We arrived in Buenos Aires early in the morning on December 31, after a loooonnng day and night. We left Belfast at 9 a.m. for trip to Boston, flight to Dallas, then continuing flight to BA. Anyway, thanks to the shuttle service of Manuel Tienda Leon, we were conveniently transported into town and dropped outside our hotel (Loi Suites Esmerelda). We quickly took ourselves off and onto the streets to explore the neighbourhood with plans for a late lunch followed by a siesta in preparation for the New Year’s Eve festivities.
Our friendly, and good-english-speaking, hotel staff recommended we go to the Puerto Madero area to view the fireworks. This dockland area has recently be renovated and rejuvenated and is packed with cafes, restaurants and trendy condos.
January 1, being a national holiday, was a good day to sight see around the city. For a city with a population of 13 million, there was minimal traffic and it made it easy for us to get our bearings.
Using the subway (known as subte), which has been in use since 1913 and is the oldest subway system in the southern hemisphere, we made our way to the La Recoleta cemetery.
One of our favourite destinations within Buenos Aires, was the “barrio” of La Boca with its colourfully painted buildings and tango dancers performing outside cafes.
San Telmo, the oldest neighbourhood in Buenos Aires, which we were lucky enough to visit on Sunday morning when they have an amazing flea market that radiates out from the square along the narrow cobble-stoned streets, with well-preserved colonial buildings. This area is also renowned for tango, but we just took in the market.
Here are some other miscellaneous shots from around the city.
