donde está la tumba de Eva Peron?

The gods answered my prayers because Sunday was a beautiful day! Saturday night I planned out my route and decided to take on the Recoleta barrio yesterday. I got my bag all ready and headed out for the subte Jose Hernandez estacion. Again it wasn't that crowded at all on the subte and I left my house around 1ish. I was a tad disappointed that I wasn't offered anything new by the gypsy people, just the same old Jesus cards and sewing kits. Once I arrived at the Pueyrredon estacion in Recoleta I had to walk a good ten blocks to reach the Cemetario de Recoleta.

 I really enjoyed the neighborhood. It was clean, the shops were interesting, there were parks, and the buildings were really cool. I enjoyed the walk because every Pasteleria looked scrumptious. It was a good thing I ate before I left because every pastry, cake, pie, loaf of bread, chunk of cheese, and pizza looked beyond amazing. In my head I was planning on where to stop on the way home hehe. I finally recognized the wall surrounding the Cemetery, but I couldn't figure out where the entrance was. I walked around all three sides of the squared wall until I found this artisan market that looked like it might lead me to the entrance. They were selling some really unique things but I told myself I was not going shopping today. But again, the food that the venders were selling smelled and looked delicious. I was rally upset with myself that I ate lunch before leaving. After frantically circling the market a few times I finally found the entrance.

The Cemetery was an elaborate maze. I tried to figure out where Eva Peron's tomb lay but I guess I heard the directions wrong because I asked for alternate directions three more times. I finally had to follow some Americans who were racing around trying the be the first to find her tomb. The whole cemetery was pretty chill (jaja a made a joke). It reminded me a lot of the cemetery i visited in New Orleans. I found some famous generals and people who were the names of calles in mi barrio. To be honest I was a little disappointed with Evita's tomb. I figured it would be this grand, eloquent, tomb with hundreds of plaques surrounding it. Unfortunately it was the same size as the tombs around it and was sandwiched by some general and Ricky Martin (jajaja the tomb actually said Ricardo Martinez, but some american kid was like "dude i swear Evita is buried next to Ricky martin, look!") Also reading the tour book, I was expecting hundreds of plaques with inspiration quotes but in actuality there were maybe ten. I felt like I just found out my favorite love song was written about a sandwich. (27 Dresses anyone??? Kerry???) I took over 70 pictures in the cemetery and most of them had kitties in them. There were cats EVERYWHERE. They just seemed so out of place to me because they were sleeping, bathing, and laying out on these famous tombs as if it was some door step in an alley, but that's just my opinion.

After the cemetery I ended up purchasing my first souvenir of the trip: a sign that says "Tango Bar" decorated in Porteno art. It was more expensive then I had anticipated so I began to walk away without it, but then the lady lowered the price for me. I'm a natural at bargaining. After the market I walked around this park, took some pictures of statues, ran into two people from my program and found this awesome bridge. It had some crazy graffiti all over it and I loved it. Not sure why, but currently I'm obsessed with graffiti. I like it more than the art I saw at the museum, but I'm not there yet. From the bridge I could see this awesome sculpture called the Floralis. (see picture) Is was built by Eduardo Catalano in 2002. I liked it a lot. After the bridge I headed into the Museo National de Bellas Artes. It was gratis (free) and had two floors of mostly Argentine painters and sculptors. Like I mentioned earlier, I'm not a huge fan of art and I personally prefer graffiti, but I'm glad I went. Feeling very satisfied with my touring for the day and hungry at this point I decided to return home. I planned on having my first experience with the world famous ice cream at the best heladoria in the city, Freddo. Everyone recommended I get Dulce de leche granizado so I did. It was to die for!!! Yummm. I timed it perfectly for i finished my ice cream right as i got to the subte.

Sigh, it was a great day. I explored, I conquered, and I got ice cream :) When I got back I watched the Boca game and called it a day. This coming week I plan on hitting up another Cemetery, some authentic Porteno Pizza, and iguazu Falls this weekend. Can't wait. Chau!!