Today is another day…I believe that is what I said a few months ago while in South America. It’s true, obviously. But, it’s something to take to heart as well. Be where you are and enjoy. So, on that note, here are my final days in Argentina and my return home.
The last few days after Mendoza were spent in Buenos Aires. This was my fourth and final trip and I was finally going to do some sightseeing. Buenos Aires is made up of many neighborhoods that have such unique personalities. It really is amazing to wander through each one and experience the people, the food, the sights and the sounds. I had already spent a great deal of time in Palermo, where most of the boutique shopping is, therefore we decided to start out on our first morning for La Boca. This is a bright, vibrant area of Buenos Aires where many artists live. There is a large market with tango, vendors and small shops called Caminita and it is also the home to several of the local soccer teams such as Boca Juniors and Boca River.
The next stop was La Casa Rosada…The Pink House. This is the government building like the White House in the U.S., located near Puerto Madero. The balcony of this historical building is the setting for Eva Peron’s many addresses to the Argentinian masses. From La Casa Rosada, we strolled along until we reached the Obelisk, which is located in the middle of one of the busiest streets in Buenos Aires. With eight lanes of traffic in each direction and billboards filling the sky, this area feels like a cross between Times Square and the Champs-Élysées.
After the Obelisk, we headed to the Eva Peron museum in Recoletta. While I’d love to say that we spent hours pouring through the history of Eva Peron’s life, we actually were starving by the time we arrived, so we ate lunch. Unfortunately, after lunch we decided that since it was so late in the day, we would leave for the next adventure. It pains me now, as I hear how amazing this museum is, so I will need to return someday to properly visit it. However, the artisan pasta we had there was amazing; I highly recommend it for lunch.
After the museum, we stayed in Recoletta and walked through the Japanese gardens. To be quite honest, these were a major disappointment. The Japanese gardens in San Francisco are much better and since we had more places to go…we left after just a few minutes.
Our next destination was the Recoletta Cemetery, where Eva Peron’s body remains. The area of Recoletta where the cemetery is located is very Parisian with its beautiful streets lined with high end boutiques. We first stopped for some ice cream at Freddo’s, which is an Argentinian gelatto store that is amazing! Kyle got the malbec ice cream - another high recommendation from me! After our ice cream, we headed into the cemetery, which is just beautiful. It is, however, a little creepy to be walking through the tombs and to see broken glass and granite blocks that allow perfect viewing of the caskets that are held within. If you are creeped out easily, I would recommend staying on the main, tourist path and not walking through the narrow aisles off the beaten track, as we did. While the cemetery itself was beautiful, the church next door is also quite amazing and actually offers fantastic views of the cemetery next door from the resident chambers.
After a long walk home, we settled in and decided where to eat. Truly, if you find yourself in Buenos Aires someday and you only have the opportunity to eat one dinner - you must go to Cabana Las Lilas. Yes, it is a bit touristy, but it is absolutely the best meal, steak, antipasti platter, dessert, experience ever. That is all I will say.
And so it was my final day in South America. It had been three months of pure adventure and it was perfect.
Posted on January 20th, 2008 by katiejocannon
Filed under: Argentina, Chile, Food, Language, Shopping, Travel, Uruguay
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