Went out for a jog the first morning in Buenos Aires and continued the next three mornings. The weather was great and there are so many people out enjoying the parks near Palermo.
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Lots of graffiti in BA, some of it more creative than other. I like the big face on the right side here. Very artistic.
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Also near Palermo is this horse racing track. Across the street was a polo stadium. This country loves its horses.
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First stop was the Teatro Colon for ballet tickets. The building across the plaza there is the Supreme Court of Argentina which is about 100 years old.
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Gotta love a city where you can find a church next to a Palace of French Fries, oh and a McDonald's too!
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Went to the house of the sixth president of Argentina. Bartolome Mitre lived here for almost 30 years after his presidency. This library is the prized collection of the house which is now a cool museum in the city center.
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The executive offices of the national government are in the Pink House, or Casa Rosada. The building obviously has lots of historical links including famous speeches by Eva Peron and later reinactments by Madonna.
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Some protesters burned down the national tree in front of the Pink House in Buenos Aires, but some businesses and the church managed to replace it in-time for Christmas!
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As with many capital cities, there are lots of cool statues around town. Found this one on a long run on day two.
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This is not the best picture, but it is meant to remind me of the thousands of dogs that pass the day in the parks of BA. It is super common to see a dog-walker with 10 pups in-tow. They seem to have a good life here!
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Avenue Libertador is this massive road from the center out to Palermo and beyond. Note that over 90% of the cars in BA are small and most of them are actually assembled in Argentina. Lots of Peugeots, Renaults, and VWs.
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Riding the subway in BA only costs about US0.25! This photo shows how white the population of Argentina is today (over 90%?). I skipped the history lesson, so I really don't understand where the indigenous and African people went...
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The Boca district used to be a port full of laborers but later it was developed into an art district which later led to tons of tourists coming every day. Very colorful with tango dancers in the streets here and there and lots of art for sale.
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Althought Boca is small, there are lots of funny litttle things to see like statues of famous people waving from the balconies. I believe that is Eva Peron up there.
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I can see how the artists can get plenty of inspiration from the beautiful weather and lifestyle in BA.
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Argentina is famous for great wine which may have limited their beer market somehow. There are only a few choices, but this Quilmes seems to have about 70% market share.
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It took only a month to build this obelisk back in 1936. It is the centerpiece of one of a big crossroad intersection. Supposedly it was covered in a giant condom in 2005 to commemorate World AIDS Day!
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Althought the weather is great and the roads are flat there are not a lot of bikes in BA. I think the traffic is to blame, but the city has started to make lots of nice bike lanes. Maybe the people are just lazy?
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Went to see a ballet called El Corsario at the Teatro Colon. I have never seen such a tall theater house. Supposedly this is the second biggest in the world after La Scala in Milan.
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There are tours of the building during the day, but you can also buy a standing-room-only ticket for 2.50USD and see the place at night from the TOP!
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The ballet was called El Corsario, or The Pirate. There was more of a story than I expected and the skill is definitely impressive. Still there is a lot of spinning and no talking, so I got bored after a couple acts.
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Nighttime view of the Supreme Court building seen earlier when buying the ballet tickets. The streets can be quiet at night, but people are stilll out eating, dancing, partying somewhere.
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This is the front of the Teatro Colon at night. I can see why it is a historical monument, but it is cool that they still show all kinds of ballets and operas here.
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A lot of the city is just filled with residential buildings like these. Still, there is plenty of green space and always something to look at.
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Again, I haven't seen many people of Middle Eastern descent, but there are enough Muslims in BA to support a huge mosque and cultural center. I think like 98% of the people claim to be Christian, tho...
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View from the apartment that I rented in BA for 80USD per night. With around 14 million people, popular areas are pretty packed. Some areas remind me of Tokyo or NYC, others Paris.
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I wasn't too excited about seeing a cemetery full of dead rich people, but my walk through Recoleta took me here. It is kinda shocking to see the tops of the mausoleums when you approach the cemetery walls.
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Eva Peron (Evita) and lots of other famous people are buried here. Reminds me of the cemetery in Romeo + Juliet... looks like prime real estate!
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Typical street scene. Green, graffiti, cars, classy buildings.
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The main train station points to a great history of rail travel in Argentina. However, over a period of 50 years service has declined as in other countries.
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This clocktower was a gift from the UK on the 100th anniversary of independence. The clock tower and the surrounding plaza were given new names following the Falklands War of 1982 with the British.
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There are a lot of lively places late into the evening. Restaurants serve until at least midnight. Most dance clubs open after 12 or 1am.
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Corrients is BA's "street that never sleeps." It is lined with theaters and restaurants and was lively enough on this Thursday night.
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As I mentioned, there are more and more bike lines in the city. You have to watch-out for cyclists in the bike lanes of BA. Apparently most people ride bikes that are way to big for them!
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Went to see a nice national movie here called Las Acacias. It is no big budget action film, but it is nice to see that the tradition of film making carries on here.
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This is the congress building. Nice lighting, eh?
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Had an hour to kill on the last day, so I made a trip to the zoo. I was pleasantly surprised with the layout of the place and the way the architecture of the buildings matches the region where the animals are from, but the animals probably don't notice.
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One cool thing about the zoo is there are lots of animals that just roam around. People buy buckets of feed and give it to their favorite animal.
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For 0.50USD you can fill-up your thermos. People carry hot water and a cup with a metal straw so they can brew herbal tea on-the-move. More popular outside of BA, but very cool!
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Here is a nice example of how the buildings match the animals. They have nearly all the famous mammals here and the place seems much bigger from the inside.
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BA feels pretty far away from everywhere, but there are actually a lot of direct flights to far-off places including South Africa!
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