Out and about in Buenos Aires

Monday 22 February 2016

We were meant to do a walking tour of the city but as it was just the two of us  and our guide and it was so hot we took her little car and covered a lot more of the city in comfort!

We saw the futball stadium, walked around the La Boca area which was fascinating. This is the area of the charactatures of Evita, her husband, the Pope etc. The houses are all coloured tin from the left over paint that the immigrants could scrounge from the ships in port!

The old warehouses have been turned into places for small stalls to sell their wares and restaurants. We had a lovely Colombian espresso and the local traditional choc biscuit.

We drove along the wharf area and saw how choked up the water was with water lily type plants.

Liliana then drove up through newer parts of town and we saw the new marina area that has had the old warehouses turned into housing and restaurants. There are a lot of monuments around the city gifted from other countries or built by the government to commemorate this or that.

We saw the area where the antiques markets are held each Sunday and had a walk along the street of antique shops etc. Saw some lovely old buildings.

Saw the pink palace, and went inside the Cathedral at the main square. It looks like the Pantheon from the outside and gothic on the inside. We also saw the needle column that everything  radiates out from as far as the city is concerned.

We tried some local icecream which was nice and then wandered around Recoleta Cemetery. Of course we saw Eva Peron’s  tomb although her remains are no longer there due to safety concerns. The crypts and tombs are very interesting. Some still being used, others falling into ruin. When the room ran out for coffins they started to cremate and but the urns into the mausoleums too. Some also go underground where they place coffins as well.

It was a full and very interesting day.

We had a typical Argentinian dinner at Los Nazarenes steak house.

Back to the hotel to pack, tomorrow we join our cruise!