Day two started off great-had breakfast at the hostel with my new friend Theresa from South Africa. Once I finished breakfast, I took a cab to the Tolon coffee shop on Avenue Santa Fe and Coronel Diaz in Palermo for cafe con leche (coffee with milk) and medialunas (croissants) with my dear friend's mother, Martha. Martha gave me a great present; a book called "Che Boludo-A gringo's guide to understanding the Argentines". It will served me well during my time here in Argentina!
After our coffee, we walked all the way to Recoleta to catch a walking tour of the area. I met up with Theresa and two friends from the Tango show the night before, Eva and Francis and we started our tour at the Cementerio de la Recoleta. Cementerio de la Recoleta is a famous cemetery where extremely famous and wealth Argentinians are buried in ornate mausoleums. Patrons of the cemetery include former Presidents, the father of the Argentine Navy and Evita Duarte, an icon in Argentina.
After the cemetery, we toured the Basilica Nuestra Senora del Pilar, built in 1732 by Franciscan Recoleto friars and considered a national treasure for its six German baroque-style altars, the central one overlaid with Peruvian engraved silver, and relics sent by Spain's King Carlos III.
Our tour then took us past the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (Nation Art Museum) over to the Escultura de la Rosa, a gigantic hydraulic rose that opens when the sun rises and closes when the sun sets. We then walked to a near by coffee shop for a break and finished the tour with some more history of Argentina. A tour well worth the time and $100 peso cost!
After our tour, we ventured into a near by mall and stopped off at the Hard Rock Cafe so that Francis could get a T-shirt for his mom. As I wandered around, I ran into a little "taste" of home as I walked by the Tucson steak house!
We finally ended our day will some shopping in Recoleta at what I would compare to 5th Avenue in New York, then a trip back to the hostel to catch the Tuesday night Argentine BBQ. All in all an exhausting, but GREAT day! Catch all of the pictures from our day at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39526836@N05/sets/72157623010089040/. Enjoy and I will see you tomorrow!
Ciao, Ciao
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