La Boca - Birthplace of Tango

Another masterful use of the bus system, this time pondering on Argentinas dubious post war policy of harbouring ex Nazis, as I sat opposite and distinctly Aryan looking old man and the name Mengele sprang to mind. (sorry old man I'm sure you're actually someones kindly grandpa and had nothing to do with experiments!).

Anywho..So La Boca is pretty much the wrong side of the tracks by night but by day a colourful and vibrant barrio and supposedly where Tango first started - in the slums and bordellos in the ghetto. They have capitolised on the tourist trade a little. Its difficult not to be coerced into an overpriced cafe with a 'free tango show', but at the end of the day it is a great spot and I had been hanging out to see some tango action up close so I didnt mind. I even had the obligatory staged tango shot!

For a photographer with a fetish for windows, doors, bold colours and textures this was my idea of heaven, even if its all been taken a million times before me. And wander a few streets away from the main drag and you get that faded backstreet feel.

Turn on the you tube for background accoustics and check out the slideshow.

Cleopatra's Daughter

Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book has the distinction of being completed in a cafe in Buenos Aires and also of having been kindly sent to me personaly by the author, the charmingly unassuming Michelle Moran. I have to say she did warn me that it was the most Young Adult of her books, and I suppose that was my biggest challenge with it. That sounds disparaging of that very popular genre of books, but Ive never really identified too much with books from a childs point of view. I did find the dialogue at times a little bit Harry Potter in ancient Rome. Having said that, the book was clearly extremely well researched and the story of what happened to the children of Cleopatra and Marc Antony after their parents suicide totally fascinating. It was a brutal time. I havnt really read much other ancient Roman based fiction or non-fiction so it was actually quite educational for me. I really enjoyed the non-fiction afterward too and it did make me want to get back into non-fiction historical biographies.

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The Cathedral

You dont have to be religeous to appreciate the serentity inside a church, the stillness and the history, the collective worship over centuries in one place has an effect on the emotions even if you dont identify with the object of their devotion. There was a stirring choral performance going on when I wandered in here,

Note to self though - must keep camera on horizontal when videoing as you cant view it right way up when uploaded otherwise!

Avenida De Mayo Architecture and the Casa Rosada

Oh What a Circus

Its pretty hard to avoid Evita here, particularly as apparently the anniversary of her death was just a few days ago. This is all fine by me as Ive been quietly singing Evita songs to myself the whole time ive been here in anycase!. My mother took me to see the show, probably in the early 80's with Marti Webb or Elaine Paige in the lead. I loved every minute of it. It was always my favourite of old scrunchy faced Lloyd Webbers shows. Apparently my mum actually looked like a young Eva in the 50's and she remembered her coming to Europe on the rainbow tour. Then theres the whole bizzarre story of how her embalmed body was stolen and hidden in a cemetary in Europe for 17years and how shes worshiped as a saint by some and despised by others.

So heres THAT dress..

and this is THAT balcony (hard not to do the appropriate Evita dont cry for me Argentina hand actions from it!). The Casa Rosada in general was very grand.

Cafe Society

Theres nothing quite like hanging out in a cafe when your traveling, esp when its cold and rainy outside. People watching, having great cofees, catching up on your book, pigging out. Can't be beaten. Ive discovered some nice places here, for example El Ateneo - how can you beat a theatre converted into a bookshop with a cafe on the stage, books AND coffee takes some beating!

The people seem quite stylish here.. (imagine Carrie Bradshaw voice)..what makes a people stylish? why Buenos Aires but not Brisbane or Birmingham? What has to happen for a touch of class to settle in... answers to these and more questions later..

This was an old style 'Salon de The' it was lovely sitting there finishing off my book and soaking up the atmosphere. I had a limon y soda, literally a glass of lemon juice and a soda syphon old style. I rediscovered limonada yesterday after remembering mum and dad introducing me to Citron Prese in Europe - gives you that lemon face but is very refreshing!

Todays lunch spot had fraustrating service - you wait till my blog is famous Cafe Terratoria!, but nonetheless had a lovley sunny sunday neighbourhood afternoon feel to it.

I laugh in the face of ridiculously complex bus networks!

Hurrah for me - just arrived home in no time almost to my door from the San Telmo markets area on the other side of the city. The Buenos Aires bus system seems to consist of about 200 independently run companies all with different routes, I have taken pot luck a couple of times relying on my luckily good sense of direction and getting of somewhere that seems to be in the general vicinity of where i wanted to go. Today i was a little further afield though. So i bowled up to a news stand and asked for a bus guide in Spanish, then managed to decipher the 200p long manual with maps and grids that seem only to tell you that there might be a bus of use to you going through somewhere nearby in this quadrant but we wont tell you exactly what street. Anyway...number 17 you are my lucky bus!