enrol in a Spanish school for a `super-intensive` week of studying Español. I wasn`t able to get into the hostel in which I`d stayed previously so I settled for the Hostel Inn, Buenos Aires, also in San Telmo, which turned out to be an excellent choice.
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