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Published: March 27th 2008
statue
just showing you one statue of the many that are on every street in the cityHowdy All,
Nick typing here. So Rin and I have been pretty busy as of late, and regularly away from our email and web access with quite a bit of trekking, but lets do a blog in rewind and start with a quick recap of our week in Buenos Aires. Long enough to take a real liking to the place but unfortunately short enough to possibly make us come back for more.
Buenos Aires (BA) is an interesting collection of opulent european-style architecture, busy streets, large parks & gardens, poor neighbourhoods and suburbs that feel like your back in the 40s. The first thing you notice when arriving is the need to pack a lunch when crossing the 11 lane streets that run through parts of the city. You really have to heed the advice of the little green man and get a good stride going. Dont feel disheartended if turning traffic is nipping at your heels, just stick to your guns, and travel in packs. A lone street crosser feels very naked in all that moving metal and rubber. We did however take a liking to the very regular and cheap buses that meant you could go virtually
architecture
buildings like these as a result of the jesuit and other influences are common sights anywhere in the city easily and quickly.
What we probably loved the most about BA was the great little cafes and bohemian feel of where we stayed in San Telmo, just south of the city centre. The streets were dotted with small art stores, antique dealers, hat stores and book shops - not to mention the numerous cafes and restaurants with their ancient bars, tables and parafinalia.
We had a favourite which you can see the amazing bar and beautiful copper coffee machine. A beautiful meal of steaks, salads, wine and beer can set you back just under A$30 for two. More shots included of some of the things we saw during our stay.
BA is one of the locations where a lot of foreigners spend a month taking private lessons in spanish. Its quite cheap and there are a plethora of teachers.
Tango is the other thing that i should mention is big in BA. Rin, myself and Kem, a friend of ours, went along to a Milonga where the locals go to dance tango and had a great night. Unfortunately we didnt get a chance to take the tango lessons prior to the dance,
park full of cats
At least 20 cats in a small park.. why? we dont know but we managed to sneak covertly around the dance floor using the long 1, long 2 short 1, 2, 3 step psuedo tango that we created. Word of recommendation... flip flops for the ladies are not a good tango shoe.
Rin here - To make up for not making it to a football game in Rio we made our own way out to River Plate stadium on Sunday afternoon - River Plate v San Martin. What a crazy afternoon! We decided to sit in the 'populares' section of River Plate (cheaper tickets and more of the locals go there) and had come prepared with basically nothing so it wouldn't be stolen. We'd arrived super early to ensure we could get a ticket and proceeded to sit in the baking sun without so much as sunglasses! As the stadium filled up, the chanting, banner unfurling and jumping began. I think I ended up watching the crowd more than the game! After a very close first half we were scoffing down our 'helgados' (b/c icecream and coke was about all you could buy!) when the clouds that had been building began to drench us in rain. So after a couple of
narrow street in BA
These streets run across the whole of BA with a mishmash of busses taxis etc. The bus network is great once you get the hang of it. 30c a trip. Though taxis are cheap at $5 minutes we were soaked through and the ground turned into a slip n slide! Thankfully River Plate won (just) which made sitting out in the rain, squishing our way onto the overcrowded bus and driving through the flooded streets of Palermo all the more fun!
more posts coming...
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