Catching up on BA Adventures

The umbrellas we bought did their magic and warded off rain for two whole days! But their spell broke on Friday, and we’ve been getting wet ever since. But we’ve been getting around, nonetheless.

We visited another museum, this one of decorative arts. The building is someone’s former house, 4000 square meters in size. The house was built 1911 through 1917, and I think we could have fitted our Seattle house into the reception hall. Much of the exhibition was original decorations and the original owner’s collection, all of which he donated to the city of Buenos Aires. Lots of items have been added since, mainly through other donations. The initial design for the fireplace in the reception hall was by Rodin. There’s a bronze model of Rodin’s proposed design. Apparently, they couldn’t agree on a price for the commission, so someone else designed another fireplace and built it. Which is disappointing, because I think that the Rodin design was better.

Later that day, we discovered the city library building. It is a building in the ‘brutalist’ architectural style, and quite impressive. It was designed in 1962, and construction started in 1971. There wasn’t much to see in the building itself, as the one big exhibition space was being redone. But it was fun to just look at the building. With so much ‘old’ architecture in town, this building is very different.

On Friday, we marched through the rain and had dinner at the ABC Restaurant. Which just happens to be a German restaurant. Michael had Goulash with Spaetzle. I had sausage with sauerkraut and boiled potato. Both we’re pretty good, and a great facsimile. The restaurant has been in operation since 1929, so you’d expect some change after so much time. After the German food, we made it to the symphony again for the performance of the second symphony of a British composer, Edward Elgar. I had never heard of him before, but the piece was engaging and we enjoyed it very much. And I think that this orchestra has a great ability to play together, making a single sound (rather than a bunch of sounds from all the different types of instruments).

We did make it out to a neighborhood parrilla too! Of course, Argentina is known for its good beef, and this place was no disappointment. We went for lunch to a very casual place right around the corner from our apartment. We had a skirt steak and a mound of fries, the portions for two. While I don’t want to have this kind of lunch every day, I think that we’ll be back there before we leave Buenos Aires.

Our Sunday excursion was to meet up with some friends we know from Seattle. They left Seattle about six months before we did, and they’ve been spending time in Peru, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and a few other countries. As we were walking to the meeting point, we came across the Korean Cultural Center, which is in another building that looks as though it should be in Paris, and the rod iron fence in front has all sorts of posters on it. And that is how I learned that the 24th of November is Argentina’s National Kimchi Day. It seems fitting to declare a day in honor of such a revered food.

We also stopped by the “Casa Rosada” which is the Argentinian Presidential Palace. Sadly, they don’t do tours of the inside anymore, but it is fun to look at from the outside too. Another momentous and grand building in this city. If I remember correctly, this is the building from which Evita Peron gave her famous speech.