"Why Argentina ?" Buenos Aires by rosie235

Buenos Aires Travel Guide: 4,766 reviews and 8,858 photos

currently under construction

Our reason for choosing to visit Argentina was to visit my husband's Aunts and cousins. I don't know what I had imagined it to be like but I must admit I was not really prepared for the reality. Don't get me wrong, I loved it there but I was not expecting it to be so incredibly different. The first thing that struck me was how poor and run down the suburb where the Aunt lived. They resided in La Tablada, about a 20 minute drive from B.A. The houses were not what I had imagined and the roads were not kept in good condition. From the outside the houses looked quite like run down ramshackles but once you were inside the house they were quite nice. I asked the aunt why they did not maintain the outside and was suprised to be told that this was so that any potential burglars would not bother to rob them. They would also be charged higher taxes if their home looked better so they chose to spend money on maintaining the inside and ignore the outside.
What I found however was a warm and welcoming community who made the best of life. There certainly are some very beautiful parts to B. A. as I was to discover. B. A. is so diverse. We came across the very, very poor and the very, very rich. Some place in the middle were our relations. Our Aunt had a small grocery store below her home. You can see the shutters in the photo. They lived quite comfortably as thay had a regular clientele and therefore made a reasonable living. The people in the local area seemed to to me to live day by day ,moment to moment. I was so used to doing the big grocery shop once a week and kept a fully stocked pantry and it seemed curious to me that people would decide what to have for lunch or dinner and shop for that meal only. I thought that was how everyone lived. That was until Our Uncle took us to "Jumbo" . I have never seen a supermarket that huge. There were something like 30 odd checkouts alone. It was huge, selling just about anything you could possibly want.

The life style in Argentina was also so very different to life in Australia. It took me a while to get used to not eating dinner until 9 or 10 pm and staying out till 2 or 3 in the morning. Having an afternoon nap took some getting used to also. We took public transport everywhere and found the Subterranian train and buses were very efficient. Despite the Relatives warning us to be careful where we walked and not to take the train, we never had any problems and never once encountered any trouble. We felt very safe. I found that everyone went out of their way to assist in any way possible. I loved the Architecture and spend long days wandering the city just looking at all the old buildings.

  • Last visit to Buenos Aires: Dec 1994
  • Intro Updated Dec 27, 2004
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Reviews (14)

Comments (16)

  • kiwi's Profile Photo
    Jan 6, 2009 at 2:13 PM

    Love those Crocs , memories memories :-)

  • raytor's Profile Photo
    Jan 6, 2009 at 1:48 PM

    Hugs dear. You are incredibly beautiful. :-)

  • Nov 2, 2008 at 9:00 AM

    I ate at La Estancia in 1966, 1975, and 2002,and it hasn't changed!

  • Gillybob's Profile Photo
    Sep 10, 2008 at 3:49 AM

    Yeah, some dude called Icarus had a go at it once but he got burnt - not sure how I'm going to achieve it! LOL!!! Gillybob greetings - then again, I've probably got years to plan given this summer's record!!!!

  • auntjulie's Profile Photo
    Jan 9, 2008 at 10:03 PM

    Thanks for your comments on BA - I am going there in April so found them very helpful

  • Tina-Perth's Profile Photo
    May 20, 2007 at 12:42 AM

    Even though I hate zoos, I feel compelled to check them out since I found that terrible one in Phuket. Mostly so I can warn others of the conditions - and dob them into the Born Free Organisation.

  • oisha's Profile Photo
    Apr 5, 2007 at 12:55 AM

    Very nice description Rosie. I'd so LOVE to visit BA. Looking forward to meeting you too!!

  • adelaidean's Profile Photo
    Jan 29, 2007 at 11:04 PM

    Rosie...I enjoyed these pages..I hate animal cruelty as well!!!! :-(

  • Homanded's Profile Photo
    Jan 6, 2007 at 7:36 PM

    Lol Rosie, I extended your wishes to Ed. He gets choice of bday dinner. Prime rib tomorrow and friends to share it with. Have a great day, Homer.

  • Jim_Eliason's Profile Photo
    Sep 30, 2006 at 6:53 PM

    Nice page, its brings back fond memories!

rosie235

“opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one..!! thanks Brad for this insight...”

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