Buenos Aires - a city with a great vibe!

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We arrived in Buenos Aires after a fourteen and half hour bus trip feeling refreshed - the first time that had ever happened on an overnight bus trip! It almost warranted the cost of the ticket…. A taxi took us from the bus station to our hostel (which the driver had trouble finding due to odd street numbering) but after settling into the very comfortable, friendly Chill House we walked to the nearby bus stop and caught a bus into the down town area. We spent a while wandering Plaza De Mayo, the large square and political centre of the city. As with many of these plazas in South America it was lined with signs and banners of protest against a current issue. One side of the plaza fronted Government House or Casa Rosado ( Pink House). The building was built in 1580 and still houses the Executive Power. After it was renovated at the end of the 19^thcentury it was painted pink, a combination of the colours of the two political sectors at the time - red and white. As it was a weekend the city was buzzing - it had a wonderful vibe - and the square was full of locals and tourists alike enjoying the sunny weather.

We followed the crowds and wandered down Calle Florida, a wide pedestrian only street crowded with rows of hawkers selling cheap items from blankets on the footpath. We stopped to enjoy some displays by tango dancers. The street was lined with retail chain stores and small cafes. We wandered through an interesting up market shopping mall, mainly to admire the internal décor - all golden gilt, the centre of which was dominated by an enormous dome painted by one of the country’s leading artists. It wouldn’t have been out of place in a cathedral! At the end of the street we passed through Plaza San Martin, lined with beautiful large residences, all sheltered by massive trees. We saw one of the widest trees we've ever seen there - it had many supports underneath it's branches simply to try and keep it upright. From there we walked a few more blocks until we reached yet another plaza - this one Alvear - where we had a fabulous time wandering the very large craft market set up under the trees there. There were stalls crowded with paintings, leatherwork, lovely enamelled jewellery and many other innovative craft products. It was a great market.

From there we wandered the streets taking in the beautiful historical architecture which dominated the area before later in the afternoon we visited Recoleta Cemetery, famed as the burial site for Eva Peron. Full of immense sculptures, ornate mausoleums and thousands of cats. Cats ran wild everywhere we looked and had made the tombs their homes - I counted ten cats on one small tomb alone. There appeared to be no maps of the cemetery for reference so we joined a few groups of fellow tourists who were, like us, too mean to join a cemetery tour until we stumbled upon a crowd of people around Eva Peron’s (Evita's) tomb. She is buried in her parent’s family tomb - a black marble and brass trimmed simple (in comparison to most of the surrounding tombs) mausoleum. It was covered with offerings of flowers.

We decided to walk back to our guest house which took much longer than we expected so we were happy when we realised we were close to our accommodation. After finding a busy little bar/café nearby we used their wifi, enjoyed a meal and a glass or two of wine before heading back to the cosy warmth of our room.

Next morning we caught the bus back to the Plaza de Mayo again before heading off in the opposite direction from the previous day. This area is known as San Telmo and was once occupied by wealthy aristocratic familes before outbreaks of yellow fever decimated them. It then became a run down area housing dozens of families squatting. Nowadays it’s a neighbourhood of narrow cobbled streets lined with cafes, bars and shops. The main street into the area, Calle Defensa lead off the plaza This street which was lined with hundreds of stalls selling mainly craft and tourist items. There were many fascinating antique shops along the street; other shops were selling quirky gift lines and of course there were plenty of cafes and bars. It was a very pretty street. At the end it opened into another smaller square, the site of the city’s weekly antique market which was in full swing. So many interesting stalls - I loved the ones selling glass soda siphon bottles - rows of glowing glass in all colours - they looked very pretty with the sun shining through them. It was one of the best and certainly the most affordable antique market we’ve ever visited. I couldn’t resist a miniature brass box with a glowing enamelled bird on the lid. Again we also spent a lot of time enjoying the tango dancers and musicians busking around the area. Lunch was enjoyed in an interesting bar on Calle Defensa - meal of the day - good value! Later we wandered around the surrounding streets soaking up the atmosphere and vibe - it really was a lovely city - and worthy of all the great reviews we had heard from other people we had met in the previous months. We decided not to walk home that day so caught the bus and enjoyed another meal at the bar from the previous night.

Another bus next morning took us through some of the less affluent working class suburbs to the famous La Boca neighbourhood, once home to Spanish and Italian immigrants - today known for it’s tourist street ‘Caminito’ and to the locals the site of the city’s largest soccer stadium. It was a fun street - full of gaudily painted houses, painted every colour of the rainbow. The houses were covered in corrugated metal sheeting and most had ornate balconies and windows. And nearly all seemed to have a slight lean! It was too early in the day for much action in the area - the shops and cafes were just opening when we arrived - but they were all selling the same tourist tat anyway. The name of the street was inspired by a famous piece of tango music written in 1926. Behind the street we could see the looming bulk of the stadium.

A bus took us back to the cobblestones of Defensa Street where we went on a guided tour of El Zanjon, built in 1860, one of the lovely historic buildings which lined the street. A beautifully restored former house it was recently purchased with the intent of turning it into shops and a restaurant but during excavations old city walls, water wells and tunnels which once made up part of the first settlement of Buenos Aries in 1536 were exposed so a preservation order was issued stopping further development. The old city was destroyed between 1730 and 1865. Today it is allowed to open as a museum and the tunnels were a fascinating place to wander. The brick work patterns within were stunning. Interestingly we were told that the waterfront was once close to the building - the original owner had interests in shipping - so the house was virtually on the riverfront. Today due to land reclaimation the river is 2 kilometers away.

