A five-week tour of southern South America
We flew to Buenos Aires mid-March, 2017. It would be the start of a five-week tour covering the huge region of Patagonia (in both southern Argentina and southern Chile), the Atacama Desert in northern Chile and the wine region of Mendoza in north-west Argentina.
We will make a series of blog posts covering our adventures, with a focus on the food and wine experiences. See Post Four of the series for a map of our journey.
Buenos Aires in Autumn
It was early autumn when we arrived in Buenos Aires. At that time of the year the weather seems very Melbourne-like: mid 20oCs, sunny and still. It is a very European-style city, with wide avenues, stately buildings and tree-lined streets.
It is a huge city in both area and population, with over 14 million people in the greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area. The city does have a patchy, and sometimes tired look, however. The fading away of the wealth of the early 20th century shows in the proliferation of unattractive high-rise office and apartment buildings while roads, pavements and other public amenities often lack attention.
Still, there are many enticing pockets of grandeur and affluence (Recoletta), of style and funkiness (San Telmo and Palermo) and of tradition and pleasure (La Boca). Not to mention the extensive parklands, refurbished port, museums and galleries and one of the most magnificent opera houses in the world, the Teatro Colon. Certainly, those interested in art, culture and architecture have much to choose from.
There are many excellent sources on the Internet covering the sights of Buenos Aires!
One of our dreams was to attend an opera at Teatro Colon. However, none were scheduled at the time of our visit. We did, however, take a guided tour of the complex in the morning only to be told the good news that they were handing out free tickets for a full dress rehearsal performance that night of Adriana Lecouvreur, a four act opera by Francesco Cilea.
Those interested in the tango can attend one of many grand burlesque shows or simply walk down to a local square or go to La Boca for coffee. Attending a soccer match is a potential spectacle, even if you aren’t interested in sport. (Some of the following photos are from our previous trip to Buenos Aires, in 2009.)
There is fascinating shopping.
And of course you want to eat! And try a Mendoza malbec!
Click here for: Buenos Aires – The Food!