Adventures, anecdotes and advice from three months exploring Buenos Aires
At lunchtime, an endless lineup of food carts grill sandwiches for the hungry workers from nearby offices. They all offer the same things, and it's hard to see much difference between the carts, but some enjoy long lines while others are disquietingly empty.
Going to a soccer match in a city filled to the brim with quality teams shouldn't be a difficult task. But finding a ticket for one of the top two clubs, River Plate and Boca Juniors, can be a miserable affair. We've already written about our frustrating experience at a Boca Juniors match, and now continue with the much better time we had at San Lorenzo.
River Plate, Veléz, Racing, Boca Juniors, Argentinos Juniors, Independiente, San Lorenzo, Tigre, Huracán, All Boys... if you want to check out a soccer match in Buenos Aires, there are more than enough opportunities. Foreigners typically flock to the Bombonera to watch Boca Juniors, or the Monumental: home of River Plate. These are by far the two biggest teams in terms of success and support and clashes between them, known as superclásicos, are the stuff of legend.
Ready for another random dump of pictures? These are some I took during the San Telmo fair, at the Museo Santo Domingo on Belgrano and Defensa, and other locations at times I found striking. Hope you like them!
I'll remember Roger Yrurtia for two things. One: for having a last name so ridiculously intimidating that I won't even try to pronounce it. And, two: for his gorgeous sculpture called Canto al Trabajo ("Song to Work").
The barrio of Mataderos, former home to Buenos Aires' slaughterhouses, has always been tightly linked to gaucho culture and the meat industry. In fact, the neighborhood is also known as "Nueva Chicago": a nickname the local football team still plays under.
When I consider the word chalkboard, my head instantly seizes up with all sorts of negative connotations. My brain thinks "school", my nose remembers the stale stench of erasers being pounded together, and my ears... the unbearable screech of a bad piece of chalk scraping uselessly against the slate. Awful.
Tierra Santa, found in Palermo's Parque Norte next to the Newbery Airport, is a Jesus-themed fun park. Though, calling it "fun" might be stretching the truth a bit.
Fleeing the yellow fever which was devastating the city's southern barrios at the beginning of the 20th century, Buenos Aires' most wealthy families established fabulous residences around Retiro's Plaza San Martín. None were more extravagant than the Palacio Paz.
Buenos Aires' trendiest residential neighborhood is probably its most bizarre. Even though it's physically close to the historic center, Puerto Madero almost feels like a completely different city.
