Final Morning of NYU Conference, Exploring La Boca Neighborhood, Visiting MALBA and Dinner at Palermo

Saturday, June 1, 2019

Buenos Aires 

Final Morning of NYU Conference, Exploring La Boca Neighborhood, Visiting MALBA and Dinner at Palermo

Buenos Dias from Buenos Aires!

It is amazing how quickly time passes when you are having fun!Llew and I can barely believe that we have been together for over a week and have gone past the mid-way point of our travels. All the more reason why we should make the most of every waking second together.

We were up at 8.00 am and while I blogged, Llew had a bit more of a shut-eye. When he awoke, we showered and dressed and got down to breakfast in the hotel lobby. We are basically eating the excellent black muesli there with vanilla yoghurt and milk and ending with good decaf Americanos. Breakfast is a great time to chat with my colleagues and talk to them about the work I have been doing in Bombay and what I hope to accomplish when I return to New York.

Final Sessions of our Conference:

The final sessions of our conference were basically a wrap-up: a way of talking about take-away from our lectures and discussions and a way of trying to find out how we could incorporate some of what we have learned in our classes and in our interaction with our students. Following remarks by Julie and Molly, the group discussion began with a leader at each table taking notes and then speaking to the rest of the group about the positive and negative elements of our interaction. Almost every one felt that the combination of introductory lecture followed by excursion to a related venue was very effective. I had done this frequently while teaching in London. For example, I remember introducing my students to the work of John Constable, the artist who painted the Stour Valley in England. We started off by going to the Victoria and Albert Museum to study his countless sketchbooks—which was where he would scribble in the barest of sketches. Later, these sketches would become the actual finished paintings themselves and we saw so many of these in the National Gallery. Finally, to round off what he had painted, I took my students on an excursion to Dedham which is the base for a tour of Constable Country. We had walked for two miles along the banks of the Stour Valley and arrived, finally, at Flatford Mill, where his father worked and which he knew really well. He made it the best-known structure of his work which features in his best-known painting, The Haywain. In fact, I was able to literally place myself in the painting which was a lot of fun!

  The sessions finished exactly at 12 noon and we were free to leave. As Julie was leaving immediately for New York, I did say Goodbye and Thank you to her for giving me the opportunity to travel from Bombay to Buenos Aires and then go back to Bombay! So many of my New York and internationally-based colleagues saw this as a very special gift that Liberal Studies had given us on this, our tenth anniversary of the Global Liberal Studies program. How very blessed I felt that not only was I able to travel to a country that I did not dream I would get to, but that Llew was able to join me too and that we were able to have such a lovely holiday that included Brazil—a country that he too did not think he would travel to any time soon. It is amazing to me, as my Fulbright year comes to a close, how many fantastic unexpected opportunities I was offered and how beautifully things coalesced to give me this exciting year and very unusual professional opportunities.

Exploring La Boca:

Llew was waiting for me in the lobby of the hotel when I was done, but I returned to our room so that I could change into more practical walking shoes. Once that was done, we walked down Ave Las Heras to try to find the bus (152) that would take us from Ave. Santa Fe to the last stop in the area that is known as La Boca. Llew went there yesterday with David Crout from London as the two of them kept each other company. He explained to me that this was the edgier side of town—the heart of Argentinian futbol. It is the area in which the famous stadium known as Le Bombanera (The Chocolate Box) is to be found and where Argentina’s most famous football team, the Boca Juniors, have their base.

I bought a Roquefort and ham empanada en route to the bus stop as I suddenly felt hungry and then, once we identified the bus-stop, we got on and headed in the right direction to get to the last stop.

This lovely long bus-ride took us through the most important segments of the city from the Plaza de Independencia to the back of the Plaza de Mayo (so that we saw the Casa Rosada from another interesting perspective) and on to the eastern end of the city where the demographics changed dramatically. Here, we were far from the visible affluence of Recolleta where our hotel is located and where every building and every shop made it hard for us to believe that we were not in Europe. Here, in La Boca, the grittier side of  the city is clearly evident. Houses get much more modest, buildings get shorter and shabby, shops are bodegas or speakeasies and the people inhabiting this area are very different from the wealthy white Europeans (descendants of the original Spanish settlers) that we have been seeing in the center of the city. Here, on the outskirts, we were close to the port area of the city and upon reaching the last stop, we were actually on the banks of a dirty river over which the gigantic iron-framed Transporter Bridge has been constructed. 

