Getting together with friends is always fun, especially when we meet abroad! This past week I had a chance to hang out with a fellow Marquette University tennis alumnus in Argentina. We talked, we laughed, shared a carafe of sangria and enjoyed a late night dinner in Buenos Aires!
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Call me weird, but I enjoy wandering around cemeteries (Don't judge me! :) Not your average U.S. cemetery though but the old European ones, where the graves themselves are works of art. I find the experience to be very peaceful and I love admiring the splendid craftsmanship and architecture. Who wouldn't right?! So going to see Cementerio de la Recoleta was on the top of my “Must-see in Buenos Aires” list. Cementerio de la Recoleta is a famous cemetery in the Recoleta neighborhood of Buenos Aires. Recoleta is where BA’s wealthiest citizens live, so having a cemetery for the city’s elite in the area was a no brainer. Former presidents, military generals, artists, influential politicians and, most famously, Eva Perón, are buried here. Have I mentioned how much I love the movie Evita with Madonna?! Well, I LOVE it! And who wouldn't love to watch a singing Antonio Banderas?! So in reality, I was on a secret mission to find Eva's grave as well as take some pictures of great cemetery architecture. Let's just start off by saying "Holy cow, I have never seen anything like this in my life!" This cemetery is very impressive!! The whole area is paved from wall to wall and divided into what looks like city blocks with sidewalks. At times I felt as though I was walking through a city instead of a cemetery. Not only is the layout very different, but the graves themselves are no ordinary graves... they are massive family mausoleums that resemble small houses. Some were smaller but others were so huge and impressive that they simply took my breath away! The architecture is absolutely amazing – styles ranging from Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Baroque, Neo-Gothic, and even modern. There is no shortage of statues either! Stunning angels graze the top of mausoleum domes, lions protect the entrances, saints are praying, and a plethora of religious figures are watching over the graves. Amazing doesn't even begin to describe it! Recoleta is a great example of Buenos Aires from the past, the golden age from 1880-1930s, when Argentina was one of the world's richest countries. This is when the social elite would commission architects from Europe to build their family mausoleums and no expense was spared! The thing that freaked me out the most was the fact that you could actually see the coffins inside the mausoleums. The coffins are placed (not buried), some were in plain view and others were placed lower in the basement part of the building. I couldn’t believe I was actually walking around in the midst of all the coffins. This was not the peaceful cemetery experience I was hoping for! The other bizarre part, well bizarre to a foreigner that has never seen a cemetery like this, was the fact that some of the mausoleums main entry doors were broken and the building was filled with trash as well as other debris. You could literally just reach your hand right into the building and touch the coffins! So....so....creepy! As soon as I got over the coffin shock, which took quite a bit actually, I was able to admire the impressive architecture of the mausoleums. For the first time in BA, I felt safe and could wondered around freely without clinching my camera. Cementerio de la Recoleta is very big and sprawls on 14 acres and has 4691 vaults, so I made my way back and forth until I found Eva Peron’s grave. The grave was a bit hard to find but as instructed by my travel book I just followed a tour group. It was tucked between similarly sized mausoleums on a smaller side street. Sadly, I have to admit it wasn’t as impressive as I thought it would be. The mausoleum was made of out dark marble it was very modern compared to the others in the cemetery. There was also a herd of tourists (big surprise!) so I stood in line, took a picture, admired the bronze plaques of Eva Peron and moved on. After paying my respects to Eva Peron I continued my zigzag through this city of the dead. I really didn’t feel the need to see the mausoleums of other famous Argentines, I just wanted to enjoy this wonderful architecture and get lost for a while. Here is a fun fact, do you remember watching Destinos in your high school Spanish class?! The soap opera in which lawyer Raquel Rodríguez is hired by Don Fernando to uncover a family mystery. (Haha! I had to Google it because like most people I hardly paid attention in Spanish class.) Well, a part of the episode was actually filmed at Recoleta! Check out Episode 12 at the 16:50 minute mark. Some parts of the cemetery were simply stunning but other parts, or actual crypts, creeped me out. Some coffins were totally out, actually busting through the crypt itself. Parts of the doors were missing and older coffins laid exposed. I saw bones spilling out! Yes, human bones! I’m still not completely sure why they were put in, what looks like wine crates, but regardless seeing bones in a cemetery was just a bit too much for me. That was my cue to leave!
