monument - ilivetotravel's travel log

While on a three-month assignment in Chile many years ago, I visited Buenos Aires, Argentina for the first time to spend the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday there. In Santiago, besides Chilean locals, my co-workers included a fellow American and folks from Buenos Aires (abbreviated in Spanish “B.B.A.A.”; leave me a comment if anyone is curious why not “B.A.”).

We all had great fun in Santiago and exploring Chile together. So when the time came to book our tickets home for Thanksgiving, the other American and I thought to ourselves: why not go to BB.AA. and get to know it with our friends from work? We thought for a moment about our families and about missing the turkey, and decided (smartly) that this was our chance to see monumental BB.AA., all travel expenses paid.

Seeing some of the key sights

BB.AA. is monumental. Period. Not only because of its size but also because of its architecture too, reminiscent of Paris and Madrid, just rolled into one. Of course, it is not Paris but it gets as close as I have seen any other city outside of France to look like it.

Buenos Aires, Argentina, city, monuments, architecture, Canon EOS Rebel, church, Cathedral, Pope Francis — The very-classical Cathedral of Buenos Aires.

No visit to BB.AA. at that time could skip seeing the Plaza de Mayo, where the mothers of the people who disappeared during military dictatorship had been protesting for years (and, at the time of my visit, maybe for other reasons, according to my local friends). The plaza is in front of the Casa Rosada, the Argentine president’s residence and offices.

Buenos Aires, Argentina, city, monuments, architecture, Canon EOS Rebel, Casa Rosada, presidential palace, Evita — The “Casa Rosada” (Pink House; any similarity or apparent relationship between it, its current resident and the Pink Panther are purely coincidental). Evita made its rear balcony famous in her Broadway musical.

BB.AA. has evolved since those days, as all places do. For example, Puerto Madero has become a great area to visit, dine, etc. But in this first of my three visits to Argentina, that area was nothing like it is today; it was a blighted area.

We walked tons, visiting the cemetery where the aforementioned Evita is buried, walking down the sprawling Ave. Libertador with its many lanes that behave as one, shopping in Calle Florida, and all that good stuff. It is, like many great cities, a city one can enjoy best by roaming aimlessly.

Food. Oh, the food.

Food, oh, food. The Argentine capital is a veritable source of good food. Nothing complicated. We had Thanksgiving dinner at an Italian restaurant near Ave. Callao. Being that Argentina has tons of Italian blood for many immigrants, the meal was top notch. It wasn’t turkey but it was outstanding.

One of our co-workers invited us to an “asado” – BBQ Argentina-style. It was at his parents’ place and they grilled EVERY part of the beast. We were teased into trying a “weird” part so I opted for the kidney which seemed the “safer” thing. Not a fan of the texture though the flavor wasn’t bad…

My favorite meal was at the Costanera. I don’t know if it exists in the same format as it did so many years ago but, boy, the piece of steak was OUTSTANDING and it was buried under a PILE of REAL French fries. I ordered half a steak and it covered the entire plate – a normal size plate! A meal to remember – if you don’t drink too much wine with it.

Finally, my absolute favorite thing was Fredo‘s ice cream – really, gelato. There were many locations and every time we ran into one, we had to go in… My favorite flavor: wine cream. Out of this world or, what Argentines would say with great fervor: ¡¡¡ES-PEC-TA-CU-LAR!!!!

Monuments ‘R Us

There are many ways to describe BB.AA. but one that sticks with me is that it is just a massive collection of monuments. Wow. Every place you turn, a statue (with or without a fountain)! Incredible. Here is a series of photos showing what I am talking about…

Buenos Aires, Argentina, city, monuments, architecture, Canon EOS Rebel, Cabildo — In front of the Cabildo (or town hall). A great place to catch some shade.

Buenos Aires, Argentina, city, monuments, architecture, Canon EOS Rebel, Palermo, statue — In the Palermo area (as I pulled this photo out of the album to scan it, I realized this square and those buildings had been in an episode of House Hunters International not long ago!)

