BA - Around Recoleta

We stayed in the Concord apartments at 1234 Callao ("Cashow" as the Argentinians pronounce it....) right in the heart of Recoleta.  Right around the corner from us was the Recoleta Cemetery, a walled burial site with row upon row of vaults--all above ground and beautifully adorned.  The walkways between the vaults feel like miniature streets.

Most vaults had windows through which you could peek to see the inside.  In some of the vaults you could see statues and iconography, maybe some silk flowers or some wilted fresh flowers.  In other vaults, the coffins were stacked in plain view and many of the vaults had stairways leading to a lower level, serving as a family burial site.

There are many famous people buried in this cemetery, but the most visited grave is that of Eva Peron-- more widely known by Argentinians (and the world) as Evita.

Here's another vault that was particularly beautiful, resting on the main square of the cemetery.

The vault I found most interesting differed drastically from the others.

It's the tomb of an Argentinian poet, Carlos Guido y Spano.  Surrounded by vaults which could pass as miniature Gothic cathedrals, this poet forged his own stylistic path, even in death.  I love it!

Our other adventures around Recoleta included a church.... (I don't remember which one this was, we saw a bunch!)

... J and me trying Torta de Mil Hojas (Cake of a Thousand Leaves--pastry layered with dulce de leche)  I am a huge dulce de leche fan, but this was beyond sweet, even for me....

... getting an ice cream treat for the girls (why didn't I do that instead???)....

.... climbing trees....

.....(and jumping out of them, of course).....

.... and visiting the art museum.  They have have a nice collection!  Here are a few of our faves:

The girls thought this looked like what they imagined the Weasley's house should look like in Harry Potter.

Some ballerinas by Degas, if I'm not mistaken.....

I'm slightly cringing at these photos, all of which were taken on my phone.  We were advised to avoid looking like tourists in Buenos Aires because there's apparently a huge issue with pickpockets.  I figured having a big ol' camera draped around my neck was akin to painting a target on my backside, so we opted to leave the camera behind and just "phone it in," so to speak.  While I regret not having better photography of our visit, it was nice to be left alone from petty theft.  We had zero problems of that nature, even in some of the most touristy areas, riding the subway, taking taxis, the whole bit.