Darren's Travels: ONE CHAPTER

The sightseeing I'd planned today was nominally unsuccessful.

I had a late start today after going drinking with my German friends Alexander, Mathias and Philipp last night. We became fast friends after I told them I brew. I'm glad because they're a lot of fun. Mathias told me "[i]n Germany, we celebrate beer." I like that attitude! I'm going to go visit them in Munich next year for Oktoberfest!(!!!!!!) I'm going to do everything I can to save money, sick days, and PTO to stay out there for a week or so.

Anyway, yesterday was pretty uneventful. I came back to Susana's house after class and relaxed before meeting the German guys at a Mexican restaurant in Polermo where all the nightlife is. I had tacos al pastor... They were alright, but one gets the impression that the Argentinians aren't expert at making Mexican food. We had a few beers there with some of their friends from college (which is in Switzerland). One of the girls is from Germany and the other is from Innsbruck, Austria. They left after dinner because they just got to Buenos Aires yesterday and were jetlagged. I hope I see more of them because they're really nice as well.

After dinner, I went to a bar with the Germans. We stayed a while drinking pitchers of Quilmes (the Argentinian national beer) and talking to Argentinian locals. It was a lot of fun.

According to Wikipedia, Quilmes controls 75% of the Argentinian beer market.

Anyway, I got up in the early afternoon hoping to see the Japanese Garden here. It's the largest such outside Japan. It's about a forty minute walk down Avenida Libertador, my main cross street.

However, I never made it to the gardens...

I didn't know there would be so much great stuff to see on this street! Unfortunately, being that it's winter here, I was battling the shadows all day and most of these pictures aren't great. Here they are anyway, for your viewing pleasure:

When it comes to polo, the Argentinians don't fuck around. This elegant building adorned with Argentinian flags is a clubhouse(?) at the polo grounds. You definitely need to enlarge it to get the full effect.

The polo grounds were expansive-this is but a small taste! They had at least six grounds.

I didn't find either of these statues to be particularly beautiful, but I really like horses (I bet you didn't know that!).

I also love lions! I get the impression there were more lion statues than just these, but I think the second one beautiful!

I somehow get the impression that this statue is a metaphor for Argentinian-Brazilian international relations.

Speaking of international relations...

...I don't know (nor care) much about Argentinian-American relations, but they became a bit more strained when I took this photo of the United States Ambassador's residence against the best wishes of the guard. If you click the image, you'll be able to see the Stars and Stripes (a site for sore eyes!).

I found this gazebo across the street from the Ambassador's Residence (conveniently located on Avenida del Libertador [Liberator] and Avenida John F. Kennedy). I'm sure it's very pretty in warmer weather!

I'm unimpressed with this photograph-I just wanted to give some perspective.

This is a statue of General José de San Martín. He helped lead the Argentinian army to its famous defense against a British invasion in the early nineteenth century. Keep those damn redcoats out of the Americas!

I didn't get a great shot of this (another war memorial)... And I didn't notice until now that there's a winged rat perched atop this guy's head. Sorry!

Here's a closer view of what's below.

And, of course, I've saved the best for last...

Anyone who knows me knows I love angel imagery (most likely thanks to my Grandma):

I want to design my home with a modern take on angel imagery.

Here's a view of the top of the statue:

Here's a view of the bottom:

So far, I've been most impressed by this statue, the American Ambassador's Residence, and the mansions near my school (which I will capture soon). However, I know this is just the tip of the iceberg! It goes without saying that I am very excited to see the rest.

On a less serious note, here are some pictures of some really awesome grafiti!