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El último día
Yesterday, I finally made myself walk to go see the Flor. The Flor is a large metal sculpture of a flower, that sits in a large fountain. Just about everyone I know has seen it, and I told myself before I leave Buenos Aires, I had to go see it. So, I got some lunch (6 empanadas) put on my headphones, and took a long walk down to the Flor. The Flor is about 10 blocks or so from my house, and is right next to the Law school. When I finally got there, I decided to just sit, write a little and enjoy my last afternoon in BA. I couldn’t of thought of a better way to spent my last afternoon.
So today is my last day in Buenos Aires. Its unbelievable how fast this whole experience has gone. The past couple weeks, i’ve made it through final exams, watched lots of World cup games, and packed my things. I’ve tried to enjoy as much of this city as I could before departing. I guess this would be the time that I reflect and write about everything I have learned but its hard to. Experiences are easier to understand in retrospect. I can say that this has been an a very eye opening experience. Traveling to a third world country definitely changes your perspective of life. I guess I’ve learned to just go with the ebb and flow of things, you take what life gives you.
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Repasa
My blog has been suffering lately because I’ve been super busy this past month. Nevertheless, time for a recap of the past few weeks. So on May 25th, 2010 Argentina celebrated its 200th Bicentenario. This celebration is basically equivalent to the U.S. 4th of July, except this year was the 200th anniversary. So given that this was Argentina’s 200th anniversary of establishing its first government, their were tons of parades and activities going on during the weekend. During the day, they had tons of parades marching down Avenida 9 de Julio to Plaza de Mayo (where the government buildings are). Millions of people showed up to these parades, and it was literally impossible to move around the avenue. Basically, its like NYC on New Years Eve. It was crazy seeing what people were doing to get a decent view of the parades, especially when the president rode by. Some people climbed on top of street lamps, scaffoldings, etc.
This picture reminds me of the scene in Happy Gilmore when the tower falls down at the end.
During the Bicentenario weekend, the national Argentina soccer team played Canada. Luckily I bought tickets two weeks before the game, so I got to see Argentina’s team play before the world cup. Seeing as this was my first professional soccer game i’ve ever been too, I didn’t know what to expect. The atmosphere was absolutely nuts. The line to get to the stadium extended 5 or 6 blocks, and once we got in, we discovered our seats were taken by people with identical tickets. I quickly learned that people just sit wherever they want in the upper levels of the stadium. So i quickly found another seat. Before the game started, the introduction was unbelievable. Huge cannons with confetti started blowing bright blue confetti, the crowd was screaming, and everywhere you looked were Argentine colors.
Anyways, Argentina absolutely destroyed Canada 5-0. Although it was expected, apparently the Argentine Government didn’t want to lose their soccer game on the Bicentenario weekend, so they turned down a lot of teams until they found an opponent who they were absolutely positive they would beat. Sorry Canada.
So after my long Bicentenario weekend, my parents came to visit me in Buenos Aires for a week. I was very excited to have them visit and show them around Argentina. The first day my parents got to Buenos Aires was a little hectic. I picked them up super early from the airport, rushed back into the city, and went straight to class. That afternoon, my mom and I went to the Evita museum, which was actually pretty interesting. The building where the museum stands was actually Evitas old home with Juan Peron. They have now converted it into this huge shrine for Evita. After enjoying our afternoon at the museum, I spent the rest of the day relaxing at home and packing for my weekend at the Iguazu falls.
The following morning, my parents and I left around 10 AM to catch a flight to Iguazu. When we got to the airport we discovered our flight was moved to 3 PM, which left a long layover in the airport. When 3 o clock rolled around our flight status was still delayed, as were all the flights, and thats when I learned the airport staff had gone on strike so there weren’t enough workers to get the plans in and out of the airport. at around 345, our plane finally took off and we made it to Iguazu.
