Don't Cry for Me, Argentina

Judy. You’ll think this crazy, coming from an actor whose favorite Andrew Lloyd Webber musical is EVITA, but I never thought about Eva Peron till we arrived in Buenos Aires and I saw her mural on the side of the Ministry of Health. Wow! Evita is alive and well and remembered in Argentina. Turns out that this year is the one hundredth anniversary of her birth. Well, according to her baptismal certificate—she had her birth certificate changed to make her younger. She was, after all, Eva Duarte Peron. Newspaper kiosks sell posters of her, and in Recoleta Cemetery, the map at the front has her grave marked boldly in red ink. And there’s a crowd and tributes on the grave itself. That woman—for good or for ill—is still a star here.

Can't miss her!

Eva's mausoleum

Argentina, as you may have heard, is going through some difficult times. Our hotel in

Ted and Rodolfo

Buenos Aires was a good metaphor for the country: beautiful lobby, fresh flowers, a marvelous gentleman named Rodolfo who welcomed us and took our luggage  At first glance it was the perfect room. But the desk chair was worn, and the sparkling clean towels were ragged, and the fresh sheets had tiny tears. None of it was awful, especially considering the state of the economy. And it was clean and quiet. 

Old with the new

We wandered parts of this huge city, and took a free walking tour.  Buenos Aires is a beautiful mix of old and new buildings, sometimes an old one connected to a new. A great example is the El Ateneo Grand Splendid, a monumental bookstore in a former opera house. Dozens of theatres line the streets, and, even though it's summer, several seemed to be open.

Teatro Colombo

A beautiful bookstore

There are sculptures everywhere, and monuments. The one that touched me most was the monument to the Mothers of the Disappeared by the Casa Rosada. Murals around the city spoke to the social unrest here. 

Simple monument to the Mothers

Casa Rosada

Political mural in San Telmo neighborhood

Our favorite area was Palermo, where we visited B.Lit bags, owned by designer George Visir. I wanted to buy a good leather purse while there, and internet research led me to www.blitbags.com and to George. Maybe I could have spent less in some of the leather shops, or not. I don’t know. I like the idea of buying from small business. George spent an hour with us in his showroom, asking questions and chatting with Ted while I browsed and settled on what I wanted. We learned quite a bit from him, enjoyed the conversation, and I got a beautiful purse for $85. Not bad at all. I love the name of his purses: B.Lit. It’s his shorthand for Be aware and happy--the person you want to be.

George and B.Lit Bags

From there we walked a few blocks to Caldén del soho, a family-friendly steakhouse.  Oh, my goodness. Beautiful steaks, cooked to our preference, French fries, salad (tossed at the table, thank you very much), wine, water, and coffee; and a friendly but professional waiter. One of my most memorable meals, and, with tip, cost us $38. 

YUM!

We were not so fortunate in other restaurants, but, as they say, “That’s Argentina.” We chose not to attend a Tango show; we enjoy seeing that sort of thing in a bar or restaurant, and just never went there. The people we met--mostly in restaurants-- were polite, and seemed to follow our Spanish, even though words and sounds are different here.

I hear other travelers tell me how much they love Buenos Aires. I liked it, but can’t say it’s one of my favorites. Maybe if we’d done more of the rich stuff, or really gotten into the poorer areas, or even if we’d had a friend there, I’d feel differently. It’s definitely an exciting city, and I’m glad I went. Still, I was ready to leave for northern Patagonia and the skiing town of Bariloche.