Buenos Aires, Argentina

Sometimes evenings have a life of their own, where the mischievous spirits come to life and lead you astray on random adventures, bringing a whole heap of craziness to the party. Tonight's spirit is named Lisa and we dance to her fantastic tune long, long into the night, finding the dark, sexy, vibrant pulse of Buenos Aires flowing through our veins.

It all started last week when Emma in our office suggested I hook up with one of her best friends who now lives in Buenos Aires. Lisa moved here less than a year ago to work for MTV and is now also a travel journalist and TV scriptwriter. She knows the secrets of the city and her mission is to reveal them to us.

So with the interviews postponed until tomorrow and the band opting for a quiet night in rather than the expected dinner with us, Alex and I are at a loose end which means when Lisa meets us for a drink in the bar we ask her to recommend somewhere to eat. With a million suggestions at her fingertips and with Alex already lining up the most potent Black Russians - neat rocket-fuel in a glass - we decide that a night out is on the cards.

Lisa informs us that Palermo Hollywood is the area to explore and she knows just the place - Miranda's, the best steakhouse in town which has "buena onda"; a great vibe. I get the concierge to book us a table and we grab Todd who's finally getting a night off and head outside the hotel to hail a cab. The crowd of fans start cheering wildly when they see us, recognising by now that we must have once shaken a guitarist's hands or bought the singer a drink, and within seconds Lisa has jumped into the middle of the sea of faces who all go nuts as we snap a few photos. Laughing at the fantastic craziness of it all we hop into a cab and off we go, weaving through the city to the coolest neighbourhood.

Miranda's lives up to its billing. A low lit funky restaurant with a Texan/New Mexico adobe vibe, it's full of beautiful waiters and cool customers and we're shown to a table up on the balcony. The menu is proferred and in amongst some slightly less than appetising options ('Entrails Mix', anyone?) Lisa points out the finest cuts of meat and soon we're chowing down on yet more cow and quaffing Argentinian Malbec.

Despite this being one of the coolest restaurants in the hippest part of town, the entire meal with wine, comes to only £15 a head, thanks to a phenomenal exchange rate. In fact, Buenos Aires seems to be one of the cheapest cities to party in, thanks to the currency collapse ten years ago and the recession sending prices tumbling again. We can live like kings on a pauper's salary, which is a rather fine discovery... if not necessarily the happiest for Argentinians when they travel abroad.

Around 11pm we hear from John who has finally worked through all the photos he's had to deliver back to the UK from the gigs the band have just done in Brazil, and he's up for a drink so we leave the restaurant and wander a few blocks to Isabel, "the most beautiful bar in Buenos Aires", where he joins us. Apparently Bono held court in Isabel's when U2 were in town last week, and it's indeed very swish, with incredible mirrored bathrooms... but a little lacking in atmosphere. Porteños, as Buenos Aireans are known, don't start going out until midnight so us northern Europeans (and Todd our American cousin) are way ahead of the curve by having already had dinner and hitting the bar.

After a round of cocktails we venture into the courtyard at the back so John can suck on his beloved B+Hs and there we meet some other British friends of Lisa's, Simon and Alex, who are in town working as the film crew following Katie Price for her Sky Living reality show. It transpires that she's been in Buenos Aires to meet her new Argentinian boyfriend's family, with every moment captured on film. Well, not every moment! Some of the tales we are told are so hair-raising there's no way they'll make it to the screen.

Jordan has 'sadly' had to return to the UK ahead of schedule so Simon and Alex have got a couple of unexpected free days in Buenos Aires and in the mood for letting their hair down now their subject has disappeared. So it's lucky that as we sit outside some promo girls appear handing out free shots of tequila to us all, fuelling the mischievous vibe of the evening and sending us into a spirit-driven charge towards the witching hours.

More and more drinks are consumed and at some point Simon sits on a concrete seat which collapses beneath him, sending him sprawling. Helpless with laughter we judge it a good time to leave and explore where the night shall take us.

By now it's gone 1.30am and we're walking across a railroad separating Palermo Hollywood from a more edgy part of town, where the desolate streets are more like the rough districts of downtown LA. Alert with the alcohol, it feels like unseen eyes are watching our every move, and this part of Buenos Aires is notorious for the late-night muggings of unsuspecting tourists who've wandered away from the bright lights.

Fortunately Lisa knows where we're going and ahead of us a big building glows neon red against the night sky, named Ferona. Hidden inside it is a secret party; a house owned by a young chef who throws fabulous meals for select guests before opening the doors to those in the know, and partying on until dawn. Lisa has been to one of these parties before and assures us we'll be welcome and sure enough Agustin, the long-haired chef and party host, waves us in and hands us beers, telling us to enjoy ourselves as the music cranks higher and higher.

We look around and drink in the scene. Funky art is on the bare brick walls, a fabulous kitchen has people lounging round in, like some bohemian movie, a DJ is spinning classic tunes in the living room which extends onto an open air terrace where people are dancing with the city laid out below.

Agustin tells us he's worked in the US, Brazil and Ibiza while others tell us he's one of the best chefs in Argentina. And if his food is a good as his parties then we'd be back every night.

Trendy boys in trilbys and moustaches tango and grind up close and personal with their hipster girls, sensual and sexy with a sense of Latin rhythm we can only dream of. Everyone's smiling and laughing, the balmy evening is magical and dangerous and this is without a shadow of a doubt one of the most happening house parties we've all been to in years. There's a real sense that anything could happen.

Soon the DJ starts spinning everything from Chic and Blondie to Aretha and the Rolling Stones, each track driven along by irresistible basslines which the young, beautiful scenesters get lost in raptures to. We've no idea where we are but right now this is the coolest place in Buenos Aires with an illicit sense of abandonment.

By 3am Alex and Todd are fading and make a discreet exit but Lisa, John, Simon and I are in our element, lost in the moment and celebrated as guests of honour by Agustin, who it transpires is a huge metal fan. When we promise him we'll get him on the guestlist tomorrow he almost keels over with gratitude. It's the least we can do considering the fun we're having.

But all good things must come to an end and eventually, with the party still in full swing, John and I head back to the hotel. It's almost 6am by the time I crawl into bed, thanking the Lord the room has blackout curtains. It's been a full 24 hours since I got up and we have interviews due to start in a matter of hours. I'm going to need to get some sleep, despite the blush of dawn in the sky. Let's hope the hangover isn't too harsh.