Buenas Aires, Argentina

City Tour of Buenas Aires, Argentina

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The next day we got up bright and early, and ready to explore Buenas Aires. We had a quick breakfast at the buffet and then met our tour group to board our bus for our all-day city tour

Our driver was Diego, and he was a history teacher when he wasn’t explaining the highlights of his city to tourists. He was great. The first area we drove through was the ‘higher class’ area which was where there were lots of parks and monuments. There was huge tribute to Eva (Evita!) Perone and he explained bit about her story to us.

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Fuzzy picture (hard to take photos from a moving bus) of a pretty park and monument

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Monument

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Lots of pretty parks and areas to explore

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It was a busy work day for the local folks

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More park areas

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We saw this silly sign – not sure what it means!

 

Then we visited the cemetery where Evita is buried. Believe it or not, it was an amazing place! Lots of mausoleums and family crypts that were ornamental and interesting. Our guide explained that the part we could see above ground was only part of the story, and in most cases – there were basement areas of each crypt, and many of then had about a dozen family members entombed inside.

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Our guide Diego, explaining about the crypts and how they have many levels and some of the dignitaries that are buried there.

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La Recoleta Cemetery

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La Recoleta Cemetery

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Cheryl greeting one of the many cats that were in the cemetery

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Set in 5.5 hectares (14 acres), the site contains 4691 vaults, all above ground, of which 94 have been declared National Historical Monuments by the Argentine government and are protected by the state.

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Art and Cheryl at La Recoleta Cemetery

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La Recoleta Cemetery – In 2013, CNN listed it among the 10 most beautiful cemeteries in the world.

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Adam and Susan at La Recoleta Cemetery

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Art and Adam at La Recoleta Cemetery

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La Recoleta Cemetery

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The entire cemetery is laid out in sections like city blocks, with wide tree-lined main walkways branching into sidewalks filled with mausoleums.

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Susan at the cemetery

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Art and Cheryl exploring La Recoleta Cemetery

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Statue on the tomb of Facundo Quiroga – a past Governor of Argentina

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26-year-old Liliana Crociati de Szaszak (1944–1970) was in Innsbruck, Austria on 26 February 1970, when her hotel was struck by an avalanche, killing her. Her tomb was designed by her mother in the Neo-Gothic style, in sharp contrast to the other tombs in the cemetery. Adjacent to the tomb stands a dais adorned with a plaque containing an Italian-language poem by her father, and topped by a life-size green bronze statue of Crociati de Szaszak in her wedding dress, by sculptor Wíeredovol Viladrich. Following the death of Crociati’s dog Sabú, a bronze statue of the dog, also by Viladrich, was added, with Crociati’s hand resting on the dog’s head.

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We found it interesting that a bird had built its nest in the face of this statue

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Adam

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The view inside the tomb Adam was standing in front of

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The ornate entrance to La Recoleta Cemetery

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A view down under a tomb showing the multi levels

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One of the many cats we saw – they are well fed and cared for.

 

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Eva Peron’s family crypt

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One of the plaques on Evita’s tomb.

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Another plaque on Evita’s tomb

After leaving the cemetery we were taken ‘downtown’ to the political capitol area.  We ran into a huge traffic jam.  Turned out the President was speaking near-by and the police closed down many streets.  We were somewhat close to where we wanted to go, so our tour-bus driver turned the bus around and dropped us off where the street was blocked.  Our tour guide urged us to take photos from the middle of the street because it’s normally a VERY busy area – and it was an unusual treat to have the street blocked.  From there we walked to a large Catholic church.  It was very ornate and beautiful inside and had a monument to a fallen national hero (sorry I don’t recall his name) that had a military guard.  We happened to be there during the ‘changing of the guard’ which was interesting.

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Standing in the middle of a normally busy street

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The view from behind the street blockage

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Everyone was encouraged to take advantage of the unique photo opportunity

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The ‘unique’ view of the tower monument

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Changing of the guard

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Inside the beautiful church

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Inside the Church

Outside the church – we noticed a large police presence – and even riot police.

 

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Riot Police expecting demonstrators

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Federal Police and bomb squads were present, but no one seemed concerned

 

Our guide explained that there was a large demonstration about to take place, and urged us to move on… so we did!

Next up was the Casa Rosada or the “Pink Palace.” This is the equivalent to the U.S. White House.  It is also where Evita made her famous speech to the crowd below from the balcony.

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The Pink Palace

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The famous Evita Balcony “Don’t cry for me, Argentina!”

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Adam and Susan at the Pink Palace

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Cheryl at the Pink Palace

Because we were still close to where the demonstration was to be, we decided to move on to our next destination. We walked down a few blocks – admiring the old architecture, and then we arrived – a Tango show. They served us lunch, which included a HUGE Argentina steak – and then we were treated to music and authentic Tango dancing (the area where we watched the show is where the Tango was created). We also were treated to “Goucho” music too – who are sort of like Cowboys of Argentina.

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This is where we were treated to a Tango Show

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Our Menu

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A blurry photo of the Tango show dining room

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Art and Cheryl at the Tango

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They make their own custom wine

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Some of the musicians during the show

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Adam and Susan at the show

 

Next our tour went to an area of town called “La Boca” which is where there is a large soccer stadium and an area where ‘artists’ are known for painting buildings in interesting colors.

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Interesting characters in La Boca area of town

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Multi colored buildings in La Boca

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Cheryl in La Boca, with her new bracelet

 

Next our tour headed back to toward the pier but via a much ‘lower class’ area than we had started out in. It was interesting but also somewhat depressing to see such poverty in the city.

After we arrived back at the cruise terminal, it was much less hectic because there was only our ship in the terminal. Then it was time to ‘sail away!’ at last. It wasn’t quite like we are accustomed to because Buenas Aires is located on a HUGE river, instead of the ocean…. after sail away we had an early dinner and headed to bed early again, while we were still adjusting to the local time…

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