¡Buenos Días Buenos Aires! 

Stop number 1 of our around the world adventure has not disappointed. At first, Buenos Aires felt to me like it could be any other Spanish city but as time went on, we got a bit deeper in and saw the true side to South America’s cultural capital.

Our flight here was a bit mental. Our first flight from London to Rome was delayed an hour so we needed to sprint (not jog, sprint!) to our next flight! After 14 hours of weird airplane food, watching Ammun sleep, countless small cups of water and a moment of confusion when I met a woman with a poodle in her bag, we finally arrived and a nice taxi driver gave us a mini tour of the city on the way to our hostel. He told us about the old theatre which has one of the best acoustics in the world, the 74m high obelisk which stands as a memorial and the big ‘BA’ sign which still has a Christmas hat on it.


We stayed in a hostel called Milhouse Hostel  Avenue and it’s very sociable! Everyone that stayed in our room came in pairs from different countries (different continents even!) We stayed with 2 Australians, 2 Mexicans, 2 Isralies and 2 Americans so even without leaving my top bunk I learned a lot about the world!
On our first day, Ammun and I did a little bit of exploring of the area around us. One of the most impressive things about this modern city is Avenida 9 de julio. It is the worlds widest road with TWENTY lanes plus walking areas and bus stops making it over 100m wide.


Once we walked across that, we kept walking until we got to the very modern looking cathedral and the Pink House (Agrentina’s version of the White House.) Obviously we couldn’t go in that but we went in the Cathedral which was pretty and I forgot that the current pope is from Buenos Aires and they seem very proud.


We then continued to walk towards the ecological reserve where we sat for a bit while we rehydrated.


The next day we went with the two Australian girls to what is now my favourite part of Buenos Aires, La Boca. This is a small area of colourful houses, tango dancers and market stalls and everywhere you look is another Instagram opportunity!


For lunch we had an Argentinian meat platter and chips which was meant to be for two people but even four of us couldn’t finish it! We chose to eat at La Barrica Tango as they had singers, guitars and tango dancers the whole time we were there and it was fab. Although we never made it to a real tango show, I’m glad we got to see a little bit of Argentine tango.


We had a more restful afternoon walking around the nature reserve which was pretty and then went out for dinner with the people in our hostel. Ammun and I had steak and shared chips and salad and it was the most beautiful steak I have ever had the pleasure of eating. Along with a bottle of wine between us, it was my favourite meal of this trip so far! (Although by far the most expensive!)


We then all came back to the hostel bar for some drinks before heading out. We each got a cocktail which was so ridiculously strong and sweet we had to get more lemonade and some lemon slices in it! They were also handing out free shots so we were pretty tipsy by the time we got to the club! The club was so good – the whole night was reggaeton music (think Pitbull) and all the good reggaeton songs that I know the words to so I had a great night singing along! We got home at 5:30 so waking up at 9:30 to get up and check out was pretty painful.


We had quite a slow day on our last day. We checked out of our hostel and into the hotel where our tour began and then slowly wandered out. On our first day, we were told to go to the cemetery which we found pretty weird but after hearing more about it and seeing pictures on google images, we knew this was something not to be missed! For the last 200 years or so, all the rich people of Latin America have laid their loved ones to rest here but have built the most impressive crypts imaginable! It was like walking through a small town with some buildings actually looking like they could be houses, designer shops, churches or even a castle!  Although it was so impressive, it made me quite sad that some had been neglected and glass was broken, trees were growing inside and there was rubbish left instead of caskets.


We’ve now joined our tour group who we will be with until La Paz (and then most of us will stay together until Lima). There’s 15 of us who are English, Australian, Canadian, German and Swiss plus Kike our leader who is Peruvian. Everyone seems very nice so far so I’m sure we’ll have a good trip together. So far the conversations have mostly consisted of where we’ve already travelled and where we’re travelling next. Everyone’s itinerary is so different but every trip sounds incredible!
I’m writing this on a very turbulent plane to Salta which is when we first start reaching altitude and apparently it’s hotter there and full of mosquitos so I’m a little nervous but excited! On the plus side, I’m absolutely loving that I can speak Spanish with locals because not many people seem to be able to speak English! I’m slowly teaching Ammun key phrases but I still mess up occasionally because I’m not used to the strong accent and there is a lot of slang! I’m also the only one in the group that speaks Spanish so when I translated what Kike said to us at dinner yesterday, I got a round of applause from everyone. 4 years of a degree and I finally get an applause!
¡Hasta la próxima!
Annalise x