bueno Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires. Argentina... country #42 for me.
Buenos Aires is a really lovely, very European-feeling city. We arrived at night and went straight to the hotel and to bed (that is, after indulging in some English language television). The first day we were there involved sheets of cold rain. However, since we were on a package tour, we had a half-day bus tour of the city -- which worked out well because of the awful weather. We toured around the major attractions of the downtown area (not including the outer metropolitan area), which included uber-expensive, Park Avenue-esque designer showrooms as well as the more traditional parts of the city; La Recoleta (where Eva Peron is buried in the cemetary); the waterfront; the municipal buildings including the "Pink House" (the color of which symbolizes the compromise between the white party and the red party) and the very poor but exceedingly colorful La Boca. One surprise for me is that Buenos Aires has a landmark monument that is considered a symbol of the city... an obelisk that looks just like a smaller version of the Washington monument. Ahh, no wonder I felt so at ease in Buenos Aires!
We only had two days in BA, and because of the rain, the first day was limited in range and scope. Yup, we spent the rest of the day shopping for a leather jacket for A. Argentina is known for a few things, including the gauchos on the pampas. Where there are cows, there is beef and leather. I didn't have a steak, but A definitely didn't want to leave the city without one. The leather was really cheap, too. She ended up buying a gorgeous aqua blue leather jacket made for her for a mere $80 cash. Cashmere is also quite a bargain in Argentina, and frankly, with the exchange rate, most everything was. For example, in Easter Island, a typical (read: not great, but not awful) meal in a reasonable restaurant was at minimum $10-$15 per person, not including drinks. On the mainland of Chile, things were a bit cheaper, but you can find deals for the "menu of the day" for lunch for about $6 to $9. In Buenos Aires, A had a steak dinner with half a bottle of wine and water for $12. I had lasagna and a diet coke for $5. Lunch for both of us typically ran $7 total. Definitely cheaper living! And definitely cheaper shopping.
The second day was no rain, but boy was it cold. Not like a DC winter, but definitely chilly. In the morning, A ran some of her own errands while I met up with a guy I knew from the Shiga International House in Otsu, Shiga. Yup, someone I knew from 14 years ago. When we arrived in the city, I realized that I "knew" one person in Buenos Aires, a guy named O who had participated in an exchange to Shiga way back when I was on the JET Program. I looked him up in the phone book and decided to give it a shot. Imagine how awkward that phone call was... when I asked if he was the guy who lived in Shiga, Japan in the early 1990s, he was very gracious and said that he did in fact remember me. We decided to meet for lunch, and when I met him, he looked exactly like I remembered. We had a nice "catching up" lunch, and he told me that he did really remember me and wasn't just being polite. He even offered that if I decide to go back to Argentina (when I travel after I take the bar exam in February), he has a timeshare apartment that I was welcome to stay at. Yay! What a generous offer. I am VERY seriously considering making South America my post-bar adventure. It would be summer down there, so things might work out quite well...
After lunch, A and I visited La Boca where we bought some artwork and handicrafts. The area is so colorful, both literally and figuratively. The buildings are painted bright primary colors, and there are Kodak moments at every angle: people tangoing on the street (for the benefit of the tourists -- and tips -- of course); cafes; painters selling their art; etc. A Korean tourist asked to take a picture with me. It was very weird, and just like being back in Japan when perfect strangers would ask to take a photo with me, as if I were some kind of movie star. Bizarre!!
From there, we hopped a bus that we hoped would head back downtown, but instead we had a tour of other sections of the city. It worked out well, though, because we saw places where the real people live and shop and work. We then meandered back to the hotel after unsuccessfully trying to get into the cemetary at La Recoleta (it was closed) and taking night shots of the Argentinian Washington monument. The next morning, we went to the cemetary, which contains huge and very ornate mausoleums -- really fabulous. Also, about 200 cats live in the cemetary, so that made for a more lively visit. Quite ironic to see all those cats when we kept seeing the stray dogs outside (as well as a number of dog walkers with a dozen dogs on leash -- and I thought that was a strictly New York city kinda thing!). Another funny thing was that when we found Evita's grave, they were working on the mausoleum itself, so we got to see inside. It was filled with tools and other implements of repair -- and basically looked like the inside of tool shed with everything piled up. If I had been an Evita devotee, I might have been horrified, but instead I found it very amusing.
Then back to the hotel to pack and get ready to leave for the airport. Nothing too exciting.
All in all, I just loved Buenos Aires and definitely want to go back. It is very easy to get around despite the dire safety warnings by locals. Most people speak some English -- and many speak very good English. I found the Argentinian Spanish (or as Latin America calls the language, "Castillano") much easier to understand than the Chilean accent. Things are much cheaper in Argentina, but the standard of living seems to be fairly good (that is, unless the government devalues the currency). We always found people to be tolerant of our lack of awareness of how things worked and usually helpful. Overall, an exceedingly positive visit.
