I certainly got a workout today having walked from my hostel to central Buenos Aires to join a walking tour. A little over 14 miles in all.

I met my guide and a small group of other tourist at the iconic obelisk which marks the center of the city. If you happened to watch the NEWS during Argentina's celebration of their World Cup victory, you will recognize the obelisk. Over a million people crowded into the central plaza during a weeklong blowout which helped the country temporarily forget about its economic woes.

My tour guide, Andres, referred to Buenos Aires as the "Paris of South America". I've never been to Paris but I am really enjoying Argentina's premier city. It has an eclectic assortment of architectural styles. I think that in the 20th century, Buenos Aires wanted to be Paris but actually it has many influences.

Since I arrived in the capital, I have been wondering why I have been having more difficulty understanding people's Spanish. Andres explained that the city had a massive migration of Italians in the early 1900s and the local language has many Italian words and idioms. After Andres pointed this out I could hear it in his accent. Add to this that Buenos Aries thinks of itself as the capital of pizza and there are pasta restaurants everywhere.

After the tour I stopped into a famous pizzeria that had been operating for over 90 years. It had a massive wood fired pizza oven the size of a one car garage. It was made of thick steel and said "US BOILER WORKS 1932" on the side of it. The restaurant was huge and sat over 200 people at one time. The pizza had a thick doughy crust and an equally thick layer of cheese. I thought the atmosphere was amazing but I wasn't impressed with the pizza. Sorry Buenos Aires.

During the tour, Andres gave quite the history lesson. It was a little too loaded with the names of generals and dates of revolutions for me to recall but let's just say that Argentina has had a rough road to get to where it is now. Even with its runaway inflation, the city is a vibrant cultural center featuring over 100 performing arts theaters. It also has many tango dancing ballrooms, parks and green spaces, not to mention more than a dozen sports stadiums. Of the cities I have visited on this trip, I find Buenos Aries to be the most interesting and livable. It has a very young and energetic vibe with many unique and walkable neighborhoods. All of which are filled with the most amazing variety of restaurants, cafes and bars. I'm not sure how everyone looks so fit with all of the gelato, empanadas and pasta.