Buenos Aires-Jan 12th to Jan 18th
We rolled into Buenos Aires and stored our bags at the bus station because Morgan, our couch surfing host, wouldn't be home from work until 8. We walked around the area near the bus station, which is the downtown area of Buenos Aires. It was so cool! The architecture and feeling of the city is so spectacular, and it doesn't feel like a South American city. There are narrow streets with tall concrete ornate buildings like you'd expect to see in France or Italy. We had lunch at an Irish pub because I read in our Lonely Planet guide book that they had typical Irish food. I got a chicken pot pie, which was pretty good. Then we took a cab to Morgan's house. He lives at the north corner of a neighborhood called Palermo. It's sort of the “expat” neighborhood, and is filled with really nice shops and bars and restaurants. His apartment was really really nice, on the 10th floor, and had a big balcony. Morgan is from New York, is Jewish, and a quirky, humorous Shakespeare-loving, thought provoking conversationalist. He has lived in Buenos Aires for 10 years and is an entrepreneur. His main business is a PR/Marking business. He operates completely out of the US and was “illegal” in Argentina for 8 years, before he married his Argentine wife. His wife was in New York guest lecturing at Colombia's law school while we were there (yeah, I know! And she's only 25!) I was completely shocked about this, but he explained that the Argentine government simply doesn't care about gringos coming and working there. I got a sense of how crazy the Argentine government is: how corrupt, lax, inefficient. He was also telling us that the Argentine peso's value crashes every 10 years, so people don't put their money in a bank but buy apartments and cars (because cars actually increase in value over time due to inflation and they sell the apartments after 2 years) or keep US dollars in Urugauyan banks.
The first day we went to the US embassy so Jesse could get more passport pages in his passport. It took a couple hours. Then we walked around Palermo for the rest of the day and that night Morgan showed us around the area he lives. We stopped by a “gringo” bar which served guess what! Hamburgers! (Morgan was a friend of the owner and said the government had come to shut them down for some type of ridiculous infringement, with the purpose of bribing them. But, the owner, being a gringo, would not pay the “fine” and his bar remained closed for 2 months. The staff had to quit and money was lost.)
I had a fernet and coke, the national Argentine drink. The second day we went down to the “White House” of Argentina, La Casa Rosado, which is on the main square of the city, where they city was first founded as a Spanish holding. The Casa Rosado is where the presidents are supposed to live, etc. There have been many impassioned speeches by leaders from the balcony facing the huge square over Argentina's turbulent political history, including of course, Eva Peron.
Then we walked all the way down to SanTelmo, which is an old part of the city and has cobbled streets and old bars. There are tons of antique shops and ferrias all over the place. And I love antiques! I love cameo jewelry (the side profile of a women's face) and they had a ton, but it would be silly to buy something valuable while backpacking. So we bought Morgan a world map from 1935 because it was his birthday and because we were staying with him for so long. He loves maps and showed us his 1960's map of the New York.
We had a beer in the plaza and watched some complimentary tango (beautiful, but a bit slow in my opinion) and then took the “Subte” back to Morgan's.
That night he took us to his members only club in Palermo. Earlier in the day, he had said, “Me and my friends get together and rent a place to hang out.” So we thought – empty apartment with a couple sofas and a fridge. I even asked if we should bring drinks and food – hahaha! No. Not at all. It was a beautiful renovated house in the trendiest part of Palermo, with two huge patios that opened into the house on both floors. Original Andy Warhol paintings on the wall. A garden that stretched back into the middle of the block, with a pool, a bar (serving $10US beers), and garden style bathrooms at the back. I was livid I hadn't bought something nicer to wear!
We met two really nice British guys, one who worked in the hotel industry and the other who wrote for a packaging industry magazine. Seriously. Like boxes and bubble wrap and popcorn stuffing. But, he was a really great, funny guy. They, like a lot of people we've met, have been really impressed and envious of our travels... but, having given up our jobs and life and possessions over a year ago, we don't feel impressed with ourselves anymore, and just consider it a thing to do if you want to do it. In fact, I (probably not Jesse) am impressed with their ability to have career jobs and be responsible!
The third day we went to the zoo!! It was the best zoo I've ever been to for two reasons: there were little deer/rabbit like creatures just wandering around the entire zoo willy nilly. And, you could feed the animals! They sold these little pellet things that you could feed all the animals with except a few. It was so much fun. I got to pet all kinds of different deer and goats. I was in such heaven and could have stayed until closing, but of course Jesse wanted to get moving.
We took the Subte downtown again and then walked over to the reserve on the water, but it was closed on Mondays! Surprise! The wharf was really nice though, and there was an old sailing ship from the 1800's that you could go on for 50 cents and walk around.
After that we took the F car to see the parliament building. The F car is still really old, from early last century, and it was super cool, as well as free! (The government decided to increase the fare by about 60 cents that week,a 400% increase, and the Subte workers decided this was not cool and that they were going to let everyone on for free.. there are cops in the Subte stations, but they don't seem to care that this is happening... welcome to Argentina!) The fact that the old F car is still being used is only because it simply hasn't been updated. Argentina used to be one of the wealthiest countries in the world, exporting beef, mutton, wheat, and wool. But that all changed in the 40's, and now things lay in ruin, including many beautiful old buildings. But the parliament buildings were unbelievable! Just stunning. Our book didn't mention if they had tours, but I wish we had looked into it.
We finally made it home, and my feet were just dead from walking.
That day was Morgan's 35th birthday, so we went out with him and a few of his friends to a bar in Palermo. His friends were really great, and we had a wonderful time!
The next day we headed to the cemetery to see Evita's grave. The cemetery is unbelievable. Old time Argentines were just the pinnacle of vanity and grotesque displays of wealth and snobbery. Which is made most evident in the cemetery. The memorials to themselves these people constructed is mind-blowing. But, I'm glad they did, because it was beautiful and picturesque. My pictures just couldn't do it justice. I've never seen anything like it. There were many famous Argentines buried there, and seeing Evita's grave was cool. Her body had a long journey to that grave, which is a really interesting story. Actually, I think Evita's entire story and controversial legacy is interesting, but what happened to her body after she died is just out of a movie... truth is always stranger then fiction!
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| In front of Evita's grave |
After the cemetery we took a cab to a bar near the house to watch.. you guessed it! The Packers game! And, if you don't care about American football (which growing up in the Mark Glyer household made impossible for me- it was either learn the rules and watch the game or go find something else to do), you won't know that they lost. Yes, lost. They had only lost one game the entire season, and that game was Kansas City, which was not nearly a good a team as them, and they lost the first playoff game. But, at least Aaron Rodgers (the quarterback, who is from Chico, California) already has a Superbowl ring, from last year.
The next day we walked over to the Hippodrome (the horse track) because I'd heard it's very nice. It was really beautiful and fancy! There were no races that day, and as a result we couldn't see much of the track. Then we walked to the Evita museum, which was really big and interesting, and of course was pro-Evita. It was in the building Evita had started her foundation for women and children, and that functioned as a shelter for them. It was a really beautiful building.
That evening Jesse cooked some chicken curry for me and Morgan which was really good! Then the next day we left early to catch the ferry to Uruguay!
