Back in Buenos Aires for a Day

March 8, 2011

Back to the big city after a short weekend in Santa Fe, Buenos Aires once again managed to impress me. I stayed in the same central area, just a few blocks from the Obelisk in one direction and the Plaza de Mayo and Casa Rosada in another direction. Determined to get another good feel for the city, I set out in the morning, walking randomly from landmark to landmark, as I find exploring a city on foot is often the best way to get a true feel for it and its people.

I began with another stroll over towards the presidential office (Casa Rosada) and the Plaza de Mayo, deciding to then turn down one of the main streets off the plaza, inviting me in with it's European facades and high rises, partially covered by the rows of green trees offering bits of shade along the sidewalk. Browsing along the shops and buildings, I made my way past quaint cafes and apartment blocks, eventually opening back out onto the sprawling, wide Avendia 9 de Julio. I made my way down through another few blocks, coming upon another Congressional building and adjacent plaza with a mix of grass and gravel providing spots to relax under view of the large pillars of the wide palace. Nearby, a few Russians tried to converse with some Brazilians and then with me as they tried to work out the details of a free walking tour of the city that was scheduled to begin at that exact spot. I contemplated joining the tour, though I decided by the clientele that it might be a little past my age demographic. Instead, I turned up another pleasant looking avenue, making my way Northwest of the center, moving a bit into more high-end residential districts, still filled with high-rises, busy streets and sidewalk cafes.

Coming upon a subway stop, I studied the map for a while, trying to remember where exactly I had stayed when I was there 8 years before. I narrowed it down to two subway stops, and then I actually found the street name that I recognized, Virrey Del Pino, so I hopped on the subway and headed back to the residential neighborhood to find the small apartment where I had resided for three weeks during my first stay in the city. Getting out of the subway, things looked familiar, and I followed my instincts, leading me down a small street, each corner looking more and more familiar under I found the fish shop downstairs and exposed balcony above where the apartment was located. Things hadn't changed that much, but it was a strange sensation to re-live some other part of my life that had been reduced to memories and just one or two old pictures. I wandered the area and made my way down the road a few blocks to the spot where the language school had been, hidden in another cobbled lane of beautiful trees, now replaced by a training school that still does offer some language courses, though more geared towards vocational training. Sitting along the sidewalk for about half an hour, I reminisced on my time spent there, feeling the attraction of Buenos Aires not only in its big city attractions but in its quieter, scenic neighborhoods that extend out in all directions (except for the coast) from the urban center.

I took the subway back down just a few stops and decided to get off at the Plaza Italia, finding a nice little stand-up pizza bar with friendly waiters before heading down past the zoo and a few more parks as I entered an area of the city known for its immense green spaces. Passing by consulates and gated houses, I was obviously in another high-end district, soon giving way to the 3rd of February park, a big park on the edge of the city popular with walkers, bicyclists and roller-bladers, as well as families just wanting to get out in the sun and have a nice picnic on the grassy areas. A small lake with paddleboats and a rose garden on the peninsula in the middle rounded out the idyllic scene, much like an old French pointilistic painting of a quaint day at the park. Kids and adults kicked around soccer balls while others sat in the shade drinking tea and talking. Moving on, I passed around into another of the city's many neighborhoods, not really knowing where the exact boundaries were, though you can feel the atmosphere change, as the storefronts and architectural styles transform from one to another. Thinking it was a little bit closer, I had decided to just walk the long way home, though I soon found that the scale of my map was way bigger than I thought. Nevertheless, it was a nice day outside, so I continued walking along.

Eventually I came upon a park with rows of crafts vendors, a scene that jarred my memory from years before. I knew this exact spot from my time in the city, realizing that the famous Recoleta cemetery would be just around the corner. Passing by, my memory of the place also included a few dreadlocked hippies who had strung a taut rope between some palm trees to practice walking as if on a high wire, and that exact scene was again on display. I entered the massive cemetery again, filled with huge mausoleums housing wealthy families from the city's past. Granite, marble and a variety of other stones and colors sculpted into pillars, crosses, doors and windows line the cement alleyways, filled with random stray cats and tourists mostly gravitating towards the Duarte family tomb where the beloved Evita rests. Most of the concrete cemetery is quiet, peaceful and beautiful, but the one row with Evita seems to attract a line of pushy tour groups, all trying to get to the very front to see the small placard of the former leader.

Leaving the cemetery, I headed back towards the hostel, still a long way off, stopping at one of the shops for some of Argentina's famous ice cream, sort of resembling Italian gelatto at times. Just before dusk, I finally made it back to the wide Avenida 9 de Julio, completing a very long day of walking and being taken in by the city that has done the same to so many others. I was also amazed that while in the process of uncovering so many new pieces of this great city, I was able to rekindle so many of my treasured memories of my past stay in the city from riding bikes in the park to walking to class in the mornings to even seeing those same hippies outside of Recoleta cemetery, providing a nice mix of nostalgia and discovery. As I've said over and over, there really is something about Buenos Aires that gets under my skin and leaves me wanting more.

(The famous Obelisk in the center of Avenida 9 de Julio, just two blocks from my hostel in the Microcentro.)

(A typical streetscene near the Plaza de Mayo. Classic architecture and nice trees make this a great city for wandering aimlessly.)

(One of the Congressional buildings of the city. Government stuff goes on inside, so they have a fence to keep riff-raff like me out of it, so I have no idea what's actually in there. Probably just a nice looking restaurant or something.)

(More of the inner city in Buenos Aires.)

(Again, nothing spectacular, but I just love the feel of the city, and it's mostly all flat, so it's easy to walk around for hours and hours, which is exactly what I did.)

(Look closely at the front corner of this building. Above the fish market, on the second floor, is where I lived for three weeks after graduating and finding a homestay with a local family. Wandering down these streets brought back some great memories of my time there taking Spanish lessons and discovering the city.)

(Despite being a massive metropolis, Buenos Aires still retains some greenery, making it a lot more pleasant for walking.)

(I spent a few hours wandering around the 3rd of February park, watching paddleboats, bikers, rollerbladers, runners and kids running through the rose gardens. This side of the city (near Palermo) is known for its many parks and green spaces.)

(Inside the Recoleta Cemetery. The tombs house different families, all done in different styles, lining concrete alleys with a large population of stray cats patrolling the grounds.)

(The Familia Duarte - last resting place of Eva Peron (Evita). If you really want, you can make some terrible Don't Cry for Me Argentina joke here, but I'm not going to sink to that level. Show some respect.)

(Though most of the cemetery is quiet and scenic, the row where Evita's tomb is located gets crazy and pushy when tour groups come through, everyone trying to get a close look at the tomb and placard above.)

(Just one or two rows down, almost complete solitude in the Recoleta Cemetery.)

(The Avenida 9 de Julio (9th of July for those not good at Spanglish). Claiming to be the widest avenue in the world, it's imposing at 7 lanes each way, separated by a big island containing the Obelisk, as well as two lanes on each side separated by another island, that are actually separate, parallel roads. Crossing this thoroughfare can be quite a task, especially if you try to do it in one stretch.)

(A cheap, typical meal of mine - cheese pizza and ground beef empanada. Everything was going well as I ate my food under the Obelisk, watching the day pass into night, until my empanada decided to drip grease all over me and my pants. Luckily I had some water to wash it off, though it did look a little suspicious walking back with wet pants...especially in such a high-traffic area where it would be impossible to go undetected.)