Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: South America 2009
Ritzy Recoleta and Prosperous Palermo
I got up at 0715 in preparation for another solid day of sight-seeing in Buenos Aires. Breakfast was in the Club Lounge as usual and we were ready to set out just after nine. Today's plan called for an exploration of the Recoleta and Palermo neighbourhoods, followed by another dinner in San Telmo. We began by taking a taxi to the famous Recoleta Cemetery, reckoned by many - bizarre though it may sound - to be the city's greatest tourist draw. We spent a good while walking around the maze-like aisles, looking at row upon row of the most stunningly opulent tombs and memorials - a reminder, just as much as the fading glory of the downtown buildings, that this was once a very wealthy city. Predictably, the most popular spot in the cemetery was the tomb of Eva Peron, although it is surprisingly difficult to find. (I don't suppose it helps that she was laid to rest under her own family name of Duarte. Somebody asked me for directions while standing right in front of the tomb!)
The next objective was literally next door - the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Pilar, a lovely white colonial church with a beautiful baroque interior. We had time to look around the church itself and the attached museum. From here, we walked down towards the University and the nearby Floralis Generica, a striking modern flower sculpture that apparently opens its petals every morning and closes them again at dusk.
As
the plan was once again running ahead of schedule, we decided to keep
active by walking the relatively short distance to Palermo. As we
walked along the main road towards the Japanese Garden, we were
struck by the contrast between this upscale part of the city and the
central areas that we had explored on Sunday. Homeless people and
graffiti were both notable by their absence, while the 'sidewalks of
death', as Bruce had dubbed them, were now replaced by smooth, safe,
properly maintained walking surfaces. And instead of mangy mutts
fending for themselves, we now had posh pooches taking their morning
promenade, a dozen or so at a time, under the watchful eyes of
professional dog-walkers! It looked as though in this part of
town, the universal rule that money gets things done was alive and
well.
We had a stroll around the Japanese Garden, which was pleasant enough, but perhaps inevitably it seemed to lack authenticity compared to similar facilities in the Far East. From there, it was another short stroll towards the Evita Museum. Before going in, however, we had lunch in what proved to be another excellent restaurant just across the street, La Josefina. After a thoroughly satisfying meal, we toured the museum and then decided to return to base on the subway. We intentionally overshot to Retiro station, however, and in so doing clocked up a visit to another of the capital's well-known neighbourhoods.
The evening plan called for a quick visit to the Modern Art Museum in San Telmo during its last hour of the day (7 to 8) followed by dinner at nearby Campo Estilo, one of the city's famous parilla grill restaurants specialising in Argentina's favourite food, huge home-reared beef steaks. We left the hotel by taxi just after seven and everything seemed to be going swimmingly until we got to the museum, only to find that it was closed either for major refurbishment or possibly for ever - we never did manage to work out which. A quick change of plan was called for, as the restaurant would not open its doors for another hour or so. We strolled the short distance to the Plaza Dorrego, the city's second oldest public square and centre of the Sunday antique market. After a quick look around, we selected a traditional-looking bar for a pre-dinner G&T which, unusually, was made with Dutch gin.
Later, we walked down to Campo Estilo and had an absolutely superb beef dinner - a true carnivore's delight! It was then an easy taxi ride back to the hotel, the realisation dawning on us that our time in this most interesting city was all but over.