Buenos Aires, Part I: I Finally Arrived

After 35 hours on a bus, I was thrilled to see the endless sprawl of greater Buenos Aires. Seriously, the apartment buildings seem to stretch endlessly in every direction. I had booked a hostel directly in the middle of the madness, in the Montserrat neighborhood, and after a shower and getting settled in my (hideous) 10-person dorm room, I set out on foot to see what I could find. I had the misfortune to arrive in BA on a Sunday, where, even in the big cities, I found most things closed. I took advantage of my excess of time to wander around and enjoy the architecture. I walked to the Plaza de Mayo and saw the famous Casa Rosada (the presidential palace), which is a beautiful salmon color, and some other cool old buildings surrounding the plaza, including the govenor's mansion. I also went to the Block of Enlightment, a set of Jesuit buildings including a college and a cathedral, where I took a tour of the insides of the buidlings, which included a descent into the crypts where the Jesuits and nuns used to sneak around during times of upheaval. Because the United States, and especially the West Coast, is relatively young, I am fascinated by colonial architecture because it is unlike much of what I have seen in other cities. I love the feeling of walking in a city and looking up to see a structure over 400 years old. Every other building in BA that I walked past seemed to have a story, an interesting history, and the musty character of the past that quickens my heart and my mind. I also love the dichotomies present as you see a beautiful, ancient, crumbling cathedral next to a high rise. It fascinates me. People always say Buenos Aires is very European. I have never been to Europe, so the comparison means very little to me, but I think that same sense of history and the immense passage of time must be present in both places.

The governor's palace on Plaza de Mayo.
The Cathedral on the Jesuit Manzana de Luces, or Block of Enlightment, the oldest buildings in Buenos Aires (I think).

One of the many statues Buenos Aires has on display.

Inside the Manzana de las Luces.

The altar of the cathedral on the Block of Enlightenment--very ornate.

My second day in BA, I walked everywhere. I started my day in Recoleta, where I ate a snack at a beautiful outdoor cafe overlooking the park and a little church and the entrance to the cemetery. Next, I explored Palermo, a sort of yuppie district in a completely different part of town. That night, I returned to my hostel exhausted with aching legs from my wanderings.

The pretty little church next to the famous cemetery in Recoleta.

Some crazy old building I happened upon in my wanderings. I don't even know what it is--it wasn't in my guidebook. For this reason, BA rules.

I spent day three wandering around the city in different directions, to Retiro and Plaza San Martin, home of a beautiful leafy park and a lovely viewpoint. I also ended up back in Recoleta for a lunch of empanadas, tamales and humitas in the park with a random German woman I met. I went out dancing that night with some Brazilian girls I had met at the hostel. I had not been impressed with the Argentine club scene, since I love dancing and the purpose had seemed more to be to kind of bop around and give the eye to other club-goers. Snore! For me, it's dancing, or nothing. Also, I was not quite feeling up to the challenge of hooking up with Argentines, for one because they are largely, men and women alike, freaking gorgeous and much less impressed with my gringaness than Chileans. Also, I still have one particular Chilean on my mind, which has sort of killed my desire to get to know the Argentine dating scene, a fact I may come to regret later. Oh well...I will just have to come back!

I love the Argentine flag. As seen from Plaza San Martín.

The view from the top of Plaza San Martín.

The following day was New Years Eve, which meant everything was mostly shut down early. I ate a delicious dinner of oysters baked in parmesan cheese, ravoli and wine, then joined the Brazilian girls, a dude from Amsterdam and a fellow Pacific Northwesterner to ring in the New Year. We ended up in Puerto Madero, watching some fireworks displays from a blustery bridge filled with festive drunks. We had plans to go to a dance club after, but due to some confusion caused by the hostel worker we had purchased the tickets from, we were not allowed in. I wasn't that devastated, since the whole night I had been missing home and finding that ringing in the new year, even in a great location like Buenos Aires, means very little if you are not with your loved ones. I missed my New Years tradition with my one of my best pals, Chris, in Seattle. But I hung out in the hostel and had some beer with a surprisingly fun and festive group, so it was a worthy way to pass the night. Maybe it wasn't the glamorous, crazy night I had expected, but it suited my mood.

I didn't take a ton of pictures in BA because I needed to take a break from my camera and not feel so obviously touristy for a moment, and looking back, none of these pictures evoke the excitement or majesty that you experience wandering the streets. Expect more pictures, especially of the more fun and touristy places like La Boca and the Recoleta Cemetery, when I revisit Buenos Aires with my best pal Rebecca Ann Fiess at my side!