The last full day of our ‘side-trip’ to Buenos Aires, and we kicked off by heading to Monserrat – a commercial area in the city…

Our destination was a Peruvian cafe called Chan Chan for lunch, where Eli seemed strangely immune to the most spiciest of sauces (this is his just-after-eating-extremely-hot-spices face)

We were then off to visit La Boca, a popular tourist attraction, and area, in a more run down part of the city

La Boca is home to La Bombonera – a famous football stadium and home to Boca Juniors – where Maradona played before gaining world fame.

We were hoping to take a stadium tour but to our disappointment and Semma’s relief… it was closed the day we got there for some random reason – so we posed for photos outside instead…

We walked from the stadium towards Caminito, admiring some of the graffiti en route

Caminito is an open air museum of sorts, a street made to look like how things used to look a hundred years ago – brightly colored shacks made of disused materials – all created by one of Argentina’s most famous artists (and a local resident) in the late 1950’s with some friends.

It’s retained that artist influence, indeed a wide range of artwork is on sale on the streets, and while small and very tourist oriented, it is still an interesting place to visit.

We stopped for coffee in a small Italian cafe – the area was first inhabited by Italian immigrants from Genoa

We didn’t hang about – there’s not a great deal to do in La Boca – and wondering the surrounding streets was off-limits due to it being considered unsafe for tourists (and actually marked as such on maps).

We’d been told by a friend that you could do graffiti tours, which sounded fun, but it was late in the day and we we’d seen enough to be ready to head home.

It was tough to get a taxi out of La Boca, a makeshift taxi rank by the waterfront was not attracting enough cabs for those who actually wanted them. We got lucky, someone, seemingly self-appointed in charge, bumped us up the queue, I felt bad because I had nothing to offer him. He grumbled, but seemed to appreciate the acknowledgement.

We sped off and along the dock area…

The taxi took us through the ‘dangerous area’ on the map… some amazing buildings as we sped through

Our driver was going very fast alongside busses

Soon we rejoined the main road heading out of La Boca

Back at the hotel we had a relaxed final evening in Buenos Aires. Eli and I played some backgammon and chess in the lounge…

And to finish off the evening Eli insisted on taking the elevator to our hotel room floor all by himself. I could only watch to make sure the numbers went to the right place!

After a frankly lazy day, and feeling a little guilty, we had our sightseeing enthusiasm back, and planned a day around ‘fun for Eli’.

It started with a game of ‘I Spy’…

(The word was ‘air conditioner’ incidentally)

And then a cab ride to the Japanese Gardens of Buenos Aires…

The Japanese Gardens in Buenos Aires are lovely – a great place to take the kids!

We sat in the sunshine, had a relaxing coffee and ice cream (there’s a snack bar and restaurant there)

And left the gardens to walk up to Palermo – a trendy part of the city…

Our first stop was Plaza Armenia which has a park and decent playground

Alongside the small park are some great buildings

From here it’s a short walk to Plaza Serrano, the ‘heart’ of Palermo. The walk over is very nice.

Plaza Serrano itself is not pretty – a bit like Camden Market – so we disappeared off into the side streets which are much nicer – and found an amazing Italian restaurant (at the corner of Gorriti and Thames) which was awesome…

They had this thing where they used some kind of high end book printing paper over the table clothes to cover the tables – super high impact.

Food (or rather, restaurant meals) are incredibly cheap in Argentina – a high end meal like this, with wine, was less than $60. And that’s using the official exchange rate. The same in Brazil would easily be $130 or more.

The meal was wonderful, well enjoyed… and it was time to continue onward to our next port of call… Abasto.

Abasto is a more commercial area, felt a bit like New York, with the main attraction the Abasto Shopping centre.

It’s housed in an old building which has been cleverly adapted to have shopping levels on the bottom 3 floors, and a kids amusement park on the top 2 floors. Genius.

I knew about the amusement park and had been hinting all day (to Eli) there was something coming up.

For now though we kept the amusement park a secret, while we negotiated a zip round the shops.

There’s no easy way to put this- we didn’t like any of the styles. With the caveat that it’s winter in Buenos Aires at the time of our visit, it was all platform shoes and not terribly appealing (to our tastes anyway) sweaters.

As we reached further up through the building the emphasis changed from clothes to kid’s stuff, and an interesting football attraction…

Two guys on a rotating pitch with the goal rotating in the opposite direction – some kind of Nike promotion.

