Day Trip Out of Buenos Aires - Tigre

Outside of Buenos Aires in Tigre

My ridiculous "roughing it" outfit, and the show girl's dog

This could be a Riverboat Queen on the muddy Mississippi

Throwback to the the British rowing clubs



Walking by the river on pavement, a walk in the country city style!

Boats like the vaporettas in Venice

I have been to Buenos Aires a few times, and never managed to find the time or the desire to leave the city limits. Well actually I have gone just over the city line a few times to go a favorite tango dance hall.
Everyone asks me: "Did you see the falls? Did you go to an estancia (gaucho ranch)? Did you see the penguins in Patagonia?" And feeling somewhat like an idiot, I say, duh, no. Really I am a city rat, and there is just too much good stuff to do in the city.
We had a free Sunday, and good friends who have a nice roomy car (this is very important to me, having been stuck piled in the back seat of small sagging sedans with the family kids), asked us if we would like to go to Tigre.
Tigre is a delta region, with five rivers. It is about a 45 minute drive from Buenos Aires. It is a favorite day trip for anyone who lives in or visits the city. It is accesible by an easy train ride, so you don't need a car.
Our hostess said we would walk along the river, a kind of day in the country. Mmmmmm. I had to scramble for a wardrobe choice. I brought mostly urban chic clothes to wear, no jeans, no sneakers (which I don't wear anyway). So I wore some leggings with a dress over, ballet flats, and little wrap sweater. Of course I carried my oversize Kelly bag with all the things the hubs and I might need. I was prepared to suffer roughing it on the walk by the river in the delta in this get-up. My host and hostess looked adorable. She had on boots, and a gaucho style hat and jeans. He had a safari style hat and jeans. The hubs never wears jeans, and wore slacks and an untucked shirt. Another lady and friend of our hosts came along. She was spectacular! She's a former famous Argentine show girl and movie star. She wore a denim pants suit, and carried a tiny white fluff of a Maltese dog. Mmmmmm. My kind of gal.
So we get to Tigre, and it turns out to be this very charming small city, with antique buildings (including The Buenos Aires Rowing Club a throwback to the time when the English were a huge influence in Argentina). Every place in the world reminds you of someplace else, and Tigre reminds me of the canal cities Venice, Amesterdam, and Utrecht, AND a little bit of the brown water Mississippi River. Tigre is a cute riverfront with all kinds of boat rides, a huge casino, a huge amusement park AND streets and streets of rows and rows of outdoor flea market style shopping!!!! K-ching!!!!!