12th to 20th Jan 08 Eight Days in Buenos Aires - to learn the Tango!!
Luckily, my B&B in Buenos Aires are very familiar with this scenario so were not in the least surprised - to them, the surprise was that I actually showed up!! I am in another lovely place called Casa Palermitano - it is an old style BA house with lots of character and really high ceilings - very convenient for where the action is but really quiet at night so sleeping is not a problem. The owners have made me really welcome and cannot do enough for their guests. In the evening I went to a very lively square downtown for dinner. I had my first glass of Malbec wine - it was really smooth - I slept like a baby!
13th Jan 08 - As it was a Sunday, I went to Mass in a church called La Guadalupe - it was very ornate and large - the Mass was a sung Mass and lasted an hour and a half!! I certainly must have some brownie points stored up now! After Mass I got the subway to San Telmo market - this is a famous event only on Sundays.
First of all BA is much bigger than I expected - it is made up of 47 Barrios (districts) but I will only have time to see six or seven of them - the most well-known ones. There are 16 million people in total in Buenos Aires and the surrounding greater BA.
Again, I have a "to do" list and hope to cover it in the time I am here. Fortunately, I have given myself enough time to see these places at a leisurely pace.
I decided to see San Telmo (famous for it's Sunday Flea Market), La Boca (famous for Maradona, the footballer with the "Hand of God"), Recoleta, Palermo, Monserrat and El Centro, Retiro and Barrio Norte. My outside trips will include El Tigre and the Rio de la Plata delta and Colonia in Uruguay - all this before I leave for Patagonia on 21st Jan!!
13th Jan 08 - As it was a Sunday, I went to Mass in a church called La Guadalupe - it was very ornate and large - the Mass was a sung Mass and lasted an hour and a half!! I certainly must have some brownie points stored up now! After Mass I got the subway to San Telmo market - it is a bit of a tourist trap but, there is also an antique fair and a great atmosphere. There are tango dancers, real live statues, musicians and cafes - this is a famous event only on Sundays - if you go there on a week-day, as I did, there are no crowds and it looks so different. The oldest pharmacy is in San Telmo - it is worth seeing as it has beautiful ornate ceilings and walls inside - it is called Estrella and is on La Defensa street.
On Monday I visited Recoleta Cemetery which houses the burial place of Eva Peron - it was nowhere near as ornate as I expected and unless someone told you where it was you would have a job to find it! There are far more extravagant and ornate mausoleums than Eva Peron (the Duarte Family). However, it is a fascinating place to wander around. On my way back I had a peek into the Alvear Palace Hotel - "the B&B" in BA!! I am going to try their Sunday brunch which is a steal at $AR190 - about thirty pounds sterling.
On Tuesday I spent the morning visiting Plaza de Mayo which is the heart of BA. This is a lovely square with gardens, palm trees and historic buildings - this is where demonstrations are held eg the Falklands anti-war protests and The Mothers of the 30,000 who disappeared in the Dirty War (who demonstrate here every Thursday). There is an Obelisk in the middle of the plaza - it is crowned by the figure of a woman honoring the revolution. The Town Hall is also situated on this plaza - there is a changing of the guard here which is rich in pageantry - something like Buck House.
The Cathedral Metropolitana was built in 1622 - it has beautiful Venetian mosaic floors and lots of gilded facades in Baroque and Italian-style naves.
The Argentine National Bank looks like a Roman temple with lots of marble and granite and is really ornate on a grand scale.
Casa Rosada is a pink house which is the Palace of the President - she flies in by helicopter from her home in Olivos to work there - the President is the wife of the last President!!
The other interesting place off this square is Manzana de las Luces - the oldest collection of buildings in BA - I am going there at noon to have a guided tour and to view the tunnels which are numerous.
I had lunch in Cafe Tortoni - the oldest and most beautiful cafe in BA. However, that did not filter through to the staff - the words condescending, patronizing and superior come to mind! My coffee cup was chipped and when I pointed this out I was treated with contempt and a look of "what do you expect you pleb!! There is a custom that the Portenos (BA residents) get the best seats at the rear of the cafe and the "common" tourists get the tables inside the door or opposite the gents toilets! Needless to say, I shall not become a frequent visitor!! They could learn a thing or two from the staff at the Peninsula in Hong Kong - service with a smile is normal there!
I then went way more down-market!! I visited Florida Mall which is full of touts trying to entice you into coming into their shop to buy leather coats etc. There is a large mall called Galerio Pacifico which is very nice. This street is a pedestrianized zone with loads of people so need to watch your purse from light fingers!!
In the afternoon I went to Tigre by bus and boat and back to BA by train and bus. It was a 5 hour excursion - the only down side was the lack of info on the boat about the area we were going through - we had places pointed out to us on the coach but that was it! You could go there on your own by train from Retiro and then a ferry taxi - this would have been far cheaper.
I got home at 8 pm - pretty tired - I think I did too much in one day - I keep forgetting the heat takes its toll!
On Wed. I went on a guided City Bus Tour - just to get an overview of the city - it is a lot to take in but a good way to see most of the well-known areas before doing them in depth. I certainly would not want to hire a car and drive here - it is pretty frantic - the buses cut you up left, right and centre - they just pull out into the traffic!! At the end of this tour I visited El Ateneo (on Ave Santa Fe) this is the most beautiful bookshop I have even been in - it is a splendidly restored 1860 old theatre with a cafe at the rear of the store - what gorgeous surroundings to read and have a coffee.
17th Jan 08
Today is Catherine's birthday - I am sad that I am not there to meet up with her but I will have a glass of Malbec this evening to toast her.
This evening I am going on a tour of Recoleta with a guide from a group called www.cicerones.org.ar - they are city guides - a bit like our National Trust guides in the UK. They like to show off their city to the tourists but I will get the 'real' BA tour. I also need to see Teatro Colon where the famous opera and classical concerts - Caruso and Pavarotti sang here - unfortunately there is no guided visit as it is closed for renovation.
Of course I also have to see the Art Galleries, Japanese Gardens and a Tango show.
17th Jan.
This afternoon I met up with Silvana who was my guide for the evening. She was a 31-year old teacher who shows people around BA during her Summer holidays. We took the bus together to La Boca where she explained the background behind the brightly painted houses made of tin and wood - the paint for them came from what was left over at the shipyards, where many of the Italian immigrants worked on the ships as sailors. It is a vibrant colourful neighbourhood with lots of street entertainment - primarily dancers doing the Tango - it originated here in this area. Tango music is like the Blues music of America - it is rather melancholy and sad - longing to go back to one's birthplace.
Of course it is also famous for La Boca Juniors football stadium, where Maradona made his name. You can buy all the football paraphernalia here.
After 3 hours there, we got the bus back into the centre of BA and went to a restaurant for something to eat. We then took a walk around Retiro, a rather elegant neighbourhood, with European influences. This area has the famous Plaza San Martin, which is set up on a hill, looking down onto the main station and the Rio de la Plata in the distance. We saw lots of people just sitting in the park here or strolling around - you just have to watch our for the dog poo!! They do not seem to pick it up!
I eventually left my guide at 8 pm - we had 4 hours together and my head was bursting with information overload!! I went back to the B&B for a long..... bath and a glass of red wine, for medicinal reasons, of course - I had to chill out somehow!
5 votes 
