Y'all need to know, business class is WAY better than economy

We are here in Buenos Aires!  I'm super jet lagged (mostly due to little sleep, a little due to the 5 hr difference in time).  Must stay awake until 8pm!

After all of my fretting about connections and immigration timelines, everything went so smoothly.  My very nice friend Valerie drove me to the airport at 6am!  Amy was not keen to get there that early so her friend Sarah drove her to get there for 7:30.  I got to the airport at the crack of christo so I could beg and plead my case to change from the 10 to the 9. My AirCanada agent was surly but I channeled my inner Dot Stott and charmed him.  It didn't hurt that I was the only person at the booth and I completely agreed with him that yesterday's travelers were possibly the worst ever. 

Sunrise as I wait in Victoria

8 am and already punchy

He said I would be fine on the 10, charming smile, please, he changed it.  And then a quick zip through 6:30 am security and then I waited.  Amy arrived as planned around 7:30 but the surly agent was back to surely so he didn't move her.  But she has Nexus so she knew she would be fine.  And she was.

In order to go somewhere exciting, I always like to remember that I have to leave paradise

Leaving Vancouver Island

We ended up meeting in the Maple Leaf lounge in Vancouver.  This was my first foray into the world of the not-poor.  Free booze!   It was 11am so I went with free soup.  And a latte.  We only had a half hour in there but it was nice.  And free.  Did I mention it was free?  

I didn't want any, but I thought it was 
important enough to record for prosperity

Presented with free food, this is what I decided

Next up was our Business class seats to Houston.  These were basically just wide seats at the front of the plane.  The food was just the same as I would get in the back, so not very good.  Amazing views though.  We had clear skies the whole way.  It was hours of stunning beauty until we hit Texas and then it was just brown and flat.  

I was fascinated by these 'crop circles'.  
They were all across the country

We got on first and we got off first and that was important since we only had one hour in Houston to get to the next flight to Buenos Aires.  We booked it to our gate, which fortunately was only on the other side of the terminal (15 minutes or so) and got there just in time for our boarding time.  Which meant, of course, that we stood around and waited for 45 minutes.  

People were getting antsy and by the time they started boarding, there was a solid mass of people blocking the entrance.  Amy and I pushed out way to the front when they called Zone 1.  But apparently, there is a Zone 1P?  Amy got yelled at by some angry lady.  It was the worst PA system in the world and mostly in Spanish.  I was just glad we got on the right plane! 

We got to go through a different gate than the economy people.  We got on the plane, turned into the aisle, and there is was, like a shining beacon of hope and free stuff!  First Class.  Enough to bring tears to my thrifty eyes!  Two  blankets, two pillows, a bottle of water, a little case of socks and stuff.  Actually, there was so much stuff on my seat, I wasn't sure where to put it all. 

My seat, full of stuff to make me comfortable

Would we like champagne (before we take off!)?  You bet your buttons we would!  At one point in the flight, I was happy I never got married or had kids so I wouldn't have to pretend that those life events were better than this very day!  

Dinner was great and dessert was also great.  More champagne?  Yes and yes.  You can't recork those bottles, you know.  I watched a move (Mrs Harris goes to Paris) and then lay my bed flat and went to sleep.  We were woken up at some point in the night looking for medical personel to come to first class.  I don't know what was going on but we didn't divert so  I assume it was not to bad. 

Dessert: a cheese plate and an egg tart

My only complaint is that my free wifi was iffy.  I was trying to post pictures of my first class experience to Robynne, my friend and co-advisor so I could make her jealous as she was dealing with the million emails that probably came in today.  I mean really, next time, if I can't torture my friends from 35 000 feet, heads will roll!  First class makes you feel very entitled!  

Revision.  Must stay awake until 7.  

We landed without incident.  Immigration was a breeze.  In fact, our guy barely looked up from his phone, he was texting the whole time. He didn't even stamp out passports! We'll have to make sure to get stamped in Ushuaia. 

The airport was a gong show, there were people everywhere.  We found the taxi kiosk and paid for a cab.  they told us there were running behind and it would be 40 minutes.  Of course they told us this after we paid.  Then they told us to go stand over there - over there was a mass of people who were also waiting for a taxi.  But it was fine.  I still had some Dot Stott positive attitude, it's all good.  We made it, our bags made it, I'm happy.  Then this woman came over and just started spewing this stream of toxicity about the situation.  I asked her to stop with the negativity, she was harshing my vibe.  She went away and Amy mentioned that it was the same woman who yelled at her at boarding.  That poor woman, to be that awful on the first day of vacation must be hard to live as.  Anyway, I had to exercise her from my head.  She really was poison.  

We finally got our cab and made it to our little apartment on Beruti St. in Palermo Alto.  We are on the twelfth floor so nice and bright with a view of the city (lots of tall buildings). 

We settled in a bit.  It was only 11am!  Amy found a place that sells SIM cards in the neighbourhood. In the mall.  So we went to the mall.  It was a mall.  A mall without a place that sells SIM cards.  I got to practice my Spanish.  The lady told me there is a kiosk outside the mall that sells them. We eventually found it, a newstand, that seconds as a tech store, of course.  It was only $6 for two GB of data.  I am tempted to do the same, mostly for access to maps while out and about.  Because almost immediately, we got turned around and couldn't figure out where we were going.  We never got too far from home but a map would have been nice.  

We found our way back to our hood,  bought some groceries, fruit and wine across the street, and came home to figure out where to eat.  It was 2:30 by then.  We knew we were never going to make it to Argentinian dinner time (7 at the earliest) so we decided on a late lunch instead.  We found an empanada place nearby (Billinghurst St), called La Aguada.  I had an empanada and a beer, Amy had a tomale.  

My first beer in Argentina

Update,  I didn't make it to 8, or even 7.  I had to have a nap.  But only an hour.  Now I am uploading photos while Amy is researching where we want to go over the next few days.  I should start paying attention or who knows what I'll be spending!  (just kidding, she is finding fun stuff!)

Hasta luego mi amigos!  Estamos en Argentina!!