While Dan was away at a road game I decided to venture out of the house and explore the city a little bit more. I felt as though I was living in the Núñez bubble a bit too long and need to get out past Palermo. So while trying to figure out what to do I stumbled upon Buenos Aires Local Tours, the website said the tour was free (yup! free daily tours!) so after reading some reviews on TripAdvisor I jumped at the chance to meet Jonathan and learn about the city we live in. We met at Plaza Italia in Palermo, and since it was a bit overcast I was the only tour member! But hey, I didn't mind! I could ask as many questions as I wanted and got a private tour through the city. Jonathan is originally from England, has been living in Buenos Aires for five years and has traveled extensively throughout South America. He is very knowledgable about the city, its history, current affairs as well as the Argentine culture. The tour was absolutely great and I highly recommend it to anyone visiting Buenos Aires! The tour lasted about four hours and Jonathan taught me how to use the complicated Buenos Aires bus system as well as the subway lines. Did you know the city has 141 bus lines operated by 95 different companies?! Crazy! The buses are a bit overwhelming but there is a helpful book that Jonathan told me to pick up with bus routes called the "Guia-T." On the tour we took two buses and it was definitely an experience to remember! The bus doors just pop open while the bus is still moving, the bus driver weaves in and out of traffic stopping suddenly and sometimes doesn't even stop at certain bus stops because its too full. When there is a lot of traffic the bus takes short cuts leaving you wondering what happened to your bus stop and how in the world you will get back home. The stops don't get announced - Jonathan had a good chuckle when I asked him how do you know where your stop is - so you really have to know your neighborhood to know where to get off. Yikes! It might be a while until I am brave enough to go on the public bus again, but for only 2 pesos its definitely worth a try! Our first stop was the house of the famous tango singer, Carlos Gardel, which is now a museum. I have never heard of him (shame on me!) but from the sound of it, he was the most prominent person in the history of tango. He was the one the put lyrics to tango music and therefore lifted the street dance of the lower class to an international phenomenon that is it today. The area is also know for their extensive use of filete, a type of artistic drawing, with stylised lines, flowers, climbing plants, and various stylistic uses of the Argentine flag, typically used in Buenos Aires. It is used to adorn all kinds of beloved objects: signs, taxis, tango albums, buses and even these houses on Jean Jaures Street. After walking around the Abasto neighborhood and checking out all the Carlos Gardel memorabilia that adorned the streets we stopped at the Abasto Shopping Center. Abasto was the central wholesale fruit and vegetable market in Buenos Aires from 1893 to 1984. From 1984 to the mid-1990s it stood abandoned and after being sold off it was converted into an Art Deco shopping mall with restored facade and original interior. It looks truly amazing inside! Here is a fun fact, it also houses the only kosher McDonald's in the world outside of Israel! I didn't even know these existed! After a quick lunch and much needed Starbucks we were back on the bus heading to El Congreso Nacional and La Plaza de Congreso. The Argentine National Congress was very impressive! It was designed by an Italian architect and closely resembles the U.S. Capital building. Jonathan mentioned that all of the building materials were actually shipped in from Europe and hence the construction took a long time. Since Buenos Aires has a European city feel to it, there is a lot of Italian, French and Spanish inspired architecture thoughout. Between 1880 and 1940 seven million people immigrated to Argentina from Europe. Since the city was built by immigrants anywhere you look you can see bits of European culture! The building to the right of the Congress was even more impressive, maybe based on its history more than it's current looks. The Confitería El Molino was once a legendary coffeehouse of the elite that now has been closed and abandoned since 1997. Looking at the building you can see remains of colored tile lining the top of the building, beautiful gold painted roof tiles, unique Art Nouveau facade, and a one of a kind windmill gracing