After many years of reading about this city and watching YouTube videos and so on, I was finally going to be spending time in a place I’d always dreamed of, Buenos Aires! A big part of my desire to go to Buenos Aires was because of the football culture (I went to 3 games in 3 days!). But I’d also heard many great things about the city itself, and it is the capital of a country that really interests me in general. Spanish and Italian are two mighty cultures and the thought of a country that takes a big influence from them both whilst also having that Latin American spirit, is something that had always really intrigued me.

I’d arrived in Buenos Aires after what was a brief and rather disappointing experience in Santiago de Chile, and I was full of excitement to see if it lived up to my expectations. You often hear the phrase ‘The Paris of South America’, and I was completely enchanted from the very moment I arrived at my AirBnb in the barrio of Recoleta. I absolutely loved this neighbourhood. I imagine that it costs a pretty penny to live there! But it really was so cool. Some of the main avenues like Arenales and Santa Fe are very classy, with nice looking cafes and restaurants lining the streets, and I just found it a very nice place to be in.

There is a comprehensive metro and train system in Buenos Aires, so I did use that a lot of the time to move around, but I also did a hell of a lot of walking. For example, I took a nice long stroll from Recoleta down to perhaps the most iconic point of interest in the city, the Obelisco, which was a surreal moment as I was standing there and picturing all the footage I had seen of the celebrations around this area when Argentina had recently won the World Cup. From there I wandered down to the official presidential office, the Casa Rosada, and then onto the modern Puerto Madero.

As with almost all cities, I did see a few areas that seemed a bit rough around the edges, like the Plaza del Congreso, but all in all, I felt very comfortable and enjoyed the ambience of the city. I also particularly liked the architecture, with the imposing tall buildings that lined many of the streets. Some other areas that I explored were Palermo, Belgrano, and the areas of Boedo and Villa Crespo due to football matches that I went to in those places. Overall, it really was a brilliant experience. I found the city to be a magical place, and my experience went beyond even the high expectations I had for it.