Last day in Buenos Aires and South America

Today I slept until about 9:15, then looked at e-mails, Facebook and other things on my iPad and enjoyed the view for a while.  Don't think that I've ever shared the view from the small window in my room at the B&B:

I started to pack a little and then struggled to decide what to do today.  I think I could have left Buenos Aires today and not been disappointed.  I've done everything that I wanted to do and feel ready to move on with my travels.

I talked with Javier about shipping a package back to the USA - Brazil and Argentina guide books, postcards and other things from South America that I won't need anymore.  Unfortunately with the holiday, all shipping locations are closed for the day.  Guess I'll have the honor of traveling to Europe with them too!  I actually miss the large-box convenience stores of the US which are open on holidays and offer many services and products.

In the areas of Buenos Aires that I have visited, the small, "Mom and Pop" stores are extremely specialized - the bakery, the meat store, the ribbon store (no joke), the pen store, the pharmacy, etc.  It is not possible to get anything more than their specialized product in those stores.  That could make for a long shopping day if you have many things on your list.  And the hours are very irregular...being open for business and for how long seems to be a daily decision.

The National holiday in the country has really put in a hamper on possible plans for today - most things - at least 70-80% of the shops are closed and numerous cafes and restaurants too.

I left the B&B and headed towards a soccer stadium that is in the La Boca area of town - home of the Estradio Boca Juniors.  I assumed Chris would appreciate numerous pictures of the stadium.  The only thing he asked for was postcards of stadiums in each country that I visit.  Between Brazil and Argentina, I've found many soccer stadium postcards, at least 20 or more.

The stadium is in a very residential area that has seen some much better days.  I walked around the entire stadium, taking pictures and stopped in numerous souvenir shops and got more postcards.  I also found a key chain that I can convert into a Christmas ornament, so my checklist of souvenirs for Argentina is complete.

I'm sure everyone has those days when nothings sounds good and you're very indecisive about what you want to do.  I had that type of day today.  

After the stadium, I headed back to the B&B for a few minutes.  

After much pondering and rethinking, I headed back towards Palermo.  On the way to the subway, I stopped in the Metropolitan Cathedral in Plaza de Mayo (the Plaza is the starting point for 3 of the subway lines and the closest to my B&B, thus why I'm often in that area).  I had not really understood the National Holiday, it sounded something like President's Day in the US.  What I learned was that it celebrates the anniversay of the dealth of Jose de San Martin - who liberated Argentina, Chile and Peru from the Spanish Empire in the early 1800's.  His remains are in a mausoleum inside the Metropolitan Cathedral.  There were guards, tons of flowers and many people paying respects.  I ended up more properly celebrating and honoring the holiday more than most of the Argentine citizens.

I specifically took this picture to capture the folks behind me - they were posing for pictures next to one of the guards who could not move and had no facial expressions.  By the time I took this picture, they had changed poses at least 3 times:

I wanted a long lunch with patio seating and Palermo seemed like the perfect neighborhood.  By 4:00, I finally made it to Palermo and was quite hungry.  So hungry in fact that nothing sounded good...again my day of indecision.

I ended up at a popular looking place - Sans.  It was one of several restaurants on the outer ring of a town circle, plus they had an upstairs terrace overlooking the festival in the circle.  Unfortunately there were not tables available on the terrace, but I got a table in a window, looking out to the terrace.  My lunch was mediocre at best - perhaps the worst meal of my trip thus far (with the exception of the Aerolineas Argentinas sandwich). 

As I started to stroll back towards the subway and to explore more of Palermo, I happened upon several wonderful blocks of shopping.  Very chic, designer stores with wonderful cafes and ice cream shops.  Why couldn't I have found this area about 2 hours ago?  These were the types of places that I had heard about being in Palermo.  It was a nice meandering walk back to the subway and certainly helped my spirits.

On the train there was a wonderful trio playing New Orleans style jazz music - a trumpet, a trombone and a banjo.  All three were very talented and received many tips after several songs.

From the subway, I had my final walk thru Plaza de Mayo.  I've become quite adept at maneuvering through the city which I think is an indication that it is time to move on to my next destination.

From the Plaza, I decided to take a different route to the B&B for a change of scenery.  Just as it was getting dark, I approached a magnificent white church.  It was lovely and the inside had a subdued regal feel.  Someone approached me and after repeating himself three times in Spanish I finally understood - he was telling me that it was the first church in Buenos Aires.  I sat in a pew and pondered the history of this church and appreciated that I was getting to see it and celebrate its history.

I continued on my way and walked passed Mash again, not that I was hungry, but surprised that it was closed tonight too.

The streets were surprisingly full.  Many families out and about, enjoying the wonderful weather.  The ice cream shops were packed to capacity and the cafes were bustling.  Of course there was a fair going on in the main San Telmo square.  Today's items seemed more like antiques or a flea market rather than artists selling their creations.

I've decided to have a very quiet night at the B&B since I have a taxi pick-up arranged for 4:30 AM.  I'm sitting on the roof top balcony as I write in my journal.  The weather is wonderful, with just the slightest hint of a chill in the air.  The second half of the bottle of Decero Cabernet that I purchased on Saturday is lovely.  I can hear some music in the distance and occasional laughter from the crowds in the square.  This quiet time has offered me the opportunity to reflect on my time in South America and ponder the upcoming adventures in Europe.

I've been keeping a running list of overall observations about my time in South America - both Brazil and Argentina.  I plan to share much of that list in my blog on Tuesday since I'll be traveling all day.  A 6:40 AM flight to Rio; a 7 hour lay-over in Rio, then off to Paris, arriving on Wed morning.

I hope everyone is continuing to enjoy the blog...I've received several messages indicating a loyal following.  I've never written a blog before so hopefully the daily recaps are enjoyable and not too much detail or too wordy.  This is not the style of writing I'm used to doing with work, so please bear with me on grammar, sentence structure, etc.  It has been an enjoyable outlet for me during the day or at night and I'm sure I'll treasure these memories for many years.  Feel free to make comments or send messages directly to me (mattk704@hotmail.com) as I'd love to hear from you.