Tips: Buenos Aires

Aahhooyyy!!

This is the first post of the Planning Trip Section!
The motivation behind this post is to give out a few tips on travelling to Buenos Aires.

Palermo Street

General Tips

• Hostels :: Do the reservations before arrive!
• Look for BOUTIQUE HOTELs: they are cheaper and much better than a hostel! Looks like a 3-4 start hotels.
• Don't forget your running/walking shoes!! You are going to walk a lot!!
• Bargain for everything! Your shopping may get cheaper!
  
• Remember that there is TANGO everywhere! Think twice before buying a ticket to a show! But Tango shows are incredible ;)
• Currency (Peso) :: Get a flee of valid and non-valid currencies at the currency exchange places.
  
• US$ is accepted everywhere.
  
• There is currency exchange places everywhere.
• Currency Exchange :: do the exchange only at trusted and known places
  
• Bus and Train services are excellent!
• Underground (El subte) ticket at ARS$0.90 - (2008 based)
• Bus ticket at around ARS$0.30 - (2008 based)
• TAXI: use the only RADIO-TAXI tagged taxis. They usually are black and yellow. Also on fair ride prices!
• Make a deal with the taxi driver from to the airport-hotel and hotel-airport.
• DO NOT PAY MORE THAN ARS$ 80.00 (2008 base) usually it cost from ARS$50.00 to ARS$ 80.00

Sites
Mostly in Portuguese and Spanish

• Bohemia Buenos Aires :: Hotel of my choice
  
• www.quetalviajar.com :: Several info about Argentina
• Albergues::UOL :: several hostels
  
• Vou de Mochila :: backpacking
  
• Hi Hostels :: several hostels
  
• Hostel-Inn :: several hostels
  
• Brasil De Mochila :: backpacking

Hotels

• From US$ 150.00 to US$ 300.00 a double bedroom
• Ibis hotel network :: always a good choice
• Holiday Inn
• There is a Four Seasons Hotel if you can afford!
• Bohemia Buenos Aires :: This is were I stayed with my wife!! Comfortable enough for the both of us! Clean with a good service and colonial breakfast!
  

Hostels

• From US$ 5.00 to US$ 50.00 :: Usually US$ 50.00 for a double bedroom
• Milhouse :: Best choice for a hostel! Very busy, though...
• La Menesunda :: The Site seams nice... but on 2008 were very dirty, with rotten wooden floor and mould everywhere... the air were so heavy on the room that I couldn't breathe properly...
  

Bar & Restaurants

• Palermo Soho/Viejo :: very beautiful with lots of cafés
  
• If you like meet, ask for a CHORIZO!!
• SIGA LA VACA :: Popular people's choice!
• PUERTO MADERO :: Nice variety of places to go!
• Café Tortoni :: Most tadicional Argentinian caffé
• The pasta is very good!
• The cheese are awesome!!
• Wine is very cheap! From nationals to imported

Tango

• Tango at piazzas every Sunday.
• Tango shows are expensive but remarkable!

Night

• Parties and Clubs starts after 10pm - 11pm
• People go crazy at night clubs : Go check it out!!
• Palermo Soho
• Patcha :: Ibiza like night club!

Streets

• Calle Florida :: Shopping for labeled clothings like Puma, Adidas, Nike (yeah... I am into sports), all the grand labels are there... Hugo Boss, Armani... you pick
• Palermo :: nicest place to be! Beautiful parks and woods to hang and relax
  
• Puerto Madero
  
• Recoleta
  
• La Boca
• Palermo :: There is a hippie street market there

Attractions

• Cemetery:: Odd but it is very distinguished! Try finding great names like Evita Perón
• Casino Puerto Madero :: A complex of two boats... it is kind of cool... not that nice, though...
• Casa Rosada
• Calle Florida
• Puerto Madeiro - Ponte da La Mujer
  
• Caminito
• Football :: Watch a match at River Plate or Boca Juniors Stadium
• COLON Theatre :: Very beautiful... it is enormous and beautiful
• Go to the remarkable library El Alteneo :: It was once a theatre
• TANGO at Caminito :: find out the days
• Wax museum :: Don't go dude... you will want your money back... there are about 10 very bad sculptured weird dolls...
• Zoo!! Don't forget to go to the Zoo!! It takes a whole day to see it all!
• The tickets are devided by sections :: repitiles, sea and so on... buy the complete ride! It is worth it!
• Don't get fooled... it seams that a general ticket gives you the right to see everything but it doesn't...

It'll get better after some comments about Buenos Aires and the writing layout.
I think this is pretty much a wrap!


Abraaaço!!

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Armpit Biohazard

Aahhooyyy!!!

Since I've moved down to Europe, I've been taking a good look on peoples way of life. Comparing the way I live to the way that people live around here and trying to acquire good practices.

Today I'm going to talk about body odour. :D

Clearly there is a big difference in the way that people cares about its own body odour in South America to Europe.

I don't know if people here are boycotting the cosmetic deodorant industry but, if they are, they should at least find a substitute for it... use ketchup!! everybody likes ketchup...

I've lost count of how many times I've caught the 8AM bus and there was a stinky fellow... come one dude... it is 8AM... how come are you smelling bad already??

But the bus is a recurrent case everywhere right?? What about the supermarket?

When you go to the supermarket you expect it to be clean enough and with no bad smell at all, despite from the fish display, of course! After all you are going eat what you are buying and that should smell good at least!

It is undeniable that you associate a good smell with food. When you try to remember a good smell it is going to come up a food! Hummm lasagne!! Mango!! Bread!! Even fish!!

In my opinion there is no place for a smelling armpit in the supermarket.
I don't want to feel someone's armpit when I'm buying cheese...

Another day my wife and I went to do a morning groceries at a supermarket, surrounding 10AM and there was this guy exhaling his armpit everywhere... It was horrible... he was one of that guys that leaves the place and 5min latter you can still smells him... yuck!!

When someone tells me a story like this I tend to picture someone who was hard working all day long or running a marathon... in this case it was a average guy on his 40's carrying 2 daughters... just not what I've pictured...

That actually happened here in Malta, but the same was going on in London...

One day it came out on the London Paper that a woman were kicked out of a supermarket because other customers were complaining about her smell... dude... serious smell going on under that arm...

The Global Warming is there man...
Help us out to save the world! Use deodorant!!
You can do it!

Abraaaço!!!

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It starts here!

Aahooyyyy!!!

I think I have tried to write the first post for about thirty times now...
Damn... writing is hard...

Actually that is one of the reasons for this blog.
It will help me organize my thoughts and externalize what goes through my mind!!

Cool!! I've wrote this four lines in a row in less than 20sec!!

Anyway... I'll be posting in English which makes a little hard for me as my native language is Portuguese.
Yes!! I am a Brazilian guy, for you that don't know me ;)

I've decided to write in English for three main reasons:

• I want to achieve most people that I can
• I am actually in Malta where the official languages are Maltese and English
• It will help me improve my English in many levels
  

This is Maltese for you guys wondering arround: I jkollhom pil tiegħi big toe

In this blog, by expressing myself in every post, you will get to know me a little bit.
You will find here all sort of things from technical articles to raw ideas and thoughts.

Yes... I confess... I have an I.T. background... AND I LOVE IT!!! That is one of the points from a whole bunch of reasons why sometimes is difficult to me to express my thoughts... put that in a different language... I wonder how come I'm note mute yet... :)

Anyway... I hope you enjoy this blog and please comment on the posts!!
You can help me out correcting some of my English, debating my ideas or technical points of view!

You are very welcome!

Abraaaaço!

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