Buenos Aires was our next stop after Iguazu. Our planned activities in this capital of Argentina were scheduled the next day so we had a free afternoon to explore the city. After exchanging money and having a late lunch, we went around the area near our hotel and found ourselves in Plaza de Mayo, the main square of Buenos Aires. On the far end of the plaza is Casa Rosada, which translates to Pink House. It is the executive mansion and office of the President of Argentina. Interestingly enough, Plaza de Mayo was the first stop on our tour the
next morning. Our guide told us that it was in the balcony of Casa
Rosada where Evita Peron famously stood and made her speeches to the
Argentinian masses.
In the middle of the square is Pirámide de Mayo. This monumemt was built in 1811 to commemorate the first anniversary of the Revolución de Mayo, the first successful revolution of South America against Spain..
Our guide pointed out another important building in Plaza de Mayo - the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral. This is where Pope Francis used to celebrate mass as Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio before he became the Pope. If our guide didn't tell us this building was a cathedral, I would have thought it was a government building.
Our next stop was La Boca. This neighborhood is popular for its colorful houses that were often made from ship building materials, such as planks and corrugated iron. Caminito Street is a short alley and a street museum in La Boca that is lined with brightly colored buildings and a lot of sculptures.
At one end of Caminito Street is this monument to General José de San Martín, who liberated Argentina, Chile, and Peru from Spanish rule. He is celebrated all throughout South America and is a national hero in Argentina and in Peru.
We got to see a few more sights while on the road in our tour bus. The first was La Bombonera, the stadium of Club Atlético Boca Juniors which is the most successful football team in Argentina. Our guide told us that the colors of Boca Juniors were chosen because when the Club was unsure what colors to use for their kit, they decided to just adopt the colors of the flag of the first boat to sail into the port at La Boca. As it turned out, it was a Swedish ship. So Boca Juniors selected yellow and blue as their official colors.
Another landmark we saw while on the bus was Floralis Generica, a giant mechanical flower in Plaza de las Naciones Unidas. It opens during the day and closes at the night. This sculpture was a gift to Buenos Aires by architect Eduardo Catalano. (Side note: an additional cool thing about our tour was that many times when we would pass by a landmark that our guide pointed out to us, the bus we stop and driver would open the door so that we could take better photos.)
Our final stop that morning was La Recoleta Cemetery where you can find graves of many notable Argentines , including past presidents, military officers, renowned artists, scientists, athletes, and prominent families.
It was hailed by both BBC and CNN as one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the world. I actually told our guide that it felt like we were in an outdoor museum, what with all the beautiful and elaborate sculptures and mausoleums.
Arguably the most popular tomb in the entire cemetery is the Duarte family mausoleum.
Why is it famous? It is because Eva María Duarte de Perón, or Evita Peron, is buried here.
There are a lot of other interesting places to visit in the Recoleta neighborhood but we had a big night to prepare for so my mom and returned to our hotel, had a late lunch nearby, and walked over to Florida Street where our tour guide said there would be many souvenir shops (there were). After buying several souvenirs, we headed back to our hotel to pack - we had a very early flight the next morning - and to prepare for dinner. But not before taking a few more photos along Florida Street...
...and near our hotel. Across the street from our hotel was the Basilica Nuestra Senora del Rosario (Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary and Convent of Santo Domingo). The huge structure in front of the basilica seems to be the Mausoleum of Manuel Belgrano.
Our dinner here was the fanciest meal we had during our tour of South America. Our package included a bottle of wine (I had most of it because my mom had only one glass)...
...and a three-course dinner, the highlight of which was a 300-gram steak that was very good. (I'm happy that I got to try a steak while I was in Argentina. :))
The tango show started a little after 10pm and ran for almost an hour and a half. I have to say, it was truly sensational! It is marketed as a tango show and there were several Argentine Tango numbers performed by three dance couples. But beyond that, the show also featured many other artists. First, the music was played by live musicians. There were also two singers - a male and a female, both incredibly talented - who serenaded the audience with their amazing voices. There was an artist who played what I think was a banjo or some stringed instrument. Not only was he astoundingly good, he also performed with such a fiery passion and energy that the audience was just absolutely awe-struck and captivated throughout his performance. Finally, there was a performer who started playing a drum before showcasing his amazing skills with bolas. He twirled a pair of bolas and played them as musical instruments, hitting them against the ground to produce a percussive beat that was perfectly timed with the music. (This is similar to the Boleadoras number performed in the Cirque du Soleil show Saltimbanco.) By the end of the show, everyone in the audience was on their feet to give the performers a well-deserved standing ovation. It was an expensive experience but it was definitely worth it because our food was great, the service was excellent, and the show was superb.
It was around 11:30PM when the show ended and it was close to midnight when we got back to our hotel. Our flight to El Calafate was at 5:35AM which meant that we needed to leave our hotel at around 3AM. This further meant that we had to be up at 2AM to get ready. Definitely not an easy schedule, especially considering I had more than half a bottle of wine LOL, but thankfully we did manage to wake up on time.
