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Second Half of Buenos Aires Trip
Rio de Janeiro, April 21
Sao Paolo, April 22
Mario Magnaye and I met at Buenos Aires,
Argentina on April 17. He came from the Philippines and he attended a
medical conference in Buenos Aires. We stayed at
Moreno Hotel which was
ideally located in the center. The hotel was near Plaza de Mayo, flea
market, and in a very safe area.
On the afternoon of April 17, we strolled by
the presidential palace (Casa
Rosada), along
Puerto Madero that encompassed the white bridge (Puente
de la Mujer), and just a good stroll along the river. Argentina
produces very good wine and we did not waste time and relaxed in a cafe by
the river.
We went to the famous
Siga La Vaca for dinner and for US$20, it was eat all you can beef, lamp
chops, sausage, pork and it was grilled to my specification...MEDIUM!
Included in the price was a choice of one (1) bottle of wine or a pitcher of
beer for each of us. So, Mario and I had 2 bottles of Cabernet
Sauvignon and had more for only US$2/bottle!
Since we travelled at least 10 hours before
reaching Buenos Aires plus the indulgence with beef and wine, we capped off
the night early.
The following day April 18 (Sunday), Mario
and I started the day with the famous
flea
market at San Telmo District along Defensa St. The flea market
only happens every Sunday and it was just behind our hotel! I got
myself a cowhide which started at US$150 and haggled it to to US80,
experience a bit of authentic street tango with a pretty local girl and the
flea market showed the nice culture of Argentina itself.
From the flea market, we started to
explore Buenos Aires further and passed by
Plaza de Mayo, the
obelisk,
and Teatro Colon
which was being renovated at that time. Then we strolled our way to
the La Recoleta
Cemetery where the famous
Eva Peron was buried
(tomb #57). When you get to the cemetery, all tourists had one thing
in common - finding the tomb of Eva Peron which we all thought was grand but
it was just a simple mausoleum in black granite. As a matter of fact,
if there were not many tourists that day, it would have been difficult
finding the tomb because it was located in a very small alley.
Mario and I had to take the cab on our way
back to the hotel (about US$5) because we just got exhausted with the long
walk of about 8 kms!
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