More of the Capital - Saturday, May 1, 2010

Because of getting to bed really late last night, (after midnight) we didn't wake up until almost 8:00. The day was gorgeous with the temperature to get up to the high 70's. Wow! We had to take advantage of the good day so we were excited for our plans to go back to the Capital and take in more of the sights and some shopping. Urban and Mekhi's birthdays are coming up in the summer and we want to be prepared early to get their packages mailed in time for their big day. So, shopping for them was a priority.

We worked quickly to get ourselves ready and the apartment cleaned up so we could leave before noon, if possible. Today is the day we take our sheets and towels over to the laundry, but she was closed. What?? No warning? Then we noticed that the men building the torre (apartment high rise) across the street from us were not on the job today. That should have told us something.

We left at 11:30 to walk to the train station and had to wait at least another 15 to 20 minutes before one came along. While standing there, Rich asked a nice gentleman if he knew how to get to the area in the Capital called Once (pronunciation in yesterday's blog). Certainly he did because he lives on the border of that area and was headed there on the train. Rich was asking how to get to Once from the Retiro train station because that was where we thought we had to get off in order to find it.

This nice man who could speak English and French along with Spanish said it was faster to get off at his train stop at Belgrano and take a bus. He was going that way and would help direct us to where we needed to get off. So we followed him to bus 118 and after what seemed like a pretty long ride through the city, he got off and we continued on a few blocks to the designated area. We couldn't believe this man was at Virreyes waiting to get on the train right at the time we were, that he was the one we asked for directions, and then he took us to where we wanted to go. Angels are looking out for us.

In talking with him on the train ride, we found out that today is a holiday. It is Argentina's Labor Day. Good grief! That's why the laundry was closed and no workers on the building. He said that most of the stores in Once would be closed, that most of the people are Jewish and would observe the holiday. The stores run by Koreans would be open. Oh well, we would still go there and look around. But, that didn't turn out to be a very productive thing to do as we didn't know where to go and nothing was open. So we decided to go down to Calle Florida where we were last Saturday and hopefully more stores would be open as they cater to the tourists. The next decision was how to get there.

We decided to explore the Subte as we had never done that before. We have heard horror stories of pick pockets and muggings going on down under, so we were prepared for it. Rich put his money and debit card in a billfold that hangs around his neck. So it was able to be under his shirt. I took only necessities in my small purse that hung diagonal across my body.

It wasn't scary at all, and it was clean with not many people roaming around. The missionaries tell us that when it is busy and full, that's when we need to be careful. I guess all the thugs were taking the day off as well.

We didn't know what to expect as we have never used subway systems much in our lifetime. But stepping inside took us back in time.

It was all wood with lights hanging from the ceiling. It reminded us of an old cowboy movie, or something from the 1800's. The line we were on was the very first subway line in Buenos Aires being constructed in 1913. We don't think they have made very many improvements since that time either.

The subte took us to the Plaza de Mayo where the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral is located. Very famous!! It is the main Catholic church in Buenos Aires.

It was built in the 16th century, and rebuilt many times in the following years due to faulty construction materials and age. The roof and some towers had collapsed several times. It was rebuilt for the last time in 1863.

There are 14 chapels in the church each depicting a different event leading up to the death of Christ.

Each chapel is ornately decorated with statues, gold, and altars, with places to sit and meditate or pray.

In 1880, the remains of General José de San Martin, who freed Argentina, Chile and Peru from Spanish rule were brought from France and placed in a mausoleum inside the church. He is a national hero of Argentina, equal to our George Washington. He was the prime leader in southern South America in the struggle for independence from Spain.

The cathedral is very beautiful and contains paintings to go along with the events in Christ's life.

Very impressive is the area with the pulpit and sacrament table. Seating for other clergy in the church or possibly a choir are set back and behind.

Rich stands next to a confessional booth. Several were positioned throughout the church. We had heard a lot about this cathedral and knew it had to be on our "to do" list. Glad it was today!

A short walk of a couple blocks brought us to Florida street. This pedestrian mall is nine blocks long. We couldn't resist taking a picture of this flower stand. I must say, we have never seen such beautiful flowers as we have here in Argentina. It makes us wonder how they sell them all before they deteriorate, but someone must buy them, because people sell them all over, almost on every street corner. Everywhere!!

Stores line the sides of Calle Florida and the center is occupied with street vendors who bring their wares to sell. Usually the prices are reasonable and some bargaining takes place between the vendor and customer.

There are TONS of scarves for sale, so many I don't know how one can spot a favorite. Other items are t-shirts, underwear, toys, matte cups, paintings, jewelry, hats, socks, purses, anything and everything. It is fun to walk along and look. My girls will enjoy it when they come.

Most of the stores along the sides were closed for the holiday too. McDonald's wasn't, so that is where we had something to eat. There are two McDo's on the nine block street.

There are two or three special things I want to take home from Argentina and one comes from a jewelry shop. It is the Inca Rose stone that is the national stone of Argentina. We stopped at a store to get an idea of price and quality, but who could resist a purchase with three beautiful girls catering to my needs. We ended up with a purchase for me and a surprise for Susanne. Whoops! She reads our blog.

It was near 6:00 and we were running out of steam, so we headed for Retiro, the train station just a couple blocks away. Since we were at the beginning of the line, we were quite sure we would get a seat for our 40 minute ride to San Fernando. It was a welcomed relief to sit the whole way and by each other.

It seemed like we were home early enough to get this entry posted last night, but we took a long time looking at our photos from today and selecting those that would go into this journal entry. Then it took f-o-r-e-v-e-r to upload all these pictures, some having to do again because of error messages, so it was too late to write last night. I did get four while shirts ironed though. And the best news is "Exito" (success) in getting the birthday shopping completed.