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Published: August 31st 2010
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We had a long list of things to see before we left Buenos Aires and so our final week or so was pretty busy. I had finished spanish classes, not learning particularly much in the last part of the course but enjoying the social side of it anyway.
We finally made it to Temaiken, a wildlife park about 1.5 hours by public bus from the city. It turned out to be a pretty amazing place, a very modern zoo with some wonderful animals. The first thing we saw were some flamingos from the Carribean, very different in colour to those we'd seen in this continent. There was a whole assortment of large animals from Africa - a very impressive collection. But most impressive were the huge aviaries there, with birds from around the globe. Much to our delight they had toucans flying around one of the aviaries and they were as inquisitive as usual.
On our last Sunday we attempted to visit the San Telmo market for a final time but the rain kept the vendors away and all we achieved was getting soggy and enjoying a hot chocky at Havanna (a bit like Costa Coffee but much cheaper).
We also got to some of the other art museums people rave about. The Malba (modern latin american art) was good, although some of the photographic art should have been classified as porn rather than art (sensibly they sectioned some of it off and did not allow children into the exhibit).
We spent a day visiting La Boca including the famous Boca Juniors stadium, "la Bombonera" (the chocolate box) and we marvelled at the steep incline of the stands. Even at the very top where the crowds had standing room only, the steps were dangerously steep and there would not have been much to break your fall. I certainly would not have fancied watching a game in that stadium, particularly with the very passionate supporters.
From the stadium we walked a few blocks to the colurful Caminito in La Boca, with its brightly painted shops and houses of corrugated iron. La Boca is the oldest, most colourful, and most authentic neighborhood in Buenos Aires. The neighborhood was settled and built by Italian immigrants that worked in the warehouses and meatpacking plants in the area. La Boca is partly an artist colony, and mostly a working-class neighborhood.
While the Caminito is intensely touristy, it was still worth a visit for the lively atmostphere and street tango dancers. There was also a very good museum, Quinquela Martin, with a beautiful collection of sculptures on its roof terraces and a view over La Boca.
Another afternoon we went to our absolute favourite restaurant in the city, La Cabrera. Like our first experience there, the food was excellent and the experience unique. After filling our bellies with great steak we wandered the streets of Palermo Viejo for the last time - we love the area for its arty shops and great cafes and the way they have restored the buildings while keeping their rustic colonial charm.
We explored a few of the more unusual shops in the city, perhaps the most impressive being the Ateneo Book Store on Santa Fe which was housed in a converted theatre. The theatre had clearly been very beautiful and they had invested a fortune into the restoring the building.
One more visit to the city's parks as Amy had missed out the first time. Then one more visit to their lovely zoo so Amy could say goodbye to the gorgeous
little Mara that wandered about freely.
On Plaza San Martin is the Palacio Paz, a beautiful building from the outside and a stunning building from the inside. A guided tour took us around the unique building with its grand staircases, marble floors, ornate ceilings and secret doors. Amy loved the tour as the guide insisted that Amy be the one to lead the way and explore the secret doorways and passages (that wouldn't happen in a National Trust house for certain!). Once this was a private residence and now of course that would be impossible, so it is hired out for weddings etc.
With only a few days to go we squeezed in a couple of BA Free tours. Of course we had done them at Christmas time, but they really help you get to know the city and each guide has different stories to tell so we went again. On the Recoleta tour, where I bumped into Mika an ex-student of the first spanish school I went on, we found a box of kittens! Someone had dumped these poor little kittens and they were escaping from their box. It was very cold too so we were all
Temaiken
A brilliant wildlife park 1.5 hours from the city worried that the kittens wouldn't make it through the night. So one girl carried the box until our guide found a taker for them. We did a whip around so the woman who took then would have some cash for food, then we crossed our fingers that they would survive.
Our final destination on our list of "must-dos" was the Palacio Barolo on Av de Mayo. The Palacio Barolo was built as an allegory for the structure and content of Dante's Divine Comedy. The building was designed so that you progress through hell, purgatory, and heaven as you climb to the top. On the highest levels, representing heaven, there is an observation deck with a 360 degree view of the sprawling city of Buenos Aires. We climbed a few more floors to the building's highest point where there was a working lighthouse.
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