Plaza De Mayo Trip

I am realizing that with so many things to see and do, it is hard to find time to write about all of it!  We have definitely not kept you all up to speed on all of our trips and treasures here in Buenos Aires.  I apologize, and fully intend to get you all updated with the next few posts.  These will contain mostly pictures with captions, and a few tidbits of background for each place.

One of our first trips via Subte (the subways here) was to Plaza De Mayo.  Translated May Square, it is where many very important institutional buildings are found.  Casa Rosada (pink house), Banco Nación (National Bank), and the Catedral Metropolitana are among the gorgeous buildings lining the square.  Within the square, we saw artists creating their own renditions of the scenery and locals selling small bags of corn for one peso to feed the pigeons.

There are pigeons everywhere in this city, and the kids have enjoyed chasing them and making them take flight on many occasions.  But today, we splurged, spent the 25 cents, and had a great time actually feeding the birds.  They would fly up into your hand and perch while pecking the little kernels from your palm.  It was quite the treat, although, there were a few times when I felt like I was in a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's, "The Birds"!  The kids were closer to the action, so they were a bit scared at times, too.  I think one pigeon mistook Michael's fingertip for a corn kernel right at the start, so that dampened his experience somewhat...  Overall, though, it was a beautiful place.

Later that day, we walked just beyond Casa Rosada, to Puerto Madero.  This is the barrio (neighborhood) that runs along the Río de la Plata riverbank.  It houses many wonderful steak restaurants such as Las Cabañas, where Mark and I had an official date last week!  Here we also toured the Frigate Sarmiento, an old ship that sailed the equivalence of 40 laps around the world!  It was also used in the Argentine Navy as a teaching vessel.

From there, we walked across the river on the Puenta de la Mujer (Women's Bridge) to a river walk crowded with outdoor parrillas, smoking with Argentine fare... you guessed it - meat, meat, and more meat.  Sandwiches were huge, and the various chimichurris they had to top them were amazing!  We all had our tummies full, and it was time to grab a taxi and head back home.