The whole weekend at Iguazu was absolutely amazing. The first night, there was a full moon, and since the moon lights up the whole area, the park permits nighttime excursions only on full moons. So we took a train to whats called ‘Garganta del Diablo’ or ‘Devils Throat’ to see the biggest waterfall in Iguazu during nighttime. I couldn’t take any pictures of the scenery because my camera wasn’t good enough but it was unbelieveably impressive seeing the waterfall at night, almost spooky. Because the platform extends to the top of the waterfall when you look down all you see is white mist coming up, it was a very formidable waterfall.
The following day, my parents and I took a boat excursion around the waterfalls, and even got to go under two falls. Even though the excursion was about 15 minutes long, it was a lot of fun to speed through the falls, and get drenched. The rest of the weekend was spent walking around the walkways and viewing the different waterfalls. I don’t need to write too much about the beauty, i’ll just let the pictures display it. Overall, it was an extremely beautiful and relaxing weekend.
The following week with my parents was extremely relaxing. We went out for some great food in Buenos Aires. Ate some Argentine asada, went to see Cirque de Soleil, and took a full day tour around the city. On my parents last night in town, we went to go see a professional tango show. We chose the tango show called ‘esquina de Carlos Gardel’. Carlos Gardel is the most famous tango singer, he’s an icon in Argentina. A lot of his songs have been used in movies where tango is danced. The concert was pretty awesome, we had a 3 course meal before, unlimited wine, and a great tango show. My last day with my parents was very bittersweet because it was very enjoyable having them in town, but then again, my trip is only 3 weeks longer so i’ll see them soon.
This weekend the World Cup starts. Everywhere you go in Argentina there are blue and white flags, billboards of Messi, and signs cheering Argentina. Apparently the city will shut down whenever Argentina plays, so this Saturday I’m gonna have to post up in a bar where they’ll show the game. Until then, Vamos Argentina!
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Patagonia
Since I arrived in Buenos Aires, I wanted to make a trip out to Patagonia at some point during my stay. Seeing as I had 5 days left in my spring break after Peru, I decided to spend 3 days in Patagonia. Patagonia is the southern region of Argentina and there are a few towns you can choose amongst. Originally, I wanted to go to a town called Ushuaia which is also known as ‘the city at the end of the world’. Its called this because its the southern most city in the world, or closest to Antarctica. However, El Calafate has the Puerto Moreno glacier which tourists are permitted to go trekking on. Ultimately, I passed on going to the end of the world, because trekking on a glacier sounded much better.
After a short plane flight from Buenos Aires, my friend and I arrived in El Calafate. The view as we landed was beautiful in itself. We flew over this large turquoise lake with tons of snowcapped mountains in the background, pretty awesome landing. After grabbing our bags and taking a bus to our hostal, we decided to plan our excursion. Originally, we were going to do what is called the Big Ice tour, which is where tourists trek of the Puerto Moreno glacier for 7 hours, eat lunch on the ice, and watch the sunset. Since it is technically winter season in Patagonia that tour closed 2 days before we arrived at the glacier. Therefore, we did the mini-trek, which is two hours on the ice, and an hour and half at the national park.
The following morning, we took an early bus ride to the port where we were going to take a boat to the actual glacier. The bus ride was absolutely amazing. We left early enough to watch the sunrise as we drove. All the clouds were shades of purple and orange which was a very cool scenery with the mountains. Eventually when the sun finally popped up, I hopped off the bus to snap a picture. (see below)
After paying our entrance fees to the park, we hopped onto the boat and made our way to the glacier. The boat ride just built up my anticipation to go trekking because as we got closer, the glacier appeared bigger and bigger, until we docked. This glacier is absolutely massive. It extends all the way into the mountains, and is self sustaining. The guide would explain that the Puerto Moreno glacier is one of the few glaciers in the world that isn’t shrinking and has been sustaining its size for the past 40 years. When the ice does break off, it sounds like a cannon is going off right besides you. Its even cooler to hear the sound of the ice breaking and then watch it fall a few seconds later because the sound travels faster. After a few pictures on the coastline, our guide gave us a little introduction and then took us to get crampons put onto our shoes, otherwise it would be impossible to walk on the glacier. The crampons are pretty heavy too, its like having metal claws for feet. Afterwards, we filed out of the Crampon station and out onto the ice, single file. The glacier kept growing in size as we began to scale our way up. There are some parts that are a little unnerving because the glacier has massive water holes that go down for hundreds of feet. If you slip, basically its goodbye.
