As many readers will know, Lou and I left the joys of South America, and with it Buenos Aires, behind about eight weeks ago. But the challenges of living in a van in New Zealand, then trying to find jobs and somewhere to live in Australia, means that we're still very much there in blog-land. In a desperate attempt to claw ourselves back up to date, here's the first half of our Buenos Aires Top Ten. Apologies if some of it seems familiar due to Facebook, Flickr or Chris Binding. On a personal note, sitting in a slightly dingy hostel in Melbourne waiting to see if someone will relent and let me work in data entry for a few months, it's quite a joy to cast my mind back to the days when the wine wasn't shite, a block of cheese didn't cost a year's wages and the locals actually seemed to like me...La Casa Rosada (The Pink House); Plaza de MayoIf you only had one day in Buenos Aires you'd probably start in the centre of the city at Plaza May, home to the Cabildo (the original home of government under Spanish rule), the Cathedral and the impressively pink, Presidential home La Casa Rosada or Pink House. This square marks the spot where the Spanish conquistadors first landed, which seems a little odd as today it's now over a kilometre from the water. As South American squares go it is not the most glamorous but is still pleasant enough on a sunny afternoon.
As we were wondering across the Plaza on one such afternoon, trying to avoid the protesters demanding better rights for Falklands veterans, we happened to notice some passers by who seemed to be walking in to the Casa Rosada, which is usually pretty much off-limits to visitors. As luck would have it,thanks to Argentina's centenary celebrations and Cristina's open house policy, the whole shebang was open to visitors on an almost unfettered basis.
As political junkies, we found this to be both amazingly exciting and amazingly... well... amazing. As Lou put it, our entry was akin to passing by Downing Street and being asked in for a nose about by one of the coppers in the guard house. As two veterans of events at No 10 (back in the days when we were on better terms with the occupants), what made our stroll around the Casa Rosada all the more amazing was the fact that, barring a few amusingly be-hatted soldiers, we could go pretty much where we liked.
And so it was that we sat down in the Cabinet Room, took snaps in the private meeting quarters of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (which we'd seen on telly only the day before) and mosied through the courtyard garden. Perhaps most excitingly, though, was the chance to stand on the famous 'Evita' balcony from which both Eva and Juan Peron would address tens of thousands of adoring Portenos in scenes that often reached almost religio-orgasmic levels of passion. Pretty damned cool, all in all.
La BocaThis traditionally working class neighbourhood is probably Buenos Aires most famous, known for its tango, its football and its brightly coloured building. Indeed, all the symbols and stereotypes of Buenos Aires are here in abundance. It's also got a rep, not helped by the near-hysterical online tips and guidebook warnings, of being really rather dangerous. Some parts may well be, but the advice to go on organised tours or catch a cab in and out is patently absurd. Stick to the central tourist zone, and the worst that will happen is getting fleeced by a street hawker.
Being right on the mouth of the river (hence the name), La Boca was home to the hundreds of Italian, Spanish and other immigrants who arrived to work in the docks in the 19th Century. So the story goes, these immigrants couldn't afford the paint to maintain the overcrowded corrugated iron buildings in which they lived and so stole left over pots of paint from the ship yards, resulting in the brightly coloured patchwork effect that remains today in El Caminito.
Unsurprisingly, the Caminito is now incredibly touristy, packed with tangoers, restaurant sharks and a fake Maradona for you to pose with (watch out for him as he charges, as I found out to my cost), and array of stalls to buy a selection of Boca Juniors and tango memorabilia. That said these famous streets still hold a colourful charm of their own.
Unfortunately, as it was January, we didn't get to go to a Boca Juniors game or visit the cutting-edge Proa Art gallery, but I understand these are real La Boca highlights. That said, the bus journey from Palermo to El Caminito is a highlight in itself, taking you on a journey through all the city centre highlights for the princely sum of 15p.
Exploring the shopsAs backpackers, finding yourself in something of an alt-shopping Mecca is an obvious mixed blessing. Fab boutique canvasses to hang in the house you don't own, wonderful handmade knick-knacks for the kitchen in the house you don't own, books about books about books none of which will ever fit in your already absurdly sized rucksack – you get the picture. It's a testament to the sheer fabulousness of the shopping in BA that these considerations hardly flit into your head, as you browse liked an automon on methadone through rack after rack of the trendiest threads this side of Hoxton, all five times as cool and less than half the price as anywhere back home.
