Three Months in Argentina - The Beginning

After Mexico and a brief visit to the U.S., we moved farther south and began our three month visit to Argentina in Buenos Aires. We arrived on November 4, springtime in the southern hemisphere. The weather was cool and the city was beautiful.

We had not really focused on the fact that the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires has a population in excess of 15,000,000. The city spreads out far and wide with many diverse areas and many competitive fútbol/soccer teams. Some of the sections we visited included La Boca (with some of the most rabid soccer fans), Palermo Soho and Hollywood (a hip and trendy area stock full of cafes, bars and great restaurants), the center (heart of the government and many recognizable buildings and architecture - as well as tango venues), Puerto Madero (purportedly some of the most expensive property per square meter in South America), Recoleta (the cemetery famous for the lavish mausoleums of many important figures in the history of Argentina including Evita Perón) and finally, Villa Urquiza/Belgrano which houses many of the embassies and uncountable tree-lined avenues stretching in all directions and lined with stately homes of impressive architecture. There are many other areas which we only passed through but did not have time to explore. The city has more parks than any other city we have visited including Mexico City.

Argentina, especially the "porteños" of Buenos Aires are heavily influenced by the thousands of European immigrants, especially from Italy. That affects the cuisine and the unique almost singing manner of speaking with an accent different from any other country in Latin America except Uruguay. Argentina also uses the "voseo" verb conjugation form found only in this country and Uruguay. The accent and the voseo form are enough to stump anyone whose first language is not Spanish.

In an effort to avoid photo fatigue, I have tried to cull this first post down to some of the more interesting sites in our first couple of weeks in Buenos Aires. In several cities we have taken the hop-on hop-off bus and they offer a great way to get an overview of a city. We took the red bus in Buenos Aires operated by Gray Line.

The historic center is impressive -

The iconic obelisk can be seen from many parts of the city.

As with many other large Latin American cities, Buenos Aires is full of jaw-dropping statues and monuments. There is one on almost every corner. Just a random few below.

The Recoleta Cemetery is where Eva Perón is buried as many other famous Argentinians. It is a tourist attraction not only as the resting place of Evita but also because of the ornate crypts and statues found throughout.

The "Bombonera" - the Boca Juniors stadium is home to one of the most popular sports teams in the country. If you are an international fútbol/soccer fan you undoubtedly have heard of it and know that Maradona spent most of his illustrious career there. You cannot walk a block in Buenos Aires, or anywhere else in the country for that matter, without seeing someone wearing something with the team logo on it.

Catedral Metropolitana - Pope Francis was the Archbishop of Buenos Aires. This cathedral is more or less a museum to the Pope.

El Centro - full of government and other stately buildings including Casa Rosada which is the seat of the Argentinian government and the president's office. José de San Martín is considered to be the liberator and father of Argentina. You would have difficulty finding a city or pueblo that does not have a statue of him as well as a park and street named after him.

Seconds into our long flight from Miami to Buenos Aires.

The Unlikely Twins and More Stories is scheduled for release in ebook and paperback on February 1. More details soon.