Thursday, January 31, 2008

Buenos Aires

Well, where do I start? Since my last post, I've been to Buenos Aires. From there I took a cruise with my son, Jon, to Antarctica, with stops in the Falkland Islands, Ushaia, Punta Arenas and Montevideo. Of course we had a great time. We met some great people. The scenery was great. We saw amazing sights, like Orca whales, sea lions, seals and penguins, penguins, penguins. The weather was great. We had full time entertainment and full time 5 course meals. Even all our travel and flights went well. Not a single delay or lost bag!!
We spent a few days on both the front and back end of the cruise in Buenos Aires, Argentina, so maybe I should start there. It is the second largest city in South America, and often called the Paris of South America. I suppose this is because there is a significant European influence in the architecture and they have wide avenues and traffic circles, lots of statues, fountains, monuments and parks. For instance, the Obelisk or the fountain in the middle of 9 de Julio street. This is a street 16 lanes wide celebrating Argentina's independence.

We visited Recoleta, a historic district which includes the cemetery where Eva Peron is buried, along with many heroes and historic figures. The cemetery is pretty amazing in itself. I've never seen such an ornate cemetery.
I saw uncountable statues and monuments.
Lots of beautiful gardens.
Fountains and cathedrals, like these on 25 de Mayo Plaza.
Or, this memorial of the Malvinas war, otherwise known as the Falklands war. But more about that in the Falklands report. The Argentines are still quite sensitive about that.
And, of course, in Buenos Aires you have to have a taste of the Tango, which was invented here!
And with that quick tour of Buenos Aires, it was off to see the rest of the southern hemisphere.

If I haven't lost you already, keep tuned for some pictures from Antarctica, one of the most scenic places I've visited.







2 comments:

nemattox said...

Hurray! I was hoping you would have time to post something this morning! Looks like Buenos Aires was amazing, which isn't surprising...but that tango picture was!!!

Love,
Nicole

Clairew said...

Great pictures;)

Claire