As we weaved through the glacier, the guide showed us different caves, water holes, and crevices. On certain areas where it was difficult to climb up, he would take his little pick axe and carve out steps for us to walk up. Before we began walking, the guide told us not to bother to bring water because we could drink right off the glacier. At one point I asked him when we were going to drink the glacier water and he just looked at me and said “whenever you want, just go drink it”. So after that, I walked up to the nearest crevice filled with water, cupped my hands and drank from the glacier. Glacier water is easily the freshest/coldest/tastiest water I’ve ever had. Pretty awesome thing to experience. We trekked on the glacier for about an hour and half when the guide led us to this level area with wooden tables and crates. Once we all gathered around, he picked up a crate and cracked it open. Inside were two bottles of whiskey, a bunch of glasses, and a bowl. He took the bowl to the side, and hacked at the walls of the glacier, getting all the ice bits into the bowl. Afterwards, he poured ice into all the glaciers, poured some whiskey and we all drank on the glacier. Definitely, one of the more memorable experiences I’ve ever had.
Once we finished our whiskey, we made our way back to the dock, ate a quick lunch and then drove to the national park. The national park basically is a winding path in front of the glacier where one can see both the north and south side of the glacier at the same time. Also, it gives a good view above the glacier so you can see how far it extends. Seeing the glacier from the national park makes it look like a forest of ice. It extends forever. It just appears like a growth out of the mountain. I spent a good hour, sitting on a bench enjoying the view. Afterwards, we hopped back on the bus and returned to the hostal. Overall, my trip to Patagonia was better than I could of anticipated. Check out the pictures below.
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On top of the Andes
I had finally reached the mid way point of the semester abroad and therefore, we get a week off for Spring break. Its a little strange calling it spring break seeing as its the middle of fall here in Argentina, but regardless I had organized to travel to Cusco, Peru from Friday to Tuesday, and see Machu Picchu during this time. On Thursday night, i rushed to throw my clothes into a duffle bag, before going to watch the Suns playoff game at a bar. I had a very early flight the next morning so I figured I would just stay up until my flight the following day seeing as the Argentine schedule of going out usually lasts until 6-9 am.
After watching the game, I rushed back to my homestay, grabbed my bag, and hailed a taxi to the airport. Seeing as I was pretty exhausted the plane flight was not a problem because I slept the whole time. Our last stop was in Cusco, Peru where we were staying. Cusco is a small city that literally revolves around tourism to Machu Picchu. The city is not that glamorous but there are a bunch of homes and buildings stacked up along the mountains, and every street is very narrow with a lot of activity. When we got to our hostel, I was starting to have problems carrying my bag because I was constantly out of breath. I then learned that Cusco was 11000 feet above sea level, and I was experiencing the beginnings of altitude sickness. I spent a good hour trying to lay down, but my symptoms of altitude sickness got worse. Eventually I couldn’t take my pounding headache and dizziness anymore and went to the front desk and they told me to drink some Coca tea (tea made out of Coca leaves), which actually subsided all my symptoms, and made the night much more bearable.
The following morning, my friend, Corey, and I took a 7 am. bus to Piscacucho which is where the Peru rail company would take us to Aguas Calientes (the city where Machu Picchu is located). The reason we had to take a bus to Piscacucho is because Machu Picchu suffered from extreme flooding 3 months ago, and it destroyed the train track running from Cusco to Aguas Calientes. While we were riding in the bus, I was speaking with this old couple about the altitude in Cusco, and they told me that the Pharmacy’s sell small portable canisters of oxygen because of tourist issues with the altitude. Once we got to Piscacucho the Peru rail train pulled in and we boarded. The train had huge windows running along the sides and smaller ones on the ceiling so you could see the view while the train weaved through the Andes. Because the windows were dirty I went to the bathroom and slid this small window open and took a picture. Probably the best view i’ve ever had from a toliet.
