Buenos Aires

This has been a crazy week in Buenos Aires. The nightlife is fantastic and it is generally deemed unnacceptable to return home before sunrise.. Nevertheless, I have been making the most of living in one of South America's liveliest cities. Strolling along the wide streets during the day can be really fun, just to experience the bustling city, smelling the various foods from street stalls or else being repeatedly offered to see a tango show.

I took a bike tour on Tuesday, taking in the south of the city; the richest, coastal neighbourhood of Puerto Madero with plenty of snazzy restaurants, the poorer region La Boca, home to Boca Juniors and their immense 'bombadera' stadium, and the San Telmo district, the site of a famous, sprawling market. La Boca is a great neighbourhood because all of the buildings are painted with loads of different colours, making it appealing to the the eye. Just walking along the streets you can see countless bars with live tango performances, both music and dancing. Our final stop of the tour was the Plaza de Mayo, the central square, where it is not uncommon to witness protests, and casting your eye down Avenida de Mayo, Buenos Aires' towering Obelisk is a spike on the smooth horizon.

On Wednesday, we went out for another all you can eat 'asado'. The chorizo sausage assaulted my taste buds to such an extent that I had closed my eyes, put my fingers in my ears and allowed myself to be taken over by the flavours. Afterwards, we headed out to a tango bar and had a good tango/ salsa evening. I really feel like my dancing is improving...

A real highlight was going to see a live tango show. The whole package: music, dancing and comedy was very entertaning. I was not previously aware that legs could move that way; it looked as if they were disconnected from the bodies. The speed and guile of the dancers, combined with the togetherness of the music and the timing of the comedy produced an impressive and professional display.

Despite all of this, my mind has been taken over by one thing this week: Sunday's FA Cup semi final. In preparation, I have been searching for suitable locations to watch said game. Whilst checking out the 'locos por el futbol' bar, we visited the cemetry in Recoleta. It is a place where people spend extravagant money on enormous graves; some have front doors and two or three storeys; it really is ridiculous. 

The hostel I have been staying in here is enormous and full of people intent only on partying, so it will nice to have a few days break as I head into Uruguay next week.