The Colorful Aspects of La Boca:

Long before you actually reach the street known as El Caminito, you begin to pass by walls that are painted in bright colors and murals that speak of revolt and protest. We followed the crowds, for, being a Saturday and a holiday, there were both locals and tourists making a bee-line for the street that is very reminiscent of Camden Lock and Camden Market in London. It is a very hip area that has been taken over by artists—indeed there is probably an artists’ colony of sorts here. This is El Caminitio, a street that hosts a flea market at the weekends. We did buy our own stock of souvenirs (hollowed gourds that are fashioned into Christmas ornaments), crayons made from the bark of trees, etc. We were also able to find a souvenir store that sold the Maduro Cookies that we were happy to take home for family members: they are cake-like cookies sandwiched with dulche de leche and then covered in dark chocolate. Armed with all these buys, we took in the color and the excitement of the street as buyers bargained, pavement-cafes offered local dishes (undoubtedly tourist traps) and our camera clicked in order to capture the large-sized mannequins that were placed on the balconies of the first floor of each squat building. We recognized Maradonna and Lionel Messi and, of course, Pope Francis, who is Buenos Aires’ own son. 

It was while we were tracing our way back to the bus stop that we ran into my colleague Nancy and her daughter Ariana who were almost following our tour plan for the day. We directed them to the shop from which we had bought our souvenirs and cookies and then said goodbye. It was not long before we found our bus-stop for the 152 bus—although we walked a whole stop forward to try to find it (only to discover that bus numbers are not necessarily marked at each stop). Still... we enjoyed our morning’s exploration. Needless to say, the weather was just perfect as the crispness of a fall day was gilded by the benign warmth of the sun.

Off to MALBA...but first, Retiro Station:

It was while seated in the bus that we tried to figure out what bus we should take to get to our next port of call: MALBA (the Museum of Latino-American Art in Buenos Aires). However, because most of the famous museums are located far away from the metro lines, buses are the best best. We read the map and figured out that alighting by Retiro Station would make best sense as it would present us with an array of buses that would allow us to take our journey forward. 

Accordingly, we jumped off the bus and since we saw signs advertising fast food places, we thought we would nip into one of them to get a bite for lunch. And so, wily-nily, we found ourselves at Retiro Station which is the station for long-distance travel anywhere in Argentina from the capital. 

Like all 19th century railway station buildings that were designed to show off the new travel technology of the era, this one reminded us very much of Union Station in Washington DC or Grand Central Station in New York or the Central Station in Milan. It is huge, has a soaring ceiling, is heavily decorated with classical motifs such as wreaths, and visualized with a Baroque solidity that made it very appealing. 

We were able to find a homely pizzeria where we had pizza for the first time in Argentina.We chose the pizza Margarita and the pizza with ham and cheese and washed it down with diet cokes. This gave us a chance to rest our legs and prevent us from being overtaken by fatigue as we still had the Museum in which we intended to spend a while.

Our lunch done, Llew realized that we needed to put in some more money into our Subte travel cards. I told him that to do so, we would first need to find the intersecting metro line (which, when I looked at the map, I discovered was the C line). We took the stairs leading to the basement, found the ticket window where we were able to top up our travel cards and then made our way to the surface again.

It took us a while to figure out the bus we would need to get to MALBA and were almost headed in the wrong direction, due to wrong instructions given by a passer-by, when the driver of one of the buses gave us precise information. We found the bus stop and the bus and then sailed down Ave de la Libertador to arrive at MALBA in about ten minutes.

Exploring MALBA:

MALBA or the Museum of Latin-American Art of Buenos Aires is considered one of the great collections of the city. One of the excursions organized as part of our NYU conference was to this venue following a lecture given by an art historian attached to NYU at Buenos Aires. However, as I had signed up to attend the talk on Domingo Sarmiento followed by an excursion to the Tigre Delta to see his house, I was unable to take the museum tour. Hence, Llew and I decided to cover this space on our own. I was pretty certain that we would find here a lot of work by Diego Rivera and Freida Kahlo—but I was mistaken.

