Grand South America & Antarctica Voyage, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Day 1...

Up bright and early for sail in…it was very windy this morning! It took some time for the ship to be cleared by the local Argentinian authorities and the port ground transportation to organize the shuttle service to the terminal. We met or guide Paola at the terminal and headed to downtown Buenos Aires. Buenos Aires is Argentina’s big, cosmopolitan capital city. Its center is the Plaza de Mayo, lined with stately 19th-century buildings. To make the best use of time in our two days in Buenos Aires, Paola broke down our days via neighborhoods. To start, our focus this morning was the city center. Paola parked the car and we headed for Plaza de Mayo, the oldest and most important plaza of the city. It is surrounded by significant buildings including Casa Rosada, Metropolitan Cathedral, Cabildo (City Hall), and the Bank of the Argentine Nation. The Casa Rosada or Presidential Palace was named for its distinctive color. It was from the balcony here, at the presidential palace, that Eva Perón famously addressed the throngs of impassioned supporters packed into Plaza de Mayo. We visited the Metropolitan Cathedral, the main Catholic Church in Plaza de Mayo. Pope Francis was the Arch Bishop of Buenos Aires and used to perform mass here until he became Pope in 2013. It also houses the tomb of General San Martin. Luckily, we were in time for the changing of the guards at the tomb of General San Martin. The grenadiers at the entrance to the tomb stand guard and pay homage to the founder of their institution. We continued west of Plaza de Mayo to Avenida 9 de Julio, which is the widest avenue in the world…passing key points of interest including, Teatro Colon, Opera House, and the towering Obelisk commemorating Argentina’s independence. Next, we drove to the Palermo district with its beautiful homes, embassies, past the Generic Flower Sculpture and Tres de Febrero Park. At the Park, we took a stroll around the lake and the rose garden in the city's biggest and most popular park…the display of roses was lovely and in full bloom. From Palermo we went to Recoleta…the center piece of this neighborhood is the Recoleta Cemetery. One of the most notable graves in La Recoleta Cemetery belongs to Eva Perón. The 14-acre grounds are hauntingly beautiful…elaborate above ground marble mausoleums and statues cover a sprawling grid of four city blocks lined with large walkways. Evita aside, wandering through the above-ground tombs and religious symbols in this National Historic Landmark is a memorable experience. Next, we stopped for lunch near the cemetery at Clark’s Steakhouse…we had delicious for Beef Empanadas and Provoletta. Our last stop in Recoleta was the El Ateneo Grand Splendid, a bookstore housed in a grand theater that was built in 1919. The enormous space is now packed floor-to-ceiling with books and ornate original fixtures. The former stage now houses a cafe…such a delightful stop. On the way back to the ship we drove by the General San Martin Park, French Embassy and the Tower Clock gifted by England to Buenos Aires. It was another delightful day in Buenos Aires. The only disappoint thing today was losing a couple of hundred photos somehow in the transfer process…  Oh well, tomorrow is another day!  Tomorrow we will explore the La Boca, Barracas, Puerto Madero and SanTelmo areas.