the top of the tower. You see, Argentina was one of the wealthiest counties in the world at the beginning of the last century. Years of prosperity came to a crash but by looking at buildings, such as the Confitería El Molino, you can see how much money once grazed the country. I mean who would have built a six story building with imported European material just for a cafe?! Crazy! The building was declared a National Historical Monument in 1996 and promptly closed its doors in 1997. It's been abandoned every since. To me, it's disheartening that no one would step in and repair such a architectural gem. Jonathan pointed out that political priorities have changed since its construction which is why there is no political will to restore it. Hopefully one day the Confitería El Molino can be restored to the beauty it once was. The Plaza de Congreso is also home to a statue, that closely resembles a white rectangular rock, that symbolizes the starting point of the road network in Argentina. The Kilometer 0 statue has a map of Argentina on one side with all the main roads and on the other side Our Lady of Luján, the patron of the national road network. After our walk around La Plaza de Congreso and La Avenida de Mayo we took a trip on a 1920s wooden subway train! Line A is world famous because it has the oldest subway coaches in commercial service in the world. They were built between 1913 and 1919 and are entirely made of wood! Very cool! After a short subway trip we ended up right by La Casa Rosada, the Presidential offices. The building was very impressive both with it's architecture as well as it's pink color. Jonathan said no one really knows why La Casa Rosada was painted pink, one speculation is that the president chose this color scheme in order to defuse political tension by combining red and white colors of the country's opposing political parties. An alternative explanation points to the fact that the original paint used contained cow blood to prevent damage from humidity. Hmmm doesn't that sounds great! I would much rather think it was to defuse tension than covered with cow's blood. La Casa Rosada balcony, which faces the large square, has served as a podium by many figures, including Eva Perón! I couldn't believe I was actually seeing the place where the famous first lady gave her speeches and where Madonna filmed the now famous "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" song. Jonathan told me that the actual movie Evita was filmed at La Cada Rosada but only after jumping through some political loopholes because the studio did not have permission to use any government buildings. So what did they do? They told the president at the time that he could meet Madonna if he let them use La Casa Rosada. So that's exactly what happened! The now famous scene was actually filmed at 3 in the morning to keep protesters to a minimum. I was absolutely stunned when I heard some of these little unknown facts (well unknown for me) about Eva Perón from Jonathan:
This is no bed time story, I couldn't believe what I was hearing! After the quick Eva Perón briefing by La Casa Rosada we moved closer to the Historic Plaza de Mayo, home of the weekly Madres de la Plaza de Mayo protests. The Plaza de Mayo is very spacious and has a white statue in the middle that symbolizes Argentina's independence from Spain that was achieved on May 25, 1810. There were a lot of school children on field trips and vendors trying to sell Argentine flags, buttons and anything else touristy. The site is also famous for the weekly Madres de la Plaza de Mayo protests. Between 1976 and 1983, when Argentina was under military dictatorship, between 7,000 - 30,000 people went missing. The mothers whose children "disappeared" would meet at the plaza and stage a protest wearing a white headscarf with the name of their missing child embroidered upon it. They have been meeting in the plaza for three decades, every Thursday at 3:30 pm. Now their mission is more political since the military government admitted to kidnapping 11,000 Argentines during their 7 year dictatorship, however, the Mothers claim the number is closer to 30,000. I have to admit, I never knew that Argentina had such a turbulent history. The tour with Jonathan was absolutely great because it not only covered Buenos Aires attractions but gave me a new understanding of the culture and history of Argentina. I highly recommend the tour to anyone! Jonathan's tours are free but he does accept tips, so tip your awesome tour guide well!
