Jen and I were out on the town today!
First, we walked around the neighborhood of Palermo, where our hotel is. We
Playing chess at the park.
found this group of old Argentine men at a nearby park, slouching over tables,
and actively trying to dominate their opponents at either chess or dominos.
When I asked if I could take their photo, they enthusiastically gave permission and tried to engage me in spanish conversation that was much too fast for me to understand. These are the guys to talk to if you just want to hang out and improve your spanish, especially if you liked to play chess!
After our wanderings in Palermo, we jumped on a bus to take us to Recoleta, a bustling neighborhood with trendy cafés, fancy art galleries, a large outdoor market, buskers and performers,
and the world famous cemetery where Evita Perón and many other upper class Argentine families have tombs to house them in the afterlife.
We wandered aimlessly around the cemetery in absolute amazement of the total beauty of the place. Some of the tombs were in remarkable condition and obviously had care
Exposed caskets in the cemetary.
and attention on a regular basis, and others
were dilapidated and nearly exposing corpses through broken stonework and rotting caskets.
[edit] When Jen read this last part, she thought it was seriously over the top. I’m keeping it there anyways!]
We eventually stumbled upon the site of Evita Perón’s tomb, and there were fresh flowers lying at the well kept entrance. She obviously made a huge impact
Jen exploring the cemetary.
here in Argentina, and the people aren’t going to forget her any time soon. There was much more to see at the cemetary, but the day was
passing quickly, and they were closing the doors, so we had to leave.
Later on while wandering in front of the very expensive Palacio Duhau – Park Hyatt Hotel, a kind bellman approached us and told me that it is highly recommended that I keep my camera more concealed because of the broad daylight robberies that happen in the area. Crazy. I put my camera in my pack, but it’s quite hard to take photos with it there…
In typical Argentine style, we’re heading out for dinner around 10 p.m., so I better get a little siesta in before then!