We have a fun job! Many months ago we were asked to come to Buenos Aires to speak for an international organization which has local chapters all over the world. They join together once a year for a “University” at some exciting spot in the world to engage with each other and learn to improve their work and their families.. We were excited to do two workshops on “Lifebalance” and “The Entitlement Trap”
We arrived here in Argentina on Wednesday morning, armed with having just watched Evita on Netflix, which we highly recommend for a pretty accurate depiction of a very important moment in Argentine history.. We also had a detailed, hand-typed series of tours we could take prepared by our wonderful and enthusiastic friend Kathy Clayton who lived in and loved Buenos Aires for several years while she was stationed here with her husband.
Upon our arrival, after a ten hour, all-night flight, we napped for a couple of hours and couldn’t wait to take off for our first tour with our detailed instructions from Kathy in hand.There was beauty along the way. Purple blossoms everywhere and trees with interesting roots.
We walked about 12 blocks from our hotel to our first stop at the beautiful San Martin Plaza. San Martin was sort of the George Washington of Argentina, a national hero in the fight for independence from Spain.
Although you can’t really tell by the picture of the plaza below, the leaves everywhere are a gorgeous lime green because spring has just sprung in this part of the world and the “baby green” leaves are spectacular! FYI we are farther south than the tip of South Africa. Quite incredible!
There are beautiful monuments of Argentine history and heroes everywhere.
Next we walked down the famous Calle Florida, a long street unequaled anywhere in leather goods, chocolate and a wide array of delights for the tourist!
We had to take a picture at Zara, in honor of Zara!
At the end of that very long and interesting street we came to the Plaza de Mayo, where the National Cathedral stands. Even though Argentina gained it’s independence in 1822, San Martin still “ lies in state” in a flag-draped coffin in the Cathedral across from the plaza, guarded by soldiers.
The beautiful art, including about a dozen lovely paintings of the Savior carrying the cross and a small replica of The Pietà at the Vatican.
The very Roman looking pillars that grace the entrance to the Cathedral makes this building look more like a museum than a Cathedral.
Another suggestion from Kathy was to visit the Buenos Aires Opera House, which is ranked in the top four of the world. It was very European-looking and absolutely gorgeous!
Note Dad/Rick’s fantastic outfit. I guess he likes to stand out in a crowd!
We also had fun at a Polo match. It’s the beginning of the “World Cup” of Polo matches. The horses and riders are truly amazing!
The field is over three times longer than a football field and is so huge that it’s sometimes hard to see, not only the ball but the horses.
The big guy like it!
They even had a Mercedes display just like the one at the US Open, except this car is about twice as much as it is in the US>
Our hotel, the Alvear Palace had a wonderful history from the 1800’s and was actually a private home at one time. This is what we saw when we looked over the edge of the stairway that circled down about 10 stories.
The lobby was spectacular as well.
What a magical experience! A peek into Eva Peron’s life and the fascinating people we have met coming in the next posts.
1 comment:
Dad's outfit. Love. Love all this.
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