Cordoba

Monday 22nd February

OK but unexciting breakfast and then went out to explore the town and drop off some washing at a laundry. What I find amazing is that just 80 years after Columbus set foot in America Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera was founding a city 500 km from the ocean. Read later that he came from the direction of Peru and and after founding Cordoba went back to face being beheaded in Cuzco for insubordination. Soon after that, the church was building sumptuous cathedrals. 

The main square is picturesque and around it are several lovely and historic buildings but, given its UNESCO heritage status, I was expecting a more extensive area of historic buildings. Wikitravel says "The  colonial  architecture  of  the  city  centre  now  coexists  with  many  modern  buildings" which I think is a little euphemistic. The streets remind me of Wembley High Road in the 1970's, occupied by mainly down at heel shops selling all manner of useful things, and lots of banks. There seems to be a preponderance of shops selling women’s’ underwear and swimwear, second only to the inevitable pharmacies.  They are aiming at a wide range of customers, with strictly sensible Bridget Jones stuff on one side and naughty nurse outfits on the other. On the plus side, many of the streets in the centre have been pedestrianised and are quite pleasant to walk along. After exploring much of the central area, I stopped off for a late lunch of hamburger and beer at a cafe close to the main square before heading to the river. 

Plaza San Martin, the Main Square

Municipal Buildings including the Tourist Office

Jerónimo The Man who Started it 

Pleasant Pedestrian Street

Typical of the old Building Style

Inside one of the many Baroque  Churches

As in Santiago, the river is a fast torrent rather than a navigable waterway and the city has turned its back on it. The map shows green along its banks and I had visions of a riverside park but the reality didn't match. Clearly there was an attempt a few years ago, to create a park but nature and litter have taken over. The road along the city bank is where you come to replace your disk pads, buy an alternator or a pre-owned lawnmower. On the opposite side are some derelict industrial buildings and a few blocks of flats. No sign of gentrification here.

In the evening I went to Avenida Hipolito Yrigoyen, where, the helpful young guy in the tourist information office had told me, there were plenty of restaurants. It's a broad elegant avenue, lined by mostly 19th century buildings, a complete contrast to the older part of the city. No shabby shops here. Settled on a very pleasant "resto-bar" where I ordered a "healthy" salad. Like the one in Buenos Aires it was enormous but at least it did have plenty of green stuff. Walking back, some of the streets in the old part of town look far better at night than they did during the day. Almost empty of people, the shops dark and bathed in the soft golden glow of well-designed high pressure sodium lighting. Not sure how safe these quiet, almost empty, streets are at night so make a point of trailing, at a discrete distance, a young couple on the assumptions that they are harmless, know where they are going and wouldn't deliberately go anywhere dangerous. Are they asking each other "Why are we being followed by that strange, grey haired man?"

Tuesday 23^rd February

After breakfast set off to the museums marked on my map by the guy in the tourist office but was distracted by a musical demonstration with lots of singing and chanting by the bank workers union who seem to be striking for more pay. I can see a figure of 5500 pesos on the placards which seems a very low amount if it is a monthly salary. When I reached my destination, by a roundabout route, I realised the museums are part of the university I went to yesterday. Being laid out on a grid, navigating Cordoba should be incredibly easy but I keep getting it wrong. It doesn’t help that all the streets change names as they pass the centre. So one minute I am walking along 25 Mayo Street and then suddenly it's 9 de Julio! Stopped for a Coke outside the university, which gave me a chance to watch the world, or at least Cordoba, go by. 

The University

The University

Then headed south into the “new” part of Cordoba, think it was new in the 19^th century, and an area called Guenes which Wikitravel rates highly. Apart from the wide and elegant Avenida Hipolito Yrigoyen, the rest of the new town area is fairly nondescript; the shops and apartments just look a bit more upmarket than in the old part of town. Guenes is by the canal which Wikitravel refers to and the buildings are older and low rise but it doesn't have any charm whatsoever. Wikitravel says "The  Barrio  Güemes,  which  is  protected  by  municipal  laws,  is  particularly  pleasant,  with  an  19th century  atmosphere  rather  similar  to  Buenos  Aires'  "San  Telmo"  district,  but  with  more  movement." Give me Stratford (east London) any day. I was reluctant to explore much further since the streets were almost deserted and, while not exactly mean, they didn’t look particularly friendly either. The sky filled with ominous dark grey clouds and I could hear distant thunder so hoofing it back to the hotel seemed a good idea. Didn’t quite beat the rain but got only slightly damp and was inside before the light stuff turned into a deluge. After re-checking on the Internet I found that I had been in the wrong part of Barrio Güemes, having walked a few blocks too far. But like Pallermo Viejo it seems   Barrio Güemes is an area to be savoured by night so I probably didn't miss much.

