Day 1: Getting settled in Buenos Aires

Day 1:
After I landed and got to my hotel in Buenos Aires, the fear of the unknown quickly changed to the unbridled enthusiasm of getting to explore a foreign new land. Also, as hoped for and expected, my poorly maintained Spanish skills began to roar back to full power as I returned to speaking almost exclusively in Spanish.
Although I was very tired from my long trip and sleeping on the plane, I went out for a quick look outside, which, of course, turned into a long walk around. The hotel was across the street from a Buenos Aires landmark, The Obelisk:

The area around my hotel, the Centro, was a little gritty but still very appealing. As I walked around the city I began to take in the large scope of the place, and was pleasantly surprised by what I saw with every turn of the corner. As luck would have it, I stumbled upon one of the principal landmarks of Buenos Aires, La Casa Rosada, the official presidential mansion of Argentina:

As luck would continue to have it, I befriended two students who were preparing for their final exam in a degree in Argentinian Tourism. As I joked with Alejandro (somos tacayos, which in Spanish means we have the same name) and Florencia, it was as if I had not one but two private guides to show me around. Here we are together:

 We then continued on to the Museum of the Casa Rosada, which was impressive architecturally, and had an excellent mural which covered the walls, ceiling, and floor of a chamber. Unfortunately, pictures were not permitted inside the chamber. The museum had us put on "booties", pictured above, so the floor would not get scuffed up.
All in all it was quite an eventful first day to my South American journey, and I expect plenty more good times ahead!
Below are a couple more photos from the day, including me telling Argentina "not to cry for me":