[ed: if this is a repeat post, my apologies.]
The Aerolineas Argentinian lounge was really nice once I found it. They had snacks, drinks of various varieties, free wifi, and comfortable seats. I grabbed some sandwiches and a beer and camped out. The occupants were me and one other guy all the way at the other end of the lounge. It was 2 hours to boarding.
Just as I settle in a family from the US came in, louder than a flock of geese. The spread themselves out across seating for twice the number then proceeded to talk with each other. They’re obviously southerners, and not accustomed to the lounge scene. I snacked some more, but eventually I just packed up and left.
Yes, they were on my flight.
After buying some chocolate I headed to the gate. The area was crowded and poorly laid out. The boarding lanes were basically right up to rows of seats. There was a lot of staff there but no one seemed to run the show. They started letting some folks board before they made the boarding call. Then they did pre-boarding. Finally they did business class.
Flights originating overseas for the US requires yet another review of your papers and riffle through bags before you board the plane. As usual this is cursory and I few through.
Once on board it was clear the cabin crew was no better organized than the gate crew. They kept getting in each others way. They came around with coffee and tea before anyone had any cups, and it took that guy a few minutes to realize it. Different parts of the business class cabin got fed before others, or drinks before others, but in no rhyme nor reason I could fathom other than randomness.
I tried to give the cabin crew a box of chocolates but I couldn’t get and keep anyone’s attention long enough, so I gave up.
The plane itself was an old-style 767-300ER. The overhead bins were the old flat small kind. The seats were not lay flat. I don’t fit those seats very well when trying to sleep. It’s like I’m both too tall and not tall enough. Shen I shift to make my legs and knees have good support it hurts by back. When I shift down to help my back my feet hang over the end making them hurt. And forget about turning on your side. And it was warm in the cabin for the whole flight. Turning the air vent on did little to ameliorate.
I got maybe two hours of sleep on the plane.
The food and wine were great. I’ll do a write up and post pictures later.
A good illustration of the disorganized flight was as we were about to land. I don’t mean as they announced that we’d started our descent. I mean we were a few hundred feet off the ground and one of the cabin crew shouts, “Sir! You have to take your seat for landing!” The fellow dropped into his seat two beats before the wheels hit the tarmac.
I saw the flight attendants walk down the other isle twice, but no one walked down ours.
In ATL, the Global Entry/Global Traveler worked better than it ever has. There are 10 to 20 of the kiosks ready to go when you hit the immigration section. This was great because several other oversees flights arrive just before and just after our plane. I was through and waiting for the bags when our carrousel  kicked in.
My bag came off early, so I went to the transfer point, checked in for my flight, and tried to drop my bag where the woman told me to. Another staffer said, “You can’t do that here”. She said it while handing other peoples’ bags.
“You have to take it to the counter over there”, pointing to where I had just checked in.
The check-in kiosks are cordoned off in such a way that intuitively anyone would do the same thing I did. There was no direct path from the machine to the counter. And when I walked up no one was at the counter.
Anyway, I dropped my bag off and wandered in. I asked how to get to the new international terminal and was pointed up the escalators.
Terminal F looks nice. Nothing much was open at 6 AM yet, but I followed the signs up another escalator the the new Delta Sky Club.
This place is nice. There is a lot of room, a lot of light, and it is all brand new.
After I checked in I made my way to the showers. An agent was there to check me in to one of the rooms. She loaded me up with toothbrush and paste and mouthwash and a razor (much needed) and shaving creams and lotions and stuff. Shampoo and conditioner and body wash were waiting for me in the room, number 8.
As a note, number 7 apparently is the biggest one since it is made for handicapped use.
I took a shower, shaved, cleaned my teeth, and redressed. I felt so much better! I found a place to sit then grabbed some oatmeal and yogurt from the counter, some coffee from the machine, and a New York Times.
After that the lack of sleep started to catch up with me so I moved into the “Beats Lounge”, some co-branding thing that I think isn’t fully up and running yet. The chairs are big and recline somewhat with swivel work tables. I plugged in then took a 2 hour nap.
I woke to the sound of a loud southern woman talking. She sat with her friend just outside of my area. She talked on the phone, she talked to her friend, then the other friend, and her husband, and more on the phone.

I woke early to finish packing. The bottles of wine were my main concern as my luggage is soft sided. I debated shipping the bottles, but I think I packed them well. Everything fit in two bags still, but I used the fold-up backpack for some overflow.
