The Blaus - South America and Europe

January 2- BUENOS AIRES

We are still in BA, and have just moved to a different hostel in the same neighborhood. This one has AC and is cheaper, so we are much happier. It is really hot here this time of year. It is a muggy 90 degrees F during the day. The more we experience the city, the more we really like it. We are both amazed at how livable it is. We were both expecting something a lot closer to Bangkok or Saigon, but the truth is that it is more like Milan or Paris. It is not as big, loud, overcrowded or dirty as we expected, it is very livable and there are many nice neighborhoods that are quiet and relaxing. The language continues to be an obstacle, but we are pretty good at getting the info we need to get around, and we are getting better at ordering food and drinks. "Una mas cerveza, por favor" works great. Jen is doing most of the talking, but I am trying to get involved in the coversations as much as possible. Jen´s big threat to me is that she won´t talk for me anymore, and that threat has teeth, because I would be lost without her.

We are still trying to figure out the schedule of the locals. Everyone is out late at night, even elderly couples are seen walking home from the resturaunts at 2AM. The only problem is that it seems like people are awake early too, so we are not sure when they sleep. The people that live in BA are called Porteños, which means people of the port. The porteños definitely live a full life, night and day. We are drinking and eating very well. Dinner is usually pizza (we are in Palermo, the italian part of town) or filet of steak, and a couple of glasses of Argentine Malbec. The total cost for a good meal for both of us is about 10 US dollars. The price allieviates some of the guilt for living the sweet life (la vida dulce). We will be here for the next week or so exploring the city. We went to the street fair in San Telmo today, and will see other parts of the city one at a time the rest of the week. I do see why a lot of people leave the city in January for the cooler Patagonia because it is hot. We will be happy to follow them South once we make our plans to see more of Argentina.

posted by The Blaus @ 3:54 PM