After our train ride, we finally arrived at Aguas Calientes. Getting off the train was a little disorienting because you have to walk through an Incan market before making outside to where all hotels, hostals and restaurants are. Aguas Calientes is this tiny town up in the Andes, that literally revolves around tourism of Aguas Calientes. Apparently a lot of indigenous people used to live there but eventually tourism took over and all the natural culture died out.
In order to get to Machu Picchu, you need to buy a bus ticket from Aguas Calientes and drive up this winding path along the mountain to the ruins. The bus ride is extremely unnerving because the path is not that wide and buses going up and down pass each other along the way and drive pretty quickly. If a bus were to turn to sharply or go off the path, it would be a long way down. The first day we walked around Machu Picchu it was pretty cloudy and drizzled a bit. However, I really didn’t mind the clouds or the rain because it created this really eerie but awesome atmosphere. The clouds would cover the ruins and then dip below the mountains. Then like steam rising from a pot the clouds could come back up. So we were literally standing in the clouds as they moved. I also could not get over how green everything was. I guess the contrast of the clouds brought out the color of the ruins but it was just overwhelmingly bright and green. The pictures below gives a good idea of the first day.
I spent a good 3-4 hours walking around Machu the first day. It was incredible to imagine that the Incas lived so high up on the mountains, I have no idea how it is humanly possible to construct this place so high up. All the rocks were placed perfectly and the architecture alone was amazing.
After a long of picture taking we made our way back to Aguas Calientes for dinner. Since everything is tourism in Aguas, there are employees standing outside of the restaurants hounding you to eat at their restaurant. At one point i had 4 people surrounding me, shoving menu’s in my face and demanding me to eat at their restaurant. The funny part is each person has a ‘special’ promotion, and they all started bargaining with each other to win me over. I eventually got an appetizer and entre with a drink for 4 american dollars.
That night I went to bed early because Corey and i wanted to get to Machu Picchu early to watch the sunrise over the ruins. Also, we decided to climb Waynu Picchu, which is the mountain overlooking Machu Picchu. In order to hike Waynu Picchu you need to get to the ruins very early because only 400 people per day are allowed to hike up. The following morning, my alarm forgot to go off, but luckily i woke up at 5:15 am, and we got moving. After taking the bus up, I got a stamp on my entrance ticket for Waynu Picchu. We were a little worried because it was very bright out but the sun hadn’t risen yet. I quickly ran up the ruins to the top to watch the sun rise. Needless to say it was definitely worth waking up early. The other benefit of getting to the ruins early, is I was able to take pictures of them without people in the background walking around on them. Also, because it rained the previous day, the second day was absolutely breathtaking, and the skies were completely clear.
