Buenos Aires - yes, another travel thread

[sevres_babylone]

Cecilia's school sounds great. On the Lonely Planet forum, there has been praise for a school called Verbum. Have you heard anything good or bad about it?
And thanks for the responses so far.

 

[morgan]

Hey everyone, I'm glad the thread has lived on! I've returned from BA and had such an amazing time. I found an inspiring, vibrant city, alive, awake. People were friendly (and not just service industry types) and warm. I loved the mishmash of architecture, how every neighborhood is different, yet cafes are persistent. The shopping was sick, the clubs insane. I've traveled a fair amount, but this one really hurt to come home. So much so that my wife and I are considering relocating somehow. That's probably mostly a pipe dream, but if we can sell our place in a year or so, maybe we can make it work somehow. I love BA's sophistication, it's unshiny elegance. Favorite neighborhoods were Palermo, San Telmo, and Recoleta, not necessarily in that order. At no point did I feel unsafe. There are parts of boston that scare me more.

From a photographic perspective, I think I did ok. I've got some film out for processing and took most of my shots with the R-D1 and 35/1.7 ultron. I've added a few to my gallery if anybody wants to look.

Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the help. You guys were a big help.

 

[urban_alchemist]

Glad you had a good time! Yup - it's a great city...

Although you might want to hold out on the relocation. Politically, the country's back to turmoil (a battle between the government and their 'picketeros' - mobs - and the farmers/middle classes is brewing).

Ah... Argentina. The country of infinite promise, and boundless corruption...

 

[mike kim]

Morgan, I'm glad you liked Buenos Aires. It is a beautiful city indeed, even if locals don't understand what is it that attracts so many tourists. Most of its charm is unnoticed by many, such as Avenida de Mayo, from Plaza de Mayo to the Congreso; no one cares to look up but when you do, the architecture is beautiful.

Great shots. I'm looking forward to seeing the other photos! It's always interesting to see Buenos Aires photographed with a different eye. I used to go to San Telmo almost every day for college. You can see a different "punk rock"-looking tango band every other weekend... they're just jumping on the bandwagon (as with electronic tango a few years ago). They add a nice background music for street photography though 😀

Ahh... the bubble lady. I'm waiting to develop two rolls I shot in San Telmo last weekend, in which some photos of the bubble lady are included, haha. But here's one from last year 😉

 

[fergus]

I've traveled a fair amount, but this one really hurt to come home. So much so that my wife and I are considering relocating somehow.

Yep, Argentina has that effect, doesn't it! 🙂

 

[morgan]

I wondered how long it would be before I found other pics of the Bubble lady! I guess we were in San Telmo on the same weekend. Small weekend. A week later and I still have a glow. My wife and I are still seriously considering relocating, perhaps in a year, and we can work on our spanish and save up some money in the interim. But it's really an amazing city and country. We're heading back I think in the spring for a longer visit.

I've put up more photos here and all of my digital images on my flickr. Film will be a few weeks as I don't have a place to develop any more.

 

[Luis]

This thread has been very informative, and I have booked a trip for two and half weeks starting at the end of October.
When I was in Paris, I rented an apartment from an agency called ahparis.com. It worked out very well. I have seen some references in other forums to a similar agency in Buenos Aires called bytargentina.com. I am wondering if anyone here knows anything about it, or has other accommodation suggestions.
My inclination at this time is two take Spanish lessons for a couple of weeks (I'm not a novice, could do a a consumers guide to courses in Toronto, and have travelled in Bolivia for one month and to Mexico more than a dozen times). I will, of course, leave a little time for photography.

I'm from BA but live in the U.S., and I have used the services of bytargentina.com on several occasions. They are reliable and their web site is quite informative.
Have a good trip.
Luis

 

[FifthLeaf]

Reviving an old thread:

I'll be taking a road trip, working from Sao Paulo down to Buenos Aires (I gotta get out of Brazil during Carnaval). I'm not really all that interested in the tourist sites, so any advice on where to go?

 

[fergus]

Reviving an old thread:

I'll be taking a road trip, working from Sao Paulo down to Buenos Aires (I gotta get out of Brazil during Carnaval). I'm not really all that interested in the tourist sites, so any advice on where to go?

Try going through Paraguay and then down through the north of Argentina if you have the time. If you're real keen, head through Paraguay to Bolivia and enter Argentina from there.

I found Paraguay (2003) like a time machine, it was like stepping back 30-50 years culturally, fascinating, especially if you get to know some locals. I lived with a local family in Asuncion for a few weeks, quite an immersion for a gringo without any spanish at the time.

The north / north-west of Argentina is very friendly and relaxed, given the chance I would retire in Salta.

 

[FifthLeaf]

Unfortunately, this is only a two week trip and going through Paraguay will be more hassle than it's worth (i.e. I have to get a visa to enter). My current idea is to head to Foz do Iguacu, work south from there, then fly back to Sao Paulo.

Oh the ironies of life: you work to earn the money to afford these trips only to no longer have the time to take them.

 

[Shelley-Ann]

Great thread!
I'm thinking about going to BA (since the fares are dirt cheap now). Is it safe for a woman to go alone?
I would probably bring my OM-1 and Yashica 24.