We’re abandoning our plan to visit Montevideo and Uruguay. We’ve been on the road for nearly a month, and the constant packing and unpacking, the airports and the chaos have worn us down. We’ve decided to stay three more nights in Buenos Aires before a trip to Iguazu Falls and Brazil. We’ll Uber to a new hotel this afternoon, after a final lunch with Doug and Kip.

After a good night’s sleep we walk to Western Union for a currency exchange, then stop at a corner coffee shop for cappuccino and croissants. It’s already hot, but may be less humid. We then tour the nearby Japanese garden before walking to Don Julio for lunch.

We walk through another garden along the way, and meander through. The shade feels good and the walk is pleasant.

Don Julio is an institution in Buenos Aires, and they play it up. A free glass of champagne on arrival, waiters handing you a cloth napkin using tweezers, a wine list five pages long. It’s over the top, and it’s expensive. On telling our hotel clerk we were going to Don Julio, his response was “Why you go there? It’s too expensive ! ” we eye the menu carefully and find we can make a good lunch out of a couple of salads, empanadas, and fries along with one of their cheapest bottles of wine. The food is good, the waiters are no doubt disappointed.

After the lunch and a short walk to a park, we say goodbye to Doug and Kip. They’ve gotten more bad travel news, their train to Albany has been cancelled. At least their flight to JFK is on time.

We then Uber back to our old hotel, grab our bags and Uber to the new place Palacio Paz Hotel, which is in a nice part of the city near Plaza General San Martin. Time to get some clothes washed.