Hello Buenos Aires!
We had high hopes for our flight out of Heathrow Terminal 5 with British Airways. However, our hopes were dashed at check-in when, despite arriving 3 hours early, the only seats remaining were single seats on different rows. We had tried to check-in online with the website not accepting our booking ref. Great, our first few hours of adventure will be spent on different rows. After a couple of Coronas at the terminal bar (drowning sorrows) we found ourselves in a positive mood again, until they announced on the PA that they were having trouble opening the cabin door! Grrr!! Why can't things start off smoothly? Anyway, once we had boarded the plane, we managed to convince a passenger to swap seats so we could sit together and celebrated our change in fortune by ordering two of each drink, which in turn were doubles. Combined with some Sominex (sleeping tablets) - which were fast becoming our drug of choice on long hall flights - we passed out pretty quickly and managed to get about 6 hours of kip.
We touched down in Buenos Aires at 8:30 am slightly groggy, but excited. After all the hard work to get this far, it still had not sunk in that we were actually here and beginning the trip we had been planning for so long.
Arrival at the hostel, ChillHouse, was a pleasant surprise. A quaint old building, with really high ceilings, individually decorated rooms and in a quiet part of town. The owner was so welcoming and helpful - just what us newbie travellers needed.
We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring Buenos Aires' Micro Centro (downtown), taking in the usual tourist sights: Avenue de Mayo, Plaza de Mayo, Casa Rosada. Before taking a stroll down by the marina. Apart from the super cheap Subte (tube) - about 20p per journey - we were surprised with how expensive everything was. Prices were only marginally cheaper than in the UK.
Our first day was finished off with a barbecue hosted by the hostel owners on the terrace, meeting fellow travellers, enjoying our first Argentine steak, and developing a taste for the local Malbec.
M & N x