At any rate, we bought our tickets (we got discounts with my Met Museum ID card) and started our exploration of the space. We discovered that the museum was set up to house a great bequest that was made to the city by an Argentinian millionaire called Eduardo Constantin who had collected find examples of Latin-American art. He gave the city a total of 223 canvases that represented some of the most significant paintings of the era. In order to house and exhibit these works, MALBA was specially designed and constructed. Indeed, it is a beautiful modern building constructed with a lot of natural light entering it, in tiers which are accessed by elevators. The collection was added to and now numbers 600 canvasses that are housed on the first floor. The second floor is given exclusively to photography.

Among the great works we saw was a canvas called Revolution, a striking white sculpture by Molly Martin called The Impossible (scissor-like hands of two individuals reach out across an impregnable divide), two large canvases by Diego Rivera (one that depicted a local festival) and just one stunning self-portrait by Frieda Kahlo with Monkey and Parrot. There were also a great number of works by Xul Solar and the iconic and much-reproduced black and white portrait of Che Guevara by Claudio Tozzi. There were also paintings by some of the more recognizable names associated with Abstract Art such as Picasso, Leger, Kandinsky and Klee. We found that although we did not know the names of many of the most important Argentinian and Latin-American artists, their works exhibit exuberant bursts of vivid color that are greatly influenced by the Picassan styles of Cubism and Fauvism. There were also sections in which the artistic and sculptural installations got really wacky as they used multiple media and electric effects to keep the work moving and changing in kinetic fashion.

We took a quick round of the upper floor and then decided to find our way home. It was about 4. 45 pm by then and we had spent a very good afternoon ticking off items on our To-Do List with a vengeance. The thought of getting back to out hotel for a rest and a possible nap was very enticing indeed.

And so, we walked two short blocks along Ave. St. Martin de Tours and arrived at Ave Las Heras from where we took a bus in which we sailed east across the city to our hotel. Back in our rooms, we checked email and curled up for a nap as Llew switched on the TV and watched the finals of the UEFA Football match in which the Spurs were beaten by Liverpool to much jubilation from the fans in Madrid where the match was being played and in the UK from where the two competing teams hail. Llew then switched on to the cricket as the World Cup matches have begun and he is as involved with them as Dad and Russel are in Bombay. I enjoyed my 20 minute power nap after which I decided to take a shower and get ready for our last evening on the town. I called the room of my friend Tim and discovered that he was ready to join us for dinner and we decided to go just around the corner from our hotel.

Dinner in Madagascar in Palermo:

From everything I had been reading in our guide books, the Palermo neighborhood of Buenos Aires is the most happening when it comes to night life. All the nicest bars, clubs and restaurants seem to be here and I was really keen to explore this area. It was while we were in the hotel lobby waiting for Tim that we bumped into my colleagues Heidi and Mike who were trying to make a reservation in a steak house in Palermo. I asked if we could join them and they were only too happy to have us with them. And so, when Tim came down to the lobby, we decided that the five of us would take two cabs and get to Palermo.  

The hotel staff were kind enough to find us taxis and tell the drivers where to take us. 

Whizzing through the city of Buenos Aires by road is a thrilling thing. The center of the city is so beautiful and so well-planned that it is a pleasure to drive through it. After a good long ride, more than 20 minutes long, we arrived at the venue—a vast place that was covered with white tents in each of which was a vendor selling wares as part of a flea market. The entire plaza was encircled by restaurants, pubs, clubs, bars shops, etc. The lighting was terrific and since it was a Saturday night, the place was simply buzzing. 

Once we alighted, we took in the tourist energy and excitement of Palermo and realized why it is the most crowded venue on weekend evenings. I was delighted to find a necklace that immediately caught my eye—the pendant was a crystal circle on a long silver chain (which is very much in at the moment). It cost me just $6 and, of course, I could pass up on such a gem at that price. This will be my little souvenir of Buenos Aires. 

We eventually chose a Parilla (steak house) called Madagascar and the five of us were settled upstairs in a quieter corner. We decided to get drinks (Malbec for Llew and Heidi, Diet Coke for me, beer for Mike and sparkling water for Tim) and we chose our entrees. Llew and I decided to share an Italian Caprese Salad that came with tomatoes, loads of fresh basil, mozzarella cheese and olives and a steak tenderloin which we asked to be grilled rare—we have now learned that they up them one stage, no matter what you ask for. Tim led us into this secret and he was right: we asked for Rare and ended up getting Mediu,m Rare (which was  exactly what we wanted!) Our steak and salad was superb. I was delighted to finally be in a steak house where the meat was grilled exactly to my liking.

