BUENOS AIRES

April 2016

Another IETF another country to visit.

Before the conference started, Stephan and I, we spent two days discovering the city.  The rest was me and myself, but also some very interesting dinners.

Our first discovery was the neighborhood of Recoleta. We walked to this upscale neighborhood, passed some beautiful embassies, and then on to the Arts Museum and the cemetery of Recoleta.

Buildings and monuments in the same district

MUSEUM - Museo National de Bella Artes

It is a small museum with a modest but beautiful permanent collection

LA RECOLETA - CEMETERY

Cemetery opened in 1820.  It is mostly a Christian sculpture garden.  They are unique monuments telling telling the story of the people who wanted to make a statement.  The mausoleums include those of Armenian families, the Duarte family where Evita rests and many other sad stories documented in 3D sculptures.

We first visited the Church of Our Lady of Pilar (Iglesia de Nuestra Seňora del Pilar) and then we went into the cemetery

When you walk in you are met with streets and streets of mausoleums, some are pretty spooky with broken glass and coffins on view; and some abandoned and in disrepair.

The saddest two were these of young girls one of whom died unexpectedly - and people say they see her walk the grounds late at night [above left]; and the other was a victim of ski accident in the Alps [above right].

Fhe funniest one was the story of Cabril Family (above left)   & the oldest onewhich is a simple plot (above  right)

Mrs. Cabril spent too much money and made debts.  In desperation Mr. Cabril took a whole page in every newspaper in BA announcing he would not clear her debts from that day on.  In anger, the Mrs. did not speak to her husband to the end of his life and in her will she requested a bust looking away from him.

On Sunday, we went and found the Armenian community and the Armenian Church.  We stayed for the  'Badarak", made our donations to the church, spoke to a nice man who told me a lot of details about Armenians in Argentina and then went to lunch at Cafe Bartok.

Above left: The classic Armenian Church - Women inside, praying and the men chatting in the vestibule.

Above right : The memorial dedictated to those who perished in April 1915 massacres

Stephan's IETF conference was at the Hilton.  Here are pictures of that neighborhood.

Above left Ann Frank memorial and above right honoring the Argentinian heritage of the current Dutch queen

Above: Left Argenian attempt to duplicate the Alma bridge in Paris [i.e. the locks]  - Center Puenta de La Mujer - Right a floating museum 

The food is good in Argentina.  In addition to several meals we had in Alvear Art Hotel, where we stayed, we also discovered some good restaurants.

Clockwise from top left:  I Latina [the best!], Cafe Bartok, Don Carlos [steakhouse], Cafe Tortoni [the oldest cafe in BA], Ventana [dinner/tango show], and finally lunch before leaving at Alvear Palace Hotel [the parent of Alvear Art Hotel]

The complicated relationship between the Peróns and Argentina may have finally come to a peaceful end. Juan Domingo Perón 40 years after his death got the first statue in Buenos Aires, near Casa Rosada [on Plaza Agustin P. Justo], and Evita according to current day Argentineans is a saint, including having her image on the 100 peso bill.

PLAZA DE MAYO

below: The Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral and the side Chapel that holds the remains of General Jose de San Martin [a leader of the fight for independence]  where they have guards and a ceremony of the changing of the guards every day.

SAN TELMO

Above left : Basilica Nuestra Señora del Rosario and the Convent of Santo Domingo          Above right: The Church of San Pedro  González Telmo

Walking Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (MALBA) I passed several sights:  Clockwise from top left: Liberator Don Jose de San Martin - Statesman Bartolomé Mitre  - a bust of Louis Braille -  The Steel Flower (which opens its petals during daytime and closes them at night)

MALBA 

Above are some hodge podge of some photos : Kirshner Cultural Center, Teatro Cervantes, Teatro Colon ...

Argentinean ingenuity below: No parking? No problem. [below left]   Sidewalks that looked like they had just come off a riot [below right]

Thank you BA for the memories

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