Buenos Aires - Bigger than Bajo Caracoles

Me eating again
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We spent a week in buenos aries, stayed in four places and did a lot of walking and eating.  Buenos Aries feels very european, big and busy like london, trendy like brighton, stylish like paris, warm like barcelona.

The centre is busy and not all that exciting, there are some big statues some fancy malls and the casa rosada where maradona and evita spoke to the masses from the balcony.  But we had lots of fun wandering around the surrounding districts.  First was Palermo Soho as we were staying here.  This district is full of trendy cafes and shops - lots of young up and coming designers looking intimidating behind their tills - jamie you´d be in your element.  I felt a little out of place in my dirty trousers and baseball boots, but had a nice time sitting around in cafes eating media lunas and reading the paper.  also took the rare oppurtunity in argentina to eat something other than italian or a big pile of meat.  we had mexican and japanese twice.

The docks at night
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Our tasks the next day were a little dull, to get our washing done, buy some malaria drugs for bolivia and peru (had to return next day) and buy some football tickets form a book shop (no longer available there).  We did manage to do some eating though.  a big lot of icecram (have i mentioned the ice cream in argentina? there are so many shops and it is so cheap and they have so many flavours - dulce de leche ones are especially good), very thick hot chocolate and media lunas in the famous cafe tortoni - where the literati used to hang out before tourists got wind of it, and last but certainly not least a big pile of meat at cantina las lilas in puerto madero.  Alex boy had read about this place on the internet before we left so had put it on his list of "presents" - so this was his last meal on JM expenses.  and very nice it was too.  we both had juicy steaks (see photo), the cows are reared on the restaurants own farm.  the restaurant was rather posh, but we sat outside looking over the port so didn´t feel too scruffy.

My last meal on JM expenses...
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Next day we headed to the south of the city, to La Boca, San Telmo and Puerto Madero.  La Boca is a poorer district near the stinky Riachuelo river and home to the famous Boca Juniors football team.  We went to the stadium to get tickets for the next match but were told we had to go with a special company called seefootball.com, they charge more but whisk you away afterwards in a minibus so you don´t have to contend with fighting fans.  The next match wasn´t for six days though.  La Boca is a riot of colour, all the houses painted and lots of artists in the street- a little contrived but very photogenic.  the house painting tradition comes from the genoese immigrants who used to paint their houses with the paint left over from their boats.  apparently.  We also went to the Museo Del Bella Artes, this is mainly a collection of the works of Benito Quinquela who lived and worked in La Boca, painting the people and the port.  A bit like Lowry but brighter and more energetic.  I liked his stuff.  Next San Telmo, the home of tango and antiques.  This area is where the rich folk lived before they were scared northwards by cholera and typhoid.  They seem to be trickling back though.  Pretty old houses and cobbled streets, but I´m not really in the market for any antiques at the moment.  had some good Italian food though, see picture of Alex eating (again).

La Boca district during the day
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Next day we left BA proper fro the Parana Delta, about 20 minutes drive north of town near the town of Tigre.  It is an enormous area of islands (as you´d expect from a delta) connected by ferries.  It feels quite tropical although not that warm.  We spent the night at a hotel on an island and sat around in the sun redaing books.  a nice relaxing interlude in our BA experience.

Then it was back to the city for some more walking and eating.  We stayed in Palermo Soho again as it is safe to park the car on the street there, although the latest hostel left a lot to be desired.  Very loud music in the bar until 3am every night. which is fine unless it is coldplay and there is no door between the bar and the rooms.  do i sound old and crochety??  We went to MALBA (museum oc contemporary latin american art) in the evening as it was wednesday and therefore free.  good stuff, a bit like the tate modern without the turbine hall.  We the next day in spent a day in Recoleta, which is where the rich people went when the left San Telmo.  Went to the Museo Xul Solar - and artist chap who invented his own languages and religions and drew odd pictures, was great friends with Borges.  Interesting.  Had some very nice italian food, then it was off to the famous Recoleta Cemetery to look at the cats.  Oh and some tombs, including Evita´s.  There were alot of people looking at this, but i preferred the cats, see photos.  Last stop in Recoleta was the Floralis Generica - an absolutely enormous metal sculpture of a flower that opens at dawn and shuts and dusk, like a proper flower (see photo).  Our last day in BA was a busy one.  we headed west of the city proper to the Feria de Materderos - a fair that "brings the argentine countryside to the city".  Lots of dancing and foodstalls and leather stalls and jewellry stalls, we bought more than a few souvenirs.  Unfortunately we had to leave before the gauchos did their horse tricks beacuase today was football day.  we drove back to the city, got stuck in an enormous traffic jam, cut through a park, ran down the streets and just caught out tourguide before he left without us.  The Bombonera is  sight to behold on match day - a lot of singing, drums, streamers, flags, flares, firecrackers and some football.  I had never seen football in a big stadium before and wa surprised to enjoy it and to be able to see all the action - we were quite high up.  fot stats fans it   was Boca Juniors Vs Arsenal and finished 1-1, bit Boca had most of the posession and hit the woodwork twice.  Again was dissapointed that nacho hats only exist in springfield but did get a super pancho (a hot dog).  Thanks to my dad for paying for my ticket and to JM for alex b´s.  That concluded our stay in BA, a city i could quite happily live in (if i spoke the lingo  a little better)