Party poopers like me are not into big New Year parties. Although I had received some invitations from other guest houses, I chose to leave my options open, meaning I had no plans at all. ZZZZZZ

That’s right. I ZZZZZ until 930pm. Got up and drank half bottle of energy drink, just to keep up with the Argentineans.

Patricia (Hawaiian) from another guest house joined Amy and I for a girls’ night out.

By the time we went out, it was 11pm already. Hehe.

What’s the rush? I’m on vacation. :rtdance3:

Since we didn’t make reservation at any restaurants, we had no luck getting any food after half an hour of searching.

You would think the streets would be filled with people on New Year’s Eve with taxis everywhere. Not true.

15 minutes before midnight, taxi drivers were all eager to go home to celebrate new year with their families. Most of them wouldn’t even take passengers at that time.

It was kind of fun to go restaurant hunting. >*< Maybe... Well, it was a new experience and new experiences provokes growth which leads to happiness. Finally we got in a restaurant, right before midnight. 🙂 Hurray! [caption id="attachment_3057" align="aligncenter" width="800" caption="Happy New Year 2012"][/caption]
Toasted champagne with Argentinean families.

Hugs, kisses and cheers. Argentineas are very passionate people.

Dance floor, after midnight

There were boys and girls, couples, grandparents, etc. They all danced. I loved seeing the expression on their faces. The atmosphere was joyous.

“Come dance. Come dance.” A lady waved at me from the dance floor.

It was salsa. Even grandmas on the dance floor knew the dance and grandpas shook their butts like there was no tomorrow.

I don’t know salsa but I love to dance. So, I jumped to the dance floor and had fun. 🙂

This singer was singing some cheerful songs. I couldn’t understand a word. But I loved the melody and he was an eye-candy. ^_^

After an hour, since there wasn’t any tango; and we had enough of “family love”. We left to the next location.

See what I mean? It was 1am and the streets were empty. Perhaps there were more happening places near a more touristic place? I didn’t know and we weren’t looking for bars and clubs anyway.

Waiting to catch a taxi here.

There were only a few milongas (tango dance party) in the city that night. Most locals preferred to spend New Year with friends and family, so they had private parties.

To the milonga! My first in Buenos Aires!

My spirit was high until I reached the milonga hall. I immediately wanted to hide under a table.

To be continued …

New Year’s Eve. 2700 buses left the city of Buenos Aires today. Imagine that. One bus leaving after another in every minute. The bus system has to be solid to handle this traffic.

With so many buses filled with passengers leaving town, who else were left? The tourists!

Locals had four day holidays, and they preferred to go out of town to the beaches and surrounding countries instead of dealing with tourists and the heat. It’s very much like Paris in August.

I have read that B.A. is a ghost town during New Year. True.

Amy and I had a stroll along Palarmo Soho streets that afternoon and it was unusually quiet everywhere.

P/S: I don’t have plans every day. Somehow that has been “the best plan”. It makes me flexible to any plans that come to me.

Amy: You gotta wear a hat. It's hot! Take mine.

Strolling in Palermo

Beautiful Bougainivillea flower blooming (these flowers are originally native to South America, now very popular in S. E. Asia.)

Nice outdoor cafe - empty

Usually is packed with people, but empty during New Year's Eve

Not many shops were open. I think only Americans (and Chinese of course) are more hardworking and crazy about making money.

Not many cafes were open either. Those that were open, were packed with tourists.

Outdoor cafe packed with tourists at a plaza

I dislike crowded places. So, we decided not to have lunch there. We were tired and hungry, the weather was hot, so we jumped in a taxi instead of walking home. 🙂

Blue and white. Patriotic Argentinean.

Got some take-outs and went home. Home sweet home. Perfect. 🙂