ARGENTINA, Buenos Aires, Thursday, 6th September

The lifting of the clouds and bright sunshine pouring through the window the following morning was enough to prise me away from my cosy TV marathon and go and explore the city that was taking on a much more attractive shape in the sunshine. I spent the day wandering around this dauntingly large city, getting my barings and investigating other Barrios which might be more appropriate for Posy and I than the rather soul-less centre in which I was staying.

The city is supposed to be the most vibrant, classy, sexy city of South America and I spent a happy day adjusting myself to the rhythm of of its streets teaming with elegantly dressed, extremely good-looking Argentineans. I walked up wide boulevards jam-packed with testosterone driven cars honking and jostling with each other, through grand plazas and through heaving pedestrianised shopping streets before arriving in San Telmo an altogether quieter corner of the city with cobbled streets, cheerfully painted houses and plenty of bars, cafes and restaurants in which I could envisage Posy and I sitting for many a happy hour. Perfect.
The following day she arrived beaming and announcing that her taxi driver looked like Antonio Banderas. Bienvenido a Argentina!
We were so happy to see one another after so long that it might come as a surprise to some of you to learn that we talked non-stop for 16 hours after that. Posy was delighted with San Telmo, the hostel, and was sufficiently impressed at the poshness of the bathrooms, of which I was particularly proud.
We set about doing some hard core catch up over a long lunch which was soon followed by a long dinner. So lovely to have her with me.
We continued in that manner for the following 3 days in Buenos Aires, strutting around in the icy winter sunshine, Posy cheerfully translating the endless appreciative whoops from our local admirers who found the sight of 2 blondes hard to ignore. We visited the Museo de las Bellas Artes, ate life changing steak in a buzzy, chaotic local Parrilla, got fussed about by endless waiters, drank delicious wine and generally had A Good Time.

By our 3rd day, however we thought we´d better go and see some more of the country before we got totally imbedded in the city and considered taking up permanent residence. The only problem was where to go, the country being so vast and Posy having such little time. Most people, we discovered, head up North East from Buenos Aires to the staggering Iguazu Falls which, at a length of 3kms and a cascade of over 70 deafening metres are promised to reduce the onlooker to ´giggling, shrieking messes´(according to the Lonley Planet). Given my apparent passion for the odd cascada and seeming willingness to go to great lengths to see them, you might think that I´d be on that bus before you could say "splash." We did have to take into consideration, however that the journey was over 20 hours both ways, which is pushing it even for me. It wouldn´t have been so bad if either of our guide books could promise us much more than a succession of uninteresting towns, landscapes of burned palm trees and toad infestations on route. Hmmmm.
So we began to look to the North West ´off the beaten track´ via buzzy little student towns, pretty, remote villages, gorgeous countryside up to the foothills of the Andes and into wine country. Ah ha... One town even promised that we could combine wine and walking. Splendid.