Argentina has come along way from its inflation-marred days of the 1980s, or even more recently in 2001-2002. But while people may no longer carry money around in bags, your dollar still takes you incredibly far here (especially compared to Brazil). We have been dining on steak and wine for three nights, at an average cost of about US$ 10-15 per person. Oh, and the portions are huge (think meat sweats). Some places, anticipating a further inflation of the Peso, even accept US dollars at a very generous rate.
Really, we haven't done much here besides eat steak, drink wine and play a little (or in some cases, too many) cards. Today we DID put our tourist pants on and took a 3-4 hour bike tour of Buenos Aires, which was cool way to both see things and to work up our appetites for more steak and wine.
We made the most of our first two nights here, for a couple reasons. First, things don't get going until very late (see Madrid). On Friday night, we met up with one of my Middlebury friends and her friends for dinner around 11 p.m. Second, our first two nights were spent in horrible squalor at a hostel in the otherwise beautiful San Telmo area. For a TOTAL of US$15 per person for the two nights, we slept in a dorm-style room without windows, air conditioning or even a fan. The saying holds true: you get what you pay for. Dreading a return to the hostel, we stayed out until nearly 5 a.m. on Thursday and nearly as late on Friday.
Not willing to sweat ourselves to sleep for a third straight time, we decided to uprade for our last night here in BA. We've spoiled ourselves and moved down the street to a "Bed and Breakfast," staying in a 3-person room (with a mattress put down to make 4, Wong drawing the short straw) for a $15 per person. It has airconditioning, clean towels, a continental breakfast buffet and a very nice female receptionist who may or may not have armpit hair.
It's just after midnight on Saturday night and we want to go a club nearby, but it won't even open its doors to us until 1. So Phil, Auggie and Chris are taking a late-night siesta (If I try to take a nap I'll be down for the count) before we head out to enjoy our last night here. We are leaving tomorrow night on a 14-hour bus ride to Mendoza, in the heart of wine country, where we'll hang out in the vineyards and hot springs for about 4 days before continuing west to Chile. We four amigos sure have it rough.
Not willing to sweat ourselves to sleep for a third straight time, we decided to uprade for our last night here in BA. We've spoiled ourselves and moved down the street to a "Bed and Breakfast," staying in a 3-person room (with a mattress put down to make 4, Wong drawing the short straw) for a $15 per person. It has airconditioning, clean towels, a continental breakfast buffet and a very nice female receptionist who may or may not have armpit hair.
It's just after midnight on Saturday night and we want to go a club nearby, but it won't even open its doors to us until 1. So Phil, Auggie and Chris are taking a late-night siesta (If I try to take a nap I'll be down for the count) before we head out to enjoy our last night here. We are leaving tomorrow night on a 14-hour bus ride to Mendoza, in the heart of wine country, where we'll hang out in the vineyards and hot springs for about 4 days before continuing west to Chile. We four amigos sure have it rough.
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