Our last full day was a sunny Friday. Unfortunately, this day was plagued with a couple of unexpected and uncontrollable mishaps. I got sick overnight after returning from Uruguay. I’m not sure if it was a bout of stomach flu or food poisoning but I could not keep anything down. I had no energy and even drinking water was not making me feel better. This was not good because this was the day we really needed to hydrate for the next leg of the journey which was travelling to La Paz, which is at an altitude between 3,500 and 4,000 metres on our way to Cusco. I eventually managed to muster up enough energy around noon to go with Z to the area of Recoleta. It was relatively easy getting there by bus once we found the bus stop. This is an upper-class neighbourhood and the home of Recoleta Cemetery, the resting place of Eva Paron. We walked around the cemetery for awhile astonished at all the intricate mausoleums. I was losing energy fast, so we did not stay there for long. There is a nice park just outside the cemetery and we found a great resting place on the grass. Because of how I was feeling, we missed out on exploring more of the area including Palermo. I had really wanted to explore this area, but just couldn’t. I spent the rest of the day and evening back at the hostel in bed. What a way to spend a Friday evening in Buenos Aires! L Z being the caring, attentive person he is, was quite concerned about my condition. While I insisted he go out on explore the waterfront area, I’m sure he was thinking about how I was the entire time. He brought me back some Gatorade and chicken soup packages and went off to boil some water for me. This is where the second mishap occurs. While boiling the water, the lid of the kettle fell off and burned one of his fingers quite badly. I felt so guilty about his mishap, but he tried to take it in stride despite the pain. What a great guy! Apparently this evening Calle Florida was turning into a market area with street vendors, street performers and even some tango dancers. What a shame to have missed out on that.
There is so much to see in Buenos Aires, it’s hard to keep track which little neighbourhoods we wandered through, but in Plaza de Mayo there is the Catedral Metropolitana, which from the outside you would never guess was a cathedral. The building is rather non-descript. We found ourselves in the door and window museum at one point. Yes, we thought it was unusual to have a museum dedicated to the history of city doors and windows, but when you actually take the time to look at the architecture of the buildings around you quickly come to realize that the entrance doors to most buildings (banks, government buildings, etc.) are quite ornate and very tall. In this area of town you also get to see Casa Rosada, the home of the offices of the president and the executive branch of government. This building has been painted pink, of all colours, but they had wanted it to look like the White House without painting it white. Across the street here is the National Bank of Argentina and the atrium is supposed to be a sight to see, but we arrived too late to be let in….darn banker’s hours!
Avenida Corrientes, which was just a block away from where we were staying is a really fascinating street with cinemas, shops, and eateries. This street leads you to the famed Avenida 9 de Julio. The area known as Montserrat is where we had lunch after returning from La Boca. This area is all cobble-stoned and is the oldest suburb of the city. Some history here, it was the most popular part of the city until a yellow fever outbreak in the 19th century which forced wealthy families to move to the area of Palermo.
Another place that is worth a visit is Café Tortoni. This café originally opened in 1858 and is the country’s oldest café. It’s situated on Avenida de Mayo. The interior of this café was incredible; they have marble tables, art on the walls, lovely architecture and columns. You can just feel this place has a fabulous atmosphere. The waiters are elegantly dressed with dark pants, white shirt and bow ties. They also have Tango shows in the evenings. We stopped here for a coffee and tea.
Must dos in Argentina: eat lots of beef, it tastes so incredible; drink wine, it’s fantastic and cheap; see a good Tango show, you’ll be blown away.
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