Recoleta Cemetery - the big parking lot in the neighborhood

There is always a crowd of folks walking through the cemetery. Many with maps heading towards the famous mausoleums or tombs, others wandering the quieter parts and many photographers taking pictures from every angle.

For a midwinter day that was sunny and 20 degrees C, it was a beautiful day to be out anywhere in BA including this old cemetery.

In the Recoleta Cemetary, some tombs/crypts/mausoleums bear the names (and remains, I guess) of famous Argentines. We live on Avenida Alvear.

The Buenos Aires International Airport bears the Ezeiza name....

Some are in disrepair......

Others are under repair...........

Others are just plain grand.....either you planned it yourself or you were in the ground for awhile before you got your 'monument'!

Some are a very public but personal look into the family whose history lies here.....

Some look like they could be the local Irish pub on the corner and that the doors will open for business at noon!

Recoleta does have its living residents....

The sun catches some great stained glass pieces....

The most famous and most visited spot is where Eva Peron is buried. It is along one of the more narrow paths in the cemetary and there are usually 10 - 12 people standing near it. I happened to come upon for a brief moment when there was only one other person there.

And yes, it is still a functioning cemetery.....

B.

Stampede Breakfast - Argentine Style

We had the country & western music, we had the juice, we had the coffee and we had the pancakes, we had the cowboy hats and we had some laughs.


This morning I had arranged for a Stampede Breakfast.

Our good friend, Roc arranged to get me some of this year's Calgary Stampede posters.


I did delegate the organization of the morning to two very capable women in the office. My assistant, Juana and the Country Manager's assistant, Liliana. They took care of the rest.

Here, you don't just get a pancake - you get a panqueque!


A panqueque is a crepe and we served two kinds - one was filled with Ham & Cheese and the other filled with Dulce de Leche.

It was a good morning in the office. Breakfast isn't a significant meal here in Argentina - so to have a full blown - Stampede Breakfast was over the top.

We did have champagne available to mix with the OJ but we kept that on ice. I wanted to have a brindis (or a toast) with it but I was missing a couple of staff who were instrumental in recent work achievements, so we will wait until next week when they are back.

I take no credit for the cowboy hats in the pictures - but I do appreciate the effort by the ladies in the office (who have never been to a Stampede) to get pretty close.

Next year - we will schedule cowboy hat stomping or bar stool racing as has been suggested by my learned Stampede colleagues. I have already put in my order for the 2009 Stampede poster!

A few staff did make the trip to Calgary for the Stampede two years ago and one of them made a video of the trip. She was able to show it,for the first time, in the office, since she made it. It was very well done (and there was a pang of homesickness while I watched it).

Yahoo!

B.

The 9th of July

I don't know how many places in the world you can walk on 9th of July Avenue on the 9th of July.

Neuve de Julio (or 9th of July) is Independence Day here in Argentina. It relates to freedom from the King of Spain - who was having his own problems getting his butt kicked by Napoleon (ah, yes....timing is everything). And it is a public holiday!

This morning, I went into the office (surprise, surprise) and these two guys rode by the building. I hadn't seen mounted police here before. I think they only patrol when the traffic is light - holidays and weekends. No, they were not the beginning, middle and the end of the Independence Day parade!!

On the way back to the apartment, I took the long way home - I went for a walk along Avenida 9 de Julio. It took me towards the Obelisk which is about 2 km up the road from our place.
For having 22 lanes, traffic was very light because of the holiday. It was also sunny and 16. A lovely 'winter' day with a number of folks just hanging out at the plaza at the base of the Obelisk.

Along the way is the Teatro Colon, which is 100 years old this year. A major renovation was planned so that the grand re-opening would be timed with the 100th anniversary of the building (May, 2008). With just a month before it was to re-open, they announced it wouldn't re-open for another 18 months.
Apparently, the materials they used for seats and tapestries changed the acoustics so badly, they had to start over again. I think they ran out of money and didn't want to tell anyone. I have come to learn (painfully) that this kind of delay happens frequently (and the reasons aren't always that clear).

Hopefully, it will be open before we leave and we can enjoy a performance there.

B.

