Calgary to Buenos Aires
Well, days 1 & 2 are in the books. Everything has gone well so far. All five of us - Joan, Jill, Carole, Barb and I all showed up in good time. A smooth process through check-in and security. Joan took me in as a guest on her lounge pass so we had a good feed before our flight. A good flight from Calgary to Houston. I was lucky enough to have an empty seat beside me. We had a 3 hour layover in Houston and then boarded the big bird for an overnight flight to Buenos Aires. Imagine my surprise and joy when it turned out that I had 2 empty seats beside me. I laid down, fell asleep and missed dinner. Not to worry; they were happy to serve me once I stirred. I must say that I probably slept more than I ever have on an airplane before! Not like my own bed but enough to keep me going until bedtime.
Buenos Aires is 4 hours ahead of Calgary so the adjustment isn’t too bad. We caught a couple of cabs from the airport to our downtown hostel. Really friendly drivers and the hostel is well located. Really friendly hostess there too. We have been cautioned about the possibility of pickpockets so we will do our best to be careful. We were not able to change any money in Calgary so the hostel brought someone in to change some money for us. And he gave us a pretty good rate! Then it was off a short distance to a 2+ hour free walking tour from the National Congress building to the Presidential Palace. The young lady who served as our tour guide was very good. Lots of sights along the way as well as lessons in history and politics. The list of sights included: National Congress, Palacio Barolo, Avenida de Mayo, Evita Mural, Cabildo, Plaza de Mayo, St. Francis Church, Manzana de las Luces, Pink House/Casa Rosada, Lady of Ransom Church, Cathedral, Florida Street, Obelisk.
The date on the monument above - 25 May 1810 - is very significant to the Argentinians. It was on this date that the first independent government of Argentina was established, bringing the nation one step closer to its independence. July 9, 1816 is also a significant date; the date that independence from Spain was officially declared. Throughout our Argentinian travels we would invariably come across major streets named with one of these dates.
We took a walk through a beautiful cathedral on the way “home”. We also passed the famed Cafe Tortoni but had no desire to stand in line for a peek inside. Joan and I caught up with the others back at the hostel and then joined Jill for dinner out. All in all a good start to our adventure!
Just a few thoughts on BA, at least the areas we saw today. Architecturally it is a real mixture of beautiful old buildings and some pretty ugly rather utilitarian ones built within the past 50 years. The streets are clean, people are very orderly (i.e. queuing up for buses), and shops and restaurants are quite modern-looking. The restaurant we chose for dinner tonight had great service & food as well as reasonable prices. Our hostel is charging $15USD per bed per night. A bargain, although a fair bit of street noise and light pollution. Great location, though. It is right across the street from the Palacio Barolo on Avenida de Mayo. Hopefully we’re all tired enough from our travel that we will sleep well.
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