Singing and Chanting for the Bank Workers

How to Brighten Up a Car Park

How to Brighten Up your Shop

In the evening went out to a nearby restaurant Sibaris, which gets number one rating on Trip Advisor. It's definitely in the "fine dining" category, the set menu was very enjoyable and made a change from the usual fare. Starter was a lightly poached egg with two sorts of green beans and ham in a light broth. Main course was grilled fish with sweet corn, lentils and guacamole, accompanied by a glass of Malbec. Not an everyday meal but one to savour. Didn't think the wide screen TV showing a perpetual travelogue did anything for the ambience; reminded me of KTV bars. It was a quiet night, only half a dozen tables occupied, almost all by men, just one couple. The bill came to 400 pesos, about double what I have generally been paying, often for mediocre food.

Wednesday 24th February

Breakfast, answered a few emails, checked out and taxi to airport. Quick check in for flight and a coffee as I finished the last few pages of Frank Skinner. His weekly columns for the Times fill most of the book; witty, sharp, observant and sometimes mean, many of them put into words exactly what I feel but either never thought of or could only express in dull boring prose. But on drink and religion he and I are almost diametrically opposed. I imagine to be successful as a stand-up comic you need a particular type of fast, non-linear, intelligence which I would love to have but don’t. He has an ability to connect things together in totally unexpected ways. Which he displays brilliantly in his crazy two chapters of an "unfinished novel".

Sunday in Buenos Aires

Sunday 21 st February

Breakfast of ham and cheese media luna and coffee at Tunin. Then Subte to Peru to look round the Sam Telmo market. Walking down Avenida Peru I was messily pooped on by a bird and kind woman offered me some tissues to clean up. The market was busy with lots of stalls selling all manner of stuff, lots of tourists like me taking photos and at least one pick pocket as I found when I was about to pay for the entrance to a museum on the corner of San Lorenzo and Defense. Horrible sinking feeling as I reached for my wallet and it wasn't there. Usually if I go somewhere I think might be risky I leave everything except some cash and a single credit card behind but I wasn't thinking today. A busy street market full of tourists is the ideal place for pickpockets. The guy at the museum, who spoke excellent English, was incredibly helpful and phoned the police for me and they gave me the address to make a report. Luckily it wasn't far away and a very helpful woman took all the details via a girl who acted as translator. She was there with her friend who had also had something stolen. After the police woman handed me the official police report I then had to beg her for 5 pesos to get the Subte back to the hotel where, thanks to Skype, I was able to phone all the credit and debit card organisations to stop the cards. One bank told me two unsuccessful attempts to use my credit card had already been tried. Just time to shower and change before getting a taxi to the nearby airport.

Did wonder whether my wallet was lifted by the kind woman who offered me tissues and helped clean my trousers after the bird pooped on me, but if so either she was a very opportunistic thief or she had a tame bird who she could signal to poop on passing "marks". 

San Telmo Market

San Telmo Market: Mate Mugs

San Telmo Market: You've got to pick-a-pocket or two

General impressions of Buenos Aires.

Very European, more so than Santiago. The standard of living, like most of South America I've seen so far, looks approximately European but southern or eastern European rather than North Western. Well above most of SE Asia.  Noticeable that there are people living on the street, not just single men and women but people with children. For many disabled people begging looks to be the only option. Definitely see more cripples than you would in England. I use the word "cripple" deliberately, not in a pejorative sense, but because in England and most of the "developed" world, you just don't see many people hobbling along the street with malformed legs.   

One of the things I have found interesting is that, a century or so ago, Argentina, and probably Chile too, were so successful. Buenos Aires really could compare itself to Paris, Germans were escaping poverty at home to build new lives in Patagonia  and so many Italians poured into Buenos  Aires that the local dialect is said to resemble Italian more than Spanish. Despite losing two disastrous wars, occupation and division, Germany is now the "go to" country for refugees from around the world and I can't imagine many present day Germans or Italians heading to South America for  a better life. I wonder why. 

