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Published: June 13th 2017
Geo: -34.6118, -58.4173
Day 10 - October 31
Buenos Aires is considered "The Paris of the South", and for good reason. It looks like a European capital and it is magnificently beautiful. Broad streets lined with stately buildings are the norm. I love visiting here. 9 de Julio Avenue, the main "drag", is the widest avenue in the world. Its name honors Argentina's Independence Day, July 9, 1816. It has up to seven lanes in each direction, is flanked by parallel streets and there are two wide medians laced with beautiful, purple flowering Jacaranda trees.
The downtown area has many trees ... the Ceibo, with its beautiful red spring blooms, is the national tree; and the Kapoc tree, shaped more like a vase, which holds water. All make for a scenic city drive.
Background
Buenos Aires as a city arrived relatively late to the scene. The Spanish came in search of gold and found it with the Incas in Peru. BA had relatively little to offer, including the fact that is more than 100 miles from the coast. A yellow fever epidemic in 1871, however, caused those of means to move away from the water and into the area now known as Buenos Aires.
In May 
Halloween party!
Candace, Anne, Me, Patrick, Marti, Barcyof 1810, word reached Buenos Aires that the King of Spain, Ferdinand VII, had been deposed by Napoleon Bonaparte. Rather than serve the new King, the city formed its own ruling council, essentially declaring itself independent until Ferdinand could reclaim the throne. The Plaza de Mayo is named in honor of these actions.
José de San Martín was the leader of the southern part of South America's successful struggle for independence from the Spanish Empire. He established an army in Argentina and led the crossing of the Andes to Chile, helping to liberate Chile from royalist rule. San Martín is regarded as a national hero of Argentina and Peru, and, together with Simon Bolívar, one of the liberators of South America. Oddly, although he was not a religious hero, he is buried under a huge monument to him, guarded by grenadiers, in BA's Catholic cathedral.
In modern days, of course, the names we as North Americans know are Juan and Eva Peron. She got him to office and kept him there. She died of cervical cancer at 33 in 1952, and three years later he was ousted in a coup d'état. Argentina was then ruled by a military junta, but 18 years
later Peron and his wife Isabel (she succeeded him when he died) came back into office.
Finally, in 1983, Argentines went to the polls to choose a president in elections supervised by international observers. Argentina became a democracy.
Back to Our Tour
Unfortunately, it rained all morning, so as we drove by the city's legendary monuments, including the Casa Rosada (with Evita's famous balcony) and the obelisk, they were tough to photograph because of raindrops on the bus windows.
Buenos Aires has one of the world's largest Italian communities so there are many Italian style buildings. The Recoleta, the mausoleum cemetery, is similar to one in Genoa. The world's 7th largest Jewish community is here too.
BA is located in the Pampas region, South America's vast fertile lowlands that run east of the Andes. The metropolitan area has 12 million people, and 42,000 taxis. Geographically, it is roughly the size of Los Angeles.
Our first stop was Teatro Colon opera house, a heart-stoppingly beautiful structure that represented everything the newly emigrated Europeans longed for. Those who attended discriminated against the lower classes in the area. It was completed in 1908, and it was restored in 2010. It has a capacity of 2700. The seats are lush, the stage high tech (with turntables) and the acoustics superb.
We then headed to the Metropolitan Cathedral, which was home to Pope Francis prior to his ascension to the papacy. Very European. Very eclectic. It doesn't appear to have had a master plan.
Lunch was at Café Tortoni, a coffeehouse inaugurated in 1858 by a French immigrant. It is a landmark. We had a chef's salad set menu and had our Tauck Tour group photo taken. Because it was Halloween, I had paper masks printed and cut out of the six main Wizard of Oz characters for our band of six to wear to celebrate. The crowd was appreciative.
Following lunch, we headed to La Boca, a colorful barrio with a strong European flavor. Among sports enthusiasts, Boca is best known for being the home of world renowned football ("soccer"😉 club Boca Juniors. The buildings are brilliantly colored, and the nightlife is colorful too.
We did a little shopping. Some bought art. Some bought Roda Chrosite (a pink semi-precious gemstone). All enjoyed the experience.
At this point, we had two options:
1. Return to the hotel and rest up for the evening activities
2. Be dropped in the major shopping district near the pedestrian mall
on Florida
Guess which one I chose? We visited several stores, including H Stern, a luxury jewelry brand known for its quality gems. And other stores nearby, recommended by our guide. Patrick bought me a pendant of agate-type amethyst - very pretty and very unusual.
We all got dressed up and went out for a night on the town at Esquina Carlos Gardel, a dinner show that is a revival of a tango show from the Golden Decade of Buenos Aires.
Singers and dancers perform, with a good dinner beforehand. Some in the group loved it. I liked it for a while. But it's a little like RiverDance ... fun for 20 minutes, torture for two hours. I would rather have gone to a real night club and watch those with a passion for the tango dance the night away.
We returned to the hotel at 12:30 and by the time I edited my photos for the day, I was too tired to write and file my blog.
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Jan
non-member comment
Have the sidewalks been replaced in BA?