Buenos Aires, Argentina: The Rest of the City and Tango

On Wednesday, Thomas (a hostel friend of mine) and I explored the three remaining neighborhoods that I had not yet fully seen.  The first stop was the Centro, which is anchored around the Casa Rosada (literally 'Pink House').  This house is the seat of the executive government and offices of the President of Argentina, in addition to being the location from which Madonna belted out 'Don't Cry for Me, Argentina'.  Impressive in the day, it is stunning at night, when it is lit with bright pink lights (unfortunately, I didn't have my camera at night).

The next stop was the San Telmo neighborhood, which is known for being a European-feeling artsy district.  Though this picture doesn't capture it very well, it did live up to this reputation, and we even caught some street tango while munching on pastries in one of the parks.

On the walk back from San Telmo to Centro, we found several churches, such as the one above, which is probably why Buenos Aires has 'The Seven Churches Tour'.  We didn't actually go in any of them except the cathedral, which is pictured below.

As per usual, the cathedral, built in pieces between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, was big, beautiful, and opulent.  It also houses the remains of General Jose San Martin, who was a prime leader in the South American struggle for independence from Spain in the early 1800s.

Our final neighborhood the day was La Boca, which is the outermost neighborhood at one end of Buenos Aires.  While beautifully colorful, with lots of street artists, local cafes, and tango dancers, this was a quick stop, as the area in which it is safe to wander is only about two square blocks (it is strongly encouraged to avoid the rest of the neighborhood in the interest of safety).  After our wanderings around La Boca, we took a one hour bus ride across the city to get back to our hostel...and then Thomas and I decided to go to a tango show!  Unfortunately, I forgot my camera--it turned about you couldn't take pictures during the show anyway, so I guess it wasn't a big deal--but the dancing was literally the best I have ever seen in real life, the accompanying dinner was wonderful (I now know why Argentina is so famous for their steaks!), and it was all in all a great way to bid adios to Buenos Aires!