Buenos Aires - Where Tango Runs the Streets

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Our extended time in Buenos Aires flew by. Tash spent the four days before I arrived tangoing in parks, shopping, and playing pool with the wonderful people we befriended in our hostel. Monday morning, when I flew in, was our first Spanish class. The ladies running the school were so friendly and full of energy that even in the early morning hours, they could extract a smile and a hello-kiss. Their free "help yourself" coffee and cookies was also a life saver throughout the five hours of class per day. We attended class every weekday for two weeks, and passed our level test at the end, both receiving a certificate of espanol. Woo! The remaining halves of our days often included a little siesta, and some city exploration. BA is a beautiful and interesting place to wander around. Our hostel was in an area of the city called Recoleta, filled with 19th century architecture and shopping a-plenty. On the weekend we visited Recoleta cemetary, where all of BA´s most famous and well-to-do folks are "buried." Most of the tombs are 10-15 meters high (30-45 feet) and continue underground for another ten meters. Entire families are placed within, caskets stacked on caskets. There is a staircase that leads underground, where most of the bodies are kept, usually just the most prominent or the most recently buried being kept on ground level. The style and extent of luxury of the tombs varies greatly depending on the amount of moeny put into it and the time era from which it originates. The oldest tombs are marble with greco-roman columns and old classical statues. The newer tombs are a little less ornate, but no less impressive. Also usually marble, the architecture is much simpler, but some tombs have solar panels providing the tomb with electricity and lights. The rows and rows of tombs are interrupted sporadically with fountains and cats galor, and the entire premise is walled-in and patroled to prevent the robbing of the graves or the stealing of the bodies. In 1952, when Evita died, she was buried here, only then to have her body stolen, found years later buried under a false name in Europe, and finally returned. Her grave now has the most security of all of the other tombs. Across from the cemetary is a great park where we spent the day picnic-ing and laying in the sun. It´s filled with performances, from music to tango to clown shows.

Palermo Viejo, another gorgeous area of the city, is packed with restaurants, bars, and shops. We met up with Tash´s friends Nadia and Mariano in the art gallery they used to live above. Afterwards, we went out for drinks in the nearby plaza. On the weekends, the plaza is full of vendors and clothing designers all selling their originals for small amounts of money. The numbers of people who flock to join in the shopping bonanza is incredible.

We also spent a day wandering Centro, where the impressive Plazo de Mayo is lined with historically relevant buildings, such as Casa Rosada, Palacio del Congreso, Iglesia San Ignacio, and many others. Nearby, we walked along the 18-lane Av. 9 de Julio, and saw the famous obelisk in its center. We continued on to pedestrian Florida Street famed for its shopping and cheap leather and fur. Its packed with people and street shows at all hours.

In between all of that, we of course frequented some great restaurants, bars and clubs. We went for Thai, pizza at a place where the delivery boy wheres rollerskates, had a cheese platter at Casa de Queso, enjoyed a trendy dinner at Central, and munched on huge steaks at Las Nazarenes, a paradilla where we were allowed to tour the wine cellar. We saw a tango show and joined in on some of the classes at the Armenian Club, lounged in rose gardens and watched other people row and paddle the waters in 3rd de Febrero Parque, had a few beer samplers at the local brewery, and danced the night away at Opera House, a club designed after the Sydney Opera House. We also spent many hours playing pool, cooking dinner, and sipping wine in our lovely Milonga Hostel. All in all, BA was an amazing city in which to spend a few weeks, and we were really lucky to have met such a fantastic group of people there to share the city, lots of wine and chocolate, and many ice creams.

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Comments

[Tracy]

oh ya baby
ok, nice pic of us at Opera Bay!!! Glad my face is turned away from the camera so you can't see how much I'm enjoying myself! Oh, and the pic of Harry and Stef is sooooooooooooo cute.... Stef, you should know that after you left Harry confessed to Jo that he regrets not showing you his house of love... oops, did I spill the beans? You never told him about this blog, did you? ciao girls, we miss you tons at Milonga;-)

[mom p]

as always another great update , going to check out your aunts link , glad u enjoyed B.A. I visited alot of the places u did fantastic take care of one another xo mom p

[Alberto]

Opera Bay
Oh how did u like Opera Bay? Its soooo freaking cool!!!! So different from DJ Club thou! :P I had a blast there! such a visual of the port and the city! :)