The big mountain in the background of the picture is Waynu Picchu. Probably the scariest hike I have ever done. Once we got to the opposite side of Machu Picchu, there is a sign post where you begin your hike. The initial climb was not that bad because it was easy up and down trails with a few steps. But after about 5 minutes of easy climbing, the real hike began. The train has intense winding paths with no railings or support. Only the really steep areas have cables drilled into the sides where you climb. (see picture)
Initially i was ok, but eventually my fear of heights overcame and I froze 2 or 3 times. My friend Corey kept encouraging me to keep going, and thankfully I did. After 30 minutes of this winding path going up the side of the mountain, we reached the last, and hardest part of the climb. The very top has small Inca steps leading to the peak. There are multiple points where you could stop and take pictures, but at the top you had to scale this very narrow and small steps with no railings or support. I literally climbed up these stairs like a baby does up a staircase. I was on my hands a knees basically crawling up slowly, and definitely not looking down. (see picture)
When i finally did make it to the top of Waynu, the view was unlike anything I had ever seen. Waynu sits in the center of a panoramic landscape of the Andes Mountains, the clouds were floating around us, and Machu Picchu was way below us. It was incredibly peaceful and beautiful. While I was up on Waynu, off to the side, a man proposed to his girlfriend. It was pretty awesome to see, and everyone around was cheering and clapping. Good thing she said yes, otherwise that would be a pretty awkward climb down. I spent a good 2 hours up on Waynu, did some writing in my journal, relaxed, and eventually climbed down (which was a lot easier than going up). (see pictures of view from Waynu below)
After Waynu, I was completely exhausted, took the bus down to Aguas Calientes and relaxed in the Hot Springs to ease my aching muscles. The rest of the trip was pretty relaxing, I took the bus back to Cusco, where I spent the following day, relaxing, shopping in the Inca Markets, and walking around the city. Overall, this was the most satisfying excursion I have ever been on. Tomorrow I’m off to El Calafate in Patagonia, to go trekking on glaciers. This week could not be any better. Cheu.
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My newfound love for McDonalds
Sorry for the void of postings. Recently i’ve been balancing school work and being sick. Luckily I have overcome both. Anyways I’ll recount my past weekend seeing as it was more eventful than my entire week. So last weekend was Semana Santa (literal translation: saint week), but basically easter weekend. During Semana Santa, there was no school on Thursday or Friday due to the holiday. Therefore, this weekend turns into the biggest traveling weekend of the year. Basically it is their labor weekend on steroids. Thanks to my bad planning, I found myself scrambling to make plans to go somewhere for the long vacation. After searching through many bus companies, my friends and I finally book a trip to Plata Del Mar. Plata Del Mar is not the most exotic destination, in fact its basically a grungy beach town, but a beach is always better than no beach. The following day (thursday) I went to the bus station and checked my bags underneath the bus (mistake) and got onto a double decker bus, similar to a greyhound bus but with cushier seats and more room. After a 6 hour bus ride, I grabbed my bag to find the zippers a little open, and my camera missing from my bag. Needless to say I was pissed, but ‘que haces?’
The hostel we stayed at was called, ‘Namaste’. (kind of ironic after the weekend we had there) The hostel was completely booked, so my friends and I bunked military style in a small room. (3 bunk beds to one room) The guy in charge of the hostel ‘Charlie’, was our host, cook, bartender, dj, guide, basically jack of all trades. The first night we had some drinks with the other people staying in the hostel and hung out on the second floor of the house, most of us were pretty tired so we took it easy. The second day, we headed down to the beach, and luckily the weather was perfect. It is extremely rare to have good beach weather in early april. It would be like going to the beach in late september in the U.S., however we lucked out. I proceeded to spend the rest of the day reading, swimming, and laying out in the sand. After reading for an hour or so, I realized that i had not changed positions and burned my back (whole body) pretty badly. That night we went out in Microcentral (downtown) and enjoyed the clubs, but the nightlife in Mar De Plata doesn’t compare to Buenos Aires. Saturday was our last day in Mar De Plata, and the weather was pretty cold. I was happy that we got atleast one warm day at the beach because there was no way to lay out, on Saturday, without a sweater and jeans on. Overall, the trip was very relaxing, and well worth the last minute planning.
This past week, I’ve been a lot busier with school, because all my work seems to catch up with me at the same time. Due to this, there’s been a high influx in my caffeine intake. In general, the coffee here is much different. Coffee is usually just an espresso shot or two in a cup, with milk, sugar, or solo. (cafe con leche, cafe con azucar, and cafe solo). The coffee culture here is very different because the whole mentality of ‘on-the-run’ or things ‘To Go’ does not really exist. Most cafe’s will not have to go cups for their coffee, instead coffee is meant to be enjoyed slowly out of nice Chinaware with some pastries. One of the few places I have found that does great coffee ‘to go’ is, McDonalds. Before you continue reading allow me to first make a disclaimer: I am not a avid eater of McDonalds in the U.S.; and do not really enjoy it.
