Buenos Aires

Most Argentines refer to Buenos Aires as "La Capital" and most English-speakers call it simply B.A. Its full name is the City of Our Lady Holy Mary of the Fair Winds.  Buenos Aires means "Fair winds." Buenos Aires beginnings were inauspicious indeed when it was founded in 1536.  It was a malarial, swampy area surrounded on three sides by the treeless Pampas, and on the remaining side by a muddy river.

My mistake, we are only here for 1 day and in Montevideo for 2.  Can't imagine why it's not the reverse.

We had a wonderful day today.  Left the ship about 9:30, caught a shuttle that took us to the Plaza Hotel where we changed money.  The hotel is on Florida St, a shopping street with no cars. We stopped at a cafe to have Capuccino and a croissant and walked around for quite a while. Leather stores are in abundance here and every other shop carries either shoes, purses or jackets.  It was the closest thing to heaven.  From there we took a taxi to a restaurant to have lunch, but instead decided to walk to Recoleta which is a wonderful a park. Evita's tomb is in a cemetery adjacent to the park. The last time we were here, '03, we ate at a great restaurant off the park.  We decided to again have lunch at one of the restaurants off Recoleta.  We found one called "Montana Ranch," (sounded more like a restaurant in the U.S.) where we had Lomo (fillet).  Steak is also in abundance here and cuts like butter.  We are gaining weight steadily. After lunch we took a taxi to another part of town where they tango on the street.  It's called La Boca. Lots of outdoor cafes with dancers doing the Tango, brightly colored buildings and people selling trinkets & paintings.  Really interesting area.  We stayed for a long time and got some great stills & video of the Tango.  By the way, that's me at Montana Ranch.