Buenos Aires, Argentina, city, monuments, architecture, Canon EOS Rebel, Urquiza, fountain Libertador — The fountain to Urquiza, an Argentine general and politician with the Ave. Libertador in the background (that speck at the top edge of the fountain is me)

Buenos Aires, Argentina, city, monuments, architecture, Canon EOS Rebel, Christopher Columbus

Buenos Aires, Argentina, city, monuments, architecture, Canon EOS Rebel — Monument to the Argentine nation

Buenos Aires, Argentina, city, monuments, architecture, Canon EOS Rebel, National Congress — National Congress and its own monument

Buenos Aires, Argentina, city, monuments, architecture, Canon EOS Rebel, statue — Statue and yours truly

Do you agree that Buenos Aires is a monument-al city?? 🙂

I write this post in March 2011 when I started a project in D.C. We are near the end of 2012 and I am still on the project in D.C. It is neat to re-read what I wrote about when I first “landed” in D.C.!

I am lucky to find myself working in another great location. This is one much closer to home the last: Santiago, Chile. By about 8 hrs by plane. I am now in Washington, D.C., the U.S. capital and one of the most important cities in the world. The simplified and shortened commute is making for a happier me and a less tired body. Arriving at work after flying in is different than after the 9.5 hr red eye to Santiago!

I love D.C. because I feel the cosmopolitan nature of the city with embassies and international organizations everywhere. I feel the energy of probably many events happening here – without being aware of them – that can impact more than a few. Of course, one can also take the view that perhaps a lot of nothing happens here but I will leave that for other blogs and keep my opinions to myself though I will say there is truth to both views 🙂 Again, I love this city.

Lots to Explore in Washington, D.C.

I am very fortunate that my work location is just 2 blocks from the White House and I get to stay generally within a 2 mile radius of that location which makes for nice walks to and from work and exploring different side streets and some of what I considerable highly desirable residential areas of DC. Longer walks can take me to Chinatown with the many good eateries and more touristy sites like the Spy Museum and others. A cab or rail ride away are other neighborhoods with very distinct personalities. one that I have recently been introduced to is Capitol Hills. Many eateries and a charming area with my favorite eatery being Belga Cafe where the mussels dishes are phenomenal.

Since I am here during the week for the most part, I have not explored the tourist sites. Having been here many times before, I probably have covered a good number of them. However, some I last saw in 1983 and others more recently but still a decade ago. So I will spend a few weekends here this year catching up on known ones and exploring the new ones. Of the places I have seen, the Holocaust Museum ranks up there as do the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials and the other memorials that have sprung in that area like the Vietnam Memorial. Of the places I haven’t seen, I hope to finally do a tour of the White House, perhaps see a session of Congress and maybe even a Supreme Court session. Of the museums, I would like to re visit the Smithsonian ones for sure. But I know there are smaller ones that are worth exploring.

This week I am staying in Rosslyn for a change. Normally I like to stay in downtown D.C. proper, like at the Mayflower Hotel. Tonight I wanted to go for a run and thought I’d run by the river, something I’ve wanted to do since I arrived here. I ran a couple of weeks ago from the hotel past the White House to the Washington Monument down The Mall to the Capitol. What a neat run! On the return leg, as we passed the White House, the Presidential motorcade was making its way back to the White House. That was a real treat. No matter what stripes you wear, the office of the President of the U.S. is awe-inspiring in spite of the occupants. Seeing the motorcade made me proud.

My Running Route

So today I ran across the Key Bridge down past the “new” waterfront in Georgetown towards Watergate and the Kennedy Center and across the Memorial Bridge to the trail on the Virginia side of the Potomac. I decided to bring my small digital camera with me and think I got some neat shots as the sun was lower in the sky and provided nice light. Some of the sights during my run:

Looking towards Watergate from the Key Bridge

View of the Georgetown Canal

Rowers in the Potomac

Lincoln and Washington Memorials

It was cold and especially when crossing the Memorial Bridge as it was windier. But the run was excellent and I even got to go by the famous cherry trees currently blossoming. Normally, I get bored running on my own but I have a feeling that will not be the case in this city! I am beginning to think running tourism should be a new travel category – I am looking forward to looking for new routes and exploring the area via my running, killing two birds with a stone.

What other unique ways can you think to explore new places?