Visitors To Buenos Aires For 3 Days

[Redbeanz]

Redbeanz, Surely you don't mean Westminster CATHEDRAL, do you? That's the Roman Catholic cathedral - Victorian and really ugly. I think you mean the medieval Westminster ABBEY!

Sergio, of course you are right. Brain slip! The night I wrote that, we were reminiscing about the time we were in London and had visitors -- took them to Westminster Abbey, where one of our guests, who was Catholic, loudly announced "Of course this used to be OURS!" And right again, the Cathedral is drab and dreadful, while the originally-Roman-Catholic Westminster Abbey is glorious!

 

[sergio]

I never really understood tourism, as a concept. My aim has always been, when visiting a country for a limited time, to see some landmarks PLUS to meet the locals who have been through the worst or the craziest and have stories to tell. I'm not gonna bore you with stories of my life. Enough to say, La Boca is absolutely unmissable, if you want to know something about Argentina, despite its ever increasingly commercial onda. There's still ghosts talking. Plus I also like crazy places like Campora meetings, illegal chapels of Gauchito Gil, the smoking tombstone of Carlos Gardel in Chacarita, Villa Freud etc. I'm a freak, I know. But that's how I get to know Argentina, I'm not expecting anyone to do the same. I want to understand (not necessarily agree with) the soul of the country.

Another super-interesting spot I would recommend is the Campamento Toas in Plaza de Mayo, in front of Casa Rosada. If you like it or not, there is a reason why these veterans are allowed to camp in front of the presidential palace. I'm not necessarily saying I share their view of the world. Yet, these guys were the soldiers in the Malvinas conflict, and they are happy to share their stories, first hand. If you're lucky, some of them even speak English.

It all depends on the traveller's personality and interests. Some people would rather sit in a pleasant cafe than talk to a disgruntled war vet. I know someone who travels constantly but he doesn't seem to like "nice" places. His idea of travel is a trip to Iran or some other offbeat attraction. Some years ago my father wanted to see places associated with Borges but there was absolutely no information on the subject. The most we could do was to trace a few spots he lived in or frequented. The city/national government could provide no information, nor could any tourist agency.