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Showing posts from January, 2009

Witnessing History, One Way or Another

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The Capital two days before the festivities ... And on January 20, 2009. Exiting towards the Purple Gate. Karen and I holding our Purple Passes as seen through the eyes of a drunken Jamaican photographer. Our view during the Inauguration. Photo taken by Karen Farquharson . The famous Purple Ticket along with the much more effective Marc Train ticket. Eight years ago, I was invited to one of the official Presidential Inauguration Balls. I gave it some thought, reasoning that it was a historic event that I may never have another chance at, my friends were going and someone else was footing the bill, so why not? The problem was that my rage at the outcome of that election was so raw and so visceral and my self-control so completely lacking that I could not envision an end to the evening that did not involve the Secret Service dragging me away as I screamed "Hail to the Thief", "Cheater" or just plain "Asshole" in the direction of the guest of "honor

Colonia del Sacramento

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There is easy and then there is so ridiculously easy that slowest child in class, the one that can usually be spotted eating his own boogers, can do it easy. I can safely report that doing a day trip from Buenos Aires to Colonia del Sacramento falls squarely into the latter category. There are two competing companies in BA that sell packages for under $100 which will get you there and back, get you oriented and even get you fed. The transport options include either a fast (1 hour) or slow ferry (2 ½ hours) across the Rio Plata. Once there, a guide is waiting to hand out maps and brochures, lead an hour long walking tour and do her very best to sell visitors on the charms of this UNESCO world heritage site. And it is indeed charming, with its cobble stone streets and picturesque colonial architecture which speaks of the back and forth battle for possession between the Spanish and the Portuguese (Colonia changed hands multiple times between the two serial colonizers), but the itty bit

Buenos Aires

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The obelisk. Not "the" obelisk. The excellent " Cuidad Baigon " playing at the San Telmo street fair. Congress. The Palacio Barolo was inspired by Dante's Divine Comedy and just so happened to be directly across the street from my hostel . The colorful La Boca neighborhood. These "residents" look festive in the daylight, but I imagine once the sun sets, they become the stuff of nightmares. The Recoleta Cemetery: home to ex-presidents, Evita and a healthy number of cats. My plans for Buenos Aires were simple. I was going to finish the cruise, spend an evening exploring the city and board a flight home the following day. But, of course, the best laid plans, etc. and so forth... A couple of things happened. (1) I went to the wonderfully bohemian San Telmo street fair, a weekly gathering of antique collectors, artists, street performers and assorted on-lookers of all age