Ashley- It's like I'm on vacation!

In case you are out of the loop, my friend, Deanna (from OU), has been studying in Quito, Ecuador this semester and was able to come visit me last week. It was such a nice change of pace to re-discover the city (even all it's tourist attractions). We crammed a whole lot into 4-1/2 days, but I think Deanna was able to get a pretty good feel for the city, and I had an excuse to go see/do some of the things that I had still been missing out on.

The first day that we actually went out and about we fit in the barrios San Nicolas, Montserrat, San Telmo, Boca, and Puerto Madero. Whew! San Nicolas and Montserrat are usually referred to as the centro, which is where I stayed when I was in the hostel. Most of the governmental buildings/offices are located here, as well as TONS of international people and galerias (malls). There are also a lot of beautiful cathedrals in the area, including La Iglesia San Ignacio, the oldest church in the city. We happened upon El Museo de La Ciudad (Museum of the City), which I thought might be interesting. It was free so we decided to take a gander--let's just say it's a good thing that it was free. Rather than learning about the history of the city and it's people, we saw random collections of toys, fans, doors, and advertisements from the 50's and 60's. Unless you have an obsession with any of these things, I do not recommend this museum to anybody traveling to BA. After that, we passed through La Manzana Franciscana and an antiquated pharmacy that has kept it's original decor before heading on to San Telmo. In San Telmo (el barrio viejo), we passed by a lot of small boutiques and a plethora of antique stores. If you're in the market for antiques, this is the place to come. I was bummed that Deanna wasn't here on a Sunday because there is a huge (and fairly well-known) open-air antique/crafts market in the main plaza in San Telmo on Sundays that can be quite an experience. However, she was able to see the National History Museum, which still wasn't totally impressive in it's exhibits, but was much more enjoyable than El Museo de la Ciudad. After that, we continued on to La Boca, home to many Italians, Boca Juniors' Stadium, El Caminito (where all the colorful corrugated buildings are), and lots of tourists. I definitely wouldn't want to spend every day there because the people practically taking your hand to get you to go into their store/restaurant can be exhausting, but it is a fun place to go see. We stopped for dinner where I discovered a delicious amber lager made in Patagonia (and later found in the supermarket...woo!). After that, we headed back to Puerto Madero and strolled around on the docks for a little while before stopping at Havanna for a coffee and an alfajor (at which point Deanna exclaimed that Argentina is delicious). Finally, we headed back to my apartment and rested our tired little feet. What a full day!

Puente de la Mujer in Puerto Madero

The next day we went through Retiro and Recoleta, which are a little bit more upscale. In Plaza San Martin in Retiro there was a big exhibit by the UN called Buddy Bears. Essentially, there was a (ceramic?) bear decorated by an artist from each nation recognized by the UN. We also went to the Klemm Foundation, which was a museum that housed a lot of contemporary art (even some Warhols!). It was interesting, but the further into the museum we got, the stranger the flavor of art. After that, we headed to Recoleta and spent some time in El Cementario. It was kind of neat that there was a memorial to Alfonsin, since I was hear when his death was in the news. We also strolled through Buenos Aires Design, a mall devoted to home decor, and joked that now I know where to go to decorate my house when I decide to move here for good (just joking, Mom and Dad...kind of). After that, we went to El Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, which was awesome. There was a lot of European and Latin American art from the Fifteenth Century on. I was (happily) surprised at the amount of works by Rodin and Degas, although I would have liked to see more Van Gogh. The best part about this museum is that it was F-R-E-E. Love it. We left just in time to make it to the Flor Generico as it was closing up, a huge metallic sculpture of a flower erected in a big green park that opens in the morning and closes at sunset. It was done by an Argentine artist and is supposed to represent all flowers. Ahhh, so pretty. By that point we were both pretty hungry and there was a Hard Rock right around the corner...I was a little embarassed to tell the waiter that we were American when he asked (Americans eating American food...gah). He didn't seem to mind though. He even pulled up a chair to sit and talk with us for a while when he didn't have any other customers. South American men...

El Flor Generico

The next day we finally made it to Palermo, a huge, park-filled barrio that is one of the prettiest parts of the city. We spent a lot of time just walking around and enjoying the nice weather. We did make it to the MALBA (Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires), which houses Latin American art, most of which is more contemporary. There was even a Frida Kahlo (one of my faves). Later I found out that the MALBA is free on Wednesdays, and because there is so much to see there, I may have to head back there one of these days. And lucky me, I don't have class on Wednesday. After spending a couple hours in the museum, we walked around Palermo more before heading back towards (and beyond) Puerto Madero to go to La Reserva Ecologica. I love going there because you can get to the shoreline of the Rio de la Plata, which is pretty even if the water isn't very clear. That night, we met up with my roommate and walked around El Centro more to do some shopping from the street vendors (I just can't seem to convince myself that I have enough scarves...).

Shoreline of Rio de la Plata

View of Puerto Madero from La Reserva at sunset.

Sitting on the colectivo after a few very tiring days.

Sadly, Deanna had to leave the next day, but I had so much fun while she was here! Since then, I've been sleeping a lot (ahh) and avoiding studying. Hmmm, maybe I should change that...or not.