First Day in Buenos Aires

I arrived safely in BA after an overnight flight on Friday. Finally got to the hotel at about 9:30 AM. It is only a 1 hour time difference here. BA is one hour ahead. After meeting up with Jon and grabbing a much needed cup of coffee and shower. it was time to head out to check out the city. We covered a lot of ground. We had our first Quilmes beers at about Noon before heading to Recoleta and the world famous cemetery where Eva Peron is buried. This cemetery is unlike any other I have ever seen. It is where famous dignitaries are housed. Each burial site is like a mini shrine. It is set like a city with narrow streets. Very hard to explain. You will have to see the pictures.

From there we walked quite a bit before finally my body just screamed for a little nap. Exhaustion kicked in. After a short power nap, we headed out to a great restaurant. First night in Argentina, what are you going to eat? World famous Argentine steak and delicious wine. Our waiter, Felipe was a true character. He was an older gentleman who took his profession seriously. When asking for a recommendation for a good bottle of wine, he gave this hand gesture as if to say ¨You are in good hands with me¨ He was correct as he brought us some fantastic wine. After giving him a $24 peso tip, he followed by bringing us free cappucinos and dessert. After all was said and done, we finally cashed it in at about 4am.

Today is going to be great. We are going to The Superclasico soccer match between Boca and River Plate. I was lukewarm about the idea of going to the game until we met this Irish guy who proclaimed it the biggest soccer match in the world and basically said there is no way in hell you can miss this game if you are in BA. If a guy who watches English soccer and goes to matches tells you that this is the biggest game in the world, you can´t argue. I have to run for now so I can catch the bus to the game. Hope all is well with everyone back home.

PS
From reading Todd´s blog, tgrando.blogspot.com it sounds like Elliott´s surprise party went extremely well. Sounds like Elliott was in rare form. But why was he cursing my name? I will give him a pass as he probably has no recollection. Also, the Yankees suck. But, at least OSU is kicking ass. Next week is the real ass kicking vs. Michigan State. Someone is going to owe me a great dinner when I get back.