Argentina

The travel changes were definitely for the better - Buenos Aires is one of the best cities I have visited. Great for architecture, atmosphere, partying, meeting backpackers, and ex-girlfriends!

Thanks to Adam, I had a ticket to watch the football game of my life: Argentina vs Brazil in a top two table World Cup qualifier. What a game. After being called 'gringo' and no doubt being sworn at in many Spanish dialects for being a serious white minority, the game got underway and the Argies were 3-0 up at half time. What a dream. Of course Roberto Carlos had something to say about this with one of his ferocious and mesmorising free kicks - we had it all that night.

Walking into Milhouse in a state of euphoria soon turned into, well, something else as I saw Claire and Alison sat playing cards! Strange to see the ex again, but we got on good and had a fun couple of days eating perhaps the best steak I've ever eaten and actually getting of our arses and seeing some of the city.

The final few days were spent playing five-a-side football in the afternoons before convening at the hostel to see where the evening's shenanigans would take us. Meeting countless people at Milhouse ensured we'd have a good night every night. And if we weren't going out, the laptop would make an appearance as we all sat down to watch the OC. Paul and Dana loved it as we sat down in our threes to catch up on Orange County's latest scandal. I'm sure Izzy enjoyed it, too.

So after the late nights or early mornings, footballing afternoons, 4 peso pizzas, and partying nights, it was time to say goodbye to a situation in which one could find themselves stuck in for longer than a week, and head over to Brazil, to Copacabana beach, and another sodding language. Bacana!