It’s the end of July and I have been living in Argentina for over a month. I am definitely lacking in my knowledge of the city…the parks, streets, plazas, markets, amazing architecture…there is so much to see and experience! My first weekend staying in Buenos Aires I decided to go to Plaza Italia in Palermo and start walking the adventure….
I wandered further into the parts known as Palerma Viejo (SOHO and Hollywood). I went to the popular, and well known by the locals, Plaza Serrano (officially it is Plaza Cortazar) and walked around the craft booths. I did some loops to check out plaza Campaña del Desierta (more crafty fair stuff on weekends) and Plaza Guermes. Apparently, this is the spot to be if you’re American and you want an overpriced beer at noon without being judged for your early drinking habits. I started heading down towards Alto Palermo (big shopping mall) to find my favorite empanada place …never thought I would walk 3 miles to get the perfect empanada! I’m turning loco like the Argentineans!
I then decided to speed down to Plaza de Mayo to catch “Manzana de las Luces” tour of the underground tunnels. “Manzana” was the old Spanish word for city block and “Luces” referred to enlightenment and intellectualism. Avenida de Mayo and the surrounding streets are thus an area for the educated. Jesuits founded the very first church of the city here and built tunnels underground to transport supplies to the weekly market…or so they say…really there are two other theories: (1) a way to smuggle illegal items from other European countries and (2) an escape route from the Presidential Palace in case of political turmoil. The president in 2001 actually fled the Pink House underground to get to his helicopter that whisked him away!
I walked down Calle Peru and Calle Florida, another street market with pedestrian access only, and I noticed how empty the city felt on a weekend during the winter vacation. Maybe they are all recovering from Friday night´s partying until wee hours of the morning? It’s amazing how big every single building is and that each one has such intricate details. Definitely European feeling and I love it! Without so many people around I was able to be a tourist and actually look at the monstrous towers without being pushed around …I did feel a little strange seeing bums on every door step and carteros digging threw the street trash. The sun began to set and that’s when I made it to Corrientes…the Broadway of Buenos Aires! Best seen at night, I walked up and down the streets searching for some sort of show... “La Bella y La Bestia” for Sunday night for US $35!
Exhausted after 5 hours of walking the town with this pesky cold- that had gotten worse after walking to work in the rain on Friday….stupid subte that was shut down after half my work commute!- I decided to relax and eat out in the city tonight. I also wanted to consult my Buenos Aires guide book for the next “do it yourself guided walking tour” by Frommer’s….you can laugh, this is how I got my nickname travelling in Europe.
I then experienced the flirting style of Argentine men….which is more like smothering you with words sweeter than dulce de leche. I stayed at the café restaurant for 2 hours…he showered compliments of my eyes, hair and face…saying I’m perfect because I speak Spanish and I am intelligent …the most beautiful girl he has ever seen in the world (I think he broke a world record for number of times this line was said in one night). Tinker Bell must have sprinkled some kind of magic pixie dust on him because it literally seemed like he came out of a Disney prince charming movie! And at the end of the night he professed his love for me and asked me to be his girlfriend… I left the café high on laughter and in shock that Argentine men get women this way!
I wasn’t ready to go home so I hiked over to Plaza Lavalle…amazing view of the intimidating Tribunales (Supreme Court) at night! I got creeped out by the low class people hanging around the sidewalks and saying who knows what when I walked by…so I quickly took my pictures and took the subte home.
Sunday, still stuffed up from the cold, I went straight to Avenida de Mayo and followed my guide book´s walk along this street designed to mimic Paris’ Champs Elysees, which went from la Casa Rosada to Palacio del Congreso. The architectural views along the way were phenomenal! Hilarious that an Italian architect designed Hotel Chile with Middle East style! Palacio Barolo was inspired by Dante´s Inferno….a lobby of hell with fiery floors and golden dragons… heaven on the 22 floor with a rotating lighthouse overlooking the city! My favorite laugh of the day was from a copy of Rodin´s “Thinker” (from Paris) sitting in the middle of Plaza Lorea. There was a breath-taking fountain complete with naked dancing baby statues and a tribute to the union of the two previous battling political sides. Behind the fountain was the daunting El Congreso. To make its presence known to the world it has a dome like Capital Hill in Washington DC and the horses´ statue like Brandenburg Gate from Berlin, Germany. For giggles there was even a Café Molina (Moulin rouge Paris Café) to the right.
