One thing we love about Buenos Aires is that markets and fairs are commonplace all over the city. Our favorite activity on a weekend in the city of tango was to mingle with the locals in outdoor markets.

 Pedro looking through old South American currency notes at a stall

We learnt a lot by talking to the locals and getting first-hand information about the country, culture and the economy.

 Other porteños browsing through the market’s knick knacks

These outdoor markets are a good way for people to make an honest living. We say that because the poverty level is quite high in the country and the city; we saw homeless people and beggars almost everywhere, from the city centre to the poorer outskirts.

 Older Argentinians having a chat in the park

 Nice building there

 Families with kids hanging out in the park 

 Old vehicles are typical in the city

This is the National Congress Building. One of the city’s most valuable sculptures is a bronze reproduction of “The Thinker” by Auguste Rodin, which can be found inside the plaza which is called the Plaza del Congreso.

 Us and the 102-year-old Congreso

The congress building behind

We love this windmill building so much! We called it the windmill building because it has a windmill at the top. It look so old and so out of place with the ‘newer’ buildings surrounding it, but it’s just so full of character. It reminded us of how elegant the city once was. The building’s name is actually called Confitería Del Molino. Once the informal meeting place of politicians from the nearby Congreso, the cafe closed in 1997, and now it is in major disrepair and abandoned. A big pity.

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This entry was posted on Monday, September 15th, 2008 at 5:42 pm and is filed under Argentina. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.