Sept 24 - Buenos Aires

My flight into Buenos Aires went smoothly. The business class seat reclined almost completely flat, and I got a good night's rest. The taxi service was waiting for me when I cleared customs, and he got me to the hotel before lunch time. The room at the Sheraton Libertador was nice. There was a little device right next to the door that you had to put your room key into (and leave it in) in order to activate the room lights, which was a great way to avoid losing my key!

I booked an afternoon bus tour of Buenos Aires, and saw all the sights. The attached photo is of the giant flower statue. The petals close every night and reopen in the morning.



I also saw the Obelisk on Ave 9 de Julio (the widest street in the world), the Governor's House:



(It is painted red because that is the color of the political party who won the election) and a bunch of other sights. That night I ate at a traditional Argentinian steak house, La Chacra. GREAT steak!

I pitched for the first time the next day. Look at the IBM building:



It is smaller at the base than the perimeter above. It made me nervous just being in it!

The presentation went pretty well, although I got a bit nervous about finishing on time, and ended up rushing through parts. I'm afraid I spoke too quickly, so I'll watch out for that in Brazil. For dinner I had a pizza and beer at a little restaurant in Puerto Madero, near the Puente de la Mujer (Woman's Point) pedestrian bridge.



This is where the TV series "The Mole" had its final episode. The first person to reach this point got to read the mole's dossier and eventually won the game.

Afterwards, I bought a souvenir from one of the vendors on Florida street, a pedestrian mall.

Buenos Aires certainly was a great way to start this trip!