Next chapter... my last few days in South America and some final observations...
Buenos Aires is a really lovely, very European-feeling city. We arrived at night and went straight to the hotel and to bed (that is, after indulging in some English language television). The first day we were there involved sheets of cold rain. However, since we were on a package tour, we had a half-day bus tour of the city -- which worked out well because of the awful weather. We toured around the major attractions of the downtown area (not including the outer metropolitan area), which included uber-expensive, Park Avenue-esque designer showrooms as well as the more traditional parts of the city; La Recoleta (where Eva Peron is buried in the cemetary); the waterfront; the municipal buildings including the "Pink House" (the color of which symbolizes the compromise between the white party and the red party) and the very poor but exceedingly colorful La Boca. One surprise for me is that Buenos Aires has a landmark monument that is considered a symbol of the city... an obelisk that looks just like a smaller version of the Washington monument. Ahh, no wonder I felt so at ease in Buenos Aires!
We only had two days in BA, and because of the rain, the first day was limited in range and scope. Yup, we spent the rest of the day shopping for a leather jacket for A. Argentina is known for a few things, including the gauchos on the pampas. Where there are cows, there is beef and leather. I didn't have a steak, but A definitely didn't want to leave the city without one. The leather was really cheap, too. She ended up buying a gorgeous aqua blue leather jacket made for her for a mere $80 cash. Cashmere is also quite a bargain in Argentina, and frankly, with the exchange rate, most everything was. For example, in Easter Island, a typical (read: not great, but not awful) meal in a reasonable restaurant was at minimum $10-$15 per person, not including drinks. On the mainland of Chile, things were a bit cheaper, but you can find deals for the "menu of the day" for lunch for about $6 to $9. In Buenos Aires, A had a steak dinner with half a bottle of wine and water for $12. I had lasagna and a diet coke for $5. Lunch for both of us typically ran $7 total. Definitely cheaper living! And definitely cheaper shopping.
The second day was no rain, but boy was it cold. Not like a DC winter, but definitely chilly. In the morning, A ran some of her own errands while I met up with a guy I knew from the Shiga International House in Otsu, Shiga. Yup, someone I knew from 14 years ago. When we arrived in the city, I realized that I "knew" one person in Buenos Aires, a guy named O who had participated in an exchange to Shiga way back when I was on the JET Program. I looked him up in the phone book and decided to give it a shot. Imagine how awkward that phone call was... when I asked if he was the guy who lived in Shiga, Japan in the early 1990s, he was very gracious and said that he did in fact remember me. We decided to meet for lunch, and when I met him, he looked exactly like I remembered. We had a nice "catching up" lunch, and he told me that he did really remember me and wasn't just being polite. He even offered that if I decide to go back to Argentina (when I travel after I take the bar exam in February), he has a timeshare apartment that I was welcome to stay at. Yay! What a generous offer. I am VERY seriously considering making South America my post-bar adventure. It would be summer down there, so things might work out quite well...
After lunch, A and I visited La Boca where we bought some artwork and handicrafts. The area is so colorful, both literally and figuratively. The buildings are painted bright primary colors, and there are Kodak moments at every angle: people tangoing on the street (for the benefit of the tourists -- and tips -- of course); cafes; painters selling their art; etc. A Korean tourist asked to take a picture with me. It was very weird, and just like being back in Japan when perfect strangers would ask to take a photo with me, as if I were some kind of movie star. Bizarre!!
From there, we hopped a bus that we hoped would head back downtown, but instead we had a tour of other sections of the city. It worked out well, though, because we saw places where the real people live and shop and work. We then meandered back to the hotel after unsuccessfully trying to get into the cemetary at La Recoleta (it was closed) and taking night shots of the Argentinian Washington monument. The next morning, we went to the cemetary, which contains huge and very ornate mausoleums -- really fabulous. Also, about 200 cats live in the cemetary, so that made for a more lively visit. Quite ironic to see all those cats when we kept seeing the stray dogs outside (as well as a number of dog walkers with a dozen dogs on leash -- and I thought that was a strictly New York city kinda thing!). Another funny thing was that when we found Evita's grave, they were working on the mausoleum itself, so we got to see inside. It was filled with tools and other implements of repair -- and basically looked like the inside of tool shed with everything piled up. If I had been an Evita devotee, I might have been horrified, but instead I found it very amusing.
Then back to the hotel to pack and get ready to leave for the airport. Nothing too exciting.
All in all, I just loved Buenos Aires and definitely want to go back. It is very easy to get around despite the dire safety warnings by locals. Most people speak some English -- and many speak very good English. I found the Argentinian Spanish (or as Latin America calls the language, "Castillano") much easier to understand than the Chilean accent. Things are much cheaper in Argentina, but the standard of living seems to be fairly good (that is, unless the government devalues the currency). We always found people to be tolerant of our lack of awareness of how things worked and usually helpful. Overall, an exceedingly positive visit.
Next chapter... my last few days in South America and some final observations...
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