I heart Buenos Aires

In 2012, I fell in love with Buenos Aires. It wasn't a planned love, in fact it was the opposite. After the beauty and breathtaking scenery of Rio, when we  arrived in Argentina, (exhausted from partying it up at the Carnival) the grey city landscape of Buenos Aires did nothing to inspire me.  I felt that strange pang of "homesickness" I sometimes feel when moving on to the next stage of a holiday,  for the part of a holiday that had ended, and I really wanted to go back to Rio.

Boy, was I wrong in my quick judgement of this city. I honestly have no idea when the transition happened. It must have been a gradual happening, because I don't remember suddenly thinking "wow, this place is amazing". But when we left, after just three days there, I felt heartbroken.

Something about Buenos Aires is unobtrusively magical. It isn't the architecture, which, while nice, doesn't hold a flame to some of the buildings in Europe. It isn't the city layout, which felt more practical than beautiful. It isn't the parks or beaches - bar one or two parks we didn't see too many and we didn't even make it down to the beaches. It is everything you can't explain. It is the culture, the friendly people, the atmosphere, the shabby-chicness, the vibe, the unassuming beauty that you have to look for to see.  Unfortunately, I only had my point and shoot at this stage of my travels, but hopefully some of the below pictures will help to portray more of my love for this city. Words seem inadequate and if I am honest, I don't remember the names of the neighbourhoods we visited, or the restaurants we ate at, I don't remember the advice I was given and the advice I swore to remember to give to others, it has all just merged into this beautiful, rose-tinted memory of a brief, but perfect romance.

After eating Argentinian steak, I can now say for certain, South African steak wins. Taste-wise they are just as good, but value for money and side dishes goes to South Africa....(wahey South Africa!!)

These guys agreed with me about the Steak...