We then walked to the very wide and very busy 9 de Julio Avenue, reputed to be the widest avenue in the world. It is 120 meters wide, and has 8 lanes of traffic plus a central narrow footpath - a necessity if you try and cross the road (we did it a couple of times) as the traffic lights don’t leave enough time to cross the entire eight lanes in one go. In the centre of the road is the famous 67 meter high Obelisk, built in 1936. It’s quite impressive and as you wander the down town streets you will turn a corner and regularly see it in thedistance. Each side of the obelisk commemorates four historical moments in the city’s history - the most important one being the fact that it is on the site where the Argentine flag fluttered for the first time.

From there we caught a taxi to an old railway station which was supposed to house a market specialising in leather products. We had the wrong information as the railway station was looking derelict and was obviously unoccupied. After checking our maps we discovered that our guest house was within walking distance so spent the next hour wandering through the typical Buenos Aries neighbourhood before arriving at a big shopping mall built within an old gas works which was in the next block to the Chill House. It had a great food hall where we had the thickest salad roll we had eaten since Australia. We spent the evening over wine, cake and coffee in the little Bar/café around the corner from our bed.

Next day we caught the bus back to the Avenue 9^th de Julio and took the guided tour of the Colon Theatre, the most important theatre in Latin America. It was built in 1908 in the Italian Renaissance style and was very elaborately decorated. There were a couple of particularly stunning function rooms full of gilt, glittering chandeliers and painted ceilings. The theatre houses a ballet school as well as being a production theatre - all the costumes, shoes, wigs and sets for all the productions held in the theatre are built and stored under the theatre. Nothing ever leaves the building as it is all washed atc there as well. Fascinating! 1300 people are employed there. The building fronts the wide 8 lane road and the workshops and storage area stretches under the road from one side to the other. They were due to start tours of the underground area shortly but we were only shown above ground. I would have loved to have seen the workshops.

We walked down to the riverside to explore the recently opened riverside park and river walkway and to book our ferry tickets to Uruguay. It was very similar to most river developments around the world - wide footpaths lined with expensive restaurants facing the water. We, however, ate a picnic we had bought from a small deli enroute to the park. From there we walked back to Plaza San Martin as Jerry wanted to visit the impressive Arms Museum (which he thoroughly enjoyed), housed in one of the mansions which lined the plaza. Whilst waiting for him I admired the lush and extremely expensive leather products available for sale in nearby shops. Both of us were very pleased to get back to the Chill House that evening - we walked home again, stopping off for dinner. We had literally walked for kilometers that day and were pretty tired!

Next day we ventured onto the underground trains for the first time and went out to one of the suburbs renowned for it’s leather craft shops - there were plenty to choose from though most sold similar items. Back on the underground after lunching in a small local eatery to Plaza de Mayo where we wandered down the pedestrian street again back to the Arms Museum. Next door (it was actually in the same building) we had noticed another museum - the Palacio Paz which was once residence of a newspaper owner who had aspirations of maybe one day becoming President of the country and the house becoming the presidential residence. He had spent many years living in Paris so commissioned all the artisans used in the building of the house from France. It is considered to be one of the more elaborate houses in Buenos Aries. Dozens of splendidly decorated rooms, glittering chandeliers, secret doors and passage ways for the servants made for an interesting hour. Unfortunately it took so long to build the poor man who paid for it died two years before it was completed and never actually live in it!

You can’t visit the city without visiting Eva Peron’s - Evita - Museum and we did just that after lunch on what was our final full day in the city (and country). We caught the underground to Plaza Italia and walked from there to the house - she convinced the Government to buy the house for homeless women and children. It was a really good museum, beautifully displayed - and it gave us a great insight into her life. It’s a relatively new museum - opened in 2002, on the 50^th anniversary of her death - and was full of items from her personal life - elegant dresses, shoes and even her funeral mask. She died at the age of 33 from cancer (she was the first person in Argentina to undergo chemotherapy) and her body was embalmed. Two years after her death a military dictatorship took over the country, her husband fled and Eva’s body disappeared for 16 years. It was later revealed her body had been taken to Italy from where it was eventually returned to her family’s vault in Recoleta Cemetery.

And so ended our time in the wonderful city of Buenos Aries, the second largest city in South America, and also our short stay in Argentina. We had thoroughly enjoyed our visit. Certainly not the cheapest city to spend time in but one I would recommend everybody visit if possible. Early next morning we caught a ferry across to the tiny town of Colonia Del Sacramento in Uruguay.

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Photos

Sign in the Caminito district
The Caminato is a tango dance

9 de Julio Avenue, considered the widest street in the world
This was only part of the width of the street

Comments

[Dancing Dave]

GOTTA LOVE B.A.
Great blog Linese...brings back wonderful memories...the sites, cafes, colours, people. We remember it as a city of past glory...but your pics give it a spruced up feel...gotta love B.A.