My day started with a jog. When I first started out from the city, I noticed that the streets were empty -- like apocolyptic movie empty. I later found a good portion of the city´s residents spending their Sunday morning at the Parque Natural Constanera del Sur, which borders the ocean/river. This is a big, gorgeous trail (I think 8km around) that had as many bikers as joggers/walkers. While trying to find my way out, I stopped to ask a middle-aged man named Jorge where the nearest exit was. He ended up kindly walking me there, while chatting me up about politics, our common Italian heritage, business and travel -- all in Spanish. And the craziest part is that after traveling around South America for five weeks, I understood most of it!
Next I returned to Casa Rosada to try to get a tour. The crowd was too big for it to be worth the wait, but I did take some nice pictures. I also asked around and found out that the president does not live here, but lives an hour away but still inside the city limits. Buenos Aires is gigantic.
Next we wandered down Defensa for the Sunday morning flea market. There were hundreds of food vendors, antique, clothing and souvenir stalls and street performers. My favorite was Edward Scissorhands, to whom I gladly paid 50 cents for unlimited photos.
We then circled back up and hit Manzana de las Luces. This is a block of buildings constructed by the Jesuits in the early 18th century. There wasn´t much to see besides old brick and a cheesy 18th century-esque restaurant, but it was free so it was worth the look.
Heading down Avenida de Mayo, we stopped at the Cafe Tortoni. This is an enormous, multi-room cafe that is the oldest in the city -- founded in 1858. This is where many of the country´s great artists, musicians, politicians and scientists have popped their heads in for a coffee. The standout for me was Carlos Gardel, who is one of the most prominent figures in the history of tango music. At Tortoni, the coffee was exceptional and so was the service -- the waiter was wearing a tuxedo!
Continuing down Avenida de Mayo, we got a good view of the Obelisco down Avenida 9 de Julio. This structure is the pictured in the last photo on this post. It was built in 1936 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the founding of Buenos Aires. However, three years later, the City Council voted 23 to 3 to tear it down. Looks like not all political decisions are taken seriously here, as it still stands today, 74 years later. We finished the walk with a look at the impressive Congress building and adjacent park.
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