Buenos Aires

Argentine tango dancers on Caminito street

Argentine tango dancers on Caminito street

Dates visited: December 30, 2013 – January 3, 2014

Buenos Aires is referred to as Paris of South America, and having visited both the cities, I believe that’s selling Buenos Aires short. Buenos Aires, in my opinion, is a lot more beautiful and has a lot more character, but the only reason you would not notice it is because it is very badly maintained. When one of the most powerful buildings, Congreso (Congress building), is also the dirtiest, you know that the powers-that-be have no interest in preserving the beauty of this city. There are numerous fountains in this city, each one more striking than the other, but they are either out of water or are covered with graffiti. You can see graffiti on many of the aesthetically designed buildings in Centro as well. However, I took the city for what it was worth and enjoyed my walk in Centro and on Avenida 9 de Julio (one of the widest boulevards in the world with 16 lanes of traffic). I was a little disappointed by the famous Obelisk landmark, Obelisco, as I was expecting it to be a lot taller and grander.

One of the weirdest attractions here is the Recoleta Cemetry. This unique cemetery houses the opulent graves of rich and famous people such as Eva Perón, Presidents of Argentina, and Argentine Nobel Prize winners. Since there aren’t any maps provided, the inadequate picture of the cemetery layout at the entrance is of little help when trying to locate specific graves. We just followed a tour group knowing that they would certainly be stopping at Eva Perón’s grave.

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