Puerto Madero and La Boca

window washers

Jake is feeling much better so we have been out and about more.  We strolled along what is perhaps the most modern part of Buenos Aires, Puerto Madero, on Saturday.  Sitting at one of the cafes lining the canal sipping our fruit licuados we were captivated by watching the window washers working on one of the high rises.

Passion flower sculpture along Puerto Madero

lunch in La Boca

Today, Sunday, we walked down to La Boca, famous for its tango and colorful buildings sheathed in metal from shipping containers.  And for the Boca Juniors soccer stadium that dominates the center of the entire area.  So no, I did not hear a thing about the Raven's win until I looked at Facebook today despite reading one of the major Sunday papers here!  We had a nice salad for lunch at a little place in La Boca.  Salads here tend to be different in composition from salads in the U.S.  They usually have separate piles of chopped or shredded lettuce and arugula and then miscellaneous shredded toppings.  Today's salad had large sun dried tomatoes, anchovies, small toast slices, and shredded cheese on top.  Usually the only dressing provided are bottles of oil and vinegar. We caught a bus back to San Telmo.  Taking buses in Latin America tends to be somewhat of an adventure.  In this case we knew what bus number to catch and had no trouble finding a stop, but the bus only takes coins for the fare and the fare had doubled from what we had last read.  Coins are extremely hard to come by (the paper says that banks have run out of coins).  We did have enough for one fare in coins (3.25 pesos), and fortunately the bus drivers seldom seem to care if tourists don't quite have the right change.

1940s shoes at Museo de la Ciudad

We have visited two museums in San Telmo.  Museums here could really use some lessons in signage and accessibility.  The new and still under construction Modern Art Museum (MAMBA)  had a mix of art installations only one of which really caught my interest.  It was an exhibit of photographs by an Italian artist, Massimo Listri, of large indoor spaces that had a very three dimensional look.  The exhibitions are on three floors and the elevator wasn't working.  Fine for us, but not so good for the more elderly visitors to the museum.  The second museum we visited was the Museo de la Ciudad. We went here in 2009 too and enjoyed its rather quirky collection.  It took us three tries to find the entrance this time to the special exhibit on hats and accessories.  You go up a steep flight of steps and through a door that looks like it would lead to an unlighted office.  There there was a desk with a person selling admission tickets and behind him the entrance to the special exhibit.  I was particularly struck by the collection of 1940s shoes that are so similar to the modern trend in platform shoes!