Buenos Aires, Argentina

Before I go any further, I was disappointed by the lack of “Messi love” I saw in Buenos Aires. Lionel Messi, an Argentine, is and will probably be the best soccer player of my generation by the time he is finished playing; and I saw only one billboard of him during my entire weekend in Argentina. I guess it’s true that “a prophet is usually not welcome in his own hometown,” but I just had to get that out of the way, first.

I went to Argentina to visit some of the E&Y fellows working in Buenos Aires. When in a new city, I usually try to get the gist by doing either a walking tour or a bicycle tour – something active. Angela Gomez and Roni Gibri hooked me up with their tour guide, Jonathan Evans, who had an interesting mix of walking, buses, and the subway on his tour. He also knew a lot about Buenos Aires. The tour was great; the city has a rich history and a very European feel to it both in the architecture and in the overall layout.

Independence statue with National Congress in the backdrop, National Cathedral, Plaza de Mayo,  and Ceibo - Argentina's national plant

Line A of the Supte- from the outside and the inside

Fileteado Porteño,  One of Rodin's original pieces of "Thinking Man," and the National Congress

David, me and Jonathan (our tour guide), The Old Spanish Command Post In Plaza de Mayo, and the Obelisk

One of the best things about visiting Buenos Aires was the fact that I knew people there. It was great to be a tourist during the day and then hang out like/with the locals thereafter (I consider the E&Y fellows in BA to be locals now).  We stayed at Palermo Hollywood and hung out in Palermo SoHo a bit.  Palermo is one of many barrios (or districts) in the greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area.  Palermo SoHo is similar to the entertainment district, SoHo, in New York. We ate a lot, walked a lot and danced…some. Palermo Hollywood has no similarities to Hollywood, CA. Rumor has it that it was named Hollywood after two TV stations set up camp there.

Magdalena's party  in Parlemo SoHo with Angela, Anthony, Me, David, Trevor, Daniel, Roni and Dinner in Puerto Madero

Overall, I had a great experience but I secretly wished I had a little more time. My only regret while I was in BA was not getting to see a tango show. It was a short but great trip.

Some highlights from my time with the E&Y fellows in Argentina:

• Tango is the city’s (maybe even the country’s) biggest cultural export.
• Malbec (the wine) flows like water here
• So does the meat – I had my first steak in over a month while I was here and it was so good; the portions are very generous too
• They also love their un-crusted ham and cheese sandwiches (served at the hotel, the E&Y office and even the SkyTeam airport lounge)
• Dinner at 10pm or later is the norm
• The Superclasico was the best soccer experience I have ever had

Thanks to the E&Y Buenos Aires CR Fellows: Roni Gibri, David McGibbons, Angela Gomez and Daniel Paquin, for being great hosts.

Shots of Carlos Gardel, the Argentina's own version of Frank Sinatra