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Monday, Raimund is okay but Rhondda and I are still suffering, however  we have things to do. So went to the post office and bought stamps to post the cards home. Looked at some shops and then home for a quiet siesta to try and get right for the big night out.

After fasting all day we can go out with out having to worry about the deli belly. Got the metro at 7.30pm and arrived at the Colon theatre. As we waited outside the dignitaries arrived in flash cars with pomp and ceremony in their flash suits. The Berlin Symphonic were playing to a silent movie about Berlin in the 1920s. The land marks had been bombed out in the 2^nd world war but we recognised some of the names.

There was a guard of honour for the Mayor of Berlin and Buenos Aires it seems this is a reciprocal thing between the 2 cities, we were lucky to get an invite. This theatre is very popular and booked out for months in advance.

An interesting thing they do is to let young people stand around the sides of the theatre and just before the performance was about to begin the empty seats were allotted to these people; seemed a good idea.

The theatre blew us away built from marble and the interior was lavish with the boxes about 6 high and the huge central light recess had beautiful paintings around it. You could imagine when Argentine was a rich country the people coming here and enjoying the operas.

Just as the dignitaries we about to speak some protesters who had got into a private box and dropped a black sheet with writing on it over the balcony. They were protesting about some legislation the Mayor was putting through they wore masks over their faces and threw pieces of paper and balloons down on the audience it was amazing how long it took to remove them.

The people here seem very accepting of these protesters; there was also a protest outside the Government building when we got off the metro on our way to the show.

Raimund has given us some tablets to get rid of the lurgy. We called off our 40^th wedding anniversary dinner as we were not confident of eating a meal and are flying to Salter on the weekend.

Well 40 years, who would believe it. Its times like these that you miss the family and friends back home but we could not have 2 better friends to celebrate with. So it was a quiet night with another great meal at Raimund and Antonio’s place.

Today we did some more walking around the town and then in the afternoon it was off to pistol shooting at the Buenos Aries Police shooting range. We had received an invitation through Raimund to join one of his colleagues who was into pistol shooting in a big way.

So after meeting at the German Embassy we all set off for the range and on arrival it was within a large area surrounded with 10meter high concrete walls. Inside was a grassed area and at one end of concrete building with a number of Cop’s lounging around and leaning on cars out side the entrance.

On going inside we set up with a number of pistols and commenced to blaze away at a target. I could not get over the bad feeling of this place and when Raimund’s friends wife arrived she also said every time she came here she had a bad feeling about the place. Certainly it gave us the feeling that something bad had happened here in Argentina’s grime past. As eye protection was required I had to use the shades. Light was a problem but still got a few bulls eyes.

Thursday was party night at Raimund and Antonios place for 30 work colleagues and there was great activity as Antonio prepared the food and Raimund set out the house for the guests.

They were treated to a variety of dishes the recipes of which Antonio had picked up in each country they have lived in, and with each meal there was an interesting story of where it had originated. The paella seemed the favourite, and the whole salmon looked spectacular and tasted just as good. What an amazing cook he is.