Buenos Aires

We spent most of yesterday, sitting in the airport or traveling to Buenos Aires. Our hotel is the Hotel Recoleta, just a few blocks from the famous cemetery. We went to a Tango Show that evening in a small restaurant, the Restaurante  y Gallo en el Tango. I was a little nervous on how good the show would be – but they had 6 dancers, 2 singers and the standard 4 piece band (Piano, bass, concertina, and violin). The put on an excellent show on the history of the Tango from 1910 or so to the present day.

El Atneneo Bookstore

In the morning, I went venturing out to see the central city. My first stop was the El Atneneo Grand Splendid bookstore. I realized once I stepped in the door that we had visited this store on our last visit to Buenos Aires, it is unforgettable. The bookstore is housed in a former theater – the box seats line the walls all around the main floor, but now instead of patrons they are filled with books. I walked on to the Colon Opera House – supposedly the fifth best opera house in the world, based on its acoustics. I arrived at 10:45 AM and managed to snatch the last ticket to the English tour at 11:00 AM. The building has been renovated between the years 2002 and 2010, so it was much more bright and cheery since our last visit in 2003. The floors, walls, curtains, and furniture have all been restored to look like they did when the theater was built in 1908. Electricity was used to light the chandeliers from the beginning and they were spectacular. The bottom floor was primarily marble walls and columns with tiling on the floor. Then when you ascended to the second floor the walls became much more ornate with gold leaf used on the columns. The main auditorium is also quite ornate. The acoustics are excellent because of the materials used everywhere. In fact, the wood floor is hollow underneath to add to the acoustics.  Cloth and wood to absorb sound on the main floor, with metal and stone above to reflect sound. After my tour, I did a quick walk to the main square of town to see the Cathedral of Buenos Aires, and the Casa Rosada, the office of the President.

Colon Opera House

In the afternoon, we did a 3 hour private walking tour with Don (from North Carolina) who has been living in Argentina for the last six years. We started touring Recoleta cemetery which was established in 1822. Most of Argentina’s historic figures are buried here in family tombs. The tombs go down about 10 meters as well as tower above you. We learned a lot about Argentine history and the constant conflict between the Federalists and Unionist parties. Of course, until Peron came along, the warring between these factions was among the rich – how much power should the state government have versus the federal. Some of the unique graves included Tomas Guido’s grave. He was the right hand man to General San Martin and his jumbled tomb is made from stones from the Andes. A beautiful statue of a young girl with her dog marks the tomb of Lilian Crociat de Szaszak who died a young bride in a 1970 Austrian avalanche. Sarmiento, a former president has a monument with a Condor on top. And, of course, Evita Duarte, the wife of Peron. After the cemetery, we walked the streets down to the Plaza St. Martin. Along the way, are many buildings with various European style architectures, many of these former homes have been turned into hotels and embassies including the Vatican embassy, Brazilian home of the ambassador, and the French embassy (which is where the Avenue de 9 Julia narrows because they couldn’t remove the embassy). Finally coming to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We ended our day having a great steak at Fervor and ordered Pastel de Pompas as a side dish – a delicious mixture of Potatoes, meat, and egg.

Recoleta Cemetery