Well this is my second time in BA, after a month away travelling in northern Argentina and for a few days in Salto and Colonia, Uruguay. I have yet to do my blog about my first trip here, as I was too busy sightseeing (bought tango shoes and had a tango lesson) and too pooped to blog at the end of the day! But now it is getting to winter here and is so much cooler since a month ago. Today is actually blustery, windy, overcast. It is 22 but am not used to such cool hahahaha weather I guess. Well humidity sign says 41% so blame on that.
I returned on Saturday by ferry from Colonia, Uruguay and all afternoon Avenida de Mayo where my cheap hotel was located, was blocked to vehicles as there was a memorial ´walk´´ remembering the Argentinan junta i believe 36 years ago and recognizing those who died then . Busloads of people from all over were brought in to walk and there was singing, waving of big banners, chanting, etc. and different busloads of people were ´staged´to enter the walk at the appropriate time. I thought it was a protest but found out it was an annual memorial. Nathalia from the Netherlands who was my dorm mate in Colonia and i, and Ruben from Belgium who was a translator of many languages and who lived in East Germany, and who was into extreme sports, ie cycling aross the Sahara - and I came on the ferry together from Colonia to BA. Nathalia was staying at another hostel but we met up for dinner and a traditional folk music concert at http://www.los36billares.com.ar/index.htm on Avenida de Mayo and we also met up another night for dinner with Louise from England, who Nathalia met when they both were on an Antarctic cruise earlier in the month. Nathalia  was great and I think we will probably always stay in touch.

 I actually came back to BA to see a performance of Mamma Mia for which I thought was the last day yesterday (so I went to the Matinee) but looks like it has been extended until April 10 or so . It was so much fun, although in Spanish, the music is the same and since I have seen it live 5 other times, and seen the movie, I pretty much know the story so don´t need to understand the dialogue hah! Anyway my mom and I saw it in London England and we marvelled at all the tourists that were there in attendance from all over the world and everyone knew the music and danced in the aisles! Well yesterday, no dancing in the aisles but people knew the music, and would clap at certain songs AND you will not believe the number of three generation families that were there! mind you it was an afternoon performance so parents brought their kids. The kids, some pretty little, knew the music too and I think their parents probably primed them at home first! the 3 generations sitting beside me, I kinda put two and two together that the mom was telling the little girl about the story before it started. The tickets at Teatro Opera herre were about 1/6 the cost of what they were in England . It wasn´t packed, but there were 2 shows yesterday . with another one last night.

 Anyway today I was to meet up with someone I met in Salta, Arg (not to be confused with Salto Urg) but I guess we got our wires crossed about where to meet around Teatro Colon. It is so frustrating trying to arrange meeting places, never seem to work out for me anyway..   I did not organized a Plan B so my dad would be disappointed in me and you´d think i would learn by now to always have a Plan B whatever you do...   She is going on to Uruguay so I was going to sell her my little bit of leftover currency and fill her in on things to see. Anyway sent her a mssg and hope for the best to meet up later. She is staying in a friend´s apartment here so she has a phone there but I don´t so am in the local ´locutorio´phone and computer place.
But I wanted to say I was so looking forward to ge tting back to BA as i missed the excitement and energy here. It is good to get away too but most of the places I went to had lots of traffic and heat but not the varied things to do aside from just sightseeing ie Museums etc . I will do a blog about the Termas del Dayman at Salto but that is for another day! I moved from a cheap hotel in Congreso to a hostel in San Telmo today, have not been able to check in yet. I have a 4 bed dorm all to myself as of 11 a.m. today. we´ll see.
I plan to hike around the reserved park at Puerto Madero, see more sights in Palermo and Recolleta, use the fantastically cheap local buses at 30 Cents a ride, take in a tango show, some of the things I didn´t get done before I left and will not rush around so much as i have seen the major sights. I also met another person in my hostel in Colonia and she and i took the ferry to BA on Sat. together so we got together for a tango music and dinner evening on Sat. night and plan to do something tomorrow night. She is at another hostel. It is nice having some semblance of a social life again! LOL

I am an aunt again as of this week! Daughter Tala Jai born to my niece MIranda and her husband Chris!   And a cousin had a baby girl this week as well so it is a year of girls . Can never have too many of them!
 That is all right now, I just finished lunch at McDonalds as my friend and i were going to have lunch... there are so many locations here, there are 3 on a square block of Avenida 9 de Julio alone! Pretty much I take advantage of their banos there as they don´t prohibit use to noncustomers so every once in awhile I eat there just to make up for it. Always consistent food, prices are not too bad but not the cheapest either. I had a chicken salad (gourmet pollo ensalada) for 28 pesos, about 6.50-7$ so not cheap. Carne (Meat) is the food of choice here and aside from steak etc there are chivito, hamburgeresa, empanada, plus there is pizza which the comun type is just dough and tomato sauce. I do a lot of my eating from grocery store stuff as i am not heavy on the carne although there is a lot of pollo ie chicken.   Everyone has croissants (medialunas) and toasted french bread for breakfast or mid morning snacks with cafe con leche.    well will close now and write soon