Last Day in B.A.

On our last big night we wanted to visit some tango parlors known as milongas. Here's a picture of the first one we saw:

 We hired a guide named Erin to escort us to the local tango scene. She did a great job. She had a fascinating story herself.  She's an American IT expert who escaped Silicon Valley and fell in love with the Tango. She recently came to Argentina, the home of the Tango, to become totally immersed in it.  She helped explain a number of the rules related to asking a partner to dance (e.g the men ask the women and the "ask" is initiated by eye contact and a nod) and what and where the tango embrace is applied.  The evening tango scene doesn't really start until 10p and can go on all night.  Needless to say, we were out until 2a soaking all this in.  And since we fly to Iguazu Falls first thing tomorrow morning, we'll be going to be early tonight. 

Today we visited Argentina's home of their finest Impressionist Masters, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes.

We saw original paintings by Monet, Renoir and others. We also saw these statutes.  The one on the right is the famous statue by Rodin called "The Kiss".  Buenos Aires isn't as romantic as Paris, but it's close.

Visiting BA in January is like visiting and walking around Charlotte in July.  (Similar latitude, different hemisphere)

Having our own apartment in BA for a week has really helped us dig into and understand the personality of the Portenas. For example, you can catch a cab very easily in B.A. And it'll take you anywhere you want to go in the city for a little over 6 bucks which is 100 pesos.  We still rode the subway a lot because is was faster and even cheaper.  Although it was initially outside our comfort zone, we now feel as relaxed as if we were in an apartment in NYC. Which is to say, "relaxed but guarded". So by now we're really ready to leave the hot urban canyons behind us and soak in the greenery and open spaces of the national park that surrounds Iguazu Falls.