Hello, Buenos Aires!*

*Yes, you should be singing the title of the post, just like Madonna

I don't know if you could tell this from our posts, but we've spent a LOT of time in the wilderness. We've climbed more mountains in these two months than we'd climbed in our lives pre-trip. We've camped a bunch, breathed in tons fresh air, drank straight from glaciers, and generally gotten covered in a lot of dirt.

Perhaps that's why we were so psyched to head to Buenos Aires-- not only was it a welcome change from the great outdoors, but it was a giant metropolitan area with a variety of food (sushi, anyone?), new energy, and, unlike many of the trekking towns, it has more Argentinians than tourists.

The Congress Building in Buenos Aires. It's modeled after the U.S. Capitol

Evita, not a man eating a hamburger, as a tourist we met thought

The city definitely has an energy to it. Everything seems to move in hyperspeed-- cars especially-- perhaps due to all of the little shots of espresso everyone drinks here! There's graffiti everywhere, protests in the street at least once per day, and performance art on the trains. It was a refreshing change from the quaint little towns filled with only outdoor equipment shops and ice cream stands.

For our first 5 nights in town, we stayed in the downtown area, right down the road from the Congress building and Plaza de Mayo, one of the most important places in Buenos Aires' history.

Nope, not the Washington Monument!

The Casa Rosada, the President's office building.
Yes, it's lit up pink at night.

We also visited Evita's grave. A bit morbid, yes, but the Recoleta Cemetery, where she's buried, is a really neat cemetery for the rich or famous of Buenos Aires. Some of these gravestones were bigger than houses. Unfortunately, our pictures have gone missing for now, so if you can't use your imagination, check the official site for pictures.

One night, we also stumbled into a tango performance, which was incredible. Apparently you can see or dance the tango any night of the week while in Buenos Aires.

Awesome old theater converted to a bookstore/coffee shop.
This would be heaven if I could read Spanish.

An encounter with an old-fashioned elevator. This is my "acting confused" face.
I expect my Oscar any day now.

Sipping a cafe con leche at one of Buenos Aires' oldest cafes

Residents and tourists going through the Stations of the Cross
 on the streets of Buenos Aires

Hanging out in our favorite park near Plaza Italia

During Holy Week and the run-up to Easter, the city began to clear out. So, we decided to be like locals and join them! We took a small break from big city life to jet off to Uruguay for a vacation from our travels.

-R