So despite the crazy mullet sporting Maradona lookalike taxi driver I made it safely back to the Fierro hotel, which was still amazing. The receptionists looked like they'd just stepped off the catwalk and for some reason no one else wanted to lounge by the rooftop pool so I had it all to myself.
Buenos Aires is my favourite place so far and Palermo Hollywood is one funky neighbourhood. Best bits of BA mark 2 were:
1) Hotel gourmet breakfasts still fabulous and I branched out from fried eggs and learned the word for poached which then became my favourite.
2) More shopping in Palermo Viejo and Soho. Second visit to BA.....second handbag purchase.
3) Riding the subte is crazy, no matter what time of day it's packed and a sweatfest. Chances of getting a seat seem to be 1 in a million.
4) Teatro Colon tour in Spanish was really fun and we even got to watch a rehearsal of an upcoming opera. Apparently it was the biggest opera theatre in the world until they built the Sydney one. Sydneysiders will object, but I like the Colon better. Very old school glam.
5) Steak, steak and more steak. I haven't had a bad one yet and the random accompaniments keep getting better. All time favourite was a chilli tomato paste that could blow your head off.
6) For such a beautiful city the pavements are all to hell! Cracked, rubble, uneven, piles of dirt etc. Whoever is meant to maintain them is clearly too busy partying and eating steak.
7) Recoleta cemetery is a rather bizarre place made even weirder during my visit as there was an actual funeral taking place while the tourists wandered around. No headstones here, its full on mausoleums all round and the fancier the better. It's said that the priciest real estate in BA is right here.
8) There were lots of similairlities between BA and Santiago but some key differences. For 1 I could understand the argentinian accent much easier than the million miles an hour chilean. And I didn't see 1 stray dog in BA whereas Santiago had loads. All I saw in BA was pampered pooches mostly being carried to save them from the pavements!
After 3 and a half days pottering around BA it was time to head out of South America and up to Miami. Almost 5 weeks across 5 different countries, lots of Spanish, lots of vino, lots of fun. Adios South America and here I come Miami!
