Wednesday the 12th of March 2003- Day 22.
Wednesday the 12th of March 2003- Day 22.
Hungover and stayed in bed until 11.00. Walked to Barrio de Recoleta - The city's chicest neighborhood, the Recoleta is like the "Beverly Hills" of Buenos Aires. The Barrio Recoleta houses among other things the famous Recoleta cemetery, the beautiful Plaza Vicente Lopez, and the grassy Plaza Francia. Just above the Plaza Francia you will find a complex called the BA Design Center which houses some interesting galleries, as well as many good restaurants and cafés (Hard Rock caffe included). On Saturday/Sundays this is the place to go. There are many artists performing mini-concerts on the grass in front and onto the Recoleta Cultural Center, and the whole area is lined with stands selling crafts from artisans that come in from the outer provinces.
Some pics that I took, include that of Evita's Grave and a certain Padre Fahey grace with a cetic cross headstone made in Dublin!
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Padre Fahey Grave at Recoleta Cemetry - Buenos Aires
Taken on the 12th of March 2003
Padre Anthony Fahey's Grave. I was surprised to see it but I suppose with .5 million people here in Argentina claiming Irish descent, not too surprised. He must have been an important man. Very ornate grave stone shipped all the way from Dublin, Ireland.
Click on the picture to see it in its original size
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Recoleta Cemetry - Buenos Aires
Taken on the 12th of March 2003
Click on the picture to see it in its original size
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Evita Peron's Grave at Recoleta Cemetry - Buenos Aires
Taken on the 12th of March 2003
There is a very bizarre story about her burial. See this . After Evita's death, a Spanish embalmer spent years preserving her body, its internal organs intact. The result was exhibited by Peron, but after his overthrow it fell into the hands of the junta. Fearful that the perfectly preserved cadaver might be used to rally the masses, yet also afraid to destroy it, they formulated elaborate ruses to elude Peronists and hide the corpse in a foreign cemetery. Compounding this black farce, several identical way and vinyl copies of Evita were created to mislead her devoted followers.The guy who hid her body came to believe that her corpse made its way to the moon, buried by Neil Armstrong as an international television audience looked on. He went mad beacause her followd played tricks on him .. kit goes ona nd on. You can get a book on it at Amazon.
Click on the picture to see it in its original size
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Recoleta Cemetry - Buenos Aires
Taken on the 12th of March 2003
Buenos Aires - Recoleta cemetery. Thousands of these crypts, where you see the coffins inside each. Amazing religious art and scupltures.
Click on the picture to see it in its original size
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Padre Fahey Grave at Recoleta Cemetry - Buenos Aires
Taken on the 12th of March 2003
Buenos Aires - Recoleta cemetery. Funny thing to say that its a great place to spend a day. Fasinating.
Click on the picture to see it in its original size
It may seem strange to include a cemetery as a sightseeing attraction, but this this final resting place offers a unique insight into Argentine culture. Many of the country's most famous deceased are entombed here in Moorish, Arabian, Greco-Roman and traditional Catholic crypts. All come from Buenos Aires' most prominent families, and entombed among them is Eva Peron whose inscription reads, "Volvere y seré millones" (I will return and be millions). Open daily 7am-6pm. 1822 Calle Junin.
Museo de Bellas Artes (Argentina's finest art gallery) is also located here, and has a good collection of modern Argentine painters, wood sculptured artifacts from the provinces, and Impressionist and post- Impressionist paintings such as Monet, Degas, and Chagal.
Went on the net and liostended to Vincent Brown Programme (irish Radio one) on the internet using real player and headphones. Very funny listening to Brown in Buenis Aires.
Labels: backpacker, backpacking, blog, drifters, Gap Year, irish guy, neo-nomad, round the world trip, Vagabonding, Wanderers
posted by Michael at 3:46 PM