However, in Buenos Aires, the McDonalds has an extremely nice cafe called the McCafe. This isn’t like the U.S.’s idea of a McCafe where they add coffee to the menu and suddenly its a Starbucks. No, it has a legitimate cafe inside the McDonalds. There is a display of all these really nice pastries and cakes, and they actually make the croissants in the restaurant. Furthermore, the coffee is really good. They use a professional espresso maker, and usually they will give a small chocolate snack and a shot of tonic water with your coffee. Instead of serving the coffee in paper cups, everything is presented on a tea tray in nice McDonalds chinaware. If you do decide to take your coffee ‘para llevar’ then they put it in a small paper cup, about the size of a yoplait yogurt cup. (that is the large size too) The coffee is also extremely strong, so a small cup with jolt you with energy for a good 4-6 hours.
Some other interesting things about McDonalds here, it is not cheap. In fact its considered moderately priced and their are tons of other places cheaper than McDonalds. It is also extremely trendy and considered a cool place to go eat. It is home to the Triple Mac (yes better than the Big Mac), and the dollar menus does not exist. Also the ice cream is separated with its own stand and chocolate ice cream is replaced with dulce de leche flavor. All the workers wear matching jean shirt and pant get-ups with the golden arches embroidered all over them. And lastly and most surprisingly, it is very clean inside the restaurant. So congratulations Buenos Aires, you successfully made McDonalds appealing. Not an easy feat.
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El Tigre
This past weekend, our program took a trip to this town called El Tigre. Tigre has a land and island part to the town, luckily we were fortunate enough to stay on the island portion. On Saturday, we took a bus into the town to walk around the market before taking a boat into Tigre. We had to fend for ourselves for lunch, so after passing by a few options, i stopped at this kiosk outside that had hamburgers, fries and choripan. Until Saturday, I had not tried Choripan while in Buenos Aires. Choripan is like a kielbasa sausage thats cooked on a grill and served on bread, like a sandwich. Choripan is extremely common is Buenos Aires, and usually a popular choice when it comes to asadas or bbq’s. After a little hesitation, I ordered a Choripan, and topped it with Chimi-Churri sauce. Chimi-Churri is this extremely delicious condiment that is basically oil with ground up peppers inside. Needless to say, my Choripan sandwich covered in Chimi-Churri was unbelievably good.
After eating, I walked around a couple of the shops and ended up buying a white sombrero for the trip. The program then took us to a museum, which i thought was a time filler until we took the boat to Tigre. The art was nice inside this mansion, and the view of the river was gorgeous, but I wasn’t that interested in the artwork because I just wanted to get to our resort. Here’s a view of the river from the mansion.
Eventually, the tour ended, and we took the bus to the port where we would depart for Tigre. At the time, I thought Tigre was a short distance from the land, but apparently we had a 2 hour boat ride ahed of us. About 30 of us boarded this boat, which was a little cramped but the view along the ride was pretty awesome. I would have to say the boat ride over was, scenically, the best boat ride i’ve had. We literally drove through the river with endless rows of trees on either side of us. Every 20 or 30 yards, these colorful houses with long docks would extend into the river. It had a very cool vibe, like a quaint fishing/vacation spot.
Once we arrived at our resort, I was shocked to see how nice our accommodations were. This resort was literally a series of bungalows connected by wooden walk ways through the jungle of trees, and right along the river/lagoon. The rooms themselves were very nice as well. Two twin beds, outside deck along the river, extremely nice bathroom with bathtub and separate shower. (see pictures)
For dinner, we met in the dining hall and had a very nice Asada (bbq) dinner. The servers would come buy with huge platters of meat, and because I’m not to familiar with the different cuts of meat, I resorted to pointing and gambling with my decision. (I won on most choices, other than kidney)
*side note: Kidney is the absolute worst tasting meat ever. Ever.
After a long dinner with wine, we went for a night swim in the pool which overlooked this huge lagoon, and eventually went to bed.
