Eyes Open

What a great day yesterday. It started with a 10 hour red eye flight where I had to an entire row to myself. Yes I had three seats to myself and  I was living like a king.

My second flight was from Sao Paulo Brazil to Buenos Aires and it was like jumping into a pool for the first-time.  I was the only one on the flight that didn't speak fluent Spanish.  It was definitely a shock, but something I enjoyed.  And the atmosphere of the flight was much different too.  In the US nobody talks to each other, each person gets in their seats, puts their headphones on and counts down the minutes until the plane lands in the next destination.  On this flight everybody was talking to each other as if it was a family thanksgiving.  I slept through most of the flight but the majority of my dreams were in Spanish partly in thanks to the middle aged couple sharing the row with me.

Upon arrival in Buenos Aires, my goal was finding Calle Florida where they exchange pesos for dollars at a much better rate than the banks do. I was able to get 12.5 pesos per dollar.  From there I intended to head towards my Hostel, however I found myself getting caught up in the amazing scenery and vibrance that is Buenos Aires.  The city is definitely one of a kind with a perfect blend of high rises and lushes trees and parks mixed into one.  It is as if they built the city in the middle of a forest but built around the forest.  Trees line the sidewalks where they're used to support telephone and power lines instead of a brown wood tower.  There are so many people, it reminded me of times square, but tenfold at a much larger radius.  No one walks slow, cars drive with a purpose, and there is an abundance of motorcycles from the 70's and 80's weaving through the streets and sidewalks.  I saw a smile on the majority of people's faces and really feel like I'm in a place where so much can happen and such potential is available.  There is an atmosphere of open arms here and it definitely feels safe.  Here are some pics from the day.  I'm not sure what the concrete tower is but it looks like a smaller version of the Washington Monument.  Calle Florida is the second pic, and the others are from one of the parks in row middle of the city.  The last picture is the big from the balcony outside of my Hostel room.