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Published: January 19th 2007
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Buenas Aires
Madre Apasionada BUENAS AIRES.- a bigger city with a bigger city feel. Paris of South America? (I wonder how many Parisiens call their town the BA of Europe?) Certainly it´s very European, some magnificent architecture and a very sophisticated ambience so the Paris metaphor isn't delusional and in fact quite apt.
I once heard a riddle. How do you make money in Argentina? You buy an Argentinian for what he´s worth and then sell him for what he thinks he´s worth. HARSH, but a little more pertinent in BA than in other parts of Argentina we´ve seen. There´s certainly no overt display of ego, just a sense of style and joie de vivre - if that´s ego.
Apart from it´s similarities to Madrid or Paris, the city also shares a number of parallels with parts of Sydney.
San Telmo - Woollhara
La Recoleta - Double Bay
Puerto Madero - Cockle Bay
Palermo - Botanic Gardens.
La Boca - Everleigh St Redfern!!
LA BOCA - rough and ready, hang on to your day pack kind of place. However in the middle of it all is this enclave of a few blocks called El Caminito. It´s unashamedly tourist driven, replete with tour buses (are we
Buenas Aires
Share the Wealth the only fools who walked in), hawkers, inflated prices, mega kitsch merchandising, faux tango and a huge police presence - I love it.
I´d better leave some room for Penny, so in a nutshell for BA - fabulous city. Great restaurants, cafes, bars, layout, classy and amicable people, abuzz with life. Love the dog walkers who drag along up to 12 hounds at a time. Love crossing 9 de Julio (the widest avenue in the world) after breakfast and arrive the other side in time for lunch. Loved the BBQ last night with all the other folk in our hostel munching on Brontosaurus burgers. Loved sipping a glass of Malbec in this ecclectic little bar in San Telmo where I did the same thing 20 years ago - Ahhh memories.
Bidet update - (get the pun) - unless you have a particularly nasty mess to clean up, you have a backside three barn doors wide, a rock solid constitution or any combination of the three - AVOID THE TURBO FLUSH!!!!
Gary
BA - a highlight thus far. A city that offers something for everyone. I have loved BA. The definite showpieces for me are:-
-fashion - the emergence of
La Boca
El Caminito the thong boot. A boot attached to a thong. From a distance they look like a colourful sock worn with matching thongs. I can´t see these taking off in OZ.
- the dog walkers. The neat procession of young fit guys walking up to 10 or 12 dogs orderly through the busiest parts of the city. Even the dogs get to window shop in the trendiest places.
- the people ,full of life and passion.
- and finally yesterday we witnessed the Mothers of the lost children. From the dirty war of the 70s marching around the Plaza de Mayo. Really touching to see their perserverance and passion for their cause after 30 years of Ghandi like passive protest.
Penny
More images at:
www.colvinyeates.zenfolio.com
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