Next: El Calafate and Patagonia, Argentina
Casa Rosada
In the middle of the square is Pirámide de Mayo. This monumemt was built in 1811 to commemorate the first anniversary of the Revolución de Mayo, the first successful revolution of South America against Spain..
Pirámide de Mayo
Our guide pointed out another important building in Plaza de Mayo - the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral. This is where Pope Francis used to celebrate mass as Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio before he became the Pope. If our guide didn't tell us this building was a cathedral, I would have thought it was a government building.
Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral
Our next stop was La Boca. This neighborhood is popular for its colorful houses that were often made from ship building materials, such as planks and corrugated iron. Caminito Street is a short alley and a street museum in La Boca that is lined with brightly colored buildings and a lot of sculptures.
Caminito Street in La Boca
At one end of Caminito Street is this monument to General José de San Martín, who liberated Argentina, Chile, and Peru from Spanish rule. He is celebrated all throughout South America and is a national hero in Argentina and in Peru.
General José de San Martín Monument in Caminito Street
We got to see a few more sights while on the road in our tour bus. The first was La Bombonera, the stadium of Club Atlético Boca Juniors which is the most successful football team in Argentina. Our guide told us that the colors of Boca Juniors were chosen because when the Club was unsure what colors to use for their kit, they decided to just adopt the colors of the flag of the first boat to sail into the port at La Boca. As it turned out, it was a Swedish ship. So Boca Juniors selected yellow and blue as their official colors.
La Bombonera, home stadium of Boca Juniors
Another landmark we saw while on the bus was Floralis Generica, a giant mechanical flower in Plaza de las Naciones Unidas. It opens during the day and closes at the night. This sculpture was a gift to Buenos Aires by architect Eduardo Catalano. (Side note: an additional cool thing about our tour was that many times when we would pass by a landmark that our guide pointed out to us, the bus we stop and driver would open the door so that we could take better photos.)
Floralis Generica
Our final stop that morning was La Recoleta Cemetery where you can find graves of many notable Argentines , including past presidents, military officers, renowned artists, scientists, athletes, and prominent families.
La Recoleta Cemetery
It was hailed by both BBC and CNN as one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the world. I actually told our guide that it felt like we were in an outdoor museum, what with all the beautiful and elaborate sculptures and mausoleums.
Arguably the most popular tomb in the entire cemetery is the Duarte family mausoleum.
Duarte Family Tomb
Why is it famous? It is because Eva María Duarte de Perón, or Evita Peron, is buried here.
Burial site of Evita Peron
There are a lot of other interesting places to visit in the Recoleta neighborhood but we had a big night to prepare for so my mom and returned to our hotel, had a late lunch nearby, and walked over to Florida Street where our tour guide said there would be many souvenir shops (there were). After buying several souvenirs, we headed back to our hotel to pack - we had a very early flight the next morning - and to prepare for dinner. But not before taking a few more photos along Florida Street...
...and near our hotel. Across the street from our hotel was the Basilica Nuestra Senora del Rosario (Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary and Convent of Santo Domingo). The huge structure in front of the basilica seems to be the Mausoleum of Manuel Belgrano.
Mausoleum of Manuel Belgrano at the Basilica Nuestra Senora del Rosario
As mentioned, my mom and I had a big night that night because included in our tour was a dinner and tango show at La Ventana Barrio de Tango.
Dinner and Tango show at La Ventana
Our dinner here was the fanciest meal we had during our tour of South America. Our package included a bottle of wine (I had most of it because my mom had only one glass)...
...and a three-course dinner, the highlight of which was a 300-gram steak that was very good. (I'm happy that I got to try a steak while I was in Argentina. :))
The tango show started a little after 10pm and ran for almost an hour and a half. I have to say, it was truly sensational! It is marketed as a tango show and there were several Argentine Tango numbers performed by three dance couples. But beyond that, the show also featured many other artists. First, the music was played by live musicians. There were also two singers - a male and a female, both incredibly talented - who serenaded the audience with their amazing voices. There was an artist who played what I think was a banjo or some stringed instrument. Not only was he astoundingly good, he also performed with such a fiery passion and energy that the audience was just absolutely awe-struck and captivated throughout his performance. Finally, there was a performer who started playing a drum before showcasing his amazing skills with bolas. He twirled a pair of bolas and played them as musical instruments, hitting them against the ground to produce a percussive beat that was perfectly timed with the music. (This is similar to the Boleadoras number performed in the Cirque du Soleil show Saltimbanco.) By the end of the show, everyone in the audience was on their feet to give the performers a well-deserved standing ovation. It was an expensive experience but it was definitely worth it because our food was great, the service was excellent, and the show was superb.
It was around 11:30PM when the show ended and it was close to midnight when we got back to our hotel. Our flight to El Calafate was at 5:35AM which meant that we needed to leave our hotel at around 3AM. This further meant that we had to be up at 2AM to get ready. Definitely not an easy schedule, especially considering I had more than half a bottle of wine LOL, but thankfully we did manage to wake up on time.
Next: El Calafate and Patagonia, Argentina
No comments:
Post a Comment