We left Houston on Thursday, March 27, 2008, in a one way rental car en route to Dallas. Our first stop was for breakfast at a Cracker Barrel where I took the picture of the rabbits. As we passed through Huntsville, I snapped photos of the humongous statue of Sam Houston that stands alongside of I-45 and of some wild flowers that Lady Bird Johnson started growing along the Texas highways.The Dallas/Ft. Worth airport, headquarters and main hub for American Airlines, is easily found, but somewhat difficult to find one's way around. Like Atlanta, they had extremely high escalators, but unlike Atlanta, they are not built in a stairwell so one can appreciate the height from the ground.
Our friends Laura and Foone from Sacrament, CA met us there, and we enjoyed the decorations in the airport as well as the Fuddrucker's restaurant.
During the almost eleven hour non-stop flight to Argentina we saw the sunset and the sunrise which was on my side of the plane. I snapped a few pictures as we approached the Buenos Aires airport where runways were separated by stands of tassled plants. The terminal we arrived at wasn't anything special.
One of the things I have seen in foreign airports is a stand where suitcases are wrapped in plastic for a fee. I'm not sure if this is done to avoid stealing by the luggage handlers or to protect the luggage, but they had such a stand at the airport in Buenos Aires.
Driving through the city, I snapped a few photos of things that I found interesting. Along the way we saw a lot of pretty pink flowers on some of the trees.
Our accommodations were in the Sheraton Buenos Aires, a truly luxury hotel with beautiful lobbies and grounds that were used as background by a couple of brides. I don't know if they were actual brides or models on a photo shoot, but it was fun to see them turning and posing.
Our room had a view of the bay where a beautiful sailing ship was docked. Laura and Foone had a room facing the city. I included photos of both views.
We went out for a walk after checking in, and we were in luck because the hotel was very close to Florida Street, the pedestrian walking street that is crowded on weekdays by locals and on the summer weekends by people awaiting cruises to Patagonia.
It was on Florida Street that we saw our first tango dancers. The tango was born in Argentina as a dance of the working, and around town we saw several pairs dancing on the sidewalks for tips.
It was on Florida Street that we found the Gallerias Pacificas, the newest mall in the City. Unlike a modern mall built at the center of a large parking lot, this mall was created by joining together the old buildings that were already there. Murals were painted on a dome at the center of a mall over a double circular staircase that led from the street level to a fountain on the food court level.
On our walk back to the hotel we passed some pretty lights on Florida Steet.
