A quick thank you to Zoe and William my daughter and son in law for gaining me a safe passage to the airport after a hectic few days prior to my trip to Buenos Aires ( honours degree examination, job interviews etc..).
Their was confusion at Gatwick airport when two planes were leaving the terminal both with similar numbers from the South and North terminal. I flew from the north terminal after a few hurried conversations with airport staff I was informed that my flight was with British Airways and not Iberian my ticket was clerked in and I settled in at the departure lounge with a sudoku book and word search provided by William. The flight was delayed only by two hours over the whole journey which pleased me.
In Argentina Jon was equally confused as to the flight number as the boards in Ezeia Buenos Aires indicated that the incoming plane was from Barcelona. The flight was from Madrid and Iberian Airways flew me to Buenos Aires.
Initially on the plane a few tears were felt as I reflected on the leaving party in Greenwich where friends met in a public house called "Richard III" this was in August . Since then I had corresponded mainly under the pseudo name of two meats ( a name given to me by William). So our meeting was emotional between Jon and myself..
In the taxi travelling to Buenos Aires initially I was struck by the autumn colours of the deciduous trees reds, golds, browns and the soil was a burnished red. The highways were broad and the Americas held the influence of the European colonial days.
Jon informed me of Damien and Katy being robbed in Buones Aires and a need to be vigilant over passports and monies (more update on the blogs). We travelled to Gran Espana a pleasant hotel in the centre of Buenos Aries, clean and basic.
The first meal was a celebration at Monlas a birthday lunch (for all of us.. especially May and June babies). Red wine, magnificent steaks, good company, everyone laughed when I commented that my pancake which was filled with dolce de leche was "a little sweet".
The rain set in Buenos Aires, the temperature was 19 degrees centigrade and it is winter in South America. We siesta´d, showered and there were noises the sighs of others and my snoring..
A tango in the evening.. was a perfect start to the culture of South America.
I finished reading the boy in the stripe pj´s and a tear welled within me as I had shared my flight travelling with many Jews..
We then started a tour of local sights we visited St Martin cathedral.. followed by a taxi ride to La Bocca passing the football stadium and the city was that of a sprawling metropolis, long and wide highways tree lined and the architecture blended the old with the new..
La Bocca and the tango dancing where people performed as we drank coffee (the national dance of South America) ..The day was filled with wine and food taking lunch at Santalamo and we visited an art exhibition which was housed in a modern building on the banks of the River Rio Plata the artist a man who demonstrated his art through caricature (Campon) ..
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