Menus Boards La Boca Buenos Aires

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Typical Menu Boards of La Boca, Buenos Aires

Video of Tango Music being played

As we were wandering around the streets of La Boca, a traditional part (or should I say touristy part) of Buenos Aires in Argentina, we came across this guy playing tango music on his accordian. The little stage he was playing on was hidden away in one of the many alleyways that frequent the neighbourhood.

Take a look at all the Tango memorabilia around him, cool stuff.

Galeria Pacifico Shopping Mall Mural

Galería Pacífico Shopping Mall Mural

Even though I’m not a fan of visiting malls when I travel, I do actually recommend that you visit The Galería Pacífico Shopping Mall on the Buenos Aires downtown pedestrian street called Florida. The building itself is historic, dating back to around 1890 and fills up an entire block with 4 levels for shopaholics. But makes it worthy of a visit is the mural of the central cupola that was painted by five famous artists in 1945. Some time later the building was abandoned but in 1989 it was declared a national monument and then restored to its former glory. The photo below will give you an idea of how beautiful the dome’s mural is, pretty much on a par with the best churches in Europe:



You may want to check out their site in Spanish and English: www.galeriaspacifico.com.ar

Videos of Plaza Italia Buenos Aires

These are a couple of short videos we took of Plaza Italia in the Palermo neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

This first one is a 360º panoramic view of the square and surrounding areas:

The following video zooms in on the the statue for a closer look at the details:

If you would like more information about the square visit our following page: Plaza Italia.

How to get from Buenos Aires to Colonia (Uruguay)

How to get from Buenos Aires to Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay

Uruguay is just a stone’s throw from Buenos Aires and one of the quickest and easiest ways to do it is across the Río de la Plata (River Plate). The two main entrance points via ferry are Montevideo, the Uruguayan capital, and a small city called Colonia del Sacramento, commonly called Colonia.

To get to Colonia, which is the closest Uruguayan city to Buenos Aires, there are two options:
an express ferry that takes an hour to get there and another that takes 3 hours. The 3-hour one is of course a lot cheaper, in fact almost half the price, but you will find it eats into your day and there isn’t much to see from the boat other than lots of water. Most people take the 1-hour ride.

We hadn’t reserved any tickets beforehand, just turned up an hour and a half before the ship was due to leave and we managed to get return tickets for that day without a problem. Not bad considering it was a long weekend. By the way, same day return tickets are cheaper than staying the night and coming back the next day. There are some special offers of return tickets plus a tour and lunch thrown in but unless you like being herded along like sheep, I found the tour not to be necessary. The old part of Colonia is relatively small and can easily done by yourself at your own pace and with time to spare. We came back on the last boat just after 8pm so had time to relax on a patch of lawn and what the sunset over the harbour.



For more information about how to get from Buenos Aires to Colonia del Sacramento via the ferry, including photos of the terminal and where to purchase your tickets once there, check out: Buquebus Ferry. You’ll even see what it’s like inside the boats before you go!

This day trip is well worth doing!

Steel Flower of Buenos Aires Video

One of the latest icons of Buenos Aires is the gigantic steel flower called Floralis Generica. Created in 2002 and weighing in at 18 tonnes its petals are open during the day and then close again at night. Since this work of art now appears on many postcards to do with the city, you may want to put it on your Must Visit List while in the city.

For photos and more information about Floralis Generica, including the 4 special nights its petals are open, check out: The Steel Flower of Buenos Aires.

Meanwhile here is the video I took as we walked around the entire sculpture to give you an idea of the size of it and also the surrounding areas in the background.

La Recoleta Cemetery Buenos Aires

One place you will probably end up visiting when you are in Buenos Aires is the Recoleta Cemetery. Basically it’s the last resting place of the once rich and famous of Argentina and what makes it such a tourist magnet are the incredible mausoleums that were like a competition between high society to see who could build the most elaborate and awe-inspiring one.

One of the most visited sites is that of Maria Eva Duarte de Perón - more commonly known as Evita. What is interesting is that she hasn’t always been there since her death. There is a whole story of political intrigue behind the disappearance of her body and subsequent return.





No, I didn’t clamber over someone’s tomb for this shot. It was taken from the church next to the cemetery.

And what’s with all those cats roaming around? Find out on our La Recoleta Cemetery page.

Investigative trip to Buenos Aires and Colonia

I have been travelling a lot the last month both inside of Chile and in neighbouring countries both for work and pleasure, and then a bit more work.

On Monday my wife and I got back from a 5-day investigative trip of Buenos Aires, the sprawling capital of Argentina. We had already been there in 2006 with a group of friends to watch an international rugby match, unfortunately the weather wasn't on our side that time. This time we had blue skies the entire time and since there was only the two of us, we could get a lot more done instead of having to do group consultations every half hour about the next move.

Buenos Aires is huge with so many things to keep you entertained and where you can easily get into a lot of trouble (in a good sense). In 5 days we took 648 photos so expect to see some appearing on this blog but mainly in the pages that we will be creating about What to see and do in Buenos Aires.

Here is one for starters:


On the way back from Buenos Aires we heard that Santiago had been hit by heavy rain and cloaked in cold the whole time we were away... great timing!

Snow in Buenos Aires Argentina

For the first time since 1918 it snowed in Buenos Aires, Argentina just after midday yesterday.
In fact the weather guys had an idea that it might snow but of course didn't mention it for fear of ridicule.

How did it come about? Well a polar front blowing up from antartica hit a low front coming down from the Andes and thus snowflakes started falling. Strangely, the temperature was above zero though it didn't stop the capital city from being lightly blanketed in white.

Here's a video of it for those that are interested:
Video - Snowing in Buenos Aires

Saludos