We arrived in Buenos Aires by ferry in Puerto Madero where the Boca Area intersects with the main port. The main road that skirts between Puerto Madero and the City Centre is a chaotic set of roadworks that are likely to last for some years and are having a devastating impact on the bars and restaurants that have reclaimed the old port warehouses, which would not look out of place in the Albert Docks in Liverpool. On the reclaimed land on the riverside are numerous new shiny glass carbuncles where much of the new wealth in Argentina is being invested.
We chose to stay in the Palermo district of Buenos Aires a few kilometres to the North West of the City Centre. The Palermo district is a bohemian neighbourhood with many boutiques, bars and restaurants. The vast majority of the buildings are the original two storey shops and houses, many painted in pastel colours and some with the now usual attractive street art. The place really comes to live in the late evening with young porteños enjoying socialising, drinking often with their smart phones to the fore. The average porteño is smartly dressed, but in an understated style, and make the area a very pleasant one in which to spend an evening.
During the day, the obsession that porteños have with dogs is very apparent. So many people walk round the streets with their favourite pooch. All sorts of breeds are present, though particularly popular are any dogs with long fur and also for some reason dachshunds. In addition there are many professional dog walkers, sometime waking ten or more dogs, particularly around the Jardin Botanico.
On Av Santa Fe on the way into to the City Centre is one of the wonders of the world, at least for all book lovers. The El Arteneo Grand Splendid Book Shop is in an old theatre where they use the circle and balconies to create elegant areas to display books, with the entrance foyer and the stalls displaying more books. The stage has given way to a coffee shop where you can simply relax and absorb the atmosphere. A truly wonderful place to visit and a must for all book lovers.
On the theme of theatres, Buenos Aries has one of the most impressive and elegant theatres in the world is the Teatro Colón, which by common consent is ranked for acoustics as one of the top three opera houses in the world and equally highly ranked as an orchestra venue. The tour of the theatre is definitely one of the highlights of a visit to Buenos Aires. Our tour guide, a young student, gave a wonderful tour which, even included her singing the famous operas and tunes of the various composers whose busts adorn the elegant entrance hall, where the great and good of Buenos Aries promenaded their wealth and status. The theatre has been meticulously restored back to the original design. For those who can’t get to Buenos Aires we were told that the theatre live streams its performances.
Any piece on theatre in Buenos Aires can not be complete without a reference to Evita, who’s grave in the Recoleta Cemetery acts as a shrine which is continually decorated with fresh flowers. Her ghost also is felt around the Casa Rosada and in many of the elegant Parisian style buildings and restaurants that abound in the city.
Date: 27/02/2018 to 01/03/2018