In Buenos Aires on a Sunday, we walked back to the San Telmo Flea Market hoping to see everyone dressed in costumes, bands and entertainment (see earlier article...put in date when it runs). Wrong. Our earlier visit happened to be a special day. San Telmo is still fun and interesting but nothing like the one 14 days ago. Oh well..

One of the most interesting stands was filled with "old" seltzer bottles. We both had grave doubts as to exactly how "old" they were but since we weren't buying...didn't really care. They would still be fun to have around as a conversation piece.

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Most international flights leave Buenos Aires between 9:00 pm and 1:00 am. Air Malaysia, Lufthansa, Delta, United, American, Continental, COPA (Panama), LAN Chile, CAM (Brazil), GOL (Brazil), British Midland, Alitalia, Air Canada, British Airways, Iberia, Aerolineas Argentina, Air France, South African Airways, Quantas and Bolivia. No wonder the airport is in chaos! Take a tranquilizer and/or put yourself into a trance otherwise you're not going to get on the plane without a meltdown.

Allow at least three hours if you have tax-free purchases which almost everyone has since there is no minumum to spend in order to get a tax-free refund.

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Today's sightseeing involved Evita, Eva Peron. Almost every tourist makes the pilgrimage to Recoleta Cemetery (free) to see her family's mausoleum there. View image... The cemetery is filled with stylized mausoleums in designs from Egyptian to Art Deco. You can buy a cemetery map outside the gates but we just followed the long line of tourists who made a beeline directly to Eva Peron, champion of the poor.

Outside the cemetery were many cafes and restaurants and the Recoleta neighborhood is one of the oldest chic areas to live and shop in. We ate at Cafe Victoria on Roberto M. Ortiz Avenue with its daily special of $35 Pesos (around $10 U.S.) for: bread, appetizers (caesar salad); entree (steak in wine sauce with potatoes); dessert (cheesecake); and one-half bottle of wine. (Those were our choices.) Recoleta was definitely higher class than the downtown area we stayed in and a lot cleaner. This was the area for five-star hotels - Sofitel, Alvear Palace and Four Seasons.

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Buenos Aires has quite a few new shopping areas. The most hip and trendiest are in the Palerno District, Palermo Viejo and Palermo Soho with street after street filled with little boutiques. HINT: The boutiques don't usually open until 11:00 am. And then there is Palermo Hollywood, the happening place for new chic restaurants and filled with small theaters and movie houses.

Palermo Soho had the most boutiques and I immediately made a beeline for Josefina Ferroni, a recommended shoe boutique, definitely on the same par as Jimmy Choo with very sophisticated shoes. HINT: Browsing through other shops in Buenos Aires, look to see where they were made! I picked up several handbags and other items in some boutiques, looked at the tags and..."Hecho in China." (MADE IN CHINA!) There are a limited amounts of shoe and sizes at Josefina Ferroni, all designed and made in Argentina. When a size sells out...that's all she wrote. Done, finito, nada...

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It was an easy flight from Chicago to Washington, DC but then a long 5-hour layover until our 12-hour flight left for Buenos Aires with a 10:00 am arrival the next day. Around 4-5 planes (Air France, Iberia, American Airlines and United) land at the same time. That creates one of the longest lines through immigration we've ever seen. Once through, we took a Manuel Tieda car for the 40-minute trip into downtown Buenos Aires. This was a mistake - more costly than a taxi. Take a taxi. Just as safe and less expensive.

Picked the Sheraton Libertador in the heart of town for four nights because it had one of the best room rates and included breakfast. The Sheraton was a madhouse with conferences and only two elevators working because they are in the process of remodeling the hotel, but an extremely wonderful staff who always had time to answer questions with a smile.

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