a day in sunny Buenos Aires...

yesterday I woke up not feeling myself.  perhaps the full moon, perhaps the not knowing of what I'm going to do next after Buenos Aires.

but I decided to take the proactive approach and have myself a nice day.  the sun had just started shining and I decided to have myself a little stroll around Buenos Aires.

first stop was a little stroll down the road to the Floralis General.  what has now become the symbol of Buenos Aires.  a giant water lily made from metal.  standing delicately in a pool of still water in the middle of a park next to an imposing university building.

next stop was a short walk to the cemetery of Recoletta.  this rich, ostentatious cemetery houses the elite of Buenos Aires, and much to their disgust, Eva Peron.  presidents, scientists and families of the rich.  their place in society as important in death as in life.

eva peron's grave was much more understated than I had imagined it would be.  half way down a small "street" and easy to miss.  but what I didn't miss, was the tomb of the Polish soldiers.  a "humble" tomb in comparison, all black, with just the white eagle and a commemorative plaque to distinguish it.  but her they were, in amongst the elite of the portenos.




from here I walked down avenida alvear, the bond street of Buenos Aires, but more like park lane in its grandeur.  ralph lauren's store is just a small example of the wealth that this city once had, and now that the elite enjoy.

of course I popped in and had a look around... and didn't buy anything.  it's ralph lauren after all...




from here I kept walking to comme il faut, the manolo blahnik of the tango shoe world.  when you ring the bell to the boutique and wait expectantly, a small hatch opens in the door to see who they are letting in.  I passed the test.  inside the sales assistants show you to a seat and unusually you realise that there are no shoes out on display.  they protect their designs furiously.

so you are asked what you are looking for and they start to bring you boxes and boxes of shoes to choose from.  a lovely concept, although this works better if you are the kind of person who knows what you want, and not what you don't want...  I like to be inspired.  but inspired I was.  and I bought myself a beautiful pair of peep toe, t-bar, double ankle strap black leather shoes.  stunning, although I will later be told by my tango teacher, that "Lauri" they are too high for dancing!!!  so, to keep or not to keep, that is the question...

onwards, to avenida nueve de julio, the widest street in the world (I believe), fourteen lanes of traffic with a giant obelisco in the centre, big, white and pointy...  symbolising???

here I find teatro colon, a monster of a theatre, built in the 1800s and still to this day, with no modern technology apparently has the fifth best acoustics in the world.  they even have a chandelier that weighs one tonne in the theatre itself that can house musicians and singers inside...!!!

   


and last stop on my fun filled day, was a double tango lesson.  where despite my frustration from my performances at friday night's milonga and saturday afternoon's practice, I did rather well.  it's coming along nicely.