I remember your stories! BUT... lets hope none of us experience this the way you did!

Wow... a 5 hours nap after a long coach flight does wonders for the body. I had slept very little for two days before we left as I was so excited I couldNT sleep. Then a long shower and I am so ready to get this party started. It is sure quiet here given almost everyone is at the Hyatt, but a quiet afternoon was sure nice. Marc had our day all planned for tommorow and top of the list is the cemerary Lori spoke of. I love old cemetaries, and Marc likes the archetechture and stones so we are both happy. Then we will work our way down the list of the BA top 10 from our book. Alas we are just bidding our time for the main event. Am so happy to hear that Ngaire, Ken, Ralph and Brayden are on the way too. I see lots of cut throat hearts games on the horizon and hopefully a few not so much for us others. More later, can not wait to see everyone for dinner.

I walked over to Calle Florida and did a little window shopping. Didn't see anything I couldn't live without. Stopped in a cafe/store and managed to buy a frozen fruit smoothie and a box of alfajores using only my very poor Spanish. The alfajores are simply the best cookies in the universe. It is still far too hot and sticky outside for extended walks. Looking forward to dinner!

WOW.... Ed and Mary jsut walked into the executive lounge here at the Hilton. She doesnt post much but we met them on Kangaroo ealier this year and I had forgotten they were on this cruise too!

Brayden and I at dfw. Great flight. Have a story that is better than Brayden and the I touch on me. Too long for I phone will post Thursday. Looking to see ken and Ngaire. Soon.

OH Ralph the fun of traveling with teens!!!! Our teen girls lose things 24/7 or exit back seat of car and I realize back door still open when we come out of store as they thought someone else was closing it!!!! I know you two will have a ball -

You mean you posted something from iTouch? Or the joke is on you? Have a great time, whatever it is. Brayden must be the most excited kid on the planet right now. He's going to be a breath of fresh air for variety, and Marc loves having smart "teens" on his trivia team, if they have it!

Would you like live updates from the LCT dinner posted here? Flat Crystal has arrived!

HAHAHA! Did Beth bring her along for the ride? More, Andrea! So glad Betty has made it! Are Mark and Arlene there? Now we just need Brayden and Ralph and Ngaire and Ken!

Crystal is along for the ride!!

Yay photos. Love them. Love flat Crystal. Looks like the PARTY is started!

Yippee, people pix! Looks like everyone is having a good time and I would like to order that salad, please!

Wow hope some of those aren't too big! Karen let me know and I can edit them down a bit!

We had a wonderful dinner. Very nice meeting Frank and Wendy, and their friends from Australia Alan and Wendy. Sat next to Ed and Mary, and Beth and Betty. So great meeting Betty in person after all these years!

The Zodiac fun has begun!

They look fine to me, Andrea!!!

Loving every pix and seamail!!!!

Yes, the party has now begun. What a great group! We went down to breakfast and met poor sick Betty and Beth in the lobby. Hugs all around! Betty and Beth joined us for breakfast and we went on to the opera house tour. It was good, but no Sydney Opera house tour. It is certainly impressive and worth seeing.we then went on to the Malba Museum, the Latin fine arts museum where you can find works by Diego Rivera, Frieda Kahlo, etc. It was small but worth a stop. We then took a taxi over to Florida street for the "great" shopping. It was great if you want to dress like Snookie. The leather shops had crappy looking stuff that I would never wear and it looked
poorly made and was expensive. On top of all of this, we
were in the middle of a large scale demonstration with riot police. This was not a good experience.Doug and I got our arses out of there and found a cab driver who had no idea where the Hyatt was. We gave him instructions and exited a
few blocks from the hotel.

Doug made a beeline back but I decided to slowly wander back. Ahh...here were the good leather shops with the Hermes copies with butter soft leather for under $200. I did
some damage...heaven knows where I'll find room in my suitcase. I may be wearing all of my clothes on the plane. You just can't have enough shoes.

The rain threatened but never came ( probably because we lugged an umbrellla all day) and the day was just terribly
humid. We called Pam and Jim and Beth and Betty to see if they wanted to join us for afternoon snacks on the terrace. One nice thing about the Hyatt is that we have a great
outdoor courtyard. We all met except for Betty and had a lovely visit with one another until about 7 when we all went up to get ready. At 8, we all, including flat Crystal, met in the lobby ready to begin our First of many Zodiac get togethers. It was great seeing Marc and Arlene and Frank and Wendy again and finally seeing Lauri and meeting new folks. We look forward to Ralph, Brayden, Ngaire and Ken completing the group.

Tomorrow, a number of us are taking the Tigre boat tour. Andrea and Lauri have a private tour, Doug and I have a private tour, and Beth, Betty, Jim and Pam are on a group tour. We aren't sure if we are on the same boat or not. So, it will be fun to see. Others, are going to wander the city. Maybe some of us will catch up for dinner? We have to pack and get up very early the next morning for our flight to Ushuaia, so we'll see. Night!

Another great report, Andi! Sounds as if you made the most of your day. I'm glad the rain held off.

Too bad Betty is not feeling well. Hope she is better soon.

Andi, I'm loving your reports. You will have a great time on the Tigre Boat Tour, very unusual and charming. We really liked it when we did the excursion with Regent on our SA cruise.

Brayden and I are now in Park Tower hotel. Good flight, neither of us got as much sleep as we needed, going a bit slow right now. Had an interesting experience on the flight from Orange Co. to DFW. As some may recall Brayden lost his I touch on the flight to FRA on our last trip. It was found but was under the seat and was a big deal to get it free. This time it was me who lost something. I realized toward the end of the flight I did not have my glasses. I remember having them but now they were missing. We looked all over the floor and the flight attendent lifted up the seat cushion. No glasses. We had decided that we would wait on the plane and after the first class cabin was empty, yes we were in first class as our business class ticket to BA go us first for the first leg, we would have Brayden look under the seats behind us for the glasses.

