Buenos Aires Highlights

12/18/16

Our trusty leaders, Adrian and Nicole, review the itinerary for the day 

before we board the bus and head to Plaza de Mayo and Caminito.

 The Buenos Aires government building on Plaza de Mayo.

San Martin Cathedral.

Inside the Cathedral.

Heading to the Cathedral for the changing of the guard.

Our next neighborhood to explore was La Boca (soccer) - home to Caminito - or, in my humble opinion, Cuba. (ha ha). Also referred to as a "tango of wet cobbles and calico skies painted in many colors." Settled by many Italian immigrants, especially from Genoa, people built their houses on high sidewalks to avoid the frequent flooding. The houses here represent the neighborhood's typical tenement shacks, covered in corrugated zinc and originally brushed with leftover paint that Genoese port workers got from the ships. 

Caminito (or 'little path') was named after a 1926 tango song, which tells of a love lost. This song inspired Benito Quinquela Martín, La Boca's most famous artist, to help create Caminito in 1955. Everywhere there are canteens, cafes, paintings, photographs, handicrafts, as well as papier mache figures of famous Argentinians, such as Juan and Evita Perón, Che Guevara and soccer legend Diego Maradona, who wave down from several balconies. And don't forget Pope Francis:)

We ended our wonderful day with a home hosted dinner at Victoria's beautiful downtown home, which reminded me of a NY city walk-up apartment. It was built in 1957, had stunning herringbone flooring, impeccably polished wooden doors and an elevator that reminded me of the ones in Polsky's and O'Neils in downtown Akron, Ohio - with the foldable accordion door that had to be pulled across inside the elevator doors before the elevator would move. (3rd floor lingerie? women's shoes, anyone?)

Victoria was a single mom with 2 grown daughters - one studying law and the other business. She made us a delicious meatloaf and risotto, along with the gorgeous flan below.  We had a fantastic time sharing her home, and she was particularly grateful that we did not break any wine glasses as previous OAT guests had:)

Our host, Victoria, and her incredible flan.