Buenos Aires is mui calientes!

It's hot and getting hotter all the time with so many people wanting to see what the buzz on BA is all about. My traveling friends, let me tell you, the cat is out of the bag. Buenos Aires is mui calientes! (That means hot, for those of you who can't speak Spanish.)

Speaking of, my Spanish is horrible (in fact, that was the one expression I perfected in South America: Mi espanol es horrible. Only the pronunciation of horrible is different and the 'le' sound is pronounced 'lay' as in horrib-lay.) But good thing that I didn't have to speak fluent Spanish to appreciate this city -- don't get me wrong you need to know the basics here or you'll want a good guide around. Thankfully Jeff is an excellent guide and fluent in Espanol.

Now down to the real deal on BA. It's a city with a true city-vibe, albeit a gritty one in many places. And, much like New York, Buenos Aires claims to be the city that never sleeps. If you're going -- I suggest you get ready to adjust your sleeping pattern. Even if you're not a nightowl, to experience this place you will eat, drink, and dance as the locals do. That means starting dinner at 10pm. After dinner and wine (oh the wines -- such good good wines!) you'll go to a place for drinks and dancing. The tango most likely. And those shows don't get started until 1, but nothing really good seems to happen before 3. Yes, that is 3am. You got it. Bed at dawn, sleep in, start again with breakfast around 10:30am (I did notice that each day of our trip breakfast got later and later...) I'm not really sure how it is that people get work done in this city but somehow the place is always bustling when you walk out your door.

My absolute favorite thing in BA was the Park Hyatt Palacio Duhau Buenos Aires. A new hotel that is, yes, a palace. WOW! Supposedly the developers spent 90 million dollars restoring, renovating and building this hotel. It is a conversation between old and new, antique and modern, light and dark -- and it is what Buenos Aires should be and could be.

The Park Hyatt is an inspiring, heavenly, enchanting spot. It is a vision of a hotel. I would live there. but that doesn't describe the palace entry, the marble floors, the oak doors, the stunning, sweeping gardens which look between the old palace and the new hotel tower -- and what happens in between them. The underground gallery (art gallery!) that connects them. The flower area where you can enjoy the gorgeous art of flower making as they're getting ready to place the flowers elsewhere around the hotel. The cheese room with over 40 cheeses from around the world. Cheeses, which can be paired with one of their fine wine selections at the Vinoteca with 350 different labels and more than 3,500 bottles of wine. Plus they've smartly constructed a pairing/ tasting room in a cozy area separate from the restaurant. Separate even from the Oak Bar, which has spectacular oak panels which were carved in Normandy in the 17th century, and transported to the palacoio by the Duhau's themselves. In the oak bar one should enjoy scotch, cognac, cocktails and cigars. If I were someone fabulous or I wanted to be -- this is the place in BA I'd want to see and be seen. Ok, the last thing, I'll say about it, other than that you must see this hotel if you visit, is that the tea is outstanding and well worth it. Yum!

The best and worst thing about BA, to me, is the architecture. It's stunning. And, it's awful. Mostly it's stunning and then right next to this gorgeous building, like one you've seen in Paris or as on 5th Avenue, is a modern monstrosity. So many of the the remaining buildings are dwarfed by the more recent additions, which any urban planner should despise. However, the city has older districts and wealthier areas that seem to have been preserved more carefully. Those areas like Recoleta and Palermo Viejo are standouts. But to wander the city you'll see hundreds of buildings and just want to linger and stare.

The subway, or Subte, is fairly easy to navigate and better than taxis for getting around the city during the daytime traffic. It only costs about sixty cents (that's by US standards) and is far cheaper than the average taxi which I found to run about $5 or so, and was notably slightly more than everyone said.

While BA is a bargain right now, it's not as big of a bargain as some report. In my experience most things were about half the cost of what it would be in the states, which is still fantastic but not as "dirt cheap" as some propose. Of course for tailored leather items you really can't beat the prices. In the leather district (at Murillo Street and Malabia) it's pretty much all negotiable. Leather, suede, fur you name it -- and the prices are good.

In the hipper area of Palermo Viejo the stores are more typical and the prices are more or less set. You can try to bargain and see if the shopkeepers go for it. You could walk around Palermo Viejo for days and still discover new stores. I loved it! Home furnishings, design stores, galleries, handbages, shoes, boutiques -- and the nicest Nike store you've ever seen abound. Calma Chica had great cow rugs and other leather furnishings. As did others with leather place mats, boxes and kitchen items. Great restaurants, bars and cafes are abundant the portenos (those are the natives) like Bar Uriarte -- the garden is lovely and the art upstairs great - but request a table beyond the bar where the chairs are normal sized. Otherwise, the meal may be great but you won't be very comfortable. A visit to Casa Cruz will show the trendier side to BA, but I think it's mostly for tourists these days and feels a bit nouveau riche and over-the-top to me. Though to their credit, the cocktails are made fresh and pretty tasty. I'd definitely recommend staying at the popular HOME hotel in PV, from there you can happily ignore much of the rest of the city.

Aside from Recoleta and the Recoleta cemetery though. This may sound creepy, but the cemetery is well worth the visit to see all the Art Deco and Art Nouveau sculptures that house the dead. Of course you can see Eva Perone's grave there too -- but go quick as there are rumors she may be moved yet again! Like in Santiago there were cats and dogs wandering around in BA -- especially in Recoleta. I'm not sure the story there but I wanted to rescue them all. While in Recoleta, the stores and shopping rivals 5th ave or Rodeo drive and you'll note some of the same stores. Prices on those goods aren't a bargain at all but it's fun to window-shop at the very least. The chocolates and gelato at at Volta shouldn't be missed if you're in the area.

Everyone will tell you to visit San Telmo, but I wasn't captivated by it. Sure, there's a quaint, if dirty square but I found the antique stores to be schlocky. However, sadly, I missed the Sunday Antiques Fair which I hear has great finds and is better than the antique market in Paris. I would only recommend going there if you're wild about antiques or possibly for the night life. We visited a locals spot called La Camparasita for an informal tango show. But we paid a lot and heard a ton of crooners sing for hours rather painfully. I found the people watching better than the show.

Speaking of tango shows, only the tourists seem to do that so I stayed away as I've heard they're overpriced and not that great. Instead I'd recommend a visit to La Boca to see the street tango set against the lively-colored buildings, street vendors, and cafes any day. I'd also pay a visit to the famous Confiteria Ideal -- we did and it was worth it. Take a lesson and go back at night for the scene. This is the real deal. (They'll proudly tell you, Madonna was there when shooting Evita.) It's an Argentian institution and well worth it.

It's summer in Argentina while it's winter here at home so now may be a good time to think about heading south...