My partner, Marc, and I arrived nearly a week ago from our most recent trip to South America. Boy, what a trip it was. I never ever thought we would get there at all.

First, we initially thought the cost would be astronomical. Second, we weren't sure we wanted to go in the winter time when the days were short and the climate cold and rainy. Anyway, we did go and we couldn't be happier with the entire trip.

The cost of our recent vacation? Let's just say it was one of our cheapest trips ever. We paid one ticket with cash while the other one with miles. Moreover, our hotel bill came out to no more $200 for the entire journey after using our American Express points. We stayed at business class hotels in both Argentina and Chile. We couldn't be any happier.

We left San Francisco last June 29, 2017 around 10 am and flew to Houston, Texas where we would take our connecting flight to Buenos Aires. We flew UNITED as always. The flight to Houston from SFO took three hours while the flight from Houston to Buenos Aires lasted approximately 9 hours and 30 minutes. We had a few hours layover in Houston and we spent the time there touring the airport and eating at the American Express's Centurion Lounge.

The food served at the lounge was mostly vegetarian but popular among the guests. I ate some but ate more fruit than veggies. It was there in the lounge where we met a couple, a young Argentine couple who were also on their way to Buenos Aires. They turned out to be former San Francisco residents but who later moved to San Jose. During our chat, they advised us to be very vigilant during our visit to their hometown and to take all necessary precautions so that nothing untoward would happen. BA they say was crime ridden.

Upon our arrival at the airport in BA, we cleared immigration and customs very quickly. If I remember correctly it was very early in the morning when we arrived. As per the advice of previous visitors to BA on Tripadvisor, we took the cab by EZEIZA cab company. The very reputable company that shuttles passengers from BA airport to the city center. We found the booth outside the arrivals hall and we paid $45 cash for the 45 minute ride. We were given a voucher and told to wait for an employee who would take us to the parking lot where the company's cabs and drivers waited. Just like what we read in the reviews, this male employee who took passengers to the lot did ask for a tip. We gave him a dollar and he was fine with it Honestly, he did very little work. Once done, off we went to our hotel along the Avenida Corrientes, the NOVOTEL.

I was apprehensive at first that the hotel's check in staff would make us wait until two o'clock before we could go to the room. But not in this case. We were checked in as soon as we arrived and it wasn't even noon yet. Needless to say, we were very grateful and content. Novotel certainly earned points with us for this. As soon as we dropped our bags, we freshened up and the touring began.

Since we had no idea where the attractions were relative to the location of our hotel, we simply decided to walk around and take a look at what was around in our area. Since it was daytime, we didn't worry and to be honest, it felt safe.