Some "Monumental" Places in Bs As

For only having been in Buenos Aires for two weeks, I'm pretty proud of how much I've accomplished here. Ive been to most of the important barrios and seen many important monuments and buildings and institutions.

Of course, no time in Bs As would be complete without a trip to a milonga, a tango dance hall. With the FLACSO program, we went to one of the most famous milongas in the city, called La Viruta. We had a tango lesson, in which I participated but since I'd gotten lost on my way there, my feet were too tired to dance the whole night. My favorite part though, was the short tango show that the real dancers put on. The ambiance was exactly as I had imagined (sensual red lighting), but the dance moves were much more intricate. Tango is a really cool dance.

I also took a brief trip into Recoleta. This neighborhood, which lies at the northeast of the city, is known for its money and French-style architecture. The buildings I saw here were what I'd imagined all of Bs As to look like. Obviously most buildings are normal or industrial and not ornate with wrought iron gates, but in Recoleta this actually seems to be the case. There is so much in Recoleta that I have yet to see--the cemetary with Evita's tomb comes to mind--but I did get a good sampling. 

Just a typical apartment building in Recoleta--glamourous and chic, no big deal:

Here's the Teatro Colón. It was actually quite hard to get a picture that captures how awesome (in the true sense of the word) it is. I'm going back to a tour inside, and also to see a ballet or opera hopefully! When my friend Kara and I arrived, they were packing up from filming something in the square. We think a commercial. It turns out that the first Monday I was here I ended up in this same place by accident, completely obvlivious to where I was, they were filming a commercial.

I have also ventured to the Catholic Church in the Plaza de Mayo one afternoon after I was unexpectedly done early at FLACSO. From the outside the cathedral is pretty modest, just a square building on the corner with an unassuming dome on top. But inside, it looks like this: 

I have a whole check list of places I want to visit during my time here (too soon for a bucket list, right?) so there will be lots more photos to come!

Update: the heat has finally broken, the rain has come, and I'm not sweating as I sit here writing like I usually am. It's only in the 70s today, and my host dad says that autumn is definitely on its way. I find that funny. I'm still working on my tan so autumn can wait a little longer. 

Camera in hand, 

Rachel