South America - Argentina Buenos Aires, emotionally artistic!

One of the best reward out of travelling, is we can plan trip to where we want to go and visit friend in the same time.  In this case, we get to visit those who we don't normally get to see often.  For Buenos Aires, I had not seen Diego and Roxana for 5 years after our New York stay.

While everyone is working and I was the one on holiday, we normally met at lunch.  It doesn't take long for me to realize, as I walked the street of Buenos Aires, Portenos is culturally artistic.  One of the lunch is in a church, so I didn't feel very polite to take pictures of others  who were dining there.

El Ateneo - Buenos Aires, Apr 2010.

However, there was this one lunch Diego brought me to a book store, El Ateneo.  The book store is fabulously beautiful.  It is coverted from a musical theater and having lunch in it is like getting a main course with 2 free desserts.   This place makes me think of the Teatro Colon, in which I tried to take the tour inside twice but was under renovation at the time of my visit.

On another occassion where it is a walk away, the Galerias Pacifico, a shopping gallery, bears a centre dorm like no others.   It is a different emotion here.  While normally art deco is always came with an age, this place is modern.  Who said being cultured has to be always "old"?

Galerias Pacifico - Buenos Aires, Apr 2010.

This is the best place to stop after walking for hours, have a cup of coffee and admire the roof.  I do think Portenos should be pretty proud of their cultural heritage.  They put their mind on art where ever they can get it be.  This roof is too big even for my wide angle lense.

The best of all has to be the Catedral Metropolitana Buenos Aires.  Situated around the Plaza de Mayo right next to the Buenos Aires Cabildo, this cathedral is a favourite of tourist.  It is not hard to see why.

Catedral Metropolitana Buenos Aires, Apr 2010.

Most of the times, it is more than how nice they look.  It is that feeling when walking under it, once could feel like being transported back by history.