1.24.17 Buenos Aires, Argentina

We had a flight to Atlanta and then a 9 and a half hour flight overnight to Buenos Aires.    Our flight left Atlanta around 9:15 pm and we arrived this morning around 9am.   Time here is a 2 hours ahead our EST.  After we went through customs and a second bag screening, we met a tour guide from Grand Circle.    She took us to an awaiting van which took us to our hotel.

The  Panarmerican Hotel is located on the Boulevard of July 9th.   July 9th is Argentina’s Independence Day.    We were supposed to meet our guide for a brief walking tour around the hotel.   We had trouble with our room keys and until that got straightened out, we missed our small group tour.   Since we were pretty tired, we opted for lunch, walked around a little on our own, and took showers and rested a bit.

The obelisk commemorates where the first Argentinian flag flew after they gained their independence from Spain.

We met our tour guide Gonza, a native Argentinian at 5 and took a walking tour of some of the government areas. We went to May Square which is where the major political events of Argentina have taken place. We saw the Cabildo, which was the former Spanish seat of government. On one side of the square was The Pink House where the President of Argentina works and is well know for the Evita balcony where she spoke to the people. There is also a catherdral on the square which is the hometown for Pope Francis.

We then went by bus to a modern section of the city called Puerto Madero. We saw the Women’s Bridege which is a rotating footbridge over the canal. We ate supper in this area at an Argentinian Steak House. Argentina is well know for it’s beef and we were not disappointed.

By the time we returned to our hotel, we were ready to call it a day. It was fascinating to learn about the Buenos Aires history from Gonza’s perspective.  I’m sure we’ll learn even more tomorrow!