The main thoroughfare of San Telmo is avenida Defensa which I was on yesterday and runs all the way up to the centre at Plaza Mayo. Strung out along the length of Defensa are antique shops, restaurants, art galleries and bars making this a lively district, particularly at weekends when street markets bring people out in droves.
At the heart of San Telmo is Plaza Dorrega. Its beating heart, as it were. Dorrega is a small, pretty plaza which serves, in its turn, as a street market by day, open air bar in the evening and on Sundays hosts impromptu Tango sessions.
I strolled up to Plaza Mayo and around the more ornate areas of the centre - Avenida de Mayo to Plaza Congressa. Across Avenida 9 Julio (Buenos Aires answer to the Champs Elysee. Central B.A. is scattered with plazas, wide avenues, boulevards and stately buildings. It has the look very much of a European city. The first impressions of the place are that you could be in Spain or Italy as easily as South America. The Portenos, as people from B.A. are called, are considered to have airs and graces about them are superior attitude befitting their grand European style capital. However their is a good deal of air pollution from exhaust fumes here perhaps more akin to South America than Europe nowadays.
Following Avenida Corrientes towards the pedestrianised shopping area around Avenida Florida I saw for the first time something more particular to South America than Europe, the street kids. Crossing the stately Avenida 9 Julio by the Obelisk I came across three kids sprawled out across the pavement just at the entrance to the subway. They were sound asleep (it was about 1pm). Passing pedestrians had to pick their way around the children to enter or exit the subway. The kids were splayed out in poses which, at first glance, looked as though they had been shot. I was slightly taken aback to see the children, in filthy clothes, oblivious to all and sundry in the middle of the street around midday.
It was hot so I went back to the hostel and got chatting to the two other lads in the room. One was a Venezuelan from Caracas. The other Brazilian, a vet who intends studying medecine in B.A. Upstairs Liv v Spurs was on TV. I went up to watch the last 15 mins. Another Irish lad was watching the game with two Scots. The Irish lad from Tyrone has been in South America since March and will stay on until christmas. He heads for Mendoza this evening on a night bus.
Boca Juniors are playing at home tomorrow so I set about getting a ticket. The guys at the hostel put through a phonecall to a tout and I was told he would call up with the ticket. I would have to pay 110 pesos (Approx 30 EU). I wasn´t told when the ticket would arrive and soon enough I was hungry. It was about 9pm by now and no sign of the tout. Thankfully the lad at reception said he´d by the ticket and I could give him the money later.
I went to dinner with Adriano, the Brazilian who, incidentally, doesn´t like football. He´s into his music. WE went down to the restauramnt I´d eaten last night as it had been quite good and cheap (4.50EU for the main course and 2.5EU for a litre of Quilmes.) I´d told Adriano it was quite good but instead of ordering what I´d eaten last night I went for veal cutlets. Adriano went for the same. The veal turned out to be muck. Deep down I was cringing because I´d recommended the place. After the meal I´d suggested looking into a bar along the street but something got lost in translation as we ended up going back to the hostel.
When we got back there was a Belgian woman in the room (They´re mixed dorms over here). After the usual "Where are you from? " "where are you going?" chit chat I went to reception to get my match ticket and went for a shower. When I came beck Adriano had gone out by himself. I reckon he wasn´t going to chance my choice of bars if it was anything like my taste in food! I ended up talking for a while to the Belgian which turned into half-hearted drivel. She was a bit too New Age for me. I was glad when I got to sleep really.
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