Day 2 – February 26: Buenos Aires
Another day of walking in Buenos Aires. We followed the main boulevard to small and intimate side streets, ending at the famous cemetery, filled like the one in Paris with elaborate mausoleums and ornate family memorials. Unbelievable, touching, just this side of grotesque. Of course we found Evita’s (Eva Peron) at the Duarte memorial, which was, of course, crowded. Afterwards, lunch at the upscale La Biella’s nearby, outside under the shade of green umbrellas, with obsequious waiters taking care of our simple needs.
Nearby, in a park with sidewalks winding up a hill, we wandered through a craft fair and on to a small whitewashed 18th century church with a baroque interior encrusted in gold. On the altar, in front of the sanctuary, an effigy of the Holy Trinity with three painted faces. Odd; comforting?
And in the evening we were swept off to a suburb twenty kilometers outside of BA, where Marta our tour guide lives. She brought us into her home for a magnificent meal and an even more grand gathering of friends, with a tango performance and a sultry singer of Argentine ballads to cap it off. Pleasures involved eating more varieties of beef, pork and sausages than any of us had ever eaten before, accompanied by an apparently unlimited supply of famed Malbec wine, and topped off by fabulous desserts crafted by Marta’s 84-year old mother. The larger pleasures were meeting wonderful Argentine friends in the splendid home of our generous and delightful host.
Tomorrow, biking around Buenos Aires awaits.
