Buenos Aires and Holidays part 1

     At 10 on the 24th we took a cab to the main square and found it deserted.  It seems like we had just missed the ceremony of placing the baby into the nativity scene, and everybody was leaving.  So we walked around a new part of the city and came across a church that was closed and covered with cockroaches, and across a street filled with peñas so we sat at one for maybe 30 minutes and listened to the music and sipped wine (my parents) and coca cola (me).  There was a singer with an amazing voice, and a violinist playing a lefty violin.  
     A little after 11.00 we walked back to the square and stepped into the cathedral for the midnight mass.  Only stuck around for about 15 minutes, but I think we got a flavor of the service: two people, a man and a woman, alternated reading passages in spanish, and this was interspersed with singing.  
     At midnight people shot off fireworks and lit floating lanterns to send up into the night.  It was beautiful, but while we were still in the heart of the city somewhat overwhelming.  When we finally found a cab our way was blocked by explosions in the smoke-filled streets, and we stopped frequently.  From our rooms we had a brilliant view of the city, and it was a while before we tore ourselves away and went to bed.
     Christmas I had been dreading a little but it was so much fun, even if it felt like some random day we chose to give eachother presents on rather than a holiday.  We skyped with Ohioan family which was really fun, ate cold sesame noodles, played cribbage, and watched the matrix.  
     Yesterday we spent most of the morning packing up, then took a plane to Buenos Aires.  It left almost an hour late, but was less than two hours and the airport wasn't awful.
     We arrived at the height of rush hour and it took us a while to get to our apartment, but it wasn't too late and we settled in quickly.  Dinner was fresh-made pasta and some delicious dulce-de-leche ice cream.
      This morning my parents slipped out early and went for a walk.  Later we all went out, and walked over to the canals.  Stopped in at a travel agency to make plans for the rest of Argentina, then back through the city.  It was a long walk; we were gone for almost 4 hours, but the city is very beautiful and, apparently, very European.
     On a lot of the street corners there are goofy statues of people to pose with and take pictures.  I do not have my camera connector thingy now, but I will make a post this evening with pictures.