Subte

It's quite old, the first lines dating from 1914, and runs just beneath the streets. Many stations have interesting art works on the walls. Lines A to E run from Plaza de Mayo in the centre outwards while Line H cuts across them. Line A has fairly new air-conditioned Chinese trains while Line D is definitely not air conditioned. Both have overhead electric power. There is a flat fare and you can buy multiple single use tickets for 5 pesos each at the stations. Rather like the Paris metro, musicians, vendors and performance artists all try to make a living moving from one carriage to the next.  Unlike Paris or London many of the places of interest are far from the nearest station. Apparently the bus service is good but didn't get to buy the stored value card needed to use it.

Buenos Aires, Museum Cabaret and Parilla

Friday 19th February

Cloudy and damp today so decided to investigate the Museum of Latin American Art, which gets a good write up everywhere, both for its architecture and contents. Guess I've been spoilt by Tate Modern and Musee D'Orsay. I was thinking that the architecture would have been cutting edge when it was built in the 1970’s but in fact it opened in 2001 by which time enclosed atria and glass curtain walls were commonplace. The special collections were closed so I was only able to see the permanent collection of mainly 20th century art. I particularly liked the kinetic art and a few of the more representational paintings and photographs but confess much of the rest was lost on me. And they didn't even have a cafe, only a rather formal restaurant. Realise it isn't comparing like with like, but I thought the museum of pre-Columbian art in Santiago was infinitely more interesting.  

George Gershwin, An American in Paris
by Miguel Covarrubias, 1929

 Self Portrait with Monkey and Parrot by Frida Kahlo 
Reminds me of Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Carribean 

Dinner for Two? Conceptual Art by  Víctor Grippo

By the time I came out the sky had cleared and I found a cafe up the road. 

In the evening decided to have dinner in the San Telmo area. Surprised to find so many pizza and pasta places but settled on Don Ernesto’s which seemed reasonably authentically Argentinian although I did have a hostess who sounded as if she came from the US. Had a steak and a half bottle of Malbec. Good as the steak was, I am not convinced it was any better than you could get anywhere else. The guidebooks had led me to expect lots of lively bars but I couldn't find any so started walking back in the direction of the hotel but decided I wasn't feeling all that energetic and got a taxi the rest of the way. Buenos Aires is supposed to be the city that never sleeps but didn't see many signs of exciting night life.

Saturday 20th February

Spent much of the morning sorting out flights to and hotels in Cordoba and Iguazu. Budget airlines offering cheap one way flights don't seem to have taken off here so it's cheaper and easier to book returns to and from Buenos Aires.

Took the Subte to a part of the city centre I haven't explored so far. Very much the commercial centre with lots of shops hotels etc, dominated by the broadest boulevard I have ever seen, Avenida 9 de Julio. Indeed, according to Wikipedia “it is the widest avenue in the world”.  

Evita again. This time in  Avenida 9 de Julio

Avenida 9 de Julio. Widest avenue in the world

Avenida 9 de Julio.
The Obelisk was erected in 1936 to commemorate the fourth centenary of the first foundation of the city.

Narrow Canyon-like Side Street

While Chile names its streets after war heroes and politicians, the same ones in every town, Argentina likes dates. Guess it helps children learn their history. Running perpendicular to Avenida 9 de Julio, Lavalle is a pedestrianised street with many cafes and bars. In one of the cafes I ordered a salad, thinking it would be a light brunch, but it was enormous. Just off Lavalle, in a side street, my attention was drawn by a huge pair of inflated legs sticking out of an upstairs window. The window belonged to Theatre Maipu which has several shows running, of which one, "The Hole", looks fairly visual and doesn't obviously feature Tango so I made a spur of the moment decision to book it for tonight.

 

Maipo Theatre

From Lavalle walked along Calle Florida, a major shopping street with an impressive turn of the century shopping mall, Buenos Aires's answer to Galleries Lafayette or GUM, in which there’s an interesting Borges Cultural Centre showing modern art. 

Solid Looking Doors for a Bank

Galerías Pacífico

Galerías Pacífico

In nearby Plaza San Martín, a park rather than a square, there is a tower built to celebrate the centenary of Argentina's independence. It was funded by the British business community and it was called the English Tower until 1982 when, after the Falklands war, it was renamed "Monument Tower". Close by is Retiro Station, a typical cathedral of the railway era,  now reduced to serving commuter lines and just a few trains a week going further.  

Buildings around Plaza San Martín

Monument Tower

Monument to José de San Martín in his Plaza

In a Peaceful World, Would Monument Builders be Redundant? 

