Cultural Tour of the City

(Above) See the only house in the downtown area of Buenos Aires. Look closely, yes it is on the roof!

January 29, 2011

For a Saturday, today was filled with adventure!

First of all, a new cultural experience - if you want to get a lot of attention, just eat something while walking down the street. NOBODY eats while walking and “TO GO” cups of coffee etc. are very hard to find. Part of the culture here is to sit and converse while eating. So, it is not normal to eat dinner alone in a restaurant either. Today I got a waffle cone gelato and took it with me as I walked. Children were staring, older women snickering and who knows what else was being thought as I screamed “tourist approaching” to everyone I passed. (Apparently the real reason people don’t eat in public has to do with not wanting to look like they gorge themselves, so I suppose eating an ice cream cone made me look like a real pig!

I went on a walking tour of the city today. Here are a few of the pictures I took!

Our enthusiastic tour guide, "Sol" telling us about some palace.

A picture looking from the famous Plaza del Mayo.

I am walking in the middle of the street...they had the street blocked off to film an advertisement.
This is the "Casa Rosada" (Argentina's equal to the White House)
This palace was built to resemble a piece of literature. The title escapes me - I am glad I am not an Historian. Details are not always remembered by me!
This is me in front of the legislature.
This is the grounds around the Plaza near the legislature. We were told they had to put of a fence because of the graffiti artists who like to destroy buildings around here.
This is an abandoned building in the downtown district.
A closer picture of the legislature!