We took the escalator up another level, and Eli’s eyes grew (and mouth dropped) as he saw the amusement park for the first time 🙂

He was literally jumping with excitement

“You mean I get my own credit card??”

… and using his card for the first time, some realization of ‘total freedom’

We put $20 on it and it lasted a really long time. $10 would be more than enough for one.

The card is good for all the attractions, including the amusement rides on the very top level (up from the arcade).

There was virtually no one about, and kids of around 6 and higher are free to ride virtually all the rides, unaccompanied.

It was a ‘scary parent’ moment, but Eli was keen for this right of passage. We could only look on and watch…

“Yes!”

That of course was just the beginning, and with one ride under his belt, it was on to more ambitious pursuits

I marveled at the custom ferris wheel they had fitted into the arched roof of the building (Eli went round it by himself)

I joined in for the bumper cars (compulsory)

And it was time to finish off the card with family bowling…

We left Abasto after 3 fun filled hours. There was an incident where I got covered in flour – to much hilarity (long story). Sadly no photos…

And it was back in a cab for the short ride back to Recoleta, and our hotel.

After yesterday’s fairly serious sightseeing efforts, and the intense ride that was the Brazil v Germany game, we opted for a low key, stay at home kind of day.

Eli got down to some room tunes…

(Eventually) we made it outside… and walked to a nearby gastro pub to watch the Argentina v Holland game.

It was independence day in Argentina (no one working), and the streets were strangely quiet. A lot of people had actually gone to Brazil for the games, and in Buenos Aires, of those left, it seemed many opted simply to watch the game at home.

En-route to the gastro pub, we noticed an amazing tree that spreads huge distances in each direction. It’s three times wider than it looks in this photo.

Our destination was the Buller pub – a nearby pub with on-site brewery.

We didn’t try the beer – although it seemed popular – the food however was a bit rubbish.

They had a good screen, although we had to make do with a neck-brace inducing smaller TV.

When the game went to extra time, and while we still had the chance to avoid permanent neck damage, we opted to watch the rest of the game back at the hotel.

Eli acquired a balloon – soon to be famous – which would later travel all the way back with us to Brazil. (It turns out it is possible to take a balloon on an airplane).

Argentina won the game on penalties. Here’s a short video of the reaction from our balcony!

 

No trip to Argentina would be complete without a pilgrimage to Evita – the woman who changed Argentina forever.

A large part of my childhood was spent working in the West End (London) production of Evita. From the age of 7, I played one of 5 children in the show, and like the family Von Trapp, the story of Evita made a significant impact on my life.

Our hotel was near the Recoleta cemetery where Evita is now buried. We crossed the small park near our hotel, over to the cemetery gates.

The Recoleta cemetery is like few others… The wealthy and powerful of Argentina are all interned here, in an astonishingly wide range of ornate and huge family plots.

Each one is unique, like small homes for the dearly departed – many go several floors underground.

Sadly, many have been abandoned by their families, or perhaps the last surviving members have passed on. Consequently some are in poor condition – dusty coffins clearly visible through broken windows, open to the elements.

Overall it is well taken care of though, and clearly respected – no graffiti, very little trash. Acutally it’s still an active cemetery.

After a few minutes we found the row where the Duarte family tomb (Evita’s father’s family) was located.

A small crowd had gathered…

I had read it was low key, but it still came as a surprise to see it surrounded by other tombs, in a small alley, no different really from any others. A few lone plaques, that if you walked past them you wouldn’t notice. Indeed we walked right past it the first time, before a crowd gathered and gave its location away.

We waited to pay our respects… a tour group passed through. It was an emotional moment – so many were affected by her life, including in a small way my own.

The story of how Evita’s body came to rest at Recoleta is as astonishing as her life. Her body was lost for two decades (actually hidden by the military after her death, far away in Italy). Before her body got to Italy it had been attacked by those who despised her popularity.

In 1973, her husband and former President Juan Peron, was reinstated as President, almost 20 years after a coupe d’etat. Her body was returned to him, first in Madrid where he was in exile, and then later to Argentina. So profound was Evita’s effect on people, Peron’s subsequent wife Isabel, helped clean her embalmed body, and allowed it to be put on display in their Madrid home.

