Buenos Aires here we come !....
Its now official - the programme and costs for the 2006 Carnival are finalized. All the details can be found at  Carnival Programme and Costs page. We hope you agree that the costs represent extraordinary value for money.
    

Don't take our word for it ?.
What makes Buenos Aires so special for a World Vintage Rugby Carnival ? Well don't  take our word for it - get it straight from a former New Zealander who now is proud to call Buenos Aires his home. Allan Falck is co-owner of Sundance Spirit the company we have selected to be the Carnival Ground Operator. You will meet him and the Sundance team in a later newsletter ?in the meantime read on and share some of the passion Allan has for Argentina and Buenos Aires which he calls  city extraordinaire.  MORE>>

 The best kept value for money secret on the global travel radarscope
So what is it that makes Buenos Aires so special?

First off it probably is a good idea to highlight the value of your currency versus the Argentine Peso (within a cent or two) as not only Buenos Aires, but Argentina overall has to be the best kept value for money secret on the global travel radarscope.

1 SA Rand = 0.50 ARS Pesos
1 NZ Dollar = 2.10 ARS Pesos
1 AUS dollar = 2.25 ARS Pesos
1 CAD Dollar = 2.40 ARS Pesos
1 USD = 3.00 ARS Pesos
1 EURO = 4.00 ARS Pesos
1 UK Pound = 5.50 ARS Pesos

A one litre bottle of beer costs ARS2.50.
A 750ml bottle of glorious Malbec red wine cost no more than ARS15
A 6km taxi ride costs ARS 8 including the tip
A pair of exceptional hand-stitched men’s leather shoes costs no more than USD75

Women’s fashion shoes run from USD20 upwards, but to pay USD50 will deliver exquisite quality.

Hand-tailored leather jackets, custom designed leather trousers, vests, full length kid-glove leather coats and bags, all at a fraction of the price you’d pay at home.

Tipping is not expected, but is accepted as long as the service receiver believes they have been given good service? What’s more, service here is a profession & is delivered with style.

Service tips should never exceed 10% of the total invoice for food & beverages or taxi rides. To do so will spoil it for others.

Adorned by grand public buildings, theatres & resplendent museums, Buenos Aires, whilst catering to a street-side crowd, also rightly boasts an array of excellent fine dining restaurants with a world leading reputation for variations of steak.

Dining out is different here in so much as you’ll need to get used to eating later than you normally do. Most restaurants are empty at 9pm, have a smattering of patrons by 10pm, then by 11pm you’ll be faced with a line-up outside and a packed house within.

As well you are in for a wonderful surprise as dining out here not only is as good as you will find anywhere, but you will pay a fraction of the cost for the same meal as you would in NZ, Australia, Canada, the USA, let alone Europe or the UK.

For a slap-up top of the line three course quality dinners for four people, inclusive of three bottles of wine, bottled waters, tea & coffee be prepared to outlay the princely sum of USD$21 per person USD$23 with a tip included.

In many nations you can buy a half-decent bottle of wine for that price, let alone dinner, wines and the works.

If it is born with 4 legs in this nation, the beast shouldn't contemplate becoming a teenager. No chance of that happening.

Instead, it will end up being served on a platter that pales into insignificance compared to the size of the menu along with a separate platter of whatever fresh vegetables, baked potato, marrow or greens one may wish to indulge.

Equally sumptuous are the different ways of presenting pork, poultry & fresh fish dishes, but it is the steaks that the country stands head & shoulders above all others & is world renowned for.

But, the trick is to leave a space for deserts as whether it be the Swiss, German, French of Belgium influence, desert offerings here most definitely wouldn't  grace any Jenny Craig diet recommendation but what the heck, they're as good as it gets & so what, you only live once !

Then to further highlight the amazing value for money to be found, the wide choice of quality shopping goods for sale is also quite rightly heralded as being the best in South America, especially for leather goods, shoes, clothes & textiles.

For shopping, the three main areas are the pedestrian mall along Calle Florida, Avenida Santa Fe & within the central city, the boutiques of Galeria Pacifico.

Avenida Santa Fe which runs for multiple city blocks also caters for all tastes & so too the upper echelon of clothing & footwear boutiques to be found in Barrio Norte on Avenida Alvear, are not easily passed over.

Everywhere you look there is value for money !

Two good reasons to enter the 2006 Carnival now ! ....
Entry to the 2006 World Vintage Rugby Carnival will be limited to the first 80 visiting teams to complete the entry process. We have 6 teams already either entered or waiting for this newsletter. Three teams from the USA were the first to pre-register - the New York Vintage Whines, Les Archiball USA, and Battleship USA. They were closely followed by messages confirming that the Bastard Eagles (Australia), the Sevenoaks Accorns (England) and the Union Bulldogs (South Africa) were all intending to enter.

The good news reason for entering as soon as possible is the fantastic early bird entry prize that some lucky team who enters before August 1, 2005 will win. The prize is a stunning evening out for 20 people. The evening includes round-trip transfers from your hotel, a professional Tango Show and a three course dinner inclusive of wine and soft drinks.

Who needs more attractive reasons to enter now >>.

From Here and There....

• US Army Lt Col Colin Miller, Ct, a surgeon by day in Iraq and Vintage Rugby player when he has a moment attended last year’s World Vintage Rugby Carnival in Limerick, Ireland. He wrote recently to tell everyone about the rugby scene in Iraq. The good news is that there are growing numbers of rugby players in this country and the number of security contractors is growing by leaps and bounds. That means there are Kiwis, Aussies, Afrikaaners, Irishmen and Brits everywhere. Mike Hickey (prop) is the PA at the Embassy and has met some ruggers on the DOS/contractor side of the street. There is an Australian Army contingent on Kirkuk Air Base (KRAB) that I've yet to make contact with, and I'm ferreting out the Army players slowly but surely. There is a boot around and maybe even a touch match looming. If I can't find enough players, my unit will 'volunteer'. All in the interests of spreading the gospel of the game they play in Heaven, of course. Colin invites Vintage Rugby players to drop him a line at colin.miller@us.army.mil  Colin also provided us with a link to his photo album from the Limerick Carnival where he played with the Bustard Eagles side. Visit the photo album at: http://www.PictureTrail.com/gid6508956&PATHID
• Check out what Newsweek recently said about Buenos Aires  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6919967/site/newsweek/
• Read about Des Pastore, Britains oldest player, who still gets a kick about playing rugby  http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/rugby_special/4258573.stm
• Old Rugger is a website worth visiting - http://www.oldrugger.com

A chance to treasure the moment...
If you attended the Limerick Carnival and your camera malfunctioned or you couldn’t be in Limerick but would like to see what happened there are two things you can do:

• Michael Johnson (the photographer with Les Archiball USA) took literally hundreds of photos of the week and has loaded them onto his website http://mejphoto.easyphotoview.com  (choose the 'Augusta Rugby Club' category). They are available to buy so take a look at this interesting website.
• You can also contact him at mejphoto@aol.com The official carnival DVD is ready. It features highlights of the matches and both social functions. The cost of this great souvenir of the Limerick Carnival is only Euro25 which includes postage and packaging. Ph: +353 61 309581 (Evenings Irish Time )Mob: +353 86 3894979 (Day Irish Time)E-mail: vteditor@vodafone.ie
  Enquiries to McGuire Media - 41 Rosnaree, Church Hill Meadows, Raheen, Limerick, Ireland.