Argentina - eventually!

After what was a very hectic two weeks back in England; thank you very very much to everyone who put us up (put up with us) during our brief return, we are again on our travels.... So welcome to the second part of our blog posts, Latin America!

We had an eventful flight here with Brazil providing our first unscheduled port of call. We had an emergency landing due to a passenger falling ill en-route which meant we had a good look at the dawn as viewed from the tarmac of Sau Paulo airport. Not the most invigorating time we have spent and made worse by knowing the Donald and Alicia were waiting to pick us up. Luckily they were checking arrival times and had realised we were delayed.

They took us to their home and were superb hosts providing a very welcome introduction to the joys of the Argentinian grill. We had already some flavour of what was to be expected, their daughter & son-in-law having already introduced us to the concept, however as previously noted by son-in-law Andrew, the meat is of a different calibre here.

Donald and Alicia also have a flat lovely 16th floor flat right in the centre of what we discover is a really cool part of town, which they have, with astounding generosity let us stay in while we explore the city.

 I enjoyed getting the tripod out and shooting some night shots.

The chance to have a flat to ourselves, to be able to cook for ourselves and to be honest, not have other people around all the time has been a weird novelty which we have over the last three days really enjoyed.

Some initial slightly offbeat observations about Buenos Aires :-
1.Everyone has a dog! usually the small yapping variety, I am sure that professional dog walker is quite a sensible career choice here.
2. Everyone gently strolls rather than walks.... after 2 weeks in London and prior to that in KL we have had to learn to SLOW DOWN or we will mow people over as we walk.
3. Despite what we have been told the traffic seems light and although cars weave a little as the go, the general pace seems leisurely, drivers wave us to cross in front of them and the politeness of everyone is very noticeable.
4. Despite the weather being mild everyone knows it is May and therefore must be winter and therefore must wear a coat.
5. They love shoe shops.
6. Ditto cake shops.
7. Tagging graffiti is of epidemic proportions...someone needs to teach them some variation.

 Two friends of Patrica's; Manuela and Victoria, pictured above next to a very nice but regrettably empty tun, took us out of town on Sunday to one of their favourite grill places (oh it does have a proper Argentinian name but sitting here in the wifi enabled cafe I'm stuck to recall it) A popular city dweller's weekend occupation is to drive out to one of these ranch like places and have an all you can eat grill consisting of beef, sausage, black pudding, chicken pork, etc etc almost ad infinitum. Obviously we partook heavily and then after a suitable time on loungers around the large wide open lawn, placed there for recovery reasons, we strolled around the adjacent crafts and food market before waddling back to the ranch for the inclusive teas.

 Sunset was beautiful, after which we were chauffeured back to town.

 One of the 'must do's' here is a visit to the cemetery, which is one of quite spectacular over the top mausoleums erected to the great, good and to be honest, rich of the cities past. They create quite a city within a city, with avenues of marble, granite and plaques. Hardly a touch of green to be found and a curiously antiseptic place even with the children's coffins, weeping angels and rich variation between the superbly maintained marble monoliths and crumbling edifices of the now derelict.

We are looking forward to an in depth exploration of the rest of the city prior to heading up country.