The neighborhood (or the barrio)

We really do live in an awesome part of Buenos Aires.

Our apartment is marked by the yellow pin on this Google Earth map (thanks Uncle Stephen).

Someone remarked 'what is that big parking lot near you?' Well, it is a parking lot...sort of. It is the famous Recoleta cemetary, where Eva Peron is buried. The green space between us and the cemetary, is where the 'Hippy Market' sets up every weekend. There are a couple of hundred stalls selling everything you can imagine (jewelry, art, clothing, carvings, food, footwear).....

If you go out the front door of our apartment and turn left, you would hit the Valentino store...the 1925 address marker is actually the address for our 'backdoor' - where deliveries are made to our apartment building.......

Next to Valentino's is Louis Vuitton. A store that I have never seen anyone in, except for the 5 or 6 staff that work there. I guess you only have to make one big sale and you are good for another month of standing around......
If you go out the door and turn right - viola - it's the Hermes store......

Across the street is the Alvear Palace - a classic hotel (but I am shying away from ordering the Hamberguesa Alvear for awhile).....

Down the street is the Santa Sede, the Vatican's 'embassy'....

Next to it is the the Park Hyatt, a good place to go for tapas (and English) when we need a fix of it....

And next door to the Park Hyatt is where the Munsters go for a vacation. This place looks like an abandoned mansion. Apparently the owners do 'winter' there because it is too hot to live there in the summer because they havent added air conditioning. The place looks pretty creepy but has such possibilities!! And yes, those are palm trees.....

Around the corner is the French Embassy...The flower seller....and right behind her is the Carlos Pellegrini memorial (Argentine president 1890-92)...no, the water is Pellegrino. Carlos was also the founder of the Jockey Club, a posh club across the road from his statue.

And here is Louisa, our portera - she (and Antonio) look after the building, the sidewalk and if she is at the door when we come home, she helps get us on the elevator!

B.

Workin' for a livin'....

I do work here....really and I dont say much about it on the blog (you know, disclosure laws and all).

Our staff count in BA has grown very quickly, filling the office space we have. Most staff have cubicles (or 'boxes' as they are called here). I dont mind the open office concept - it makes it easier for me to step outside MY office to look across the office to find someone!

I didnt bring many momentos with me to put in my office. I figured I would collect them along the way while I am here. I do have a couple of things from home though.....a 2008 Alberta Alpine calendar and this year's Calgary Stampede poster (thanks Roc!). This is the view out of my office window looking towards the San Martin Memorial. This photo was of the shooting of a car commercial back in May. What made me think of it was that I saw the full commercial on TV just last week. It was for a Ford Fiesta.

B.

El Obelisco

The Buenos Aires Obelisk was built in 1936 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first founding of the city. It is located in the center of the Plaza de la Republica and is at the intersection of Nueve de Julio (9th of July) and Corrientes avenues. It stands 67 metres tall.

I am impressed that it only took 4 weeks to construct (we could use that crew in the field!)


As I walk to and from work, I cross Nueve de Julio avenue and look up the street and see the obelisk. In late afternoon, the sun illuminates it and at night, spotlights do.



Marketing geniuses have figured out the Obelisk is frequented by tourists and locals alike. Many of the jumbo billboards are angled so that photographs catch the Obelisk AND the billboards.

It has become the focal point of celebrations and protests. They have had to fence off the base area as it has seen its share of graffiti but it doesnt stop the eggs.


B.

Farmer's Protest

A couple of weeks ago on a Sunday night, the balconies along our street were alive with pot banging in support of the farmers. The protest grew into a march along our street, Alvear. I believe there we a number of these marches that night through the city.

I took a couple of pictures out the window of the apartment and because we are on the 6th floor, the flash wasn't effective but I was able to edit the photos to brighten them up a bit. These photos are of the tail end of the march......

The farmers leaders and the government continue to negotiate but they are far from an agreement. Strikes and roadblocks are culturally commonplace here. Each union...and there many here, seem to pick their own time and place for a strike.

We occasionally have roadblocks that impact our own operations. They typically last only for a few hours and while frustrating, don't impact production too much.

B.