October 10 - Sights on Saturday

We had forgotten how wonderful it was to sleep on a king size pillow top mattress. (How soon we forget!) That was worth the whole weekend trip.

Paul and Denise came in as scheduled on the overnight flight from Atlanta, but not without complications. This time their luggage didn't arrive with them. They just roll with the punches and realize that things can happen when flying standby. They are used to it. So the first item on our agenda was to go shopping and find them some Sunday clothes for church tomorrow.

That being accomplished, we set out to find the sightseeing bus that gives tours of the city. One can get off at a desired location and then get back on another bus as it comes along. We finally found the stop. Relieved!! But, noticed on the sign that on holidays and weekends, the tickets have to be purchased at a location that was 10 blocks away. Good Grief!! What next! There were many people at the bus stop in the same predicament as us. No tickets! Some felt that the driver should be asked if he would accommodate us. It didn't work. He had no money with him to make change, and very little room on the bus. Nice try!

So we decided to make our way by taxi to Recoleta. The girls went in one taxi, and Rich and Paul in the other. Recoleta is an area of town where there is a cemetery of wall to wall elaborate marble mausoleums, which is an external free standing building constructed as a monument. Some are fancy, some not.

Many of the mausoleums are in fine shape and well maintained. Others have fallen into disrepair. Some can be found with broken glass and littered with garbage.

We could have never walked down every lane/path between the mausoleums. It was a huge place.

The one being visited by most people was the tomb where Eva Peron is buried. She was the young wife of Juan Peron, the President of Argentina. She died at the age of 33 of cancer. Upon her death, the Congress of Argentina gave her the official title of Spiritual Leader of Argentina. She was beloved by the people. The movie "Evita" is the story of her life where the song "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" originated.

She was buried with her family in the Duarte family tomb. They had a guide by this mausoleum giving information and answering questions. It was a popular site.

We could look through the doors and see the coffins on shelves or stacked one on top of the other. This one was without glass and the coffins were very run down and weathered.

Some were fancy with pictures and decorations. The railing to the left is a steep staircase to a lower level where coffins are placed on shelves.

Rich stopped to talk to this couple who were putting fresh flowers on the mantle inside. The lady said her parents were down on shelves in the lower level. She didn't know the family members that were up on top. We found this place VERY interesting.

Outside the cemetery walls is a flea market type set up where artisans bring their goods to sell. It winds around the grounds of the cemetery and is only open on Saturdays and Sundays. It is a great place to find wonderful sourvenirs/gifts that pertain to Argentina. The girls shopped while the men rested. Rich's knee was getting a workout this weekend, and he couldn't keep up with us.

The weather was cool and clear - we loved it. However, rain was in the forecast. We jumped back in taxis and went back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.

Most restaurants don't open in the evenings until 8:00 pm, so we had time to relax a bit and make our way to Des Nivel. It is a quaint, not fancy, restaurant that has wonderful steak. We were invited to go to dinner here with our senior couple friends a few weeks ago, and we loved the steak. We didn't know of any other steak houses, so we decided to go here once again. Good choice! Everyone loved what they ordered and the meat just melted in our mouths. It really was the best!!! One cannot come to Argentina and not partake of their wonderful beef.

By the time dinner was over, it was raining hard outside. Glad we brought our umbrellas. We walked to a busy corner in order to find taxis, and were successful. It is hard not to find taxis in this place. The little yellow and black things are everywhere. One time we observed eight following one right after the other going down the street.

It was a full, fun day and we were all ready for bed. Goodnight everyone.