We feel at home here

in BsAs..after only 4 days. But what days they were! This is a city of neighbourhoods, each one walkable and liveable. As most people live in smaller apartments, the city becomes another room in their house..so the streets, cafes stores and malls have such a sense of familiarity and connection. For the price of one coffee, you can sit and linger at an outdoor table for the day, it seems. And coffee always comes with a small glass of fizzy water and some sweets...how civilized! The museums and galleries open at noon or two and dont close til nine...obviously this city doesn´t do mornings very well. There are little plazas with statues everywhere and the streets are shaded with trees- a very good idea as today it reaches 32 deg.
The sidewalks are interesting...everyone maintains their own in front of their place...so they are a checkerboard of types-tile, concrete, cobblestone. The only thing standardized is the holes, broken parts and dog poop. One must walk carefully here, either watching for the poop or its creator. Portenos love their dogs and the wealthy have dog walkers that march at a great clip down the sidewalks with a phalanx of dogs...up to 10..occupying the whole width forcing the rest of us off. The parks near the ritzy areas are really doggie daycare areas...one person with a zillion dogs tied to the trees letting a few off at a time.
Lots of mysteries for us here yet...the long lineups for the 2 bank tellers when there are 5 machines not busy, the great number of shops and glitzy goods in a country where the middle class is suffering, whether one should tip when there is a service charge on the bill, why there is fewer beggers on the streets than there is in Toronto, how people eat all these wonderful pastries in the shops and don´t get fat, why women don´t go gray and men do...
We are off to Iguazu Falls now...talk to you all later