We arrived Saturday evening in Buenos Aires from Santiago. Our apartment in the Palermo section of BA is a 3 level penthouse on the 19th floor. Its 3 decks overlook this lovely city of 13m people.  The floor to ceiling windows offer us some absolutely spectacular views of the city.

We quickly had several impressions of the city:  The “portenos” (natives of Buenos Aires) love their dogs.  Dogs are everywhere with presents found on every street. The language sounds more like Italian than the Spanish spoken in Chile, newsstands & flower stands are present on almost every block on major streets, restaurants are everywhere (they generally have the same hours as Spain – late dinners!) and the city seems safe.  The country is generally bankrupt and there are parts of the city were this fact is obvious.  The sidewalks all over this sprawling city are in sad shape.  It is a challenge at best to keep from spraining an ankle while walking.

Many of Buenos Aires landmarks were built in the golden era when Argentina was one of the wealthiest countries in the world, ruled by rich aristocracy that looked at Europe especially Paris for inspiration.  There is clearly a Parisian flavor in the buildings throughout the city.  There are also lots of Peugots and Renaults speeding around the city.  That being said, the comparison to Paris is a bit of an exaggeration.  Paris has beautiful places everywhere you go.  Buenos Aires has beautiful places but it also has a fair share of ugly ones, too.

On our first full day in Buenos Aires we decided to start with a “free” walking tour. We were joined by about 35 others and a guitar playing guide. We were disappointed in this tour and bailed out halfway through. We then went to the magnificent Recoleta Cemetery where Eva Peron, among others, is buried. This cemetery has incredible mausoleums, many with basements which we had never seen in our other cemetery tours. Many of the mausoleums were very impressive and fit for a king. Unfortunately, a number were in disrepair.

It was a good day of exploring the Palermo & Recoleta sections of BA as we walked about 8-9 miles.  Buenos Aires is a walking city with most of the streets forming a grid pattern.