THIS PLAZA IS MY FAVORITE PLACE IN BUENOS AIRES!!!
I wandered further into the parts known as Palerma Viejo (SOHO and Hollywood). I went to the popular, and well known by the locals, Plaza Serrano (officially it is Plaza Cortazar) and walked around the craft booths. I did some loops to check out plaza Campaña del Desierta (more crafty fair stuff on weekends) and Plaza Guermes. Apparently, this is the spot to be if you’re American and you want an overpriced beer at noon without being judged for your early drinking habits. I started heading down towards Alto Palermo (big shopping mall) to find my favorite empanada place …never thought I would walk 3 miles to get the perfect empanada! I’m turning loco like the Argentineans!
I then decided to speed down to Plaza de Mayo to catch “Manzana de las Luces” tour of the underground tunnels. “Manzana” was the old Spanish word for city block and “Luces” referred to enlightenment and intellectualism. Avenida de Mayo and the surrounding streets are thus an area for the educated. Jesuits founded the very first church of the city here and built tunnels underground to transport supplies to the weekly market…or so they say…really there are two other theories: (1) a way to smuggle illegal items from other European countries and (2) an escape route from the Presidential Palace in case of political turmoil. The president in 2001 actually fled the Pink House underground to get to his helicopter that whisked him away!
I walked down Calle Peru and Calle Florida, another street market with pedestrian access only, and I noticed how empty the city felt on a weekend during the winter vacation. Maybe they are all recovering from Friday night´s partying until wee hours of the morning? It’s amazing how big every single building is and that each one has such intricate details. Definitely European feeling and I love it! Without so many people around I was able to be a tourist and actually look at the monstrous towers without being pushed around …I did feel a little strange seeing bums on every door step and carteros digging threw the street trash. The sun began to set and that’s when I made it to Corrientes…the Broadway of Buenos Aires! Best seen at night, I walked up and down the streets searching for some sort of show... “La Bella y La Bestia” for Sunday night for US $35!
Exhausted after 5 hours of walking the town with this pesky cold- that had gotten worse after walking to work in the rain on Friday….stupid subte that was shut down after half my work commute!- I decided to relax and eat out in the city tonight. I also wanted to consult my Buenos Aires guide book for the next “do it yourself guided walking tour” by Frommer’s….you can laugh, this is how I got my nickname travelling in Europe.
I then experienced the flirting style of Argentine men….which is more like smothering you with words sweeter than dulce de leche. I stayed at the café restaurant for 2 hours…he showered compliments of my eyes, hair and face…saying I’m perfect because I speak Spanish and I am intelligent …the most beautiful girl he has ever seen in the world (I think he broke a world record for number of times this line was said in one night). Tinker Bell must have sprinkled some kind of magic pixie dust on him because it literally seemed like he came out of a Disney prince charming movie! And at the end of the night he professed his love for me and asked me to be his girlfriend… I left the café high on laughter and in shock that Argentine men get women this way!
I wasn’t ready to go home so I hiked over to Plaza Lavalle…amazing view of the intimidating Tribunales (Supreme Court) at night! I got creeped out by the low class people hanging around the sidewalks and saying who knows what when I walked by…so I quickly took my pictures and took the subte home.
Sunday, still stuffed up from the cold, I went straight to Avenida de Mayo and followed my guide book´s walk along this street designed to mimic Paris’ Champs Elysees, which went from la Casa Rosada to Palacio del Congreso. The architectural views along the way were phenomenal! Hilarious that an Italian architect designed Hotel Chile with Middle East style! Palacio Barolo was inspired by Dante´s Inferno….a lobby of hell with fiery floors and golden dragons… heaven on the 22 floor with a rotating lighthouse overlooking the city! My favorite laugh of the day was from a copy of Rodin´s “Thinker” (from Paris) sitting in the middle of Plaza Lorea. There was a breath-taking fountain complete with naked dancing baby statues and a tribute to the union of the two previous battling political sides. Behind the fountain was the daunting El Congreso. To make its presence known to the world it has a dome like Capital Hill in Washington DC and the horses´ statue like Brandenburg Gate from Berlin, Germany. For giggles there was even a Café Molina (Moulin rouge Paris Café) to the right.
THIS PLAZA IS MY FAVORITE PLACE IN BUENOS AIRES!!!
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