Taxi
to the hotel was $20 (US dollars) [N.B. the abbreviation for
Argentinian Peso is also $, and the $ sign means Peso from now on].
Good value for a 45 minute ride from the airport.Ipswich (N 52° 05' 34" E 01° 14' 55") to Buenos Aires (S 34° 36' 26" W 58° 22' 24"). 6969 miles.
We were picked up from home by our car on time and the trip to Gatwick was uneventful. It's the first time I've been to Gatwick North, and couldn't get over how deserted it was. Check in was easy, although it took a bit of time to get the new tickets for our return leg (the original flight home was cancelled by Aerolineas Argentinas) since the customer service desk had no printer and they had to be written by hand. The VIP lounge was pretty nice, contrary to what I'd read on the web. We also got a load of US currency at Gatwick, but weren't able to get any Argentinian Pesos - I'd not worked out that you can only get them in Argentina.
Business class from Gatwick to Madrid seemed to be identical seats to Economy, except 2 people got 3 seats. On time to Madrid - baggage was checked through so we went straight to find the lounge. If you're doing this route business class, head for the "Sala Cibeles" - the through ticket entitles you to use this one.
Boarded the Buenos Aires leg by dint of walking past the huge queue and boarding first when the flight was called. The flight was a 747, but they don't seem to use the upstairs cabin on this flight. Our seats we old-ish but pretty comfortable. Food was good, albeit a bit stingy with the wine. Mavis slept very well and I got a fair amount.
Arrival at BA started well but went downhill at baggage reclaim. We'd brought 3 suitcases but only 2 appeared. We therefore made a baggage claim and are waiting in hope that it will show up. It's got stuff like the rechargers for the video recorder and camera, Mavis's good clothes, my wash kit and my waterproof jacket in it. Fingers crossed.
Taxi
to the hotel was $20 (US dollars) [N.B. the abbreviation for
Argentinian Peso is also $, and the $ sign means Peso from now on].
Good value for a 45 minute ride from the airport.
Hotel is the NH Jousten. This got good reviews in Tripadvisor and at £57 per night for 2 people including breakfast, it's a snip. The room is comfortable, there's lots of nice soaps, etc., and there's ethernet internet access. What more could you want!
Wandered
around the city during the day but weren't over-enamoured on first
impressions. There seemed to be a lot of exhaust gas in the air
and it seemed just rather busy. The photo is of the Governor's
House.
We decided to go cheap and cheerful for dinner - a pizza/pasta place. Wine was £2 for the bottle and the total meal for 2 was about £8.50. Went to bed wondering where I could get battery chargers for the camera and video camera if the suitcase didn't turn up...