January 9, Monday - Buenos Aries, Argentina

We have a sunny day in Buenos Aires.  Our excursion today was a whirl-wind tour of the city.  The city’s nickname is Paris of the South…and for good reason.  

The boulevards, parks and building facades modeled off of Paris and the city has the feel of Paris.  We like Buenos Aries, and would go back for 2 or 3 days just to walk some of the neighborhoods and parks. 

There were statues in some intersections...

and a large obelisk in another.

We also drove by this interesting piece of art.  The flower "petals" gradually open and close throughout the day.  Unfortunately we didn't get to see it in it's various positions.  But it was very pretty and shiny.

Many of the buildings were built in the style that defines the look of Paris.

This building is the opera house.

We saw a number of dog walkers.

We had planned to stop at a rose garden on an island in the middle of a park but the bridge was closed for renovations.  But the rest of the park looked nice (as we drove by) and there were lots of people out enjoying the park.

One of the buildings had what looked to be a giant portrait (likely in lights) of Evita Peron on the side.

Our sites today included the Metropolitan Cathedral…home of Pope Francis

The interior and statuary was particularly pretty.

Carminito Street in the barrio of La Boca.  The two block area has many colorfully painted buildings.  The story is that in the "olden days" the area was poor and the building owner begged for left over paint from the ships at the nearby docks.  And they used whatever paint they were given...hence the technicolor area. 

The paint scheme carried over into the colorful windows and doors

There were lots of sidewalk cafes and touristy shops...

and art and artists...  

and some statuary, including one of Pope Francis in a balcony.

La Boca is in a tenement district and everything closes down at 5:00 pm.  We were told that the area is unsafe after that.

One of the highlights of the day was the visit to Recoleta Cemetery…pretty awesome.  The crypts are owned by individual families and there are often several generations interred in them. 

There were interesting walkways winding though the area...

   

a variety of architectural styles...

beautiful statuary...

with many statues towering over the crypts.

There were lots of other types of embellishments to the crypts including interesting door details...

and a beautiful mural lining the inside of a dome.

There was a large crowd at the Duarte crypt where Eva Peron is entombed.

Click for More photos of Recoleta Cemetery.

We had lunch near the second (now closed) city port in a building in a renovated warehouse.  Then it was back to the ship to pack and say goodbye to old friends.