Someone opened the overhead to get their bag and as the man in the seat accross the aisle got up he said are these your glasses. Somehow during the flight when I had got the i pad out for Brayden I had placed my glasses in the overhead in from of my back pack. I feel so dumb.



The great news is that I found my glasses and we have another good story to tell about our trip as it starts off.

Missing river tour. Spending day @ Hyatt. Don't cry for me Argentina. Your city is beautiful. Better to have energy for ship. Not one bit unhappy. I have things to do - such as repack. Great group at dinner last night. Much laughter. That is what it is all about.

Get better Betty--the penguins need you!

Woke up to a beautiiful day! Must be the Ray and Brayden weather fairy. Cooler...no humidity. .. Blue skies...saw Lauri at one stop...but missed seeing Andrea...saw Jim and Pam at breakfast and on the boat and saw Beth on the boat with them.

We left about 9am and went out into the northern suburbs which are the wealthier places to live about 20 miles outside of BA following the Rio Plata.

The initial suburbs seemed to be condos.. Most Argentians own. Two bedrooms go for about $150k. They shun
mortgages. Parents start them off on small places and then they trade themselves up.

As we got a bit farther out, we stopped in a small town with a cathedral surrounded with large estates. Many of the streets had private security in little guard houses. The houses had bars on the windows and iron gates around the property.

Many of the homes were huge. Others were lovely and good sized attached homes. Some overlooked the river. As we
drove into Tigre, there were many rowing clubs, an amusement park, and many restaurants.

The Tigre area is a delta with vacation homes, some mansion size, some shacks, some hotels, with swimming and general vacation living just a stone's throw from the city. It is accessible by highway, train, bus.

All in all, a lovely day and further proof of a very high quality of life. What further surprised me was the extent of English influence in culture and architecture in this area adding to the cosmopolitan flavor of BA.

We were back in our room by 2pm. Will try to repack and will then wander the neighborhood and relax today.

What a fun dinner last night So wonderful to see every one again

Today is glorious! Seveties, slight breeze, no humidity, sheer heaven.

Taxied up to the cemetary, which we both enjoyed... very different and interesting. Walked to the Theater but decided not to stand in line for a tour, then walked to the Mitre museum...not sure what type of museum it is as it was closed but got pix of Marc in front of it, most of you will understand why. Walking back to the hotel we realized we were a block from the restaurant where we had dinner last night so stopped for lunch. Marc was happy with ribs and my empanadas were fantastic. So peaceful and relaxing to just sit outside in the shade on the river with my best friend having lunch...my kind of day! Walked a total of about 5 miles and now back at the hotel. Nap time seems upon me and then maybe a walk to the plaza, maybe not. Such a wonderful day to start the trip. Marc is giving me hourly updates on the weather reports for the Falklands, South Georgia etc. So hoping for good weather, but not sure yet how it will all work out. Hoping that Ngaire brought her good weather juju with her. Wish more of you were here with us.

Ken and I had a great day too. We literally did not leave the hotel room. I know that sounds strange but we got caught up on everything we could not finish and now feel really relaxed and ready to enjoy the trip. We are Starwood Gold and had a really nice plate of fruit. We had fully intended to go out for lunch but nibbled on the fruit instead.

Tonight we are having a ARCTIC reunion dinner with the people on this trip that were with us on Arctic, Ralph, Brayden, Jim and Pam. So now hungry and looking forward to that. Glad we decided to go early we are both really hungry now.

Sounds like everyone had a good time here in Argentina and after looking at the posted people pictures cant wait to see everyone tomorrow.

Reasonable hour for the charter flight at 8.30 am. I remember one trip when the flight left at 5.30 am that was tough. Three extra hours in the morning is GREAT.

Welcome all...love reading all your reports. Ralph, so happy you found your glasses...sounds like something I'd do LOL. Rest and feel better Betty. Beth, love you brought Crystal (she travels light)

Keep checking in all and hoping Ngaire's good weather Gods smile down on the Falklands.

Can you find Andi?

Packed. Shopped for gifts. Sat for drinks with Doug in garden of hotel and will be off for final dinner later. Will miss this place. Yeah, left hand side. I've been busy taking lessons when I'm not visiting museums, taking tours or shopping. I am an energizer bunny.

San Telmo... the market was all around

Kinda says it all, don't you think?

Perfect photo, Doug! Looks like the good times have started. I'd be jealous, except that flat me seems to be having a great time.

excellent

Having a wonderful Patagonian lamb lunch! It is gorgeous here!

Lauri, where are you, on the ship now?

Yes we are on the ship getting ready for the muster drill!!

Be on the lookout for this rare white Penguin.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/rare-white-penguin-spotted-antarctica-213152350--abc-news.html

Oh how I wish I was with all of you...the memories from three years ago come flooding back!

Give my best to Frank, Wendy and Alan and Wendy. You are all in for such a wonderful adventure....keep the seamail coming!

For those of you ZODIs still going through withdraws, I've found a blog from a guy on the Nat Geo Explorer. He spent 3 days on South Georgia and is now heading towards Cape Town.

Also tomorrow night (Sunday) on the Discovery Channel, the new 7 show series, Frozen Planet begins at 8pm east coast time. I've got my DVR set!

I just found this short video if anyone is in need to an Antarctica fix. Video by our own Sidey.

Tonight on ABC news there was a story about the Emperor Penguin census in Antarctica. It must be on their web site.

I read that Newt Gingrich was bitten by a penguin.