2001 Argentina - Buenos Aires I had a three weeks vacation in South America in November 2001. The trip started and ended in the capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires. I was in the city three times during the vacation.
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On my first day in Buenos Aires, I went to see the presidential palace, Casa Rosada. An interesting color for a presidential palace.
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From the balconies in this building, Evita, the wife of Juan Perón made her speaches to the masses on Plaza de Mayo.
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The other side of Casa Rosada is not Pink. This is the side facing the river (Rio de la Plata).
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In the basement of the palace is a museum. Museo de la Casa de Goberno shows artefacts from the country's presidents. All presidents are listed on one of the walls. That is, all up until 1966. After that things got a bit messy. And after I visited Argentina, things got even more messy.
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The legendary Juan and Evita D. Perón portrayed in the museum of Casa Rosada.
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The congress building is facing Casa Rosada from the other end of Avenida de Mayo.
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Buenos Aires claims to have the broadest avenue in the world - Avenida 9 de Julio. It is 150 meters across. The Obelisco at Plaza de la República is the center point of the city.
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Other streets are a bit narrower.
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The Kavanagh building, next to Plaza San Martín was opened in 1936, and was for years the highest building in South America. It is 120 meters tall.
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By the second time I arrived in Buenos Aires on my tour of South America, Santa Claus had already come to the shopping mall Galerías Pacífico.
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Street performance in the home country of the tango.
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San Telmo is a bohemian neighborhood with many cafés and antique shops.
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The window display of one shop in San Telmo.
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Lavalle, a pedestrian street, by night.
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One evening, as I was walking around in the city, it started to rain heavily, and 15 minutes later, the roads were more like rivers.
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I managed to stay at four different hotels in Buenos Aires. I started with a cheap one, Hotel Maipú. They did not speak any English, and tried to explain something about the water when I checked in. I thought they said there was no hot water in the room, and given the temperatures there, I could live with that. It turned out that there was ONLY hot water in the shower. I took very short showers.
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I gradually changed to better hotels, as my need for some luxury increased. The last night in Buenos Aires, at Hotel Colón cost four times as much as the first one, but it was worth it.
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Hotel Colón is located at Avenida 9 de Julio, right next to the Obelisco. The street to the right is Lavalle.
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The city seen from an airplane leaving the central airport, Aeroparque Jorge Newbery. To the left is Avenida 9 de Julio. If you look closely, you will see the Obelisco, and also a tall building farther down. At the time this avenue was constructed, this building housed the French Embassy, and the French refused the Argentines to tear down their building, claiming it was French territory.
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