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I just woke up after sleeping ten hours, so my brain is a bit fuzzy. Plus I haven't had my coffee! So this post may not make any sense, but I'll do my best.
It felt glorious to get a full night's sleep. I only dozed on the plane, and we've also had a four-hour time change -- so I was exhausted. Dave and I managed to get out and do a few things yesterday afternoon, though. We walked toward the river from our hotel into a neighborhood called Puerto Madero, and through old-town Buenos Aires. We stumbled onto Juan Domingo Perón park (above) and also the Casa Rosada, the presidential palace where Evita spoke to the masses (and sang "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" from the balcony, at least in the musical version of her life).
We tried not to do too much sightseeing, though, because we're taking a guided tour today. We were mainly just trying to find food. We walked to the canal and had lunch at a waterside restaurant.
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We sat out on the front patio and this was our view. Doesn't it look like Miami? It even felt like Miami, with comfortable winter temperatures, a bored but chic black-clad hostess and trendy techno-house background music. Sparrows fluttered around looking for crumbs, and one briefly hovered near our bread plate -- but fortunately never got the courage to land.
The restaurant was an Italian place called Mare that specialized in seafood. We loved it. The waiter even gave us free Aperol spritzes, and free lemoncello at the end. Fabulous!
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We walked down to the Puente de la Mujer, or "Woman's Bridge," a pedestrian bridge over the canal designed by Santiago Calatrava. Here's a closer look at the silos on the other side:
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This is an art project by American artist Barbara Kruger. On the left it says "You can't live without us," and on the right, "women." In between are the words power, pleasure, property, equality, empathy, independence, doubt and belief. At the bottom it says, "Who owns what?"
We walked back to the hotel and I watched "Evita," the 1997 Madonna version -- which I love. Do not believe the doubters. Dave fell asleep, but I managed to get through the whole film before joining him. And now, off to breakfast and COFFEE!
Lovely Barbara Kruger. I saw a great installation by her long ago and never forgotten, at the Met.
ReplyDeleteI love the silos, and, of course, the architecture, both old and new.
ReplyDeleteAn impressive installation.
ReplyDeleteWow, wow, wow! So far this vacation is my favorite you've ever taken!
ReplyDeleteLove the art installation and the architecture is impressive. Very Miami-like. Who would have guessed? Enjoy.
ReplyDeletei had the same impression of that part of the city when I was there. It looked very metropolitan. However that art project wasn't there when I was there but it's been many years.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your tour!
I like the Madonna version, too. She surprised me. And the music is great. What a wonderful spot to see it!
ReplyDeleteI saw Evita when i was in LA way back in the day- mind blown! So glad you are there- worth the air fare and fingers on Dave's screen! Looks enticing to say the least plus free spritz and lemoncello! The waiter must have thought y'all were cute! He was not wrong.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to more - trippin'.
never seen Evita. love the silo art project.
ReplyDeleteI've never been to Miami so I have no frame of reference. Your first foray went well and now for coffee and intensive sightseeing!
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful time in Argentina, a place that I'd love to visit someday. That photo of Dave with the fingers was priceless!
ReplyDeleteGreat bridge and great pictures, more please!
ReplyDeleteI saw Evita in a movie house with a visiting young woman from Cameroon, she was on an exchange program I was chaperoning (is that a word?) and this was her first visit abroad, apart from getting to the airport, she had never even been to Jaunde, the capital city of her country.
When I asked her what she thought of the movie, she said, why on earth did she sing all the time? The politics in her country must be in an awful state.
I’m already excited to see more. Wow! I thought that was the statue of Walt Disney, and I had no idea Eva Peron didn’t really sing from the balcony. Did they make that up? I am so glad you slept well. Hope the jet lag doesn’t last too long.
ReplyDeleteThe art project reminds me of giant chocolate bars. It could say HERSHEY instead of MUJERES! 🙂
ReplyDeleteIt might look like Miami except for the color of the water. Sorry but it reminded me of a sewage lagoon. I trust it didn't smell like one though since you ate outside.
ReplyDeleteI saw the stage version of Evita with Patti La Pone so many times to this day I can sing every word of that musical. I played the soundtrack on repeat for a while too. Enjoy your explorations! Will you be going to the wine country?
ReplyDeleteI’m seeing a lot of art on similar style of silos everywhere I go. They certainly are a large blank canvas.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant art in what appears to be an very attractive city. I look forward to more.
ReplyDeleteLooks like it will be a very interesting tour if the first day is any indication. I'm really surprised t the sky line with modern sky scrapers.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen Evita. Maybe I should.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great start to your South American adventure and I am glad that you enjoyed a long, refreshing sleep.
ReplyDeleteBoud: Yes! I remember seeing her work at museums in the USA too. I had no idea she had such a large piece here.
ReplyDeleteBob: It was a very interesting area! I love the Calatrava bridge.
GZ: Certainly large!
Ms Moon: Yay! It still seems surreal that we're even here. I keep turning to Dave and saying, "We're in Argentina!"
Susan: I know! I had no idea!
Sharon: Oh, I didn't realize you'd been here before!
Jeanie: I thought she did a great job and I felt bad for her when she got criticism for it. It was a very ambitious project for her.
Linda Sue: Yeah, I don't know what we did to deserve those drinks but we were happy!
Ellen: It's interesting, isn't it? I guess silos do make good blank canvases for large-scale works.
Margaret: Yeah, so far, so good!
Michael: It makes me laugh too. He was so annoyed.
Sabine: Ha! I think a lot of people had that reaction to the movie. I remember some of my friends saying the same thing. It was odd because not only was it a musical, but the "narrator" Che (Antonio Banderas) sang directly to the audience. I think a lot of people didn't quite know how to take that.
Mitchell: Ha! Maybe Peron is known here as "Uncle Juan"?
Kelly: Ha! I do see the resemblance!
Catalyst: The Rio de la Plata is apparently very muddy. It didn't seem dirty and there was no odor, at least not that I detected -- but yeah, you're right, it's very different from Miami which is always so blue and clear.
37P: How amazing to see it with Lupone! I'm jealous!
Ed: Yeah, exactly, when you think about it, it's a perfect painting surface.
Andrew: It's beautiful so far!
Red: I had no idea there were so many tall buildings in Buenos Aires, but I suppose that shouldn't surprise me.
River: Definitely! You can rent the Madonna version pretty easily. I really enjoy it.
YP: Yes, so far, so good!