I think Dennis probably used up all the superlatives about the city yesterday. Suffice to say it is by far the most impressive capital city we have visited in South America, so far. So many varied districts, some areas with wide boulevards and magnificent municipal buildings, huge green parks and a decaying dockland area which has been brought back to life as an upmarket shopping/dining area.
Casa Rosado, the Argentinian President’s Office
Image of Eva Peron (Evita)
Palermo, the district we are staying in is different again. Narrow, tree lined streets which are cool and full of cafes, restaurants, most with pavement seating, and interesting retailers. Originally it was a residential area of housing with garages and courtyards facing the street. It is these spaces that have become cafes and shops.
I think we were becoming a bit tired and jaded after many days of driving with little of interest to see. Stopping here and visiting the city sights has made the journey more exciting again. Also in a day or two we will cross into another country, Uruguay.
We have certainly made good use of our hop-on-hop-off bus tickets. They were valid for 24 hours. As we didn’t join the tour until 12.25 yesterday, we had the morning to make use of them. We decided to use this method of transport to take us to the San Telmo district Sunday market.
I think most of the inhabitants of Buenos Aires were there. Although many were tourists. It was an amazing teaming mass of humanity. The streets are full of antique and bric-a-brac shops and stalls selling everything imaginable. An enormous flea and handicraft market.
While we had been on the bus it had been threatening rain, so we had moved from the open top section to the under cover section at the front. A wise move as the heavens opened. However, it had stopped by the time we reached San Telmo.
While we were wandering the market, it started to rain slightly again. We headed for the undercover San Telmo Mercado building. A Mecca for foodies. Lots of various food places from pizza to steak barbecues, ice cream parlours, juice bars, ordinary bars, you name it. It was almost standing room only, but miraculously we managed to find a table. As we were having a steak dinner tonight, we decided against meat and had an unexciting pizza. People watching was fascinating, while we were waiting to be served.
We hoped the rain would stop before we left the market, but we noticed people coming in wearing macs, or else looking a bit like drowned rats. Sadly, it was worse. Pouring hard and we were totally unprepared for it. The plan had been to go to nearby Plaza Dorrego to watch Tango dancers, but this had to be abandoned.
Now we had to work out how to get back to Palermo on the other side of the city. Google came up with the idea of using a bus, something we hadn’t tried before. Trying to stay under trees and eaves as much as possible to prevent getting soaked, we set off to find a bus stop.
There was a major bus lane not far away and by consulting some helpful local people, we were able to find out which bus stop we should head for and what number bus. Miraculously a number 29 bus would take us almost all the way back to our apartment. We only had to wait a few minutes for a bus to arrive. The SUBE ticket we had bought yesterday for the underground is valid for all public transportation, so it was a simple process to tap our card and be back at our apartment very speedily.
While we were wandering in the market, we had come across a shop selling metal plates with city/people’s names, jokes etc. on them. We found one of a similar size to Poki’s broken front number plate, which had a white back. Goodness knows what was written on the front, but that was irrelevant. Once back at our apartment, Dennis carefully painted in Poki’s registration number on the white side of the plate. Hopefully it will be acceptable in Uruguay.
A night of Tango
We were being picked up for our Tango show and dinner between 19.15 and 20.30. I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this show. I feared dinner would be mass catering and barely edible and the show touristy and rather naff.
Fortunately we were ready, as our pick-up turned up almost on the dot of 19.15. We stopped to collect several more people at various locations around the city on the way. It was really convenient as it was still pouring with rain.
The venue was a large, smart theatre with attractively laid out tables. We were ushered to ours and a waiter immediately appeared with included wine or beer. Every time I put my glass down he was there to refill it! (I am writing this the following morning, with a bit of a sore head!) Some people were already eating and others kept arriving, so it felt more like being in an ordinary restaurant, rather than being at an event where everyone is served at once.
Of course, there had to be photographs. We had to pose with a couple of dancers. Me with the man and Dennis with the lady, who was immaculately made up, with a glittery revealing dress and sky high heals. I was without make up and wearing trainers, the height of inelegance. At £25 a photo, we did not purchase any for posterity.
We were seated next to four Brazilian ladies on one side and a couple from Cyprus on the other. One of the Brazilians, a dentist, spoke excellent English. The couple from Cyprus had, interestingly, just come from a Swan Hellenic Antarctic cruise on the Vega, the cruise immediately after ours. So, we had a lot to talk about. We never got to names, but it turned out the wife worked as an accountant for Swan Hellenic.
We were presented with a very smart menu with three courses and a choice of three dishes for each course. As one would expect, virtually everyone seemed to chose the steak main course. I have to say the food was surprisingly good. The steak was very tender and tasty and probably one of the best I have eaten, the desert, grand marnier/chocolate mouse, was excellent too.
As for the show, it was just that, a real spectacle. Starting with grey haired comedian, who could subsequently also dance, followed by various individual couples and groups of couples dancing the Tango, with a group of six excellent musicians, who also performed some solo pieces. There was also a gaucho trio, two men and a girl who performed a really impressive dance routine with bolases.
Overall a wonderful evening which far exceeded expectations. We arrived back at our apartment at five past midnight. Very late for us aged vegemites.
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