Welcome to Argentina! First stop...Buenos Aires.

What better way to experience Argentine culture than to start with its well anticipated capital,

BuenosAires. We arrived in BA on Saturday morning at 10:30 (6:30 am, AB time) and took a taxi to Kaixo hostel which is located in the city´s centre. Our taxi driver didn´t speak very much English, but acted as our tour guide as he pointed out several churches, barrios (neighborhoods) and monuments as we drove into the city´s core. Our hostel is in a prime location as it is located about two blocks from the Obelisk, which has got to be the tallest landmark in BA and has become the perfect tool to navigate around. We set out to tour the city on foot to get our barrings and ended up seeing a large chunk of what BA has to offer: old school cobblestone streets, historic architecture in every direction and cafe´s, pizzerias and ice cream shops on every corner. We saw most of the parliament buildings, including the large pink headquarters in which the president resides. Hilarious!

The trees here are incredible, not only because of the variations from one to the other but because of their sheer size. The weather has also been incredible and the single fan in our room at Kaixo has been workin´ overtime already! Our first night we enjoyed a steak dinner and bottle of Malbec from the Mendoza region, which is west of BA. We also sat on the terrace of our hostel and drank giant (1litre) Argentine beers that cost only $1.50 CDN and chatted with a group of travellers from the UK and one guy from Toronto.

We walked to San Telmo district to browse its infamous Sunday street market and antiques display which covers a whopping 13 blocks. There was umbrellas popped open for shade at several of the tables and we couldn´t resist the fresh squeezed o.j that was offered on every block. We caught a glimpse of a Tango routine and enjoyed checking out all of the unique artwork and crafts that are native to Argentine culture. We walked to Boca Junior´s Stadium where futbol fans go to cheer on their home team and boast BA pride. Seven hours later, we returned to our hostel and got ready to watch a live Tango show and have dinner. We took the subway, which resembles a San Fran style street car, very authentic! The Tango show was thrilling to watch. The footwork was quick and precise. The makeup and costumes were flashy and sultry. The dancers even got the audience involved by pulling some of them out of their chairs and getting them to strut along with them to the music. The music score was a four piece ensemble; violinist, accordionist, pianist and double bassist.

We have only been in BA for two nights and have fallen in love with this city´s charm. The people are very gracious and accommodating. The way of life here gives new meaning to the phrase ´laissez faire´. For a city of 14 million, they seem to have it all figured out.