Buenos Aires, Argentina
"...I used to have fantasies about things that I thought were happenng in the Midwest, or down South, or in Texas, that I felt I was missing out on. But you can only live in one place at a time. And your own life while it´s happening to you never has any atmosphere until it´s a memory." - Andy Warhol
Today I went to the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (MALBA) where ironically enough, they were having an Andy Warhol special exhibit. This quote was in the program, and it struck me because I think I´m having difficulty writing right now for this very reason.
I´ve been enjoying my time in Buenos Aires so far, but am still waiting for the head-over-heels love affair to begin. Everyone I know has raved so much about it that I wasn´t sure what to expect. I can see why people love it. There are a ton of great-looking restaurants and bars, the nightlife goes all night, fashionable shops are everywhere, the public transportation is great, and it´s all cheaper than any comparable international city. The architecture is charming Old World European, as are the large green plazas and leafy tree-lined streets. The gelato is yummy too! But for some reason, it hasn´t grabbed me deep down yet. I think it´s because I´m feeling more in the mood for quiet than anything else these days.
I can´t believe I´ve only been here for 4 days. I left San Francisco in the middle of the biggest rainstorm of the year, and after a neck-jerking overnight flight, found myself in the middle of a toasty summer in Buenos Aires. It´s kind of surreal. I feel like so much time has passed because both mentally and physically, I´m in a completely different space.
In these first first few days, I've been exploring a lot of the neighborhoods. I´ve walked through San Telmo, El Congreso, La Boca, Puerto Madero, Recoleta, Upper Palermo, and Microcentro. I´ve hopped on their very efficient subways and buses, gone clubbing in Palermo a couple of times, and seen a modern/tango fusion dance performance at the theater.
I´ve been to the cemetary in Recoleta and visited Eva Peron´s grave. I´ve been to the Museo de Bellas Artes, which I didn´t quite like as much as the MALBA because the Bellas Artes has very little art from South American artists. And I´ve been eating a lot of empanadas. It´s strange to think that if I were at home, during those same four days, I would have pretty much just gone to work, the gym, and maybe Trader Joe´s!
My first day here was kind of jarring, but I'm getting back into the rhythm of traveling and making travel friends again. Making friends while traveling is kind of a funny thing. You get thrown together with all sorts of people (hard not to meet people when you´re in a six-bed dorm room), very quickly spend a lot of intense time together, part ways, and at the end, don´t really keep in touch again. I went out in Palermo with a group of new friends from my hostel a couple of nights ago: a half a dozen Brazilians, two Kiwis, two Swiss, and a Brit.
For some reason, whenever I go out with a bunch of folks I´ve met traveling, the ¨fun¨ game that someone always suggests is the age game- as in "guess how old everyone is." Anyway, I found out that the Brazilians were all 19 years old and all the rest ranged from 23 to 25, with one guy topping it off at 27. The best part was that they guessed that I was 23 or 25! They were all totally shocked when I told them how old I was. I remember being the same way when I was in my twenties also. Somehow, thirty-five seemed really old back then. When you´re in your twenties, you don´t expect thirty-five year olds to be out living their lives like other people! Yesterday, I was trying to convince a Colombian college student that life is great after college and college won´t be the best years of his life, but he would not be convinced!
Tuesday, I´m taking a ferry to Colonia de Sacramento, which is a little colonial town in Uruguay that has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. I´ve heard the pace of life is a lot slower in Uruguay. Sounds good to me.
After Uruguay, I´m planning on heading west to the mountains. City girl that I am, I´m starting to feel the need to breathe some clean air, hug some trees, and feel dirt under my feet.
Today I went to the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (MALBA) where ironically enough, they were having an Andy Warhol special exhibit. This quote was in the program, and it struck me because I think I´m having difficulty writing right now for this very reason.
I´ve been enjoying my time in Buenos Aires so far, but am still waiting for the head-over-heels love affair to begin. Everyone I know has raved so much about it that I wasn´t sure what to expect. I can see why people love it. There are a ton of great-looking restaurants and bars, the nightlife goes all night, fashionable shops are everywhere, the public transportation is great, and it´s all cheaper than any comparable international city. The architecture is charming Old World European, as are the large green plazas and leafy tree-lined streets. The gelato is yummy too! But for some reason, it hasn´t grabbed me deep down yet. I think it´s because I´m feeling more in the mood for quiet than anything else these days.I can´t believe I´ve only been here for 4 days. I left San Francisco in the middle of the biggest rainstorm of the year, and after a neck-jerking overnight flight, found myself in the middle of a toasty summer in Buenos Aires. It´s kind of surreal. I feel like so much time has passed because both mentally and physically, I´m in a completely different space.
In these first first few days, I've been exploring a lot of the neighborhoods. I´ve walked through San Telmo, El Congreso, La Boca, Puerto Madero, Recoleta, Upper Palermo, and Microcentro. I´ve hopped on their very efficient subways and buses, gone clubbing in Palermo a couple of times, and seen a modern/tango fusion dance performance at the theater.
My first day here was kind of jarring, but I'm getting back into the rhythm of traveling and making travel friends again. Making friends while traveling is kind of a funny thing. You get thrown together with all sorts of people (hard not to meet people when you´re in a six-bed dorm room), very quickly spend a lot of intense time together, part ways, and at the end, don´t really keep in touch again. I went out in Palermo with a group of new friends from my hostel a couple of nights ago: a half a dozen Brazilians, two Kiwis, two Swiss, and a Brit.
For some reason, whenever I go out with a bunch of folks I´ve met traveling, the ¨fun¨ game that someone always suggests is the age game- as in "guess how old everyone is." Anyway, I found out that the Brazilians were all 19 years old and all the rest ranged from 23 to 25, with one guy topping it off at 27. The best part was that they guessed that I was 23 or 25! They were all totally shocked when I told them how old I was. I remember being the same way when I was in my twenties also. Somehow, thirty-five seemed really old back then. When you´re in your twenties, you don´t expect thirty-five year olds to be out living their lives like other people! Yesterday, I was trying to convince a Colombian college student that life is great after college and college won´t be the best years of his life, but he would not be convinced!
Tuesday, I´m taking a ferry to Colonia de Sacramento, which is a little colonial town in Uruguay that has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. I´ve heard the pace of life is a lot slower in Uruguay. Sounds good to me.
After Uruguay, I´m planning on heading west to the mountains. City girl that I am, I´m starting to feel the need to breathe some clean air, hug some trees, and feel dirt under my feet.
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