Saturday, March 1st, 2014
Today was a pretty relaxed day, with a few things planned. Shuri needed to find his hostel, which as we non-Japanese folk joked was a secret Japanese society. This hostel was in an unmarked building down this alley way. Pretty sure if you ring the buzzer and you don't speak Japanese they don't open the door...however probably better than a ninja coming out of nowhere to kill you, which Jeff implied was also a possibility. Anyway, we knew where it was.......roughly so we checked out a few things as we walked there.
One of the large pieces of art that sits along the way.
Buenos Aires is a pretty walk-able city and I think I mentioned before, taxis are super cheap so getting around was never an issue. From Jeff's place it was a pretty easy walk to a nice breakfast location and then to our first stop of the day, the must see Recoleta Cemetery.
Free to visit, you cannot miss this place....even if you just pop in to see the most famous tomb in the place, that of the Duarte Family. Why is it famous you ask? Because this is of course the final resting place of María Eva Duarte de Perón more commonly know as Eva Peron and affectionately known as Evita.
We quickly made our way to the Duarte Family tomb for some pictures and then spent some time just exploring the place. Pretty amazing place. Cemetery's always intrigue me....and not because I have some strange fascination with death, but more because I am fascinated by the lengths people go and the money people will spend to remember and hold to those we've lost. Can be quite different between cultures.
An idea of some of the beauty of the tombs and mausoleums in Recoleta. Many consider Recoleta to be one of the greatest necropolises in the world and is home to over 6,400 tombs and mausoleums.
The Duarte Family tomb.
Flowers always decorate the tomb.
There is a very interesting story as to how Eva Peron's body arrived at its final resting place here in Recoleta. Evita died at the age of 33 in 1952 from metastatic cervical cancer. Her body was embalmed and was set to be on display in a memorial (similar to Lenin's). However in 1955, when Juan Peron was overthrown, and forced to quickly leave the country, Evita's body disappeared for around 16 years. It was eventually found in Milan Italy, buried under the name Maria Maggi. In 1971 her body was exhumed and flown to Spain (where Juan Peron took care of it). Juan returned to Argentina in 1973 and died in 1974. It was at this time that Evita's body was finally returned to Argentina (and was on display for sometime with Juan's body) and eventually buried here in the Duarte Family tomb.
Another look at Recoleta's most visited tomb.
Like walking down little streets.
Some very large and elaborate tombs and mausoleums can be found.
Another look at the perfectly laid out streets.
One of the many memorials in Recoleta. I unfortunately was unable to figure out what or who many of them were for due to the lack of English (as can be expected) but beautiful none the less.
Another one of the large memorials you will find.
Now this one was easy to figure out as it was dedicated to members of Argentina's Military.
Looking inside one of the tombs. Very well maintained and even a few stain-glass windows.
Beautiful and sometimes maybe a little scary.
The mausoleum of General Juan Lavalle. He was an Argentinian military and political figure in the early 1800's.
Of course not all the tombs are maintained. There were several that looked like this and many that actually had notices on them (translated by Jeff) saying they were locked until the maintenance fees were paid.
After walking around Recoleta for a little while we went next door to visit the Iglesia Nvestra Senora del Pilar, which is a 1732 colonial church, which also houses a small museum.
A look at Iglesia Nvestra Senora del Pilar.
A look at the alter of the church.
Looking out the window at Recoleta on the way to the Museo Participativo de Cienaics.
One of the items on display in the museum.
This is also on display in the museum. It is labelled France, 19th Century. It is missing the hand that marks the days.
This umbrella was marked Italy, 18th Century. It was acquired by the church in 1944 from the Archbishop of Palmero (Italy). I would be interested in what the purchase price was....but of course that was not listed.
Another look at Recoleta from the top floor of the church/museum.
A closer look at the umbrella next to the alter. Or more correctly it is the Umbraculum or the "big umbrella". It is a symbol of the Roman Catholic Church and the authority the Pope has over it. It is found in all the basilicas throughout the world and should be placed on the right side of the main altar. The umbraculum is opened whenever the Pope visits.