After Peron’s death in 1974, his wife Isabel (who became President herself) oversaw Evita’s body being transferred to the Duarte family tomb at Recoleta Cemetery – where we found ourselves today.

Moved to learn more… we slowly left the cemetery, and made the long walk to the Evita Museum.

The Evita Museum (Museo Evita) is housed in a former orphanage set up by Evita to help single mothers and the poor. The museum is actively run by her family and grand-niece.

At the time of Evita’s funeral in 1952, three million people filled the streets of Buenos Aires to say goodbye to her. Evita was only 33 years old, but in her short life had risen from the poorest of backgrounds, to have (first) a successful career as an actress, and then later as a virtual saint of the people, and the President’s wife. She became more powerful than her husband, the spiritual leader of Argentina, beloved by the poor and descamisados (shirtless-ones).

The museum takes you on a journey beginning with her childhood.

Evita’s sister Erminda, who helped set up the museum, describes her memories of childhood with Evita in detail. (Erminda died sadly in 2012, the last of her siblings… amazing to think Evita could still be alive today).

Following the route laid out through the building, at one point you walk up some stairs into a large room – which instantly feels profound…

On the wall is a large picture from the time when it was an orphanage. This ‘great room’ was where so many children, thanks to Evita, played with their mums and other kids.

There’s a picture too (not shown) of Evita in the same room (standing where I am in the picture above).

And lots of other pictures and memorabilia…

The museum is lovely, and small enough that you can take it in, including watching the various videos, in an hour. Most of it is in English too, and it feels very personal, clearly run with love by Evita’s great-niece, who we thought we saw coming to pay a visit at one point.

We said our goodbyes to Evita and Juan…

Outside again and moved by our experience, it was time to return to the present, and a very different reality…

There was the imminent matter of the (soon to be legendary) Brazil v Germany game. Little did we know as we took a taxi to a Brazilian Bar elsewhere in the city… what lay in the game ahead.

Boteco do Brasil was packed… lots of TV crews, all doing live feeds, clearly the place to be in Buenos Aires to watch the Brazil game. We were lucky to get in and find a perch.

It started with hope…

… which soon turned to disbelief…

… and ultimately ‘ironic celebration’ – as Brazil scored their only goal of the 7-1 defeat.

At one point, near the end of the first half, the bar turned off the sound for the game, and put music on instead. It became a party which carried on long after the game had ended. The Brazilians here at least were amazingly unfazed, and remarkably good spirited about it.

Eli (against my advice) had been supporting Germany throughout, and had a whale of a time!

Sem and I, who had not been supporting Germany, had our own reason to celebrate back at the hotel – a business thing – and raised a small cheer…

 

A roller-coaster of a day!

After our late night arrival in Buenos Aires, and a crazy accident with some wine glasses in our room, the hotel moved us to another one. This was our new view (quite a lot like the old one)…

We’d been hopping from place to place for days it seemed, and so we were happy we’d be staying in one place for the next week or so. We planned a low key day exploring the local area (Recoleta).

Recoleta is an upscale area in Buenos Aires and we wandered into a nearby shopping arcade / mall.

We’d been told that prices were cheap in Argentina and that many South Americans come to Argentina to buy clothes. Our first impressions were the opposite – prices were not cheap and much the same as America, England or Canada.

It was around this time that a good friend who comes to Buenos Aires a lot, reminded me that if you have US dollars (i.e. cash), you can get a much better (unofficial) exchange rate called the Blue rate. The official rate (during our trip) is 8 pesos to the dollar, but the blue rate is 12 pesos to the dollar – a 50% improvement. Months ago I must have read about this and forgotten about it. We had no dollars with us at all, and resigned ourselves to the rather depressing thought that we would be paying 50% more than we needed to for everything.

So much for shopping!

We wandered back to the hotel taking in the sights of Recoleta – beautiful buildings and a lot of older, wealthy people.

In the evening, Eli and I took a taxi to the downtown area not far away, to go to a cool restaurant named Dada (!) for dinner.

The place was full of locals and seemed like a real gathering spot. We were lucky to get a table.

Eli loved the paper mat which became our ‘games board’ for the evening – tic-tac-toe, flick football and hangman. We were clearly bemusing the locals.

After a decent meal and a fun ‘boys night out’, we jumped a taxi back to our hotel, and a relatively early night.