Buenos Aires

It´s not all about tango.

There´s shopping. Loads of. And very cheap. Leather goods are the speciality, and you´ll find leather bags, jackets, belts, wallets and shoes in any size or shape.

There´s also eating. In gargantuan proportions. Argentinian beef is exceptionally tender and flavoursome, and it´s possible to have a to-die-for dinner at a fraction of what it would cost back home. The dulce de leche (sweetened milk) desserts found throughout South America have been perfected here, and anyone visiting Buenos Aires should head to the nearest Freddo´s for an ice cream induced coma.

Guide books warn that dog faeces would make walks slippery and smelly, but the streets are pristine compared with the rest of South America. They should instead issue warnings about legionnaires, which you´re far more likely to encounter via one of the many external air-conditioning units which drip on pedestrians with precision.

That´s just a small inconvenience though, and barely noticable when one is focused on spending one´s money. Buenos Aires is a beautiful, cosmopolitan, city with late 19th - mid 20th century buildings which lend an old world charm.

(Photos: the recycled facade of an old building; professional dog walkers.)