The Hole was a good choice for this evening's entertainment since most of it was a cabaret sized, X-rated, Cirque du Soleil spectacular with acrobats and singers. The MC, Moria Casan, is a well-known TV personality here and obviously hugely popular, with an ability to speak at machine gun speed, and a pet rat. Not understanding a word of what she said, I have no idea of the role of the rat. The show originated in Spain and some of the cast such as Vineli von Bismark, who dominates the poster, came with it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0o4VI5bTeYY

After the show, I tried a mixed parilla, barbecued meat, at a restaurant nearby. It was a carnivore's delight, big chunks of lamb, beef and chicken, together with a fat sausage and black pudding. Do Argentines really eat so much meat or is it just for the tourists? If they do, how many survive past middle age?

According to "Worlds Best Bars" two of the best in Buenos Aires are in the area but one had closed down, or the address was wrong, and the other in the Plaza Hotel was deserted. Where is this city that never sleeps? 

Buenos Aires Recoleta and Palermo Viejo

Thursday 18th February.

Had an "American Breakfast" at Cafe Las Violetas, on the opposite corner from Tunin. It proudly proclaims to be 131 years old and looks like nothing much has changed in the intervening century or so. The breakfast was huge, an omelette, four slices of toast, butter and jam, a bowl of fruit salad,  two medialunas, fruit juice   and coffee.

http://www.lasvioletas.com/

"American" Breakfast at Violetas

Violetas

Then got the Subte to Pueyrredon, the nearest station to Recoleta Cemetery which, according to one of the guide books, is the number one place to visit in Buenos Aires. Personally, I don't think it says much for any city to have its cemetery as the number one attraction. Before reaching the cemetery, I had a look round the associated church and its much hyped cloisters. The 18th century church was impressive in its ornate baroque style. The "cloisters“ are old passages and chambers, quite sensibly used for storage and maintenance, and closed to the public for three centuries. Then they were opened up and filled with assorted historical "treasures". There is the 14th century painting where the background has been repainted at some stage and "so has the rest of the painting" so what we are left with is a painting by multiple unknown artists at unknown times on a piece of 14th century wood. There is the battered and faded wooden statue that fails miserably to live up to its description of "Immaculate Virgin". I resisted the temptation to add some sexist and blasphemous comment.  Finally a faded 17th or 18th century Italian tasselled and embroidered yellow umbrella sent for sale by an enterprising Italian priest to Buenos Aires in 1944, presumably expecting to get a better price from gullible Argentines than from his war weary and cynical fellow countrymen.  In fairness, some of the other exhibits probably do have some real historical interest, and also on the plus side, most of the information is presented in English as well as Spanish and it only costs 15 pesos.

But the cemetery next door, possibly number one attraction in Buenos Aires, is totally free. It does have many ornate and impressive tombs and provided you can avoid the large tour groups being herded round by young and enthusiastic guides, it’s a fascinating place to ponder mortality. Quite surprised as I came in to see so many young people in their early twenties, all bright eyed and bushy tailed. The tomb I was expecting to see crowds around is tucked away in one of the narrowest "streets", so it's physically impossible to lead a group of fifty or even a dozen people to it.  But Eva Peron's tomb does have more flowers on it than any of the others. On it, as on many other tombs, dedications seem to have been added later by various individuals and organisations so I was surprised not to see a note of thanks from Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. But, without them, how many of us outside Argentina would know anything about her? 

Angel Flying over Recoleta

Quite an Entrance for a Tomb

And She Was One of the Edsel's Few Happy Customers 

To Eva Peron from her "disciples"

More Angels

Having had my fill of ornate tombs, a surprising number having British surnames, I strolled round the upmarket area of Recoleta where many of the ornate mansions now house embassies, found a massive stainless steel kinetic sculpture that apparently opens and closes like a flower at sunrise and sunset and, most importantly, a cold beer. 

Overlooking the Cemetery:
Clearly "Bartender" conveys something
significantly different from "Barman" in Spanish

Not many green spaces in Buenos Aires
but the ones I found were very pleasant

Giant Stainless Steel Flower

Then went back to rediscover Viejo Palermo after checking for specific street names in the Lonely Planet guide book in the hotel. It's clearly a great area to eat, drink and shop for fashion but it still doesn't match my pre-conceptions. Yes, the tarmac has been allowed to wear away to reveal cobbles and tram lines  but most of the buildings look to be post 1950 so not sure what the "viejo" refers to. Even after narrowing it down to specific streets  it covers a huge area much of which I explored until I found the square at the centre  of Palermo Viejo Soho where there several bars and cafes so a cold beer and a snack seemed a good idea. Saw nachos on the menu but was shocked at the huge plate that arrived! The beer came with crisps anyway along with a warning with gestures from the waitress which I was initially confused by until I realised she wanted me to put the plate on top of the bowl of crisps once I'd had my fill to stop the pigeons getting them. I could see the pigeons watching. Decided that the best time to visit Palermo again will be in the evening for a meal and a drink. Pity it isn't well served by the Subte. 

