Ferrari´s and weed whackers - one city block

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Order a Ferrari, then step across the street and buy a weed whacker. This is diversity. Everything you need or want in walking distance. At home in Alaska I have to get on a small plane just to browse a bookstore or visit a bakery. In Buenos Aires it´s all here, at your toe-tips.

Lets take a walk around one city block, four sides of a square - a single block on Avenue Uruguay, and a rather small one at that.

The hardware store across from the Ferrari dealership has it all, we can buy a weed whacker or an ax or a drill. If we forget something that´s OK because we will pass two or three other hardware stores along the way. Turning the corner a narrow entrance-way leads to the offices and classrooms of a small university. Down a bit are the offices of a branch of the Ministry of Justice. Next door is a narrow little shop containing over 20 sets of professional Pearl Drums and symbols for sale. The next shop sells samurai swords and Glocks. Then a couple shops selling stage lighting and sound equipment. Continuing on there are a couple outdoor stores selling fishing equipment and camping gear fit for a wilderness expedition. Then there´s a pharmacy with all the drugs we´d ever want. Need a new desktop computer or a full rack for the network setup or some high tech video surveillance equipment? No problem, there´s a couple of shops to choose from. Don´t miss the a bakery with pastries to die for. Other shops along the way include: cafes, candy stores, a news stand, a trophy shop, eye glasses shop, a jewelry store, a sign shop, a cell phone shop, a language school, photocopy shop, unisex barber, a book store and a shop that seems to specialize in children shoes. Had we arrived by car there are at least 3 parking garages to choose from. Near our starting point there´s a fresh fruit stand with an awesome selection of perfect veggies and a small appliance store where we can make that spontaneous refrigerator purchase we´ve always tried to avoid. Along the way we´ve passed many narrow doorways that lead to upper floors. There are apartments and business above all the shops. All this in one city block, never crossing the street. One thing you miss in the description is the sidewalk traffic - you can´t just mosey along the sidewalk - there is always someone walking behind or in front or to your side....

Except for the Ferrari dealership I think this block is more or less typical in the older, central part of the city. The Ferrari dealership got me thinking and inspired this blog. I was stunned that you could order a Ferrari and step across a busy, little street and buy a pair of pliers. It´s a place to live, this Buenos Aires. At least here in the central part of the city folks don´t head out to the mall or the nearest Wal-mart, they take a walk around the block. It´s all there, everything they need and want.

Weekdays this town is an enormous, writhing mass of energized humanity. Everywhere there are people scurrying down the sidewalks. Streets are choked with cars and buses, shops are full of every conceivable first world product. Cafe´s rule. Every block has one or two and folks are in them from opening till closing. 4 million folks live here and each day 8 million come into the city to work and shop. This is ´city´, definitive. I´ve walked miles and miles here and I´m stunned buy the diversity of shops, the volume of people and the vitality of the cityscape. No way to see it all let alone describe it all so hopefully this blog is a little sample of one small piece of the pie.

Prices are in Argentinian pecos, $US 1 = 3.4 pecos.

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