Buenos Aires - Part 2

Palermo was buzzing on the Saturday, the weekend was here and people were out, cafes were full and the pavements busy. There was a market in nearby Plaza Serrano, a hub for people to meet, hang out of people watch, but suddenly people were everywhere! We'd definitely picked the right neighbourhood to stay in. We stumbled upon a mini children's festival so managed to catch a couple of things that were on, Luis having the chance to get stuck in and socialise!

We'd skirted aroond the outskirts of San Telmo so wanted to see more of it and the Sunday market gave us the opportunity. When we got there it was buzzing, and there were loads of stall-holders in fancy dress, so we asked and it was the 40th birthday of the market so a special occasion! There were antiques, trinkets, arts and crafts which gave us loads to look at but the stall-holders themselves were the real attraction, some of the costumes were amazing, but there was a real community feel to it, you could tell some of them had been doing it for years. Add in a bit of live music and dancing and the scene was set. Was fairly chocca with locals and tourists but we spent the afternoon absorbing it all. We were meant to see Boca as well, but were advised against it as best to go a bit earlier in the day when safer.

On the way back we hopped out at a shopping centre we'd been to before, had some ice cream then found a kids arcade at the very top which had Luis hyper when he saw where he was going. Ball pools, merry-go-rounds, Flintstones and Scooby Doo train rides - he was too wee for all of these virtually but managed to blag his way in by adopting his cutest, most desperate face! The guy supervising the Scooby Doo train ride said if he cries, he'll stop the train the train straight away. And so it was, not a peep out the wee man. Trying to loosen his grip from the bar to get him out was another matter! Another supervisor of an inflatable playground/maze type thing was also worried for him and probably fearing for her job as she'd let him on, but no need, he was bouncing around like zebadee, happy as larry.

So, Monday, our last day, tickets booked for the night bus trip to Mendoza, time to pack and get ready. Somehow, it took us most of the afternoon to get ready. Admittedly we were moving at snail's pace, but there was no rush. We went round to the owner's house to collect our deposit, made arrangements to stay with her on our return, hopped in a taxi and off to the bus station we went.