We had a very companionable meal—there was a lot of chatter, a lot of laughter, a lot of (dare I say it?) gossip! Everyone enjoyed their meal and when the bill was settled, we left (without eating dessert). I was keen to get some ice-cream and thought of looking for a good gelateria. Hearing us debate the issue, a man on the street strongly recommended a place called Helados (Ice-Cream) Italia. And It was simply wonderful!       

Not long after we had treated ourselves to wonderful chocolate flavors and Heidi was almost falling asleep we hopped into two cabs that took us back to your hotel. It had been another fabulous day that incorporated meaningful work with a concerted effort to finish seeing the last of the important sights that the city has to offer..

We did not waste much time getting ready for bed and going straight off to sleep.

Until tomorrow... 

Following in the Footsteps of Evita Peron! More Sightseeing in Bewitching Buenos Aires!

Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Buenos Aires

Following in the Footsteps of Evita Peron! More Sightseeing in Bewitching Buenos Aires!

  Buenos Dias from Buenos Aires!

From among the many impressions we gathered today, Recotta Cemetery was a real stand-out.  No wonder it is the star attraction of Buenos Aires. But first, brekkie...

Waking at 8.00 (Llew) as I was up much earlier (about 6.00am) we got ourselves quickly organized for our day on the town. There is so much to see and do in this city that there is little time to lose.

  Breakfast in the hotel was a generous affair. Careful not to overeat while making sure we fueled up well for the day, the two of us started with muesli with strawberry yogurt and requested decaf Americanos which were brought to our table. We followed up with scrambled eggs with bacon and sausage and left to start our exploration of the city. A few more days of these breakfasts and I shall have to go on a diet again.

Reaching out for Evita Peron at Recolleta Cemetery:

   Recolleta Cemetery is only a few blocks away from our hotel—so I made up a sort of itinerary that I thought we could follow for the day and we headed off there.

The Cemetery is a real gem of a place. It dates from the early -1800s and was created to house the mortal remains of the rich and famous of the city. It is a vast space surrounded by high red brick walls and fancy gas-lighting. The tops of the burial vaults peak out from over the walls and offer tantalizing glimpses of angels with wide wing spans that give indication of what one can expect to see within.

    Very shortly, I realized that this Cemetery is built in the same style as some of Europe’s best-known burial spots: think Brampton or Highgate Cemeteries in London or Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris for you are in the same ballpark. The difference in London is that grand family vaults line a few of the ‘streets’ in the cemetery as many of the deceased occupy just one little plot that is indicated with a funerary monument (usually a cross). Here, the entire place is made up of ‘streets’ that radiate from a central monument. There are no burial plots—just burial vaults here (all are family owned and occupied). Unlike Highgate in London where there are many notable graves to visit (George Eliot, Karl Marx) or Pere Lachaise in Paris (Jim Morrison, Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir), here the only really notable figure is Eva Peron who is buried in her family vault as she was born a Duarte.

     Don’t expect to find, as we did, a grand monument to mark her burial spot. It is actually hidden in a narrow side street because although she was given a grand state burial (and we saw video clips of this affair in her museum that we visited next), her modest family claimed her body and buried it with their own members. Most visitors make a beeline for this spot which is well-known to all the attendants.

However, the real jewels of this Cemetery can be found all around in the magnificent Victorian mortuary sculpture with its exquisite details. The vaults themselves are lined with marble cladding in white or in black basalt. The entrances to them are made of elaborate wrought-iron gates. Ornamentation in the form of towering sculpture is profuse—there are angels, veiled women, mourning muses at the foot of the monuments of the well-heeled, military memorabilia in the case of men who served in the fight for Independence from Spain (achieved in 1810 and made official in 1816), loads of metal plaques. We even caught sight of a monument that featured both a Jewish menorah as well as a crucifix above it. Most of the vaults are designed in Neo-Classical style but there were some in Baroque style with grand domes and decorative details in stained glass. One was covered with ivy and another was clad in rustic rough-hewn stone. In many cases, the doors were open and we could see the caskets piled on shelves one on top of the other. It was all quite fascinating indeed and I could not stop taking pictures. The place is impeccably clean, beautifully maintained and plantings of flowers and other greenery around the monuments is on-going.

