Explore with Fran

So, a new year dawns in Buenos Aires. After noisy firecrackers, but somewhat muted celebrations we are left wondering what would we change about 2010 to make 2011 an even better year. I’m not one for resolutions, too clichéd i’m afraid, but I do take the time to reflect on the past year. Much of this is possibly due to my birthday being so close to the year’s end, providing a perfect opportunity to set my stall out for the following year.

Sat in a very quiet Plaza San Martin I’ve been reminiscing on the past year’s events and the milestones this new year is going to bring us. I hope it brings all of you a very happy 2011.

Back to what’s being going on. Where were we when we last spoke? If my ageing memory serves me correctly I don’t believe I had yet sampled the famed Argentine beef. Let’s start there.

You can not come to Argentina and not try the steak. Even if you are a vegetarian. Seriously, it’s THAT good. Just close your eyes and pretend it’s Tofu. You will not be disappointed. I had “bife de lomo”, otherwise known as tenderloin. With papas fritas and a half bottle of Malbec. Let me reiterate that point. Malbec. One the the world’s great reds was the house wine. Oh man! It doesn’t get any better than that.

The last few days have seen me traverse the city on foot, covering what feels like every inch. Coffee in San Telmo, beer in the redeveloped port of Peurta Maduero (which has a Hooters, but less of that!), lunch in upper class suburb of Recoleta, people watching in the gritty, but oh so colourful neighbourhood of Boca, and people watching on the Avenida Florida.

In the few days that I have been here I feel that I have really got to know the city, where it’s heartbeats are. That said, I will be happy to be moving on in a couple of days. BA is a city that lends itself best to couples. The sensuousness of the tango and the romance of sharing a bottle of Malbec. This solo traveller needs to be making tracks, and on Tuesday I start my long journey south, stopping off at the beach resort of Mar del Plata for a couple of days to rest up.

I will leave you with the only funny anecdote so far. And it refers to my bed and what could possibly be the slippiest mattress in the world. Now, there is no cover on it, it is just a very slippy mattress. So much so, at approx 1:30am this morning, I was woken from my slumber as I had slid out of bed and crashed to the floor, waking with a start and wondering where the hell I was!

Ha ha, that’s what you get in backpacker hostels. Till the next time, adios!

Well, day 2 in Buenos Aires and probably about time I let you all know what I have been upto. This is not my first visit to Buenos Aires, so this can be classified as my 2nd impressions, I suppose. However, here as a solo traveller for the first time, it is like I am getting my first impressions of Buenos Aires. Seeing it through a new lens.

Finally getting to Buenos Aires

When I finally left Paris, the 13 hour flight was painless enough and I even managed to get some sleep. Which is surprising as I don’t normally sleep very well on planes. And on arrival, thanks to the inhumane layover in Paris, I arrived in Buenos Aires on a glorious summer’s morning. There is nothing worse than arriving thousands of miles away in a city clothed in darkness. I managed to get a shuttle bus and before you could say “hola” I was being whisked into the city centre.

Day 1 in the Paris of the south

Now being tired, and having travelled for over a day I would have liked to get straight into my room. However, check in was not for a couple of hours so I had to drop my bag at hostel and head off in search of food and drink. Admittedly, not very difficult in Buenos Aires, unless you are a vegetarian.

Fed, watered, and with a room at my disposal I refreshed myself and had a little nap. Only to wake wondering where the hell I was for a second! Having realised I was still in South America, I got dressed and headed out to explore San Telmo. San Telmo is a little suburb in BA of cobbled streets, leafy squares and great little bars and it wasn’t long before I found myself in Bar Plaza Dorrega having a couple of cold Quilmes (the local brew).

I then meandered back towards home, up Avenida Florida and back to Avenida Corrientes where the hostel is. I decided that tonight was going to be an early night, ready to hit the sights tomorrow.

A new day in Buenos Aires

And that is what I have done. Up and out at 7.30am this morning, a brief coffee stop for a café cortoda whilst formulating a plan and then I walked the city for the last 7 hours. I wandered upto the exclusive suburb of Recoleta and took in one of BA’s top tourist attractions, the cemetery! But this is no ordinary cemetery, it has to be seen to be believed. This is where Eva Peron (made famous by Madonna in the Evita movie) is laid to rest. The cemetery is huge with rows and rows of grand mausoleums. The focal point for all the tourists being the family mausoleum of Evita Duarte.

After a lunch stop it was time for the long walk back into town. And it was then that I became aware of two phenomenoms of Buenos Aires. The professional dog walkers, who walk up to 15 dogs at one time, and the obvious signs that tell you why BA is one of the cosmetic surgery capitals of the world. Boy, do those girls make the most of summer clothes!!!

On that note, I will leave you. My beer is getting warm and I feel the need for a siesta.

Adios amigos.

After a very relaxing evening in the Radisson Blu at Manchester airport, making full use of the pool and sauna facilities, it was a relatively early start for departure day! Months in the planning, weeks in the waiting, days of goodbyes, and all of a sudden it was here. And it still felt a little too soon. Was I ready? Had I done enough planning? Had I forgotten anything?

The brutal truth as I stood in the queue to check in was, its too damn late if you have Cormack.

But deep down, I knew that I had everything I needed. I have been very ably assisted over the last few weeks by my wingman. Working like a well oiled team. Move out of apartment, check! Store possessions, check! Pack bag for travelling, check! I couldn’t have done it without you kid!

So here I am, sat in a coffee bar at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, making full use of the free wi-fi and being very grateful that the coffee bar accepts cards as there is not one ATM in the whole bloody airport.

And on day 1 of this trip, today is the day that I immediately failed. I booked the flights in a little bit of haste all those months ago. I had a 9:40am flight from Manchester to Paris. And a 23.20 flight from Paris to Buenos Aires. And i’m sure you have done the math by now. That leaves me with 11 hours to kill in the airport. Now, I’m not normally one for “killing time”, but today I will make an exception.

Time check – 13:48 local time, leaving only (only?!?) 9 and a half hours to kill. Oh man! Maybe it’s time to go for a little wander about, check out the duty free shops, have a read of my book, and maybe watch a DVD on the netbook.

Au revoir for now mes amies!

When you hand your notice in at work almost 3 months in advance, the day you plan to leave seems so far off in the distance that its almost unreal. A date on a calendar that doesn’t hold any special meaning or significance. But like all far off dates, it eventually comes around and it always seems to have arrived much faster than you had imagined. Kind of snuck up on you! And there it was, December 14th 2010, my last day at Lloyds Banking Group.

I now have the unenviable task of emptying my apartment and moving out by the 23rd December which leaves a few days bunking at my sister’s house before heading to Buenos Aires on 28th December.

The idea of giving myself a couple of weeks between leaving work and setting off was to leave plenty time for all the tiresome jobs like moving. However, since leaving work I have been struck down and bed ridden for the last couple of days. I even had to cancel going on the works Xmas do in Edinburgh as I just don’t feel up to it. Not the best of starts to my newly found freedom. And being infirm causes my stress levels to increase, knowing how much I still have to do before leaving the UK. Travel insurance for one. Oh, and not to mention the Xmas shopping that I still have to do.

So for now, I need to take a deep breath, have another lemsip and write a list of all the outstanding jobs I have left.