Budapest of the Southern Hemisphere?
Although I'm loathe to compare cities (which feels somehow like detracting from their uniqueness, and therefore what makes them special) it's quite hard not to do with BA. It really is like every city I have ever been to in lots of big and small ways, but also just like itself.
There is the usual brand landscape which reminds you your in a globalised world. And it's a capital city so has all the usual infrastructure you would expect. It also has roads with 18 lanes of traffic (I'm not joking) which make crossing them a question of taking your life into your own hands. Several motorways at once.
It's reminiscent of the large Spanish cities in terms of ambiance and certain aspects of the architecture. And it's certainly reminiscent of Budapest with regards the mash of old and new, and the fact that they have a version of pogatcha (small cheese scones which are lovely when fresh and hot and revolting when even slightly aged.) Here they are called panchos I think. I could come up with a few other ways they're similar but I would be fed up with me if I was Argentinian so I'm going to stop with the comparisons. ANd, in any case, it's much more like itself than anywhere else as I'm slowly beginning to appreciate.
What we've seen
We've only had one full day here but walked the length and breadth of the centre yesterday so managed to cram in a lot of viewing. We saw:
1. The Plaza de Mayo which still has weekly demonstrations of manual workers - a hangover from Peron's time apparently.
2. The Casa Rosada - the sugary pink governmental palace. It used to be painted with ox blood which worked as a fixative, but is now covered with the usual chemical stuff which is lurid in the extreme. This houses the balcony which Evita, Peron, Maradona and Galtieri have all waved from.
3. The Obelisco - 67 metres tall, erected in 1936 to commerate the city's founding (for the 1st and 2nd time) the first raising of the flag and the naming of BA as 'Capital Federal' in the late 19th century. Not a lot of significance then.
3. Plaza del Congreso. Rough Guide calls the Plaza 'spindly' - I'm not quite sure why. Oddly it contains another one of Rodin's Thinker statues. ANd the congress building- Greco-Roman and the Congress monument which is a vast series of waterfalls and statues of horses...
4. Cafe Tortoni. Old school mahogany walled cafe. Copita de limon is a neat shot of squeezed lemon juice which makes you pull one of those 'I've just sucked a lemon' faces, but wakes you up. And Te con leche.
5. The Las Malvenas war memorial. Subtle. Moving.
ANd then we went to dinner where I had half a cow with a fried egg on top. I like food, but I was defeated very quickly. It was a fine steak tho.
ANd today we're off to the Recoleto district to see the cemetry, and wander round the Barrio Norte before getting on a bum-breaking 14 hour bus journey to the Brazilian border.
Although I'm loathe to compare cities (which feels somehow like detracting from their uniqueness, and therefore what makes them special) it's quite hard not to do with BA. It really is like every city I have ever been to in lots of big and small ways, but also just like itself.
There is the usual brand landscape which reminds you your in a globalised world. And it's a capital city so has all the usual infrastructure you would expect. It also has roads with 18 lanes of traffic (I'm not joking) which make crossing them a question of taking your life into your own hands. Several motorways at once.
It's reminiscent of the large Spanish cities in terms of ambiance and certain aspects of the architecture. And it's certainly reminiscent of Budapest with regards the mash of old and new, and the fact that they have a version of pogatcha (small cheese scones which are lovely when fresh and hot and revolting when even slightly aged.) Here they are called panchos I think. I could come up with a few other ways they're similar but I would be fed up with me if I was Argentinian so I'm going to stop with the comparisons. ANd, in any case, it's much more like itself than anywhere else as I'm slowly beginning to appreciate.
What we've seen
We've only had one full day here but walked the length and breadth of the centre yesterday so managed to cram in a lot of viewing. We saw:
1. The Plaza de Mayo which still has weekly demonstrations of manual workers - a hangover from Peron's time apparently.
2. The Casa Rosada - the sugary pink governmental palace. It used to be painted with ox blood which worked as a fixative, but is now covered with the usual chemical stuff which is lurid in the extreme. This houses the balcony which Evita, Peron, Maradona and Galtieri have all waved from.
3. The Obelisco - 67 metres tall, erected in 1936 to commerate the city's founding (for the 1st and 2nd time) the first raising of the flag and the naming of BA as 'Capital Federal' in the late 19th century. Not a lot of significance then.
3. Plaza del Congreso. Rough Guide calls the Plaza 'spindly' - I'm not quite sure why. Oddly it contains another one of Rodin's Thinker statues. ANd the congress building- Greco-Roman and the Congress monument which is a vast series of waterfalls and statues of horses...
4. Cafe Tortoni. Old school mahogany walled cafe. Copita de limon is a neat shot of squeezed lemon juice which makes you pull one of those 'I've just sucked a lemon' faces, but wakes you up. And Te con leche.
5. The Las Malvenas war memorial. Subtle. Moving.
ANd then we went to dinner where I had half a cow with a fried egg on top. I like food, but I was defeated very quickly. It was a fine steak tho.
ANd today we're off to the Recoleto district to see the cemetry, and wander round the Barrio Norte before getting on a bum-breaking 14 hour bus journey to the Brazilian border.
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