Paris of the South

Buenos Aires is a city of contrasts.

From the older barrios of San Telmo and La Boca with their tango and street markets to the ultra modern Palermo and Puerto Madero with their swish and trendy restaurants and shiny sky scrapers the city oozes a cosmopolitan charm, holding its head high against some of the better known cities in the world.

They call it the Paris of the South - so I, of course, have been searching for the similarities to my favourite city. They are few and far between. Perhaps Buenos Aires is more European than some of the South American cities I'm yet to see, but the charm it has is its own in a somewhat quirky way. It's a little more gritty and a little more dirty than Paris owing, I guess, to economic troubles in recent years. Sidewalks crumble and buildings are tired...a degree of poverty is obvious with large-eyed children juggling tennis balls at traffic lights in the hope of a little cash and beggers approaching tables at restaurants...

But the leafy avenues edged by art deco facades, wide sidewalks and old cafes do suggest a slightly Parisian feel, in particular Avenida de Mayo which was deliberately built in a Parisian style as an emphatic statement to the world that Buenos Aires is a cosmopolitan city.

The historical centre of the city is walkable and my hotel is central so i have spent the days using my own two legs to get around. strolling gently in the sunshine through the antique street markets open only on Sundays in San Telmo...stopping for a beer here or there and tasting local specialties such as empanadas - delicious little baked pastry morsels filled with ham and cheese or a bolognaise type sauce. 

I have splurged on a mouth-watering Argentinian eye fillet and a glass or two of Argentinian white at a fancy restaurant in Peurto Madero and have watched tango on San Telmo's ancient streets. Today i got off the beaten track (if you wish to read that as 'I got lost' then so be it!) and found myself in a quirky little pizza restarant with wood fired flavours to die for in Palermo - the area where well-to-do Portenos walk their pedigree dogs and well-dressed children (or is it the other way around?) outside of comfortable looking apartment blocks.

I have wandered the museums - the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (MALBA) - a MoMA type building filled with crazy and beautiful pieces of contemporary art, where the building itself may just diminish the art somewhat. And a museum dedicated to Evita...her life's story, photographs, dresses and the heartbreaking tale of her death that has made me want to turn around and watch the movie again (Madonna or no Madonna....)

It's fascinating - this city of contrasts...a city rich with colour and tradition and with just the right amount of nod to the modern and the trendy.

till next time...