Welcome to Buenos Aires

Hello from Argentina! We got in at 4:20 this morning, after a 14 hour flight with a plane change in New York. It goes without saying that we did not sleep at all, and it also goes without saying that our hotel did not have a room ready at that hour. So, after dropping off our suitcases with the concierge, we decided to set out to explore the neighborhood.

Buenos Aires is one of those cities made up of many neighborhoods. It is a huge metropolis, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 12 million people.

We are in the barrio of Palermo, a cosmopolitan area with many restaurants, shops, and fancy, European styled buildings. Given our state of being, we limited ourselves to explore only the immediate area, so I hope you are not expecting great photos, in fact I can’t think of any that match that description. Some areas just beg to have photos taken, while others, though very pleasant, like this neighborhood, do not translate very well on film.

Today we logged in over 25,000 steps, and our feet are screaming. The area is filled with many beautiful parks, and we covered most of them, including a Japanese garden.

We also visited the Evita Peron museum, which was quite interesting. For those who may not know, Evita is to Argentina what Lincoln might be in the United States. She was the people’s lady; wife to Juan Peron, president of the country, and much beloved by the population. You might have seen the movie and the musical Evita.

(I know, I look exhausted)

(These are but a few of Evita's dresses on display)

We stopped for lunch at a Lebanese restaurant, then at about 2 PM we were able to check-in, and to catch a few Zs. We quickly realized that on Friday we will be heading across the Parana River into Uruguay, which means that we needed to get a new COVID test done, after having done one just 3 days ago; so off we went again in search of a clinic that could guarantee us a result by tomorrow. We found one several blocks from our hotel and so put that task behind us. Dinner at a local restaurant, which was not particularly exciting, but served the purpose, then back to the hotel, where we will hopefully get a good night sleep and really start our trip tomorrow.

It sure is nice though, being in summer again. It’s 9:20 PM and the sun has just gone down. Gone are the sweaters and the jackets. Today was a beautiful day without a cloud in the sky, with temperatures in the mid-80s. We can easily get used to this, but the flip side of the coin is that we are expecting a heat wave within the next couple of days, where the thermometer will soar into the high 90s. We’ll keep you posted as to how we’ll fare.

For the time being, I’ll post these few simple pictures of a pleasant, but not exceptional day. Of course, check back on this website tomorrow, and thank you for traveling with us.

(View of the street below, from our hotel's balcony)

(An old FIAT 600)

(The ever-present local license plate)