mis cumpleaños.

for my birthday we decided to take sight-seeing to an extreme. our day began with a visit to cemetario recoleta, the cemetary where eva perron is buried. like no other cemetary i had ever seen, essentially it is a small city of mausoleums surrounded by huge stone walls. without grass it is a maze of simple to extravagent mausoleums beautifully kept inside. when you look through the glass, there are usually ornate coffins with large crucifixes hanging above. each one has stairs underground where the bodies are actually buried. some are better kept than others with plants and other decorations creating some breathtaking shrines. the site of eva perron´s family grave is constantly surrounded by people, so it isn´t hard to find. people line up just to take a picture next to the relatively simple mausoleum. their site is by far not the most intricate or grand, but most definitley the most sought after. i will post pictures once back in b.a.

from the cemetery we ventured to the large market that takes place every sunday. the stands house mostly antiques and other trinkets while other merchants lay down their wares on the walking streets surrounding the market. we spent a few hours there and then headed to plaza de mayo - the park which is surrounded by the argentina ¨white house¨(la casa rosada), the cathedral, & other government buildings. unfortunately, la casa rosada (literally the pìnk house) was under construction but you could still see the magnificent architecture. finding a nice plot of shade under a tree, phil & i spent awhile reading & snacking in the wonderful weather.

next, we were off to the cathedral, another beautiful piece of architecture and history. i´m always so pleased with the sense of calm that comes over me when i walk into any church, this one was no different.

as we had taken a bus down to the market, we decided to walk our way home; stopping here and there, generally enjoying the beautiful day, & taking in the sights.

we had decided to go to a tango show that evening in celebration of my twenty third year. the show took place in a famous locale - cafe tortoni - a site often frequented by the famous like, borges & garcia lorca. what a beautiful show! we had the pleasure of being seated with a lovely chilean couple, who were spending a week in b.a. for their tenth anniversary. while explaining our future destinations, i learned that they were from santiago & they insisted that we take their number so we could meet up while there. we are definitely going to take them up on their offer.

the tango was wonderful, with musical interludes while the dancers changed outfits, increasing mine and phil´s appreciation for the accordion. a delightful evening of food, wine, tango, & new friends & a birthday celebration i won´t soon forget.

the year older miranda.