     We spent more than an hour in this spot but one could easily spend an entire morning in this miniature city reading family names derived from the colonial era. We could not help thinking how wealthy these people might have been if they could afford to spend so much on funerary trappings. Indeed, it is a great place to visit and we felt fortunate that we were so well located to this spot in terms of our hotel.

    I suppose having received an introduction to Eva Peron, it was only natural that we should gravitate to the Museo Evita (Evita Museum) next.

Visiting the Museo Evita:

We took a bus (the 37) from Ave de las Heras to Lapridu from where we found the Evita Museum on foot just a few blocks ahead in what remains a very upscale part of downtown BA. Everywhere we were struck by the affluence of this city, the solidity and decorative nature of the Baroque buildings, the quality of the shops and the many coffee shops that dot it. We realized why so many of the Nazis headed to Argentina and to BA bringing their money with them to live anonymous lives with name and identity changes to enable them to stay in luxury as if in a European city. 

    The Museo Evita opened only at 11.00 am—so we had a few minutes’ wait before we entered. There is an entry fee but my Met Museum ID card got both Llew and me inside for free. The Museum is housed in a gorgeous villa or ‘pallazo’ as they are known which dates from the early 1900s. It is dedicated to keeping alive the memory of Argentina’s best-known First Lady who had such an impact on her nation and the world in the early to mid-20th century that Andrew Lloyd-Weber wrote a whole opera dedicated to immortalizing her contribution. 

I first became aware of this extraordinary woman on seeing the opera Evita many decades ago. The Museum filled me in on the details of her life through its many fascinating objects that actually belonged to her. So here is what I gathered: Born in a rather humble peasant family as Eva Duarte in 1895, she aspired towards stardom and made her way to BA. There, in keeping with the mass media of the moment, she attained stardom on the radio. Film was just arriving as a medium and she sought roles as an actress, getting the female lead role in a film called La Prodiga. However, when a really massive earthquake hit the San Juan province of the country, then Minister of Social Welfare, Juan Peron sought the help of celebrities to create relief projects. Eva Duarte was roped in to assist and met Peron for the first time. They were inseparable after that first meeting. Within a year they were married and devoted themselves to the uplift of the people. She was married by the time her one and only film was released. Eva started a foundation for local welfare called the Foundation Eva Peron that was aimed at helping children, the elderly, the sick, etc.She endeared herself fully to her people and was dubbed ‘Evita’ (meaning Little Bird because she was so petite). At the same time, as an actor, she knew how to play the crowds and used her beauty and glamour to mesmerize them. As a fashion icon, she had clothes designed for her by some of the leading fashionistas of the time such as Marcel Rochas and led dazzling tours around the country and the world to win over the people. One such tour was the Rainbow Tour which also took her and her husband to the Vatican for a private audience with the Pope. By the time she died, she was adored by one and all and was given a state burial that brought thousands to the streets to watch her funeral cortège pass by—an early precursor of Princes Diana, if you will. 

    The museum houses a great deal of memorabilia that actually belonged to her—there are her dresses accompanied by pictures of her actually wearing them, hand bags, shoes, gloves and other accessories. There are jeweled accessories too. Video clips play short sequences that show her at her best. There are also editions of her own autobiography, The Reason for my Life in several languages. Portraits of her wearing a black dress with a rose in her lapel are iconic and dot the space. It does not take long to walk from one gallery to the next—each of which is carved from the beautiful spacious rooms of a manor that resembles a castle. There is a garden room in the center of it whose walls are covered with ceramic tiles, an overhanging balcony, beautiful ceramic tiled floor. Outside too, the manor is visually striking. It is wonderful to see how well these grand buildings are being put to public use for they enable the public to get a glimpse into the ultra-wealthy lifestyle of the privileged in that era. 

On to the Japanese Garden:

After over-dosing on Evita, it perhaps made sense that we should get some air in a space that is most unusual—a Japanese Garden in the heart of BA. Following our map, we walked about ten blocks north to get to one of the open green spaces that are so plentiful in this city and that remain its lungs. 

