Heavens above. The second day I have lain in my bed in the middle of the night wishing for sleep, then zonked out and woken at 11:00. Not even my old time zone so not sure what is going in but the 5 hour stint I got was gratefully appreciated.
Nothing was planned so I set out on foot basically following the list of landmarks on my map. Most things were closed or of no interest but my walk took me through the pedestrian only area to the Micro Centro, past all the landmarks, along the inlets to the docks, across the Ladies Bridge, past the Tribute to Tango, back along the inlets and back home, stopping for some pretty much ok empanadas.
The promenades and the areas on the other side of the docks in stark contrast to the city side, very laid back, lots of greenery, vibrant, few people and quite modern.
It was very much a tourist type morning with nothing that really excited me but I took a few pics to prove I had been:
The Kirchener Centre - a cultural centre which is the largest of Latin America, and the third or fourth largest in the world. The statue is Juana Azurduy - also known as Juana Azurduy de Padilla, was a South American guerrilla leader who fought for independence from Spanish rule in the early 19th century.
Cabildo - now the National Centre of Museums, built in 1580
The demonstration against removal of free schooling (currently free to locals at all levels including Uni)
The Woman’s Bridge - a pedestrian bridge designed to allow the passage of ships up to the docks of the port. It supposedly represents the image of a couple dancing the tango!
Comic Character Statues - not sure how these fit in but they were fun.
The Puerto Madero Skyline
The Monument to the Tango - opened in 2007 and resembles a bandoneon, the instrument in the interpretation of the Tango
The residential area I am staying in doesn’t have much going on at night so I embarked on a ‘night walking tour’ with a guide. The biggest waste of money yet. Well it was night, we did walk (a bit), and it was a sort of tour. My guide, a lady called Sol, collected me from the hotel and initially we walked (no narrative) around some of the parts of the city I had already seen. Every now and then Sol would point something out.
We soon stopped to eat. Empanadas again and not too bad. Our venue was a place called Los Americanos, sort of like a Maccers so totally uninspiring. But, I did get to hear all about Sol’s love life, a conversation that continued throughout the night.
Our next walk was to the train station, through entirely residential streets with nothing to note. The train ride to Palermo was about as inspirational as the dinner and subsequent walk.
Walking through one street of Palermo, a little more fun, with some nice looking bars and restaurants to catch my eye. And then we caught a cab to a tiny wine bar, had a glass of wine and some yumm Empanadas made with filo pastry and far more palatable than those earlier in the day. For the entire duration of the wine bar visit Sol talked about her relationship.
The evening came to a close when I caught a cab for a long cab ride home. It was great to get out at night, I enjoyed the company but puhleese a walking tour this was not. ‘BA walking tours’ I wont be using you again; such a stark contrast to the few hours I spent on the last informative and fun tour.
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