If you have any questions or need any information regarding his tours check out his website: Buenos Aires Local Tours. Transitioning from living in one country to the next is never easy, especially when the two countries are on opposite sides of the cultural spectrum. So our friends, Martin and Vivian, wanted to make our transitioning a little easier by taking us to the Buenos Aires Japanese Gardens. The BA Japanese garden is the largest of its kind in the world outside of Japan. I have to say, I didn't think I would see Japanese symbols in Buenos Aires but it was nice to walk through the gardens and reminisce about our year in Japan.
Now that we have settled in to our new Buenos Aires apartment I can finally write a little bit about our neighborhood and our first impressions of the Argentinian culture. To start off, we live in a neighborhood called Núñez and it's located on the north side of the city. The area seems very nice with lots of houses, apartment buildings, little shops, restaurants and a plethora of sport clubs. Honestly, I have never seen so many sport clubs in one area, there are soccer, tennis, polo, equestrian, basketball, and muti-sport complexes on every corner! People definitely stay very active here and I love it! Our area is also where the famous Club Atlético River Plate is located. Never heard of it?! Neither have we but from what we can tell there are two huge fútbol clubs in Buenos Aires and you are either a River or a Boca fan. I think it's better that we stick to River since it's just down the street from our apartment. During the last home game we could actually hear fans chanting all the way from our apartment, which is about half a mile away. We can't wait to check out a home game! The Núñez neighborhood all the way to Palermo has a lot of parks filled with running paths. (Basically the right side of the above map.) At every hour of the day you can see joggers and bikers crusin' around the different paths (well except at night). Some areas of the parks are sponsored by Gatorade so if one pleases they can do pull ups, abs and a variety of different exercises on outdoor fitness equipment. Very cool! We live in a six story apartment building that has a pool on the top. Yup, a pool! It's nothing fancy but still a great outdoor space with a grill and a nice view of the surroundings. We absolutely love our new apartment! It has an open concept, wooden floors, big kitchen, two bathrooms and two bedrooms - basically everything we were looking for in our house hunt in Milwaukee! Funny that we were able to have it all abroad. The Porteños as the people of Buenos Aires like to call themselves, are overall very friendly! Most will try to help you or have a conversation with you. We have to keep saying that our Spanish is not very good but none of them care and will go on an on about whatever they want to tell you, which is very refreshing! We might only understand a handful of words but its nice to have a leg up in the language department since both Dan and I took Spanish for a number of years. Once in a while we do get a couple of meanies at our local Carefour, a supermarket, who roll their eyes when you give them a big bill at the checkout. I guess small bills and coins are hard to come by and people in general don't like giving change. The Obras Sanitarias arena is very close to our apartment, about a 7-10 block walk. The arena is located inside a bigger sport complex with tennis courts, a fitness center, daycare, as well as a soccer field. From the outside the purple-blueish building doesn't look impressive (the construction on the front doesn't help it's overall appearance) but inside the arena and court are very nice! The arena is black with a mixture of yellow and black seating. The team has been nicknamed Los Tacheros, a word used to refer to Argentine taxi drivers, since the Obras uniforms are the same black and yellow colors as those of taxi cabs. At first we were a bit confused when fans would say "Vamos Tacheros!" but now I can join in the chanting! There are a lot of dogs in Buenos Aires, lots! It's actually making me want to get a little companion for when Dan goes on long road trips. Lots of dogs means lots of dog poop everywhere! For some reason people are not inclined to pick up after their dog here. So while walking down the many streets of Buenos Aires make sure you look down because otherwise a little surprise might be waiting for you on your shoe when you get home. Check out the bottom two photos of Argentine dog walkers! The first time I saw 8-20 dogs passing me by I was in awe, it was very impressive! However, you definitely don't want to be caught behind the herd. Check out this short video of dog walkers in Buenos Aires to really see for yourself this unique Buenos Aires job. The other thing that I love about our neighborhood is all the street art, aka graffiti. Some of the random writing is very annoying because it ruins the charm of older homes but some has been applied to transform older homes into works of art. Everywhere you go, you can see buildings covered with multi-colored graffiti. That's all for now ;)
Have a great day and enjoy! |
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