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Published: August 26th 2008
European flair
one of the many statues scattered about the city that gives BA it's European charmBack in BA after our Iguazu trip... We were looking forward to spending the weekend in Buenos Aires and see a different side of life here. The first couple of days we were here, it was during the week and most people were busy, scurrying about the city on their way to and from work.
The weekends, as we found out, are completely different. It´s just a much more relaxed and laid back atmosphere. Families spend the day at one of the many parks...playing with their kids and pets, and having picnics. Luckily, it was a bright and sunny weekend which was really nice.
Saturday morning (8/23), we woke up kinda late since we were tired from our trip back from Iguazu...we got back to the apartment later than we expected...our flight was delayed by 40 minutes and then when we got back to BA, the taxi we had arranged for fell thru. (Carlo and Carlo let us down that day). So, after waiting around for him for 30 minutes, we got in the long taxi line and waited our turn. Anyway, we got back to the apt and decided to just get a lite dinner...we found a little
pizzeria on our street and got some empanadas to snack on.
So, back to Saturday... On our itinerary was Recoleta and Retiro...and whatever else we happened upon. Since it didn´t look far on the map, we decided to walk it. As I mentioned, it was nice and sunny, so it was a good walk. We stopped at a cafe on Libertador and Crnl Diaz for a light brunch. We sat out on tables on the sidewalk..nice relaxing atmosphere. Folks looked like they were just enjoying their Saturday mornings...sipping on a cafe and soaking in the sun (though many folks still kept their coats on...don´t get it). Others were out jogging or biking.
After brunch, we continued down Libertador towards Recoleta. We passed by several museums and small parks. They were full of people, just hanging out. We approached Avenida Pueyrredon and from there we could see that there was a lot going on around the Recoleta area. The Buenos Aires Design mall, Recoleta Cemetary and an old church are all clustered in that area. Also, since it was Saturday, the pathway up to the buildings were all full of local artesans selling their crafts and lots of locals
and tourists walking about.
We walked around the BA Design shopping center and then the artesan stalls...lots of neat little crafts and paintings. I resisted temptation to buy something (aided by Sheldon of course) and we pushed on to see the church. When we entered, we noticed there was a wedding going on. No one was blocking the entrance, so tourists just walked in and watched. We caught the tail end of it as the couple was walking down the aisles headed towards us to get out of the church. Was kinda cool to get a glimpse of a local wedding. The church itself, was quite old and not as ornately decorated as the cathedral we saw in El Centro, but it was quaint and simple.
Up until this day, we hadn´t really been hassled by vendors or anyone on the streets...in fact we noticed that most vendors are totally the opposite of ¨pushy¨. They just stand back and even if you´re interested in something, they don´t really turn on their sales pitch...they just leave you alone and let you ask them. Anyway, on this day, we were approached by several folks...some seemed to represent charities, some were beggars,
and a few vendors. Kinda annoying, but it´s expected...we were just spoiled by the others who didn´t bother us at all. Anyway, it wasn´t so bad, and once you said no, they didn´t really push on after that.
Next we went to the Recoleta Cemetary. Shel was pretty "estimated" by the place since he didn´t expect to see such a massive place with large tombs. I had read reviews and seen pictures so I had an idea of what it was like, but still, being there was an interesting experience. The cemetary is laid out like a little barrio. It has walkways and tombs that look like little houses. Some intersections have sculptures and benches. Some of the tombs are quite elaborate, with stained glass, granite and sculptures. Some are old and have been broken into (weird to see the coffins thru the windows) and others are pristine and look relatively new. They even sell maps of the cemetary at the entrance..so, that gives you an idea of how big it is. We walked thru the little ¨streets¨searching for the main tomb people go to see...Eva Peron´s tomb, and we finally spotted it. Exepecting it to be a focal
point of the cemetary, we were surprised to find that it was in a row of tombs located in a narrow passage. It was also very simple and unassuming, except for the many posters and news articles that are posted around it.
We left the cemetary soon after and walked out to one of the adjacent streets to see what else was around. We found a Freddo´s heladeria and decided to try some of the much touted ice cream. We shared a dulce de leche and chocolatecup of ice cream...pretty tasty stuff.
We walked around a bit more and found ourselves in the Plaza Vincent Lopez area. We passed by a bakery called Norte that looked too good to pass up. We were like little kids in a candy store...there were so many yummy looking things there. After looking around for a while, we settled on a few things to purchase and decided to make a lunch out of it. We took our sandwiches, and little sweet treats to the park across the street and had a nice little picnic. There were lots of locals, again, just hanging out and enjoying the sunny day.
After the late
Torre de los Ingleses
monument across from the Plaza Libertador...the monument constructed by the British residents of BA in the early 1900s. Interestingly, it was renamed to "La Torre Monumental" after the Falkland wars, but most still refer to it by the original name lunch, we started wandering about and ended up in the Retiro area. We went to the Retiro station just to see what it was like...for a Saturday, it was quite busy. Can´t imagine what ít´s like during the week. We also passed by the Torre de Ingleses monument and found lots of folks lying on the grass and passing their time doing nothing.
Walking on from there, we passed by several large buildings, one of them happened to be the IBM building here. It looked like it was built way back in the seventies or something...looked pretty out of place compared to the modern buildings around it.
By this time it was late in the day and we were exhausted so we decided to head back to the apartment to relax. We took the subte back since it was quite a walk from Retiro. Luckily since it was a Saturday, the subte was not as crowded, so it didn´t take long to get back.
We went to dinner late that night (left around 10pm) and took a taxi to Palermo Soho (taxi drivers are fearless here...they weave in and out of traffic at high speeds and stop
on a dime...I've been in cars in India, so luckily it wasn't too bad, but still kinda unnerving). We first went to check out a Mexican restaurant that came recommended to us (Cielito Lindo), which was full and had a long wait. So, decided to forgo that and went to another place that came recommended...Green Bamboo (Vietnamese). It wasn´t our day, since that place had an hour wait as well. Things seemed to be really busy there...it was a Saturday night and so it was no surprise. We eventually just settled on a little parilla called Las Carranzita, since I wasn´t feeling too well and needed to get some food soon. Sheldon got some short ribs which he liked, and I got some penne, which was a little too bland for my taste. Anyway, all in all, kind of a disappointing night. Tired from the long day, we took a taxi back home and called it a night.
Sunday, we had plans to go to the Feria in San Telmo...will write more on that later.
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Craig Watson
non-member comment
I was at Recoleta that same day.
It was fun to read your description of Saturday at Recoleta, as I was there that very same day. I too saw the local wedding at the basilica (I went there to visit the cloisters). Yes, it was a nice sunny day, it being winter and all, and there was a nice vibe around the Design Mall. I went to see Evita's tomb as well. There were red flowers and black and white xeroxed posters taped to the black marble of her tomb. I'm back in California now. In fact, I left Argentina that Saturday night.