Buenos Aires- Day 1

This past weekend, we had our a six day weekend and tickets to the "New York of South America"- Buenos Aires or BA for short. This has been our first break from school, and we took advantage. We flew out of Asuncion on Thursday. Arriving in BA, we knew we were in a whole different world than Asuncion. We caught a ride into the city. One of the first things I noticed while driving through is how European the city looks and feels. I could very easily have been in Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Rome, or London with the architecture and the feel of the city. Asuncion is a very laid-back quaint city. BA is a city of constant movement and activities.

After we arrived at our hostel (if you remember from the last post, it was Jesse and 5 ladies- lucky him) we went up to the roof. Our hostel had a roof-top terrace with a beautiful view of the city. The bar was also up there so we had a beer to cheer our first South American vacation.

Then we went off exploring. Our hostel was right downtown, so it was very easy for us to walk to some very cool places. First, we went to the Plaza del Congreso, which is where the Congress meets.

Next, we walked down the other way from our hostel and went to see Casa Rosada. This is where Eva Peron (Evita) did her big speech to the masses. The traffic was crazy around this area, but we needed the picture.

BA is known for its shopping, and since Asuncion is not, and we were five women and Jesse, shopping is what we did. Since it was kind of late, we mainly just walked down Calle Florida to see what is available. Calle Florida is pedestrian only street goes on and on forever. It has stores and shops of all kinds, and has access to two or three malls. It was incredibly crowded, and with the street vendors in the middle of the street, it was difficult to get by sometimes.
We ended our first day in BA with dinner at a Thai restaurant and drinks at an Irish pub. I love Thai food, and thankfully, so do all of our companions. Here is a picture of my neighbor Chaya and I.
Jesse found an interesting beer (note to Simpsons fans) to try at the Irish pub while we planned the rest of our BA activities.