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Argentina - Day 3
Day 3, Tuesday, 3/5
We got a late start but we visited Florida Street which is a long pedestrian-only street lined with banks, cheap clothing stores and general crap. It was very crowded and unpleasant. However, we justified the stroll as experiencing a piece of Buenos Aires culture and we endured. At the end of Florida St. was a very green and vast San Martin Park (named after the most famous military leader). We ran into a shopping mall with fescos and grabbed refreshments. We also found an authentic café for a quick lunch.
We met Alan, a tour guide we found online, at London Café for a 3-hour tour of the historic parts of Buenos Aires. He showed us the oldest cathedral (literally falling a part), the oldest school (where underground passages were found for military use…and later illegal trading), Casa Rosada (Argentina’s version of the White House…they call it the Pink House), the official cathedral, the oldest business (a book store), the building where they declared independence from Spain, the protest area (they love to protest), the oldest café (Café Tortoni), some incredible building modeled after Dante’s Divine Comedy, La Prensa newspaper headquarters that Peron shut down and the Congress building. We even took a subway trip where the riders open the doors themselves. Alan was from England and visited Buenos Aires for a 3-week vacation 3 years ago and never returned. He has to go to Uruguay every 90 days to renew his Visa. This is popular for many because the immigration process is expensive and long.
We went to a small Tango show in Once before returning to Palermo Hollywood for a late dinner. The dancing and singing at the Tango were energetic and the story seemed interesting, even though we didn’t understand a word.
