Plaza de Mayo

We hit the ground running bright and early on Friday morning with a city tour given by Peter of Fall in Love with BA. It was a private tour with just H & I, but it was perfect to have a personal local guide take us to the best places and give us a full history lesson of Argentina.

We started out on Plaza de Mayo before the morning rush hour crowds. The famous Casa Rosada is at one end of the very important Plaza, and it was the place where Evita made her famous speech. It's considered the President's office, and he actually lives in a different house.

Just next to the pink building is the national bank of Buenos Aires.

The May Pyramid was the central sculpture in the Plaza, and it is the oldest monument in the city at almost 200 years old.

Our guide told us the Plaza was the main place for all types of political protest in the city. There was evidence, including banners and people camping, all around the Pyramid of some type of smaller protest in progress.

At the other end of the Plaza is the National Cathedral, and I found it fascinating how this Catholic church had numerous links to the other faith groups in the city. Our guide told us in the rest of the world, religion divides people. But in Buenos Aires, religion brings people together.

We walked a bit down Avenue de Mayo and took a fun little 2 block ride on one of the oldest subways in the world. Most trains even run with the original 1913 cars, with which you must open the doors yourself if you want in our out! The train stops only for a few seconds, so you must hop on and off very quickly before the doors slam shut.

Notice our nice guide even brought an umbrella because of the threatening rain. We were so amused that there were not warning messages or bells- the train just takes off!

We hopped off and then dropped into the famous Cafe Tortoni for a quick breakfast break and an amazing little shop. All the decor and antiques were antique European, and most of it had been with the cafe since it opened in 1858. Many famous people have visited including Einstein and Hillary Clinton, and we enjoyed some coffee and breakfast sandwiches before continuing on our city tour.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Zoe is getting a cousin & I'm so excited about another Vizsla in the family!