That Should Slow Down the Trams!

Bar in Palermo Viejo Soho 

Buenos Aires

Wednesday 17th February.

Dropped off some laundry on the way to the Subte station and had breakfast at Café Tunin nearby, coffee and three "media lunes" half-moons, small sweet croissants. Then got the Subte to Plaza de Mayo and explored the San Telmo area nearby. It's supposed to be one of the oldest parts of the city but it didn't seem particularly quaint. Came across several professional dog walkers each with about half a dozen dogs in tow, so you need to watch where you are walking. The area probably comes alive at night when all the restaurants and bars are open.

Terrorist's manhole cover? 

From there walked to Caminito through a rather shabby area. By now, what had begun as a grey and overcast day, had brightened up considerably. 

Life Size Cartoon Characters in San Telmo

Typical Magazine Kiosk

The place to come for brake parts. 

Realised I had reached Caminito when I saw the dozens of tourist buses. The area is very quaint and pretty but incredibly touristy with dozens of shops selling souvenirs and tango "dancers" on every corner offering to pose with tourists. Several open-air cafes and restaurants have tango dancers performing. All the guide books tell me I ought to see a tango show but the taster of the ones in the restaurants leaves me totally cold. I am sure when it originated in the sleazy bars of the port it was exciting and sexy and fun but what I see here  looks artificial, formulaic and the dancers seem to make a point of looking miserable. The women are beautiful, possibly thanks to thick make-up, wearing "sexy" dresses and the guys are handsome but the net effect is about as exciting as watching my clothes go round in the washing machine. At the end of one of the dance sequences, the woman breaks away from her dance partner to greet two guys at the edge of the stage. For the first time her eyes light up, she smiles, she kisses both of them and she is transformed from a dancing automaton into a real, attractive woman. OK, I understand if your dream was to be a top ballerina and you find yourself dancing tango for tourists, you may not be delighted about it, but I have seen plenty of performers in low end joints working really hard to give their, sometimes tiny, audience a good time. Noticeable that in most of the cafes the eyes of most of the audience were focused on their plates, not the dancers. Maybe it takes more than two to make tango come alive.

Colourful Caminito 

Colourful Caminito

Colourful Caminito

Colourful Caminito

Colourful Caminito

Colourful Caminito

Colourful Caminito

There is a disused dual gauge railway track running through Caminito and I started following it away from all the tourists but was turned back by an elderly lady who, I think, was telling me it wasn't safe. 

Tango Dancers don't Smile

Pay to Pose

Between Dances, Time to Reflect?

After taking in my fill of Caminito and a cooling beer at one of the cafes without a tango performance walked to Constitucion where there is a commuter and main line station serving areas to the South and East of the city, and a Subte station. I have been looking at the possibility of taking a train to Cordoba but there are only two trains a week, they run overnight, can't be booked on line and according to what I have read on the internet get fully booked several weeks in advance. There are lots of buses but it is a ten or eleven hour journey and based on what I saw from the plane looks like very flat boring landscape. Doesn't sound like much fun.

Cathedral to Steam

Back at the Subte station got train to Palermo where Wikitravel tells me Viejo (old) Pallermo is interesting. My map shows a large area as Pallermo and Google has pointed to a particular location as Viejo Pallermo. Spend lots of time and shoe rubber looking around but all I see is a typical mixed residential and retail area. Nothing particularly interesting or exciting. Probably a pleasant enough area to live. In the end gave up and decided to walk back to the hotel through very similar streets. Maybe Buenos Aires looked like Paris fifty years ago but most of the 19th century buildings have been replaced by post 1960's apartment blocks 10-15 storeys high. Nothing wrong with that since it means more people can live in the city but it doesn't look like Paris. 

 

Cafe in Pallermo

In the evening had dinner at Tunin since I was feeling too lazy to go further afield. Meluza Romano con Fritos reads as much more exciting than Fish and Chips but that's what I got. Shame it didn't come wrapped in yesterday's Daily Mirror.