We have had time to walk around the city and explore a bit. Buenos Aires, "good air," is a misnomer. It's hot, humid and rife with exhaust fumes from too many cars, buses and motos. And BA is not a great city for pedestrians. Many of the sidewalks are pocked with holes where one misstep could result in a nasty fall - or worse. While you are busy looking down, annyoying air-conditioners constantly drip from above. The jacaranda trees are spectacular, however and the jasmines near our hotel are fragrant. One couple likened the wide streets to ´Paris without the French.´ When the power went out unexpectedly (or routinely?) yesterday afternoon, all 2.8 million "porteños" hit the streets at once. The traffic lights were out and traffic was at a standstill. I kept one hand on my billfold and the other on my camera as we were jostled.
Deep Purple, jacaranda tree
The architecture isn't anything to write home about. In fact the most interesting part of the city so far has been the necropolis of Recoleta Cemetery, a who's who of dead Argentines and where Eva Peron is interred. If it weren't for Andrew Lloyd Weber's "Evita" I doubt if many norteamericanos would even know who she was.
Don't cry for me, Argentina
We haven't hit any of the famous restaurants yet or had a chance to sample the famous wines. There seems to be a pizza place on every corner and we can report that Argentine pizza is terrible; too little sauce and way too much cheese. Most of our activities have focused on leaving Buenos Aires: bus tickets to Valdez Peninsula and an onward flight to Ushuaia, boat tickets to Colonia de Sacramento in Uruguay and a trip to the Day of Tradition, Argentina's version of Frontier Days.
