First Impressions and Observations

Disclaimer: This is the opinion of the writers and should be taken as such. Comments on this website are not facts.

OK, our first impression of Buenos Aires is not positive. This city has tons of liter, spray paint everywhere and old, but not in the pretty way, in the falling in disrepair way.

Now after having been here for three days our opinion is alittle better. We have run across some helpful nice people, gotten more used to Argentinian Spanish and enjoyed some very pretty neighborhoods with lots to offer (IE Recoleta and Palmero Viejo).

Some aspects that surprised me were:
- Lack of American influence - I saw few McDonalds, Burger King, starbucks (Yes, one market they have not saturated)
- Lack of Stray dogs - I must be used to Mexico and Costa Rica with their billions of stray dogs. here the dogs are well cared for and each park has a designated area only for them.
- The noise is not much considering the traffic. I am racking my brain to think if I have heard someone beep. Can you imagine THAT in NYC?

I can see why so many people relate BA to Europe because the neighborhoods are set up where each has its own plaza, reputation and feel, the eating habits ( big meals, later in the day used as social occasions, afternoon cafes etc), small evelators, bathrooms et al, age of the building and history associated with each AND how proud they are of the history and who they are as a nation!

Facts you may be interested in:
-There are 14 million people living in Buenos Aires
-The exchange rate is one dollar to 3 pesos
-The climate currently is mid 70´s in the day and drops dramatically at night
-The time change is 1 hour ahead of EST