Stars and soccer balls (Buenos Aires, AR)
Most of our time in BA we’ve been walking around, exploring the neighborhoods and eating. Sounds like my typical city visits. We visited the Recoleta Cemetery, where all the rich and famous (including Evita) are buried in elaborate tombs…it’s a park unto itself. We saw the artesan street fair in Recoleta and the antiques market in San Telmo (lots of silverware and art). We visited the Observatory in Palermo and for just over $1, we got to see a show about comets and constellations, which was fun. I didn’t get the whole show, as I was exhausted and my ability to understand lectures in Spanish decreases when I am tired…but it was still fun. We walked by the phallyc Obelisk that everyone is proud of and saw the Pink House where Evita gave her speeches. We wandered upon a major street fair where everyone was spraying soap foam at each other and there was a live band (mostly drums and whistles)…we still don’t know why the celebration was happening, it was a Saturday during Lent, so who knows.
We had an opportunity to see a local soccer game. River Plate vs. Americana (Mexico). It was a fun game, mostly men singing songs the whole time and the boo-ing here is loud whistles. River won within the last few minutes of the game, followed by much cheering and hugging and kissing among the men, which we haven’t witnessed in other countries. Just a 1 cheek kiss, but it’s sweet.
I finall tasted the Yerba Mate here and I’m sorry to say that it tastes like a dirty ashtray. I like green tea and bitter herbs, but this stuff I won’t seek out again. Perhaps because about 9 of 10 people in this city smoke nonstop, they enjoy the taste of an ashtray or have no palate left, I dunno. It’s definitely an acquired taste.