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An unplanned day in Buenos
Aires with time for a city tour and Tango show
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Thursday 8th November 2018
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We were up very early
this morning. The beautiful sunrise, as seen from our room,
made up for the lack of sleep and the slight jet-lag we
were feeling. After a hearty breakfast in the ground floor
restaurant (the club lounge wasn't open that early and yes,
even after that super-sized steak last night), we joined
the group and set off for the domestic airport (officially
Buenos Aires Aeroparque Jorge Newbery - AEP) by coach, to
catch our flight to the Iguazu Falls. |
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Close to the city
centre, we saw lots of dwellings, tightly packed and very close
to the motorway. |
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We didn't give much thought to the
demonstrators gathered outside the airport, after
seeing so many of them yesterday. We were soon to
discover that they were airport workers, who had
called a strike at short notice. Our 09:35 flight
was marked as cancelled, amongst many others. It
was time for Plan B.
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As we waited for
information and with the airport concourse in chaos, we all went
back to the coach. |
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An hour and a half
later and with confirmation that there would be no more
flights departing for the rest of the day, our plans for
the day (and the next couple of days) had to be radically
altered. This was managed very efficiently indeed by the
local agent, working with our tour leader. We would start
immediately by doing a specially extended tour of the city
(a shortened version of which had been planned for two days
time). During the course of the day, the schedule was further
adapted and we were kept informed throughout. In circumstances
like this, it is good to know that other people are looking
after all the difficult tasks! Below is the programme showing
what was initially planned compared with what we actually
did. |
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We stopped for a walk
around the Rosedal de Palermo (a rose garden in the Palermo
neighbourhood), which apparently has 18,000 roses. I'm not
sure about that number, but there were certainly lots of
them. |
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Our next stop was
in the neighbourhood of Recoleta, to visit the cemetery. |
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Intended as a Catholic
only cemetery, for the right price, any religion will do! |
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I found the concept
of building such elaborate mausoleums and vaults for the
dead quite incomprehensible, but it was nevertheless fascinating
to see the mixture of architectural styles and to listen
to some of the stories behind them. |
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Evita's mausoleum is
clearly much visited and revered. |
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Liliana Crociati died
during her honeymoon. Her parents built her a vault, where
they reproduced her bedroom. A sculpture of her was placed
at the entrance, wearing the wedding dress in which she
was buried and accompanied by her dog. |
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Expectamus Dominum
- "We expect the Lord" |
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Driving to our next stop,
we passed the only Russian Orthodox Church in town, if not
the whole of Argentina! |
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I noticed quite a lot
of grafitti depicting "Peronisma", a movement
based on the political ideology and legacy of former President
Juan Domingo Perón and his wife Eva (Evita). |
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We were heading for
La Boca, another neighbourhood (barrio) of the city. Amongst
other things, it is famous for its football team, Boca Juniors.
We drove around the stadium and our guide gave us lots (and
lots!) of facts about it and the team. They all went in
one ear and out the other! |
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The neighbourhood has
a strongly European feel about it and we heard that many
of its early settlers came from the Italian city of Genoa. |
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It was time to check
in to our hotel. Because of the change of plans, it wasn't
possible for us to go back to the same hotel as last night.
Instead, we were upgraded to the "six star" hotel
next door! |
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Our room was huge! |
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Early evening and we
were back on the coach and being taken to the venue for
our evening meal and tango show. The venue was directly
opposite this landmark obelisk, at the intersection of two
of the city’s most important streets: Avenida 9 de
Julio and Avenida Corrientes. The former is often credited
as being the widest street in the world, while the latter
became famous as the street that never sleeps, home to Buenos
Aires' main theatres and many late night restaurants. |
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Inside the restaurant/theatre |
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The group of 24 were
already starting to bond. The food and the show which followed were
most enjoyable. |
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Outside the theatre,
afterwards. |
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It hadn't been quite
the day we were expecting, but it was an enjoyable one, nevertheless.
What would tomorrow bring, we wondered? |
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