At the historic El Ateneo Grand Splendid book shop in Buenos Aires, I'm engrossed in a tourist paperback about Argentina. Transfixed, I thumb through all the different natural places this country has to offer. I look at colourful, varied landscapes and enormous waterfalls.
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To anyone else, I'm one of hundreds of dumbstruck, selfie-taking visitors, roaming the bookstore, browsing, standing in line, having an aperitif. We're all here to see what was once a multi-story theatre. Built in 1919, El Ateneo later became a radio station, then a cinema and as of the year 2000, with a couple of million dollar renos, it became an incredible bookshop with over 120,000 titles to choose from including DVDs, CDs and records. El Ateneo is often listed as one of the world's best bookshops, and I couldn't agree more.
I've been in Buenos Aires for more than a week. It's my second time here, and I couldn't wait to return. Until this tourism book, I barely considered beyond the city limits; I love what's already on offer. This bookshop is a short bus ride from where I'm staying. I am content to stroll through the leafy, windy, sunny metropolis, admiring the fantastic street art and drinking cheap, abundant malbec
I'm here visiting my brother for three weeks, and I've arrived at an interesting time. In December Argentinians elected a new president, Javier Milei - a controversial, libertarian, right-winger who promises to bring "shock treatment" to the economy.
I don't understand what's going on with inflation, but I do know that my brother, myself and many others walk around with rubber-band-wrapped, enormous stacks of cash to pay for the most basic things. Argentina is a good place to be for anyone with American dollars, like my brother, an American citizen.
It's not so great for the Argentinians. I ask his Argentinian girlfriend what she thinks of the new president, and she says she likes him. "A change", she says.
I read about big protests in the streets. In wealthy Palermo where my brother pays much less than I do in Newcastle for a flat twice the size, so far, everything is "muy tranquilo". The day after I arrived, I enjoyed "maté" in the park with his friends. It was a communal ceremony that reminded me of smoking a joint, if the joint were a legal, stimulating tea, sipped through a metal straw from a gourd-like container.
A few days later we went to La Boca where I saw the huge stadium so worshipped by sports fans. Argentinian football legend Lionel Messi's face is common in Argentinian street art.
Reading about Argentina while standing in its most epic bookshop, I'm overwhelmed. I want to read every single page.
Unique to Buenos Aires
On New Year's Eve we took an Uber to La Plata to witness the historic "Burning of the dolls" or "la quema de munecos". At 2:30am four enormous cartoon-character dolls were set on fire, symbolising a clean slate and new beginnings. This tradition happens all over Latin America. To see it in Argentina, you must go to La Plata.