Once I had satisfactorily explored Recoleta and del Pilar, we made our way towards Plaza de la Republica on Ave. 9 de Julio to check out a few other well known Buenos Aires landmarks.
This is the Obelisco of Buenos Aires. It is a national historic monument built to commemorate the fourth centenary of the first foundation of the city. At 67.5 metres (221 feet) tall it stands out and is a great landmark to get your bearings.....if you are prone to getting lost (like me). It was built in 1936. Looks similar to the Washington Monument and other Obelisks around the world but the inscriptions on the structure, including the Argentinian Flag, are very Argentinian.
Another prominent image from Ave 9 de Julio. This is the Ministry of Health Building and that is one of two (there is one on the other side) 10 story high portraits of Eva Peron that adorn the building.
We took a quick side trip to find Shuri's hostel and drop him off and then Jeff and I headed back to Teatro Colon for a tour. Teatro Colon is the main opera house in Buenos Aires and like many restaurants and other forms of entertainment it sits on the previously mentioned Ave 9 de Julio.
The front of Teatro Colon. Very beautiful looking building. It took 18 years to complete the original construction opening on May 25th 1908. This actually the second Teatro Colon, the first which opened in 1857.
Found this hanging outside. Not sure what to think about it.
This is the main entrance of the theatre. This door is not used all the time but only when the occasion calls for a grand entrance. There were actually 3 architects involved in the building of this theatre. The first died after one year of construction. The second was killed by his wife's lover. It seemed like the architects were jinxed however the third was finally able to complete the project....without any drama.
The sky light in the main reception hall.
Not an opera house without a grand stair case. This one did not disappoint.
Some of the tile work along the floor.
Jeff and I in the Golden Hall. It was modelled after Versailles. Very beautiful.
A look at the ceiling in the Golden Hall. Everything you would expect from such a beautiful opera house.
Unfortunately the tour of the theatre itself wasn't great because they were doing the lighting test for Swan Lake (ballet season) so I wasn't able to get a lot of good pictures. A few points however is that the upper boxes (like many theatres) used to be reserved for the Upper class. Today many of the boxes are still reserved, including one for the President, however tickets are very often sold before performances or given away. For reference, a ticket in the Presidents box on most will will cost about 150 Pesos. The exchange rate on the day we visited would have meant about 15USD. Not bad at all. The chandelier, which I just could not get a good picture of, actually has enough space singers and orchestra as needed for performances.
A look at the stage set up for Swan Lake. Jeff and I thought about getting tickets, but it just did not work out for our schedule. I think if there had been an opera we would have tried a little harder.
The grand staircase in the theatre.
Some of the costumes on display in the lobby.
Once the tour was over, Jeff and I headed back to his place. We had plans to meet back up with everyone later in the evening to experience a bit more of the city nightlife.
Back at Jeff's place, I got to see a bit of a parade.
A bit later Vanessa met up with us at Jeff's place and we went to meet up with Shuri, Jason and Jason's friend Courtney, who is currently living in Buenos Aires for a quick snack and then off to another part of town for Carnival. No, it's not Rio but we got the point.
A little bit of the parade. I got in the habit of not taking my camera places at night (because Jeff is really paranoid and was concerned about attracting pick pockets pretty much everywhere), but managed to get a couple photos on my easily concealed phone. Jason however, was not concerned so got a few pictures of the fun.
It was a must to get some spray foam and get in a spray foam fight with some of the local kids. Vanessa also got pelted with some water but a very fun experience.
Pretty sure the local kids got the better of us but it was a whole lot of fun.
The rest of the night we enjoyed a few drinks and a few snacks before heading off in a few different directions. Some were heading out for a bit more fun. Jeff and I were heading home to get some sleep. We had more fun planned tomorrow.
There is always more fun tomorrow.
Julie
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