My friends Paul and Georgio arrive in Madrid

As you can tell Europride has taken over the city of Madrid - and its only Thursday... I met Paul and Georgio (friends who live in Sydney) tonight and we went wandering in Chueca. This is one huge festival.. We even finished off the evening for dinner with traditional tapas and Spanish cervesas.. The third picture is for those friends who were after some eye candy..

Welcome to sunny Madrid !

Welcome to Summer in Madrid ! I arrived in Madrid Wednesday morning and thanks to Iberia airlines I got an upgrade to business class for my 11 hour flight from Buenos Aires. It meant I got to sleep and I dont feel jet lagged here at all (yet). I like the new modern archirecture in Spain - above is the new Terminal four building at Barajas airport.

My first night was spent in Chueca where at the moment there are street parties, live bands and concerts. I met up with my friends from Madrid who i met travelling in 2004 - Victor and Josete. I got to meet a whole lot of their friends too !

My hotel is right on Gran Via and as you can tell above outside is always really busy. It also really great weather here so today (Thursday) I headed to the piscina el lago for a swim and as you can see above - plenty of others did too.

That's it for now - about to go to dinner with Paul and Georgio from Sydney. Adios !

Last days in Bs As

This is a magical city - I spent my last full day here shopping, doing laundry, and i had time for a few last minute pics too - Palermo has wonderful tree lined streets, cute plazas, and amazing resraurants. To finish the day i caught up with Gavin and two of his friends where he is staying - Wes and Nicky (I hope i've spelt names ok ) who are from Denver and San Diego respectively. We had a great night drinking and having Indian food at Bangalore in Palermo Hollywood.

Next stop Espana !

Downtown Bs As - and worlds widest street.. so they say

One way of solving traffic problems is rather simple - just add more lanes Av 9 de Julio does just that with around 16 lanes wide it is claimed to be the worlds widest street.

Tigre Delta - part 2

Oh - i forgot to mention this swampy area is where the British colonised - so its also full of tudor style buildings .It is also home to tourist traps like a fun park, markets and a casino.

Tigre Delta

After a good night's sleep thanks to everywhere closing early due to the election. I headed on Sunday afternoon to the Tigre Delta. I can remember from Geography at high school learning about the rapidly growing fluvial deltas of the world. So i thought I would go and look at one in action. It is basically a swamp - with some cute cottages thrown it too - thats about all i learnt from the one hour ride on the boat - I know my spanish isnt great - but it was doubly hard when the guide uses an old style megaphone.

Something for everyone ..

Whatever your taste in entertainment - Buenos Aires has something for everyone .....

I love the NIghtlife

Well, Buenos Aires does slow down just a little bit mid week. But, With an assortment of friends from different corners of the globe we've been exploring whats hot and whats not in this crazy town.

Some of the better restaurants I've been to this week include Bar 6, La Cabrera, Olsen and Don Julio's. But there is so much wonderful food.

Our departure time each night has been later and later with dinner commencing as late as 11pm followed by bar hopping around town - I can only imagine what this placed is like in the warmer months..

We also found a great nightclub called alsina - in an old church i think.. finally some great vocal house music to my liking. (Though I suspect the better music could have been as most people were out at a huge electronica festival the same night)

Don' cry for me Argentina

A visit to Argentina isn't complete without a visit to Evita Peron's burial site at the Cemeterio de la Recoleta. Its a strange place with some of the most luxurious memorials i have ever seen in a cemetery, and a whole lot of stray cats that inhabit this place.

Sundays in San Telmo - Tango, Antiques and Street Performers

If antiques are your thing the San Telmo markets are a must see. There are also many types of street performance here too - Im not sure where the guy above learnt that move - but i saw him take his hat off with his feet - Amazing !!!!

Its a really quaint old world feel - and there is music everywhere - on the streets - in the subways - there is a great energy in this place

Shopping in Palermo Viejo :-)

On either Friday or Saturday - losing track of time here - I ventured west to Palermo as you can see above I wasted no time buying some new warmer clothes. It is a great area with new designers - its quite affordable for even our Aussie dollar and really good quality too.

And while I am on here now - the food is absolutely amazing here - I am yet to have a bad meal - We are trying new restaurants everynight - I so want to spend more time here - ( maybe even buy a unit here to retire one day)