The house is getting a breath of fresh air for a bit then it’s back to summer hibernation. It’s unbelievably humid, and the air is so thick it’s almost difficult to breathe. It must have rained a bit earlier as the deck was wet when I went out there this morning. The birds are in full voice, especially the crows. Tonight is our movie night. I just hope the dampness gives way to a bit of sun so everything can dry.

Today I have to go to the dump, to Agway for bird seed and to the grocery store for a few things. I am now out of coffee, and only that and pet food will get me into the grocery store.

If someone had blindfolded me and dropped me in the center of Buenos Aires, I would have sworn I was in Europe. The city is gorgeous. It is called the Paris of South America and rightfully so. The architecture is colonial. Outdoor cafes are all over the main shopping area, which is pedestrian only. My friend had a long leather coat made in one of the shops. We walked all over the city through plazas, into churches and museums. The Rose Garden was lovely despite the lack of blossoms, it being winter there. The hats and colors of the mountain Indians had disappeared and were replaced by every day clothes. One day we took a bus tour to a large aestancia, a working ranch. It was a cattle ranch. One of the bulls, a champion, was so enormous that the man holding him appeared tiny, almost dwarfish. Our guide explained that the semen of this bull sells for an enormous amount of money and he brought us to the extraction area. He started to explain and stood where the bull stands before the process. I couldn’t stand it any more and started to laugh at the vision running through my head having to do with guide. My friend too started to laugh. We had to leave the group, and the guide asked if we were okay. We could only nod. At the ranch we had a beef dinner and were entertained by Argentinian dancers. It was a wonderful day.

My favorite part of the city was La Boca, a neighborhood where many of the earliest residents had come from Italy and where the off-beat still lived. The area is called la Boca because it is at the mouth of the Riachuelo. This part of the city was so amazingly colorful. The buildings were brightly colored in reds and yellows and blues. I loved it.

Our hotel was an old one in the historic district. It had a grand dining room and lots of wood and character. The US ski team was staying there. They had been summer skiing in Bariloche, Argentina. We met them at breakfast in the grand dining room. They were all young.

We had beef for dinner every night because it was so cheap. We’d walk around until we’d find a restaurant we liked. Not once were we ever disappointed by the food.

Being in Buenos Aires made us feel as if we had left South America. It was so unlike all the other countries we has visited before it. We could have been in Europe. I enjoyed Buenos Aires but I missed the vibrant colors, the Indians and the hats most of all.

We were getting close to our flight home so we didn’t have much time to spend in Argentina. I’m sure we would have found everything we were missing if we had left the city, but we had yet to go to Uruguay and then on to Brazil then finally to Rio and home and we had only about 10 days until then.

Uruguay and Brazil and home tomorrow.