A tour of Buenos Aires!

Finally some free time! This weekend, I was a major tourist and tried to get in all of the tourist sights that I could, since I have no time during the week to see anything. Buenos Aires is divided into barrios. On Saturday I visited the barrios of Palermo and Recoleta. Palermo is a much quieter area of the city, where there are many parks and you can ride horse-drawn carriage down the street. One of the parks that I walked through is a giant rose garden. There were only a few roses that we actually in bloom, but the layout if beautiful, and the lake within the garden is very peaceful. It's all very romantic really, given you were there with the right person, I suppose.

El Rosedal - Rose garden in Palermo

Me in the Rose garden

You can rent paddle boats!

Me in the walkway along the lake

After this I visited a botanical garden, where all of the flowers and trees were all identified with signs. There were plants from all over the world! I found it alittle hilarious that the only thing I could find from the U.S. was a sequoia tree, and it was kind of falling down...

Sequoia - this is how it really is standing!

Pond with fish in it as you enter the garden

After another garden, I decided it was time to do something more intellectual. Down the street there was a museum of the life of Eva Peron (known by most Americans as Madonna's character in the movie Evita) The museum was in an old colonial house, where each room showed a different stage of her life. They had old pictures of her family, quotes from her autobiography written largely on the walls, and dresses she wore at many of famous events.

After the museum I took a bus to the ritzy barrio called Recoleta. This is where are the upscale apartments, clothing stores and restaurants are. I intended to go there to visit the cemetary, which although it may sound kind of morbid, is apparently a big tourist attraction - especially the tomb of the aforementioned Evita. However, being several blocks long, I couldn't quite find the entrance...however, I DID find a huge outdoor market - rows and rows of stands selling all kinds of things: artwork, handmade scarves, picture frames, clothes, etc. Shopping was not exactly on my itinerary for the day, but I welcomed the opportunity to walk through, talk with the locals, and buy just a few souvenirs.

Paseo Recoleta - aka a shopping extravaganza!

After a bit of shopping, I headed down the street to the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (National Museum of Fine Arts). They have a great collection of Spanish artists, like Goya, Velasquez, and Miro, along with many paintings done by Argentine artists. There were also a few scultpures by Rodin (who's museum I visited in Paris) and a few somewhat random vases from the Ming Dynasty. My favorite part was an exhibit of 18th century tablets painted with scenes from the Spanish conquest of Mexico.

By this time it was getting dark and I knew I had another big day ahead of me, so I headed back home in time for a dinner of homeade pizza. I hadn't eaten pizza in so long, but my host mom barely used any tomato sauce (she doesn't like it either), and turns out, it was delicious.

On Sunday, I needed to take a new bus, so I headed towards a new bus stop about 5 blocks from my house. Here's where my bus stop was:

Right in front of the Argentine Congress building! I had no idea is was so close to my house. I got on my bus and headed to La Boca, by far the most colorful and lively barrio in Buenos Aires.

It's main street is called Caminito, and it's full of artisans selling their goods, locals dancing tango, typical Italian cantinas, artists displaying their work, and tourists eagerly soaking it all in.

I found one artist's work particularly intriguing. His name is Carlos Sosa, a native to La Boca, he's been painting scenes of his neighborhood for over 20 years - without his hands. This man had deformed hands since birth, but took a liking for painting as a child and began using a paintbrush in his mouth to produce his art. He has been nationaly recognized in Argentina for his work, yet still continues to sell most of his paintings on the streets of La Boca, just a few meters from his home. I loved talking to this cheerful man and watching him skillfully depict his neighborhood in his work. After I bought his painting, he gladly signed it and dedicated it to me.

me and Carlos

writing my name on the painting!

After leaving my new friend and wandering these lively streets a bit more, I headed to the barrio of San Telmo. This picturesque part of the city is full of colonial style buildings and cobblestone streets, lined with cute cafes and small boutiques. On Sunday, the main plaza, Plaza Dorrego, fills with a huge antiques fair, leaving room in the center for a tango show (of course). I didn't know this when I started off walking around this area, but one of the streets is blocked off for about 10-15 blocks for street vendors to sell their handicrafts, food, or other goods.

After walking down various blocks from of stands (and getting by with only buying a scarf, which was more of a necessity than a luxury), I unknowingly arrived at my next stop: Plaza de Mayo. This is Buenos Aires' main plaza and is where many of Argentina's most important historical events took place. For example, Evita and her husband President Peron gave speeches from the balcony of the Casa Rosada, the main government building.

Plaza de Mayo

Casa Rosada - workplace of the Argentine President

Plaza de Mayo is most famous for the protests of the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo, women who came in white headscarves protesting the Argentine Dirty War during the 1970's and looking for information about their disappeared loved ones.
Also along the plaza is the main Catedral (cathedral). Inside is the tomb of Jose de San Martin, liberator of Argentina and many other countries in South America. It's guarded by 2 Argentine military officers, and I had the priviledge of witnessing a changing of the guard ceremony when I was there.

Tomb of Jose de San Martin, liberator of Argentina

As the sun was setting, I headed to my last site of the day: El Obelisco, the obelisk. Located in Plaza de la Republica, this giant obelisk was build to commemorate the 400 year anniversary of the city in 1936. It is 220 feet tall and located in the center of Avenida 9 de Julio - the widest avenue in the world. Picture (from the internet) of Avenida 9 de Julio at night - I pass this street every day!

Me at the obelisco at sunset - a guy laid on the ground in the plaza to take this picture for me!

So, that's the two-day tour of Buenos Aires! There still is a lot to see, but that's all I could get in this weekend. I leave you with a picture of a typical street in downtown BsAs, which reminded me of the true season in of the city right now: Fall!