Breakfast in the lounge was the same as ever.
I checked out. The concierge staff would pick up my bags from me room, so I headed downstairs. I had about an hour before the walking tour so I decided to take a different route to the meet-up.
For some bizarre reason I still cannot fathom I trusted the tourist map again. I picked the spot out for the meet-up in the lounge, but once I was on the road it wasn’t where the map said it would be. I knew where the tour was going, so I made for the first stop along the way.
I ended up walking the bits of the tour to the places I hadn’t been before. I never found the tour group but that was okay. I hoped a cab to the Cafe Tortoni, the heart of tango in BA. The place is decked out beautifully, and it is a site to see. The food and service were not so good, especially for the price. It is very touristy.
I took another taxi to the Recoleta Cemetery. I walked around the tombs for over an hour and would have stayed longer. It was overcast, windy, and cool. The effect was made more so by the surroundings. Next time I am here I will make every effort to spend more time here. There’s another cemetery that’s not so famous but is bigger that I may have to try, too.
From there it was time to start thinking about heading to the airport. I swung by the hotel for a cup of coffee and my bags. The drive to the airport was uneventful but for one thing.
The taxi drivers, men over a certain age, do the stations of the cross (am I getting that right?) every time a Catholic church was driven past or near by. The driver tot he airport was one such gentleman and he blessed himself probably six times on the way.
The airport was a bit of a mess. I couldn’t find the Delta counter, but that’s because it wasn’t there yet. A few staffers pointed me to a sign that looked somewhat Delta-ish without having the name or the logo. A woman looked me up, handed me a slip of paper (which no one wanted to look at after that), and had me stand in line.
After about 5 minutes, Delta agents showed up rolling carts. Their entire operation was contained within. Working feverishly they set up seven check-in counter stations in about 10 minutes. At first in line they took care of me quickly and I was off, bag checked only through to Atlanta as my Detroit flight was more than 6 hours after arrival in ATL.
Security, passport control, and customs were odd. The security line backed up because there were only two lanes open. Almost everyone who went through set of the metal detectors, necessitating the least impressive pat down ever.
Once through that you hit passport control. Two sets of lines to a bunch of open lanes. Sweet, I thought. But the left lane was serviced by stations 11 to 20 while the right (my line) was serviced by 2 and 6-10. When approaching it looks like the right has more lanes available. More lies!
Once I got all the way through that I had to walk about 15 minutes to terminal C to the Aerolineas Argentinian lounge.

I slept in this morning to a glorious 08:00. I grabbed a leisurely breakfast and puttered around on the computer.
I mellowed on last nights dinner. I was unhappy with the main concierge. That colored my assessment of the restaurant he strongly recommended. The food was overcooked and the fried provolone wasn’t nearly as good as what I had before, but it wasn’t a bad meal. I don’t thing Ive ever been in a restaurant that takes everything but Visa.
Today was going to be a light day. My legs needed a less punishing plan. I intended to take a walking tour at 5 and dinner at 9. Around 11 I headed to Calle Florida, a pedestrian thoroughfare with tons of shops along the route. I ended up at St. Martin at the end of the line and grabbed a coffee.  From there I wandered around for a bit looking for lunch options.
That was when I started feeling off. I was hungry but waves of light nausea come on. I was also a little dizzy. I walked into one little restaurant that was crowded with locals. As soon as I saw a plate for food I had to get out. It started to rain a little as I made my way back to the hotel. By the time I arrived a headache was hanging out right behind my left eye.
I had a migraine.
I have some pills for this but I can’t take them on en empty stomach. I wasn’t sure what food would do the best for me. I opted for empenadas and the “Hilton Hamburger”. I was nervous at first but they ended up being good choices. The burger, cooked to well done, was surprisingly delicious. The empenadas were small but tasty. My timing coming back was great as the rain really picked up. Soon the staff was done cleaning my room so I went up, stripped down, and popped my pill. I dozed a bit with the shades drawn and podcasts playing.
I’m not feeling 100% yet, so no booze in the lounge tonight. I missed the walking tour, though I covered over 60% of it already in my travels. There’s another different one tomorrow at 11 which will fit in with my last day nicely. I will keep my dinner reservation at Fervor in Recoleta. Cara at Anuva Wines recommended it, and the five Texans from the tasting already ate there. I am getting the seafood as my beef quotient is off the charts.