Everyday in BA

I thought I´d share some random thoughts on life in BA:

Taxis are plentiful and inexpensive. The average ride is about $3. Also, the taxis pull over to the right no matter where you are standing. Subways and buses are very easy to use and cost less than 50 cents!

I don´t know how everyone in BA stays so thin. Their diet is Italian food or red meat late at night, and there is a bread and pasty shop on absolutely every corner. A particular favorite is dolce de leche--basically carmelized sugar which they put on everything!

Everyone is well dressed, much like in Italy or Spain.

International mail is insanely expensive. It cost almost as much to send my new clothes home (by the cheapest means possible) as it did to buy them. A valuable lesson.

Movie theaters are on a grand scale here. The new Recoleta Village 11 is about 3 times the size of the average large screen theater at home. The tickets are also for assigned seats, so there´s no need to arrive early. Tickets were about $5 for adults.

On Wednesday all museums in BA are free and movies are half price.

There is plenty of American TV and movies. CSI is on right now in English, with Spanish subtitles.

The internet-phone establishments are full of locals. Computers and cell phones are not affordable for the masses. The computers that are available at the hostels are ancient!

BA has thousands of dog walkers, similar to NYC. However, the scooping laws either don´t exist or are largely ignored. It´s important to look where you are walking! And the parks are overrun with stray cats. Walking by one park block in the Palermo I counted over 30 cats.

When a restaurant is "free" it means a buffet!

There seem to be even more McDonald´s than at home. They have the golden arches, but are usually called McCafe. Dessert, pastries and coffee are very popular.

Unlike NYC, BA sleeps. Things close up in the evening at about 10 or 11 and Sunday is truly a day off because most stores are closed.