BA- Three Times not the Charm or Three Strikes and We are Out

Pink house where the Argentine president used to live. It is still used for government purposes. Anika loved that they have a female president who has a pink house. The fence is to protect it from constant protests and rallies.

Buenos Aires

In total we spent almost two weeks in BA over the course of three visits. It was two weeks too many.

Now I had heard a lot about BA before we got there and I have to admit my expectations were kind of high. Over a third of Argentine's live here, it is one of the top 15 most populated cities in the world. And it is supposed to be one of the most fun cities on earth. And yes, the people know how to party. Especially if you like to go out at 2:00am when the bars open and stay out till 7:00am. Of course you are drinking matte all the time, smoking cigarettes and having some Red Bull, which helps to do this. This is not my idea of a good time. The city has a very strong constant buzz of energy, like it is always rushing and vibrating.  Lots of big cities have this but you can usually find some spots of clam and relaxation.  So along with the dog poop all over the broken side walks and the run down look of former grandeur, came my feelings of disappointment. Many places we went were being repaired or partly closed down or just plain run down.

BA is famous for its dog walkers. This one only has five dogs, you can see one person with as many as 15 or more. Don't know if they pickup the poop, Someone sure is not picking it up.

There was an interesting mix of modern and old architecture that reminded me of NYC. Our first visit was with Paula and Ward. We had a fun day in the San Telmo neighborhood and some good non Argentine food. (They are crazy about meat here and it is not easy to find other options.)

Invisible street performer

Famous weekend antique market

And some tango

We also had fun at a party Liliana, Paula's new friend had for us at her house. Here we had a chance to see how people really live. Liliana and her family had just moved into a new apartment. Her two college age children live with her and her husband. This is the norm here. Their apartment was small and simple by American standards. But they knew how to make us feel at home and have a good time!

Partying at Lianna's

We did a hop on hop off bus tour around BA with Paula and Ward. These are often a good way to get the lay of the land and decide where you want to spend more time and you learn interesting history and facts about the city. This one was terrible.  I won't go into all the problems but there was almost a mutiny on the bus when it started to rain, hard, and the bus skipped some of its stops and the people up top got soaked. This is one of the only really negative reviews I have ever written for Trip Advisor. The only really god part was getting to see the colorful "La Boca" neighborhood.

Dave got this shirt as a gift at Liliana's party. When he wore it to the La Boca neighborhood he did not know he was walking into the other teams area and he got a lot of good natured jokes thrown his way. He is standing next tot a painting of  Messi the current Soccer great form Argentina

Famous colorful La Boca buildings

Or last meal with Paula and Ward before they left.

The day Paula and Ward left my brother Maynard arrived. We only spent a day in the city with him. before heading to Iguazu falls. We went to the MALBA, contemporary art museum, that looked like it would have been good if 2/3 their collection wasn't in NYC. Our last visit to BA was for our final three nights in Argentina. We have found that before changing countries and continents its good to have a few days in a big city where you can take care of business if you have to.  So we did laundry, printed documents, did Internet business and packed.  Now we are off to Europe! We arrived in Barcelona April 22. But that story is for the next blog.