I spent three weeks in Buenos Aires and by the end, was desperate for some peace and quiet and a bit of fresh air. Ironically Buenos Aires means Sweet Air.
But what a city! It ranks with Mexico City as the best, the biggest, the most exciting that Latin America – and actually the world – has to offer in terms of urbanisation.
I knew about the cafes and the grand buildings and the trees, to a certain extent. But I wasn’t expecting the hugeness of the city – the endless avenues and barrios and streaming traffic. I didn’t really think about how mixed race it would be – Buenos Aires is packed with Latin Americans of all kinds, struggling to make a better life. And. I didn’t have any idea just how much is going on in this edgy, messy place – art and film festivals and live music and little tango joints and graffiti scenes. I thought it’d be glamorous and neat and chic – I didn’t think it’d be cool also. I didn’t envisage its millions of different stories
I phoned the boyfriend a few days after I arrived. Right, let’s move to Buenos Aires, I said. From the other side of the Atlantic, I could feel his eyes rolling heavenwards. We’ll move into one of those apartment blocks with a strange empty hall and sit in cafes all day. Then I went to Tigre – No! I said. Not the city centre. Let’s live in Tigre, in a mad wooden house on stilts and our small boat. The boyfriend’s eyes tipped, with a mighty groan, right back in his head.
Buenos Aires is a gripping place, vibrant and addictive. I was very taken with Argentina’s capital city. Clearly.
But what a city! It ranks with Mexico City as the best, the biggest, the most exciting that Latin America – and actually the world – has to offer in terms of urbanisation.
I knew about the cafes and the grand buildings and the trees, to a certain extent. But I wasn’t expecting the hugeness of the city – the endless avenues and barrios and streaming traffic. I didn’t really think about how mixed race it would be – Buenos Aires is packed with Latin Americans of all kinds, struggling to make a better life. And. I didn’t have any idea just how much is going on in this edgy, messy place – art and film festivals and live music and little tango joints and graffiti scenes. I thought it’d be glamorous and neat and chic – I didn’t think it’d be cool also. I didn’t envisage its millions of different stories
I phoned the boyfriend a few days after I arrived. Right, let’s move to Buenos Aires, I said. From the other side of the Atlantic, I could feel his eyes rolling heavenwards. We’ll move into one of those apartment blocks with a strange empty hall and sit in cafes all day. Then I went to Tigre – No! I said. Not the city centre. Let’s live in Tigre, in a mad wooden house on stilts and our small boat. The boyfriend’s eyes tipped, with a mighty groan, right back in his head.
Buenos Aires is a gripping place, vibrant and addictive. I was very taken with Argentina’s capital city. Clearly.
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