A Spring Break Visitor

This week has been a very exciting one! It’s spring break at USC, so my big, Blakely, came to visit me for the week. It’s been so much fun having a visitor and showing her all my favorite sights (and visiting new ones together!). During her first day in town, we went to El Ateneo Grand Splendid. This is a former theater that has since been turned into a bookstore. We had a lot of fun browsing and trying to find Spanish versions of books we had read in English. We also stumbled upon an excellent gelato place, so naturally we had to treat ourselves.

El Ateneo Grand Splendid

The following day, we visited Caminito, a small part of a neighborhood called La Boca. It’s known for its very colorful buildings and murals. I love bright colors, so wandering around the area and admiring the art was a great joy. There were also many statues and murals of Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona, and Pope Francis— three of the most famous people Argentina has produced. All three have very large fanbases here in Buenos Aires, especially Messi. I frequently see people sporting Messi jerseys, and every gift shop sells them too.

Blakely and me at the entrance to Caminito

After Caminito, we wandered through the Feria San Telmo until we reached the Casa Rosada and Plaza de Mayo. Blakely and I both loved this especially, since we had each read about them in textbooks and learned about their histories in our Spanish classes. There’s something so profound about seeing historic places in person instead of just on a page. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of that.

Monday, Blakely and I went to the Jardín Japonés (Japanese Garden) and Recoleta Cemetery. The Jardín Japonés is one of the largest Japanese gardens outside Japan, and it was very picturesque. I especially loved watching the koi and admiring the Japanese plants, like the cherry blossom tree.

Jardín Japonés

After that, we went to the Recoleta Cemetery. At first, I didn’t really understand why a cemetery was a tourist attraction, but it made sense once I visited. The cemetery is filled with elaborate mausoleums for the deceased, complete with carvings, sculptures, and stained glass. It is also home to the grave of Eva Perón, the famous former First Lady of Argentina. We overheard a tour guide telling the story of the grave, so we stopped to listen. We learned that for many years, the location of Eva Perón’s body (Milan, where she was buried under a false name) was kept secret and thus was largely unknown. The president who was installed following Juan Perón being overthrown was likely kidnapped and killed in a bid to gain the location of Eva Perón’s body, though it is not known if he knew where it was or not. This was successful, though, and about 20 years after her death, Eva Perón was brought back to Argentina and interred in her family’s mausoleum. I found this story to be fascinating, if not pretty morbid. It’s why I love exploring, though: you never know what you’ll learn!

Eva Perón's family mausoleum

This ended up being a longer post than I thought, so I will save a summary of my first week of class for the next one. I also am going to visit Iguazú Falls this weekend, so I am especially excited about that. I’ll be sure to keep you all updated!