Plaza de Mayo, caballos, y Michelle!

In Plaza de Mayo with the Museo de la Casa Rosada in the back.

The Palacio del Congeso, headquarters of Argentina's governing class.

We went to a horse race at the Hipodromo. Entry was free! We won 40 pesos on our first bet and lost it on our second.                                                                                                                       

We were able to stand right next to the winner's circle.

Michelle and I in front of the Rio de Plata ! 

You can see Buenos Aires on the horizon.

Graffiti is all over Argentina. I particularly liked this one of beetle juice. 

On Sunday Matt and I went to visit my friend from high school Michelle. She works for a famous super model named Valeria Mazza as a nanny for her four kids. They live 45 minutes outside the city in El Tigre. For a two-way ticket to El Tigre it cost us about 25 cents each. Public transportation is cheap enough for any class or income level to enjoy. I don't believe there is anything you can buy for 25 cents in Newport Beach that isn't being sold at a garage sale. Matt and I have been splurging in taxis because you can get across town for 20 pesos, or five dollars, but now I am starting to see why people ride the collectivos (buses) for a peso.

El Tigre is a upper class suburban neighborhood located right on the Rio de Plata, or the River Plate. The river, which is brown and muddy, is fed from the north by the Parana River. People treat the edge of the river like a beach, sun bathing on the grass and playing in the still water. From the edge you can  see Buenos Aires' high rise building and Puerto Madero, the main harbor in Buenos Aires. It was great to catch up with Michelle and compare stories of our experiences thus far in Buenos Aires. Michelle shared stories about the family's perspective on Americans and the states. The dad asked Michelle if she lived on a farm because she was dressed less formal. The kids speak four different langauges: Castellano, Italian, English and a little Portuguese. Michelle and I have both decided that we both want to teach our children Spanish because it is so much easier to learn a language at a young age.

Today Matt starts his Spanish classes. Originally I wasn't going to take any classes here but seeing that Castillano, the Spanish they speak here,  is much different than the Spanish I know I might take a few classes just to familiarize myself with the differences.