December 26th - A Full Day City Tour and TANGO!

We started out early with our wonderful guide, Valeria, arriving bright and cheerful and full of information.  We visited eight neighborhoods of the city today starting out with the the government buildings, the presidential mansion, and the govenmnet house with the famous ¨¨Evita¨balcony.  We took a subway ride on one of the oldest subway systems in the world.  The line we took was over 100 years old as was the car we rode.  While on the subway train we experienced a sighting of Saint Bobbie, patron saint of the subway!  Next was San Telmo and their famous Sunday Antique Market. All of the garage sale junkies were in pig heaven.  The streets were crowded and the heat was amazing.  There was music in the air and the city was alive.  From there we traveled through some of the older parts of the city and then into La Boca, home of the TANGO!  With the colorful buildings painted in so many bright colors, the music filled the air and the tourists filled the streets.  Sidewalk cafes were full of people eating and watching couples doing the tango on the small performance stages in each restaurant.  We ate at one and enjoyed local empanadas, pastas, and sandwiches.  Nex t up with Puerto Madera and the new harbor and extremely upscale living and shopping.  The modern hi-rises and stunning architeture were a stark diversion from the old town just a few blocks away.  We ended the tour portion of our day six hours later at Ricoleta cemetery where we visited the tomb of Evita and desperately tried to get out of the scorching 100 degree day.  With not a breeze to be felt and high humidity we all were feeling the weather.

A shower, swim, and nap in our air-conditioned rooms was the final reward for the afternoon.  That evening we were picked up at 8:30 and taken to a local tango club deep in the city´s neighborhood.  There we mixed wiht the locals, had a meal, and enjoyed the tango lessons and dancing with the people of the city.  There is lots of video to share when we all get home.  We got back to the hotel just after 11PM and off to bed in anticipation of our free day tomorrow and the list of everything we all have been planning.