A poet once wrote, “only the dead goes further than Patagonia.” It is, after all, referenced as the Ends Of The World. A trip to Patagonia is enough to acknowledge this said title. It took us a full day to get there and another to get out. On the day we left Patagonia Camp, we embarked on a six-hour drive to Calafate, the border town between Chile and Argentina. To reach Buenos Aires from Calafate is another four hour flight. The airport in Calafate was pretty basic with just a couple stores and a restaurant. But getting into Jorge Newbery Airport in Buenos Aires was the complete opposite: it was chaotic, loud, and had more familiar spots (yay for Starbucks and if you know about my obsession collection of Starbucks mugs, you’ll probably understand my frustration upon finding out they didn’t carry a Buenos Aires mug 😱). Two hours later, our luggage have not shown up yet and out of frustration, people started clapping, screaming, and making all sorts of noise.

Our hotel, Hotel Clásico, is located in the swanky Palermo area, walking distance to many shops and restaurants. Breakfast in the hotel was amazing but after the first morning, we realized they typically serve huge servings so we were full for the rest of the day everyday, which was a shame because I wasn’t able to explore the many amazing restaurants in Buenos Aires.

Our tour guide came to pick us up in the morning for our three hour private guided tour. Driving around the city of Buenos Aires, I can see why it was nicknamed as the “Paris of South America,” mainly because of the European influence in its architecture.

Our first stop was at the Recoleta Cemetery, the final resting place of the most famous Argentinian, Eva Peron (aka Evita). Wandering through the cemetery, I was in awe at how grand and luxurious each tomb was but understandably so. Famous and notable people were buried there—past presidents of Argentina, Nobel prize winners, and even a granddaughter of Napoleon! We saw some very ornate and intricately detailed structures but surprisingly, Eva Peron’s was among the simplest.

From the cemetery, we proceeded to San Telmo, the oldest residential neighborhood in Buenos Aires. We explored on foot the vibrant neighborhood of La Boca, the place where tango originated from. Walking along the colorful Caiminito Street, there were people dressed as tango dancers asking tourists to take photos with them for a few bucks. For only $5, I had my pictures taken with a tango dancer plus they gave me a costume to wear. Hey, you’re in Buenos Aires once, so who cares if this is a touristy thing to do. My friend didn’t get any “tango” pictures of her which I honestly didn’t understand why. She must’ve thought it was too cheesy (and yes when you’re there it is pretty cheeses haha) but seriously it’s not like you’re in Buenos Aires everyday.

I really enjoyed playing dress up and pretending to dance the tango. My pictures were so much fun and worth the five bucks I paid. Caiminito Street is what I had envisioned Buenos Aires as a city— energetic, flamboyant, and colorful! Touristy but not too tacky (in my opinion).

From La Boca area, we visited the beautiful Metropolitan Cathedral, where Pope Francis led mass as Archbishop of Buenos Aires. Besides that, this church is best known for housing the mausoleum of General San Martin, the liberator of Argentina, Chile, and Peru from Spain.

Plaza de Mayo is the site of Argentina’s most important historical events. I’m not going to lie though, if there’s one thing I could remember from our guide’s historical babble was this balcony (where Eva and Juan Peron stood to wave at the people) and its significance to the movie Evita (yes, embarrassingly so, but at least I’m honest 😄). During the filming of the movie Evita, the producers asked permission if they could use the same balcony but the government had declined. There were speculations that Madonna’s sweet talk about the president, citing him as, “not only kind and generous but also very handsome,” in one of her interviews. This obviously charmed the president and eventually allowed them to film in the actual balcony. All I can say is never underestimate the power of a woman!

Our guide dropped us off at a shopping area where our city tour concluded. My friend and I decided not to eat lunch since we were looking forward to tonight’s activity: to watch a tango show that also included dance lessons and dinner. I found this company online that offered all three and had great reviews on TripAdvisor. They also paid for our taxi to get to the place which was great. As soon as we arrived we were directed to a room with other tourists. The instructor paired the women without male companions with men also without female companions. I was paired off by this quiet man from Michigan and he and I learned the basic tango dance steps. It was quite awkward because we were told to look at each other while dancing but I was too shy to make eye contact. He, however, intently stared at my face the whole time we danced.

After the dance lessons, we went to the showroom where we would eat our dinner before the show starts. I chose the steak even if I don’t eat beef as much because everyone told me I must eat steak in Argentina. The dinner included a bottle of wine but it was a very mediocre red wine. It took them forever to bring our dinner and when mine came, it was well done (I asked for medium). I would not send it back if it was good enough to eat but it was tough as a leather so I had to ask for another and made sure they bring me a steak that was cooked medium and not well done. It took them a whole hour to bring in the replacement and by then I was no longer hungry. The show also began very late (at least over two hours after we ate our dinner) and I can tell everyone in the room was getting very irritated with how slow everything was. I heard from the table next to us that their meal was awful and I’m glad I’m not the only one who felt that way.

When the show finally started, we were no longer enthusiastic about it. Although if it had been a great show, then we could at least forget all the mishaps and enjoy ourselves for the rest of the night. Unfortunately, the show was not quite as entertaining.

My first night in Buenos Aires was ruined by this tacky show but at least I can tick off learn to dance the tango in Argentina (or…okay just the basic dance steps) as it had been in one of my bucket lists.