  The Japanese Garden is vast (unlike the small Kyoto Garden in Holland Park in London) and sprawls through the urban landscape with some incongruity. It is punctuated with all the motifs of a typical garden of its kind: lipstick red bow bridges across a massive pond that is  filled with massive koi (Chinese goldfish), wind chimes, a bell with an accompanying bamboo gong, loads of azaleas that must be stunning in the spring, lots of miniature Japanese maple trees that are tinged golden in this autumnal season, speakers that play soft and very lilting traditional Japanese music and a vast pavilion at one end. There are lots of bushes that are topiaried into perfect orbs as well as the striking centerpiece of the garden—the sort of monument that we had seen at Miyajima in Japan—the red sculpture against which most visitors posed for pictures. 

After we had rested ourselves adequately (because our feet were already protesting by this point), we left the lovely tranquil garden and went on to the next port of call—the National Museum of Decorative Arts.

Exploring the National Museum of Decorative Arts:

I have to say that we are really lucking out with the weather. It is fall here in the Southern Hemisphere and there is a decidedly delightful nip in the air which makes it perfect for long walks in this absolutely visually glorious city. However, it is also a widely spread out city and not really a walking haven as it runs in East-West direction across a vast span. To get to the next place, we hopped into a bus for a few blocks and when we arrived at the National Museum of Decorative Arts, we actually took a break on a bench outside in the beautiful little garden which is also occupied by a cafe. 

     The Museum was the mansion home of a Chilean millionaire called Errazruiz Alvear who married a woman called Josephina. As in the case of the Jacomart-Andre Museum in Paris which is a hotel particulier (mansion) that became the venue for displaying the collection of 18th century decorative arts accumulated by a power couple, so too here, the mansion houses the personal collection of a couple that amassed a brilliant miniature museum of objects d’art from the medieval period to the early 20th century. 

     We were given a floor plan for a museum that is free and open to the public. Inside, we were able to walk through rooms that were actually occupied by the couple and, later, by their son Mathias (known as Mato). The mansion was, in fact, designed and built to house their collection,. Hence, the main room is designed like a Great Hall in a medieval castle to display their collection of tapestries, sculptures in marble, alabaster and wood and paintings on wood including one by Lucas Cranach the Elder. There is a gallery-balcony that runs on three sides of the house (similar to what you find at Castle Le Clerc in England, scene of the shooting of the TV series Downton Abbey) and visitors can climb a floor up to encircle it and visit the personal bedrooms of the worthies who once occupied this space. Occasionally one comes across an Old Master (there are paintings by El Greco, for instance, by Manet and Corot) and in the main hall, there are excellent temporary exhibitions—we saw an interesting installation by Sylvia Guefin who has made white metallic hives that you can enter and in which you can pose. She called it ‘bones’ and in a distant way, it does resemble them. 

We saw most of the highlights of this incredible palace and went upstairs from one room to the next to take in a marble bathroom, bedrooms filled with carved teak furniture all done in the style of Louis XIV as the couple were quite enamored by the grandeur of the Palace of Versailles. There is even a music room in Rococo style in off white with gilded wooden highlights that depicts musical instruments and are strung with crystal chandeliers and lined with floor to ceiling mirrors in the manner of the great Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. Also, this palace houses one of the best collection of miniature portraits in the world and had I more time and energy, I would, no doubt, have lingered over the vast variety of porcelain paintings set in the most decorative settings that line the walls and fill many vitrines in one of the galleries. 

Seriously... we were so glad we made this place a stop on our itinerary as it gave us a glimpse into some of the most noteworthy 19th century collector’s items but it also enabled us to understand how lavishly one could live if one had the kind of money that such folks had. 

It took us about an hour to see this place but one could easily spend a whole morning here, had one not been hard pressed for time. Apparently, BA had loads of such private mansions that are filled with such priceless items—-but this collection was bequeathed to the nation and has become a National Museum—which is why it features in most tourist guide books as a spot to be covered. We were predictably floored.

Off to MALBA (the Museum of Latin-American Art of Buenos Aires):

This museum is one of the best-known in the city and features in every itinerary. However, although we walked  several blocks to get to it, through neighborhoods that were extremely charming and sweetly tree-lined, we had a disappointment when we arrived as it is closed on Tuesdays. This means that we will have to schedule some other time to see its treasures.

