Ou last day in Buenos Aires. As sad as I am to be leaving, I have to admit, I am quickly running out of tourist steam. I really had no desire to sightsee to day and the fact that my ankle was throbbing in pain from my fall yesterday is not helping matters any. Bro started out his day with a trip back to the supermarket to pick up more steak for our dinner tonight. We have been overloading on red meat since we've been here but it is delicious and no way, we can get this quality for such reasonable prices in the US. So, we're enjoying it while we can!
While Bro was out, I hobbled around the apartment - I put my foot brace on and while it was not exactly pain free, I was at least mobile. Sad to realize that this is the 3rd trip I've been on where I've injured my right ankle. I must have anticipated something happening considering I did back along my foot brace. I have a feeling it will be a permanent item on my travel packing list from now on. Very sad :-(
Anyway, when Bro returned we had a quick breakfast and then headed out for the day. With my busted foot, we were a bit limited in terms of going places - I couldn't walk much. So we decided to take it easy and headed back to Teatro Colón - we would take the guided tour that we skipped out on the other day.
We made our way on the Las Heras Subte. The Las Hera station is located about a 10 minute walk from the apartment; I hobbled as best I could.
The metro here is cheap, fast and efficient to use so we've taken as much advantage as we've been able to.
We got off at the Tribunales stop and walked the short distance to the theater. Today is Saturday and somehow I had expected the streets to be filled with people but they were surprisingly empty. In any case, we got our tickets for the English tour - cost 300 pesos each. We had a few minutes to kill so what better way than to take a short walk around the neighborhood starting with taking a look at the outside of the building itself. It's architectural style is yet another reminder of the European heritage of the city....and country.
Our pre-tour stroll took us into the neighborhood around the theatre. Too bad most establishments were closed; it was like walking through a ghost town!
Our tour began at 1pm. It was quite a sizeable group of tourists we were with. I would say there were close to 30 of us. We started in the lobby and from there, went to see various public spaces.
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| Hard to tell but this is a dancer's dress. It was inside a display case. |
Our young tour guide spoke impeccable English and she delivered her words with the passion of someone who absolutely loves this building. Because of the size of the group, it was hard at times to hear what she was saying so after a few minutes, I just gave up and enjoyed admiring the beauty of the building and taking photos.
From the lobby, we headed up to the second floor. Oh my God! This place is so gorgeous, it's hard to believe it's a theater - it's fit to be a royal palace!
Taking photos with my Olympus point and shoot wasn't easy though. I really missed the versatility of the zoom lens on my Nikon dSLR and the ability to manage shot exposure. In hindsight, I don't think there was any need to worry about falling victim to another spit stain scam and loosing my camera. Buenos Aires has been very safe to be out and about in.
The guide then took us inside a room that was more incredible than the space we had just left. The moment I entered, the only thing I could think of was how it reminded me of the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles.
Naturally, everybody was taking photos and of course, that meant they were in my way! I had to patiently wait my turn and that only happened when everyone else was walking out of the room. I was the last to leave but I had to get my shot!
We then headed back downstairs and entered the performance hall. The guide held us a bit in suspense. We stood in the hallway, facing a closed door, as she gave us some information about the hall. She then opened the door and led us into the magnificently decorated space.
She then led us down the center aisle and waved us to sit in the comfy seats which my right ankle greatly appreciated.
Our tour lasted about an hour which was just about right. By now it was early afternoon and well, my apathy towards doing any more sightseeing had reached a high. It was time to just chill. I had read that there was a weekend market outside Recoleta cemetery so with no objection from Bro, we headed back towards the apartment and made our way to the cemetery. A lot of walking but so far, my ankle was holding up fine; the brace was doing its job!
As we approached the cemetery, the crowd around us swelled. Nice to see locals out and about enjoying the afternoon. It was a beautiful summer's day to be enjoyed.
We walked past the cemetery entrance towards the vendor stalls. Quite a few had already closed up for the day. On the way, we popped into the Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar which was built by Franciscans in 1732.
Back outside, we strolled by a few of the vendors to check out what was for sale. Bro is not much of either a shopper or a buyer and I was in no mood to purchase anything so it was just a quick walk by.
The food vendors were enticing but I knew we had a pair of juicy steaks waiting for us back in the apartment so I held back. The sausages were really screaming my name though!
In the end, we just found ourselves a bench to sit on and passed the time chatting and people watching.....and a bit of pigeon watching as Bro still had some leftover bread with him. I have no idea where he's been hiding it all!
We did a bit of reminiscing about our last three weeks of travel - we most certainly share a lot of priceless memories!
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| Me and my ankle brace. I just wish we weren't so attached to each other.:-( |
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| There's always one that doesn't belong. :-) |
Before we knew it, it was time to leave.
Back in the apartment, Bro took up the cooking duties while I worked on packing my suitcase. We have a very early morning departure tomorrow so the night was spent gathering up all our stuff and repacking our suitcases. I am ready to move on though it does mean we are less than a week from flying back home. Our time in South America will very quickly come to an end.
Goodnight....for the last time, from Buenos Aires!