Both San Telmo and Palermo have much to offer in the retail stakes (see below), but there are shopping fun and games to be had across the whole city. From the bonkers 'pound' shops that line busy high streets to the mega-malls that can hold their own in size and glamour with the best that Paris, New York or London has to offer, and pretty much everything else in between. But my abiding memory of BA retail therapy is the abundance of superb, independent bookshops, record shops and wallet-threatening hybrids thereof. Though not the finest in stock terms, you can't visit and not drop by the magisterial El Ateneo book store. Housed in the former Grand Splendide Theatre, you get to browse happily in any number of comfy cubby holes, former theatre stalls and balconies while pant-wettingly opulent chandeliers hang overhead. If the shelves hadn't been lined with mostly Spanish-language books, I'd still be there now.
San TelmoA neighbourhood sitting on the knife-edge of a faded but glorious past and a gentrified future with all the wankiness that brings, San Telmo was the place that best represented the Buenos Aires I'd read and dreamed about before we arrived. As the stunning, though usually crumbling, colonial buildings suggest, San Telmo was once a barrio to be reckoned with. Moneyed families, merchants and minor aristocracy called it home, only fleeing for the hills when yellow fever came to visit in the early 1870s. While they left behind the glorious architectural legacy, the immigrants, poor and dispossessed that crammed into the discarded houses brought tango, an abundance of superb eateries and an undeniable edge of slight danger.
As I've already written about in more detail than is entirely necessary, San Telmo gave us one of our best meals of the trip courtesy of Desnivel. It also, however, threw up an entirely unexpected treat in the shape of Mercado de San Telmo, a delightful covered market selling everything from apples to Spider Man pinball machines and a whole bunch in between. Our San Telmo highlight, however, was the couple of hours we spent with Hosk at the El Zanjon de Granados. A living, breathing testament to the wonders that an amateur archaeologist with a love for his city and a handy personal fortune can achieve, this former mercantile villa and its labyrinthine underground tunnels afford the steady trickle of visitors a unique glimpse into San Telmo's past. Our visit was enhanced immeasurably by our knowledgeable, multi-lingual guide who took the three of us round with a passion and interest often lacking in larger, busier attractions. She was also an Inspector Morse fanatic, which is always nice.
And that's just the tip of the San Telmo experience. You could quite happily eschew all of the above, hit the cobbled streets yourself and make your own discoveries. The only real mistake you can make is to not visit the place at all.
Tango
You can't come to Buenos Aires and not experience tango in some way, shape or form. BA is certainly Tango's spiritual home if possibly not its birthplace, and as you would expect from such a cosmopolitan melting pot, BA Tango comes in all shapes and sizes. Street tango, tourist tango, queer tango, trad tango, solo tango – you name it, they do it.
If you want a hit of free, on the streets Tango, La Boca's main tourist drag is the place to go. Working for a pittance outside the plethora of cafés and restaurants that line the streets, most of the performers are young and looking for their big break or those with a bright future already behind them. Still, as long as you can brush off the menu-wielding hawkers, it does the job.
Catching a show on the street is also handy as the idea of paying to watch Tango is a fairly new phenomena, and one squarely aimed at tourists to lazy / scared / fat to join in. Many of the shows are a world – and several hundred dollars – away from the milongas and Tango halls of old Buenos Aires, and as such, rather shite. There are a few worth a visit, though, including the Confiteria Ideal. For forty Pesos, we got a tremendous, up close and personal show with decent steak and three bottles of wine (Hosk was, of course, suitably punished for taking the veggie option). In the faded downstairs glamour of one of BA's most venerable milongas, the musicians, singers and dancers poured heart and soul into a fantsatic show devoid of pretence but bursting with an almost unsettling sexual energy.
We also took the plunge and hit the Tango floor ourselves with a gay friend we met while travelling, at the suitably if rather obviously named Tango Queer. You might think that the liberated atmosphere would make it easier for the novice, but it wasn't to be. Within minutes, Louise and I were arguing like a married couple (never a good thing in Tango Queer), and the honeymoon almost came to an end in a very real sense. We left just about with our dignity intact, glad to have given it a go, but vowing to never do it again.
Stay warm,
Luke and Louise
(Posted by Luke)
As we were wondering across the Plaza on one such afternoon, trying to avoid the protesters demanding better rights for Falklands veterans, we happened to notice some passers by who seemed to be walking in to the Casa Rosada, which is usually pretty much off-limits to visitors. As luck would have it,thanks to Argentina's centenary celebrations and Cristina's open house policy, the whole shebang was open to visitors on an almost unfettered basis.
You can't come to Buenos Aires and not experience tango in some way, shape or form. BA is certainly Tango's spiritual home if possibly not its birthplace, and as you would expect from such a cosmopolitan melting pot, BA Tango comes in all shapes and sizes. Street tango, tourist tango, queer tango, trad tango, solo tango – you name it, they do it.
