Buenos Aires


Buenos Aires is definitely one of the coolest cities I have visited.  Buenos Aires reminds me of Montreal, a blend of old world and new, taking the best of each.  This is my second day here, and I will be staying till Tuesday at least.  I need to get visas for Uruguay and Paraguay, and there is a lot to see here, not the least are the fall colors in May.  It even feels like fall even though the temperature is just about perfect for comfort. 

Today I mostly walked around downtown.  Buenos Aires is huge, 13 million people, it has everything you would expect in a city this size, subways (Subte) and above ground light rail transit, commuter trains, the usual buses and taxis, excellent freeways and wide downtown roads to accomodate traffic.  BA is the best city for riding the bike this side of the Mexican border.   The local moto pilots ride their motorcycles like Edmonton's bicycle couriers ride their leg-motors, apparently traffic laws do not apply to motos.  I try to set a good example, but it is too hard to not to join in the fun.  The French influence extends beyond the plumbing, Citroens, Renaults and Peugeots are everywhere, a lot of Fiats as well.

My funky hotel is close to the Subte, 'Linea A' will be celebrating its 100th birthday in 3 years.  I am sure these subway cars are the originals, manual doors!.   Check out the wood paneling inside.

 The other lines are newer and so is the equipment, it is cool that they preserved the original, but it wouldn't have hurt to have washed it coupla time in the last 97 years. 

The Palacio del Congresso is one of the most imposing capital buildings I have seen,  I don't  know if this picture gets that across, but standing in front of it certainly does. It is supposedly modeled after the capitol building in Washington DC, but somehow it comes across as much grander.
There are lots of museums and memorials here, all convenient to the subway, so I plan to visit as many as I can.  

Great restaurants too, if you have been to Montreal, the Buenos Aires restaurants are managed the same way, even in ordinary neighborhood cafes the wait staff is mostly mature males wearing a white shirt with black pants and they do not introduce themselves as being 'your server tonight'.  The food is good as well, Argentina has its own ideas on how food should be prepared, and for the most part it is excellent, but also unlike other cuisine I have tried.  If you have high cholesterol you may want to cross Argentina off your list of places to visit, everything has beef, eggs and cheese in it or on it.  Beer is normally served in one liter bottles as well, so no wonder the drivers are erratic.

Click here for a few more photos.

Comments

  1. KidumMay 4, 2010 at 9:30 AM

    Nice review about Buenos Aires, the city is always ready to receive more travelers like you. Just keep an eye to your personal stuffs, it probably resembles Montreal, but is not Montreal, there are people with many needs here, but nothing to be afraid of, just take care. And right, there is a lot of things to do. Here is a link with the widest catalog of activities in Buenos Aires
    http://tinyurl.com/32292cz
    Keep enjoying Buenos Aires' fall!

    ReplyDelete
  2. KidumMay 4, 2010 at 9:32 AM

    Sorry, here is the link http://www.bsas4u.com/

    ReplyDelete
  3. Left wing red neckMay 6, 2010 at 7:26 PM

    Thanks for all the information!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Kelly OlsonJune 29, 2024 at 3:04 AM

    I enjoyed reading your blog, thanks

    ReplyDelete
  5. DebraOctober 13, 2024 at 3:29 AM

    Hi great reading your bllog

    ReplyDelete

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