Buenos Aires - Day 3

Wednesday 25th October

It´s cold and rainy, a real departure from yesterday´s blazing heat so Helena and I decide to visit Galerias Pacifico, a posh shopping centre with marble floors, frescoed ceilings and the likes of Yves Saint Laurent boutiques.

Still buzzing from last night´s tango experience I decide I want to have some lessons while I´m here and need some tango shoes. I was told that Suipacha Street was the place to find them. There are several tango shops here and I´m lured into one with sparkly shoes in the window. It´s like being in a sweet shop, so many colours and flavours you want to try them all.

After trying a couple of pairs on, the shop assistant approaches me and asks if I´d like a free tango lesson as there´s an instructor right here. I point to my flip flops and he says no problem and disappears for a minute. He emerges with some tango shoes with a high ankle strap and tells me to put them on.

In a surreal 10 minutes I dance around the shop with the tango instructor. He tells me I´m not bad for a beginner (I haven´t admitted I had a lesson yesterday). I notice a camera has been filming me but do not notice the man with the microphone who steps up to ask if I mind doing an interview.

´Not for TV?´ I ask before I embarrass myself

´No, you´re safe´ he replies.

He proceeds to ask me why I´m in Buenos Aires and what I like about it. I´m sure I disappoint him with my vacuous answers about travel and culture.

There is a pub quiz at the Millhouse hostel tonight, where some of my travelling acquantainces are staying. I´m usually rubbish at these unless they´re mostly about music but I´m with a bright bunch of people so I figure we may not come last. While I´m away for a brief moment my group decide to name the team ´Maria´ (not sure why) so this is doubly worrying if we come last.

We´re really lucky with the questions as we have experts on sport, film and celebrity gossip (not me) and romp home to victory 80 points ahead of the second place team. Our prize is tickets to a nightclub tonight called Rumi. Night clubs here don´t get going until 2am here if you can stay awake that long. Somehow I manage and we get a taxi at 1.30am. The club is almost empty when we arrive but by 3 it´s heaving. The music is a tedious mix of repetitive drum and bass beats of the type that make your ribcage vibrate. I´m bored after an hour.

I do have one short conversation with a local Argentinian something along the lines of:

Him - 'Where are you from?'

Me - 'England' (this doesn´t seem to excite people here for some reason whereas they get very excited about Australians)

Him - 'Oh. Can I kiss you?'

Me - 'No'

Him - 'Can I talk to you over there' (points to a dark corner off the dancefloor').

Me - 'No thanks, I'm here with my friends.' (I point to some random people on the dancefloor)

Him - 'You've broken my heart'.

I´ve had enough excitement by 4.30 so a couple of us catch a cab back early to the hotel.