The following day at the resort was definitely the most relaxing day I’ve had in Argentina. I woke up, eat a big breakfast of coffee, fruit, media lunes (croissants), cheese, juice, etc. Then proceeded to spend about 2-3 hours laying out by the pool listening to music. Occasionally I would take a dip into the pool, but mostly I slept on the deck and listened to my Ipod. After lunch, I decided to go Kayaking in the river. The employees at the resort handed me an oar, put me in a kayak, and told me to follow the signs. Basically, I was allowed to row to any part of the river, but obviously the signs were there to prevent one from going down the current, making it very difficult to row back. The afternoon could not have been better, I spent a good hour or so kayaking down the river, with nothing in sight other than the winding path of the river, and the endless rows of trees flanking either side.
Around 5 o’clock we had a quick tea time at the resort, and then boarded the boat to drive back into Buenos Aires. The boat ride was very nice. Inside had very comfy big seats with huge windows to look out of. But rather than sitting inside I sat on the back deck as our boat drove out of the jungle during the sunset. If there is one aspect of the Argentine culture I am beginning to take to heart, that is: move slowly. Enjoy your meals, enjoy your company, and enjoy yourself.
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San Isidro
Yesterday I took a day trip to San Isidro. San Isidro is one of the most historic provinces of Buenos Aires. The roads are cobble stoned, the houses are very vibrant, and architecually very french looking. We began our trip outside that famous San Isidro cathedral. Since we had 30 minutes to walk around, we decided to walk around the market in the main plaza. The plaza was this beautiful winding pathway, with a very nice garden. (see picture)
However, I’ve noticed all the markets are pretty much the same wherever you go. They all consist of handmade necklaces, hard carved wooden trinkets, scarfs, shirts, bootlegged dvd’s, mate cups, etc etc.
Once we’d seen the whole market, our group toured the inside of the Cathedral. The Cathedral was pretty impressive. It was built in 1898, and is very Gothic looking. It looked very similar to the Holy Trinity Cathedral in NYC but was an off white and a little larger.
After the Cathedral we walked around the neighborhood of San Isidro. The houses were absolutely incredible. There was a mixture of really antiquated homes, and newly designed European homes. The old homes were these huge monstrocities, that were painted in bizarre colors, very dirty on the exterior (mud or moss on the exterior), but had a lot of personality. The new homes were very European, cast iron gate in the front, meticulously clean on the exterior, brick driveways, and lots of windows. Overall, the contrast of the two types of homes created this really funky neighborhood. (some pics below)
After walking around, we took a bus to the mansion Villa Ocampo. Villa Ocampo was the home of famous Argentine writer Victoria Ocampo. This mansion was probably the most beautiful home i’ve ever seen. The entrance had a huge lush green garden with a fountain and gazebo in the back. Since there is too much to describe about the appearance of the home, i’m just gonna post a picture of it. We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the home, but the mansion has basically been transformed into a museum. The home, for the most part, is exactly how it was when Victoria lived in it. The sitting room had two large portraits surrounding a fireplace and classically furnished. Across was a music room, with a very old Steinway piano and huge paneled windows overlooking the garden. There was also a large library with over 12000 books in it. The only two rooms in the house that still has the same furniture is Victoria’s bedroom and bathroom. Her bedroom was a very high ceilinged, very open, and very bright room. Huge windows flanked the two exterior walls which lit up the room.
Our last stop on the trip was Río de la Plata. The view was absolutely picturesque. A large grass lawn boardered the edge of the river with the sky line of downtown Buenos Aires off in the distance. Couples were laying under trees sleeping or making out. Little kids were running around with their parents. People were windsurfing or rowing in the water. Our group went into this restaurant overlooking the Río and had coffee and tea sandwiches and pastries. Afterwards, we had some time to walk around and enjoy the view. Overall, extremely relaxing day. I keep forgetting that i’m going to school right now, but yesterday was definitely more of vacation than school.
Cheu.
