After
our pretty long night with Kathleen's buddy from high school, we
decided that a "short" day was in order. Our plan was to
visit the presidential place, AKA "Casa Rosada" (Pink House),
the National Cathedral and Teatro Colon. We ended up
taking more photos than expected due to a novel event.
The photos below are what we saw.
Buenos
Aires has an extensive subway system, locally know as "el
sube". The cards are RFIDs rather than magnetic strip
(which is more reliable) and the cards can be purchased at
nearly every kiosko (kiosk convenience store) but we got ours
for free from our hotel. Trust me, we more than paid the
25 peso face value with the price of the room. To our
surprise, the tracks ran opposite to our expectations and we
discovered that the system was designed and built by the
British. Mystery explained.
We had
about 8 stops to get from our area (Plaza Italia) to the
Catedral which was the end of the line. The line
terminated at our intended destination.
When we
popped out from underground, we immediately saw European-style
buildings.
We
passed a massive cast iron door with a bronze inlays. We
later discovered that the door was associated with the mayor's
residence (locally known as the Govenor del Ciudad).
We were
not too surprised to find advanced surveillance gear on the roof
of the building.
Across
from the Govenor's residence was the Banco del Argentina.
Our
initial destination was Casa Rosada (the President's
Palace). We were surprised, and even disappointed to find
out that the plaza in front of the place was closed off due to
construction, thus blocking our ability to get a good photo of
the place. Undaunted, we continued on past the
construction barricades.
As we
got close to the palace, we noticed that something big was
preparing to happen. The palace guard was in full dress
uniform and the red carpet was out.
A closer
inspection showed that there was a formal camera crew on
site. The guard went through a few dry runs while we
waited. But, we were not sure what we were waiting for.
Whatever
was preparing to happen was sufficiently important that the bomb
squad was on site inspecting vehicles that we coming onto the
grounds. Above, one of the bomb squad uses a mirror on a
stick to inspect the underside of an incoming vehicle.
It was
nearly noon and Kathleen reasoned that whatever was going to
happen would happen at noon. Within moments, we heard
sirens that we interpreted as a formal escort of some
kind. Above, the folks by the barricades were watching the
the approaching motorcade.
The
approaching sirens brought out the big guns. The fellow on
the right is clearly military, but the fellow on the left?
Chief of Staff? VP? Secretary of State? Unknown.
A
Mercedes S-class sedan pulled up and two older folks
disembarked. The woman waved at the (very small) crowd and
then went to shake the general's hand. The band started
playing, they walked up the stairs and we lost interest.
On our way across the street, I asked an ambulance driver "who
was that?" and he said "the King and Queen of Norway".
Only one
block away we came upon Banker's Row -- many banks in just a few
blocks. This bank was the only one than was not in a
"classical" building.
One
block away we came to the Catedral. The construction
impacted entry, so we had to come around behind the building to
gain access.
Inside
were nice alcoves with huge paintings.
The
altar area was quite magnificent.
Every
large cathedral has an organ for the choir, this one was no
exception.
A more
detailed view of the altar.
Every
alcove had something surprising.
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Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2018, all rights
reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.