Buenos Aires
Right now we´re in Buenos Aires. We´ve rented an apartment for a week and it´s great. Very centrally located and about half the price of a similar quality hotel. We´re here for a week for two reasons. First, BA is probably the best city to visit in South America - fairly easy to handle but with lots to see and do. Second, it´s Holy Week before Easter, so getting hotels, flights, buses, etc. was proving difficult with everyone on vacation. In Uruguay, this week is actually called "tourism week" as lots of Argentineans hop over the river for a visit.
Now that we´ve visited the 3 southern, more European countries of South America (Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay), we can say that Argentina is definitely our favorite. It´s a large country (8th biggest in the world) so there´s lots to see and do. Plus it used to be one of the richest countries in the world so there´s a lot of former grandeur and treasures to see in BA. It also has the best looking people of the three. Additionally, the Spanish spoken here is probably the easiest to understand (on a side note, if you´re looking to learn Spanish, don´t do it in Chile, as even native Spanish speaker can´t understand them, as their speech is littered with massive amounts of slang, mumbling, dropped letters, etc.).
But finally, the main reason to like Argentina is that it is cheap, cheap, cheap! Seriously, you can eat great stuff for $5-8 per person. That´s a starter or dessert, a main and a drink. A great glass of wine is only a dollar or two at most. Fortunately BA has a wider range of options of eating establishments, but the 3 P´s (pizza, pasta, and parrilla (grilled meat)) still dominate.
BA also has some great museums. The city as a whole has a very European/Mediterranean feel to it and the weather has been absolutely perfect the last few days. The downtown waterfront is undergoing a noted renaissance and is looking good. Anyway, if you´re thinking of going to Europe for your next vacation, you should definitely consider BA and Argentina as an alternative, as you can get the same vacation for about 1/5th the price. Bonanza!
One of my favorite places in BA is the cemetery in Recoleta. It is the final resting place of Eva Peron (Evita) and other Argentinean heroes. But even without that it would be a great place to visit as the memorials have some great designs. There are similar cemeteries elsewhere, but I´ve never visited one quite like this one. Cool stuff.
Today we visited the main square, the Plaza de Mayo, which is the scene for celebrations, protests, etc. Every Thursday, the mothers of the "desaparecidos" march in the square to remember their lost children and continue their fight for justice. They have been doing the same thing since the 80s after their children disappeared during the military regimes of the 70s and 80s and they have been looking for answers and justice ever since. Quite a moving tribute to their lost loved ones.
On the ground of the square is painted these images. You will notice that the ladies marching mainly wear these scarves on their heads.
But turn the image upside down and it also looks like the diapers belonging to their lost children/grandchildren.
Now that we´ve visited the 3 southern, more European countries of South America (Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay), we can say that Argentina is definitely our favorite. It´s a large country (8th biggest in the world) so there´s lots to see and do. Plus it used to be one of the richest countries in the world so there´s a lot of former grandeur and treasures to see in BA. It also has the best looking people of the three. Additionally, the Spanish spoken here is probably the easiest to understand (on a side note, if you´re looking to learn Spanish, don´t do it in Chile, as even native Spanish speaker can´t understand them, as their speech is littered with massive amounts of slang, mumbling, dropped letters, etc.).
But finally, the main reason to like Argentina is that it is cheap, cheap, cheap! Seriously, you can eat great stuff for $5-8 per person. That´s a starter or dessert, a main and a drink. A great glass of wine is only a dollar or two at most. Fortunately BA has a wider range of options of eating establishments, but the 3 P´s (pizza, pasta, and parrilla (grilled meat)) still dominate.
BA also has some great museums. The city as a whole has a very European/Mediterranean feel to it and the weather has been absolutely perfect the last few days. The downtown waterfront is undergoing a noted renaissance and is looking good. Anyway, if you´re thinking of going to Europe for your next vacation, you should definitely consider BA and Argentina as an alternative, as you can get the same vacation for about 1/5th the price. Bonanza!
One of my favorite places in BA is the cemetery in Recoleta. It is the final resting place of Eva Peron (Evita) and other Argentinean heroes. But even without that it would be a great place to visit as the memorials have some great designs. There are similar cemeteries elsewhere, but I´ve never visited one quite like this one. Cool stuff.
Today we visited the main square, the Plaza de Mayo, which is the scene for celebrations, protests, etc. Every Thursday, the mothers of the "desaparecidos" march in the square to remember their lost children and continue their fight for justice. They have been doing the same thing since the 80s after their children disappeared during the military regimes of the 70s and 80s and they have been looking for answers and justice ever since. Quite a moving tribute to their lost loved ones.
On the ground of the square is painted these images. You will notice that the ladies marching mainly wear these scarves on their heads.
But turn the image upside down and it also looks like the diapers belonging to their lost children/grandchildren.
posted by Kevin at 4/05/2007 10:28:00 PM
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