What a difference one week makes

So we have been in Buenos Aires for nearly a week and it is clear how much difference just 1 week makes in terms of what we have done and what we have learnt so far.

When we arrived here we had little understanding of how vast the  city is and the complexities of the different area - barrios.  We soon discovered that our tiny maps that we brought from home were totally ineffective. So, much of our first week has focussed on understanding the differen areas, finding our way about, settling in to living in our student digs and practsing speaking Spanish which is essential as our experience is that English is not widely spoken or understood. Equally our basic Spanish is not well understood and it is becoming a common occurrence for me (Eva) to receive confused looks from locals when I speak in Spanish, only for them to repeat the words back to me in what to me, sounds identical to what I've just said! Roll on Spanish school next week.

I think we've done quite well in exploring so far as we have been to:

Our local region called Palermo which seems to be split into several sub regions.  There is Palerno Soho, a trendy area full of shops and cafe culture which fortunately for us is our local area. Then there is Palermo park land - full of beautiful parks which are great to chill out in. Yesterday we had a lovely time sitting in the rose garden until the skies opened and then we ran like drowned rats to a nearby coffee shop. Also in this area is the very interesting Evita museum which not only portrays the history but has a good collection of Eva Peron's various outfits. Local people don't understand the outside world's interest in Evita and and say that here she is still referred to as Eva Duarte.  Not far from the Evita museum is the stylish MALBA art museum with it's even nicer Ninina cafe.  Last night we discovered the more edgy Palermo Hollywood area where a friend had recommended a small intimate jazz club where we saw a great trad jazz trio.  So Palermo has a lot to offer.

La Boca - the southern barrio of La Boca which I thought was meant to be a rather edgy area, was very touristy, or at least the part we saw as I think the streets behind tell another story. This area is famous for its multi coloured houses, street art and markets.  Also famous for La Bombonera football club, home of Boca Juniors which as a non football fan means nothing to me but given the number of people taking photos, it clearly means more to most.

San Telmo area - described by my guidebook as " a working class, though progressively bohemian area", this seems most famous for it's Sunday flea market. So we thought this would be a good place to spend our first Sunday and we were looking forward to listening to the steel bands that we were told play there on Sundays.  Granted it was raining, but being English we were undeterred. However, others were not so stoic and despite arriving in good time, market traders were packing away their stalls, there were no steel bands in sight and we learnt that locals are not keen to carry on regardless of rain.

Microcentre - this seems to be the name given to the main downtown area with the Plaza de Mayo, the beautiful french styled Opera House and the Casa Rosada overlooking the main square where I imagine Eva Perron giving that famous speech to the crowds.

Yes we have done and seen a lot in our first week as well as learning how to travel about on tube and buses, do our shopping, purchase goods and meals and survive the massive changes in weather from the burning heat when we first arrived to the torrential rain we are now experiencing.

Next week's adventure involves us beginng our Spanish classes.

Hasta la proxima