Buenos Aires

We arrived in Buenos Aires on the 4th November after a nightmare 24 hours of flying. Our hostel for the week was called Carlos Gardel, after the tango legend. The place was fantastic and became our little haven for the week while we got used to the heat (32 degrees most days). We were based in San Telmo, a barrio south of the city centre, home to the Feria de Antigüedades every sunday, where a central square called Plaza Dorrego becomes full of stalls selling antiques, bric a brac and treasures. I think we hit this on the best weekend at the end of our stay as it seemed to be an anniversary of the feria and everyone was dressed up in costume.

We spent most of our days exploring the different barrios of BA, sunbathing in the smart parks of Palermo next to lakes, we visited the cemetery in Recoletta - a weird tourist attraction but a really peaceful and interesting place to spend a few hours, some of the mausoleums are huge and really gothic.

We walked to La Boca one day, the barrio just south of San Telmo, know for it´s colourful painted corrugated houses, the area was heaving with tango dancers, street asados and stalls.

One of our favourite spots in BA was Bar Federal, in San Telmo. It was right by our hostel and served the most amazing selection of food. Picada´s, wooden boards filled with hams, salames, cheeses, etc. And Pancho Completos, huge hotdogs with cheese and bacon - not healthy or particularly argentinian but yum! Another bonus was the huge glasses of Malbec, 2 for about 2 pounds! After a week we decided it was time to think about moving on and decided that the city of Mendoza was our next destination.