We got up and Justin and I had the intention on heading back into BA Centro to catch the open bus and check out the tourist sights. The open bus runs every 30 minutes and if you stay on the bus lasts 2 and a half hours. But you can get off anywhere you want to look around and just hop back on the next bus. It costs 70 pesos (about $18 US). I like riding buses. You can see an awful lot of a city riding a bus. We started walking the 15 or so blocks to the zoo when we came across Andrew, Hannah, and Elizabeth (what are the odds?) They were heading into SOHO to get lunch so we agreed to meet up for dinner later that night back at La Cabrera since Andrew didn't really get to eat there and Justin and I were down for eating one last massive steak before we left Buenos Aires. We said our goodbyes and continued walking down to the zoo where one of the open bus stops supposedly was and waited…and waited…and waited some more. No open bus. Barbara finally asked around and a few vendors who were there said they hadn't seen the bus at all. Maybe it wasn't running that day? But on a Saturday? That seemed odd to me. However it was a) Saturday B) Argentine Labor Day C) a free concert was playing there in an hour so the "normal" bus stop was blocked and D) there was a protest in Centro that afternoon. Mmmm… Barbara proposed an alternative. Jump on the normal bus to La Boca (the furthest area from where we were) and she'd narrate plus La Boca is a touristy area so for sure we'd catch the open bus from there. That sounded good so we jumped on a normal bus headed for La Boca for 1.20 pesos (or 30 cents US!) It took a little while to finally get there (about 40 minutes) but it was fun seeing different parts of the city. We got to La Boca around lunch so walked the 2 blocks it consists of and stopped to eat. La Boca is a port city that is one of the oldest in Buenos Aires. It was where the immigrants came first and the area is filled with brightly colored homes. Barbara explained the reason for this is when immigrants first arrived the only paint they had was whatever was left from the ships they arrived on. They painted whatever colors they had and that tradition has lived on. It's a fun little area. We ate lunch at a local restaurant then jumped back on the bus to head back towards the city and stop at the Plaza de Mayo on the way. Oh and on the way in the normal bus what did we see?... The open bus. I mockingly shook my fist at it as Barbara and Justin busted up laughing…
The Plaza de Mayo is the area where the Presidential Palace is located and it's painted a bright pink. When we arrived, we were surprised to see that it was pretty much deserted. That was when we noticed the large police barrier and presence. There was a protest scheduled for that afternoon to fight for higher wages. We walked around the square for a bit and it was an eerie sight. The main avenues in the city were completely empty. I joked it was a "24 Days Later" moment referring to the zombie movie when London has been wiped out and the streets were deserted. We were walking down the middle of some of the normally busiest streets in Buenos Aires. On the way, we passed the famous Café Tortoni so we stopped for a cup of coffee. While inside, the protest started outside so we walked out to check it out. I imagined a hundred people or so… NOPE. Try THOUSANDS. It was impressive. They were banging drums and carrying banners. But completely peaceful. It was pretty cool to see actually. I was tempted to jump right in and join them! It was starting to get late so we took the metro (subway) back to Palermo SOHO since we had to meet up the gang for dinner in a few hours. We got back to Barbara's flat and I got a text from Andrew saying that he and Hannah had a slight relapse of their stomach problem and that dinner was probably out but could we still meet up back at Bab's place for drinks and to catch up. Justin, Babs, and I were still hungry so we told them to meet us at the restaurant and we'd come back afterwards for drinks. Then we headed off to get us some meat! We got to Cabrera and tried to get a table at 8pm. Well first, they didn't open until 8:30, and second, they were booked solid for the ENTIRE NIGHT!! DOH!!! So we walked around the corner to another place that wasn't quite as famous as La Cabrera but served up similar food. But they also served up a roasted veal rib that Barbara said was her absolute favorite. Justin got the Bife de Chorizo and Babs and I shared the veal ribs. They were OUTSTANDING! The flavor was amazing. Definitely another great meal! Around 9, we saw Andrew, Hannah, and Elizabeth walking up so they joined us for the rest of the meal then we all headed back to Bab's flat for drinks (and so Andrew could check out the hammock). On the way, Hannah started complaining about blisters so the girls grabbed a cab and Andrew, Justin, and I walked. It made for a HILARIOUS video of Andrew later in the evening that is on my Facebook page. Go check out the video titled "My name is Hannah".
We stayed at Bab's place until midnight when we were supposed to go meet Amanda and Lydia back in SOHO. We headed out to meet them and their new friends who were joining up with them fresh from Bolivia. Well, the night turned into a really LONG evening since it took us 2 bars and 3 and a half hours to get 1 drink. I don't think I've ever gone out for drinks and gotten sober. After that disaster, we got home at 4am ready for bed and our last full day in Buenos Aires.
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