Hello again! Not long after New Year's my friend Leanne arrived and we all rushed off to Punta del Este Uruguay. This beachy spot is the exclusive vacation getaway for Argentinians and it was gorgeous! The beaches were amazing although it rained two out of the three days we were there. We still got some great pictures of the crystal blue water and the white sand. We got all our sun in on the last day by the pool at the hotel because our dreams of sun tanning by the ocean were squashed by the ominous clouds hanging over us. It was still an amazing trip in another country!
The random fingers coming out of the beach are something Punta del Este is famous for, so of course a touristic picture was necessary. The beach was amazing and I wish we could have spent more time there. After we got back to Buenos Aires we settled in for about a day and then my friend Liz had to catch her flight back to the U.S. After that, I wanted to show Leanne all I could of Buenos Aires so we organized some day activities. First I took her to Tigre, a little town outside of the city where there is a river and an open market. We took a boat ride which was very relaxing and explored the market a little although we did get burnt, a recurring theme that week. 
We also explored the many different ice cream stores of Buenos Aires and Punta del Este because the ice cream here is too delicious to resist. Although we ate our way through quite a few stores, I assure you there are many more untasted by us California girls. One of my favorite things (even since being in Buenos Aires) was going to a Tango show! We made reservations at a place called Senor Tango in San Telmo. The neighborhood was sketchy but the inside of this building was incredible! There were lights everywhere, chandaliers a stage in the middle of dining tables covered in red and black tablecloths and Tango memorabilia. We opted out of the included dinner because it was about US $60 more which is pretty pricey for a college student's dinner. The dancing, singing, and costumes were amazing and I hated for it to end! It has to be one of the most exciting things I've done since being in Argentina yet and I would love to do it again if only it wasn't as expensive. 
The last thing Leanne had to do before she left was a tour of the city, which we did on a bus with audio information about all the different areas we visited. Most of the places I had already seen but it was nice to hear interesting facts about the famous monuments and parts of town. Some of you will recognize the Casa Rosada (the Pink House, like our White House) which is in the Plaza de Mayo. We also visited Caminito in La Boca, which is a street filled with colorful buildings and is known for its artwork. 
The city tour pretty much concluded Leanne's visit and I took her to the airport that night. It was an amazing trip and there's still more summer fun to come!