Instead, we decided to make a long walk to the second-most renowned museum in the city.

The Museum of Fine Arts (Le Museo des Belles Artes):

Another long walk (all we seemed to be doing was walk and walk and walk today), past sprawling green parks filled with sculpture (including one of a huge metallic tulip flower), brought us to a massive Greek Neo-Classical Temple-like Building which housed official departments as we could tell from flags flying from its rooftop. 

Right opposite it is the Museum of Fine Arts which is also free and in which the likes of Renaissance painters such as Luca Giordano and Ricci share space with contemporary painters such as Picasso and Rothko. Sadly, by the time we arrived here, both Llew and I were really tired and hungry and hoped to get a bite and a rest in the Museum’s restaurant. Unfortunately, our hopes of sustenance were dashed as there was no cafe to be found. Nor did they even have a map or a floor plan. It was unbelievable. Hence, there was no way we could restrict ourselves to seeing any highlights. We would simply have to wander from one gallery to the next and take our pick of the offerings.

We used rest rooms and then began at the Medieval galleries where we saw several Masters before veering towards the Impressionists—of which there are many significant names and canvasses. However, we were simply too tired and hungry by the time and decided that it would make sense to keep both art galleries for tomorrow. A rest urgently beckoned and we thought it would be best to find a restaurant or a bus stop that would get us home—whichever we found first. 

Homeward Bound:

As it turned out, we came across a bus stop and found a bus that would get us towards our hotel (the No 93). We hopped off a little later and took a connecting bus to Ave de las Heras which dropped us off just a short block from our hotel. As we actually passed by a supermarket and were both simply starving by this time, we entered it and bought a pack of beef empanadas and a Caesar Salad and decided to make a meal of it in our room which we reached about 10 minutes later. With coffee which we brewed in our room, we had a meal that filled us up even though the snack was far from tasty. 

     A short rest and a nap followed and by 6.00 Pm, we were ready for some more exploration. I was keen to visit a huge mall called The Galleria Pacifico and that was where we were headed next.

Exploring the Galleria Pacifico:

The Galleria Pacifico is apparently modeled on the Gallerie Lafayette in Paris and is one of the more magnificent buildings of its kind. It was a very long walk of over an hour to get to it—the sad part about the location of our hotel is that although it is in the very affluent neighborhood of Recolleta, it is nowhere close to a metro station—in fact, it is about a half hour’s walk to the nearest metro station at Caballo. Since we are not familiar with the buses (and do not have a bus map), it is difficult to find our way in this far-flung metropolis. What seems like a walk of about 12 blocks tends to be a very tiring one hour trek as the blocks are long. 

     Still, it was worth while. One we got there, we were stunned by the interior decor of this vast indoor mall. The building is ornate to say the least and is filled with decorative details inside and out. The main ceiling is completely covered with murals by the Argentinian modern artist Carlos Alonso whose work is reminiscent of that of Diego Rivera. The entire glass ceiling is mirrored and covered with lights. Shops radiate through three floors offering an enticing variety of luxury goods—the type you see in most malls, of course, but ingeniously displayed in a great feat of merchandizing. I could not take my eyes of the shop windows which were poems in marketing. 

     After going through two floors, we reached the top floor which is a cultural center named after Jorge Luis Borges, the country’s best-known writer. It offers performances all year around from opera to tango. Meanwhile, down in the basement, there is a huge Food Court where most visitors linger. As we’d eaten a very late lunch, we contented ourselves with chocolate and tiramisu gelato that was served in a massive serving cup that took us forever to finish. 

  When we were done and had our fill of this institution to Mammon, we decided to take a cab back to our hotel as there was no way we could possibly walk back for another hour, given the immense amount of walking we had done today.

     We found a cab immediately and were in our hotel in ten minutes. Really beat by this point, it was all we could do to take our showers and then hunker down for the evening with TV, a bit of blogging, texting with friends, etc.

     What an amazing day of sightseeing we’d had! And there is still tomorrow that will enable us to see other parts of the city for I am free until 7.15 pm when we shall meet my NYU faculty colleagues after one whole year as we assemble to go out for a Welcome Dinner to El Querandi for a meal and an introduction to tango. 

    Until tomorrow...