Palermo was a workingman's neighbourhood, but has evolved into the hippest barrio of Buenos Aires. Every block has at least half a dozen street side bistros, bars and restaurants apart from the nightclubs and cafe book stores.
Architecture is a mix of 21st century and anything before that. Palermo is also a clothing shoppers paradise, dozens of designers have their boutiques right here - avantguarde, modern, chic, one-off, affordable. (I bought two pair of light leather sandals for $25 each, fit softly like gloves. I need to shed my touristy hiking boot image here, otherwise everone will address me in English) I also invested a few dollars in a designer skirt, as REAL women wear skirts here...
Interior design stores, shoe and leather stores, interspersed with supermercados for groceries, lavanderias for laundry, locutorios for internet, fruitstands, lottery shops, pharmacies...just walk one block and one can find one of everthing.
Store Front in Palermo
Definitely not a tango shoe....but quite an elevating experience for a shorter girl.
Historic entrance beside contemporary garage door (private individual garages are a rare convenience indeed, most people park in the streets or in a 'yard' like affair behind the buildings)
Designer Boutique - small, individual, elegant...but almost all of their doors are locked(airconditioning? safety?) and one rings a bell to be buzzed in.
Entrance to one of the polo stores, bronze statues of polo players guard the entrance to a vine draped fore court, past more rider statues, into the inner sanctum filled with exquisite apparel and a rich aroma of leather.
Walking in Buenos Aires is akin to maneuvring through a minefield of - dog poop. No one seems to subscribe to poop and scoop etiquette, although I have seen dog walkers with plastic bags tied to leashes, I suppose that is merely a fashion assessory, as that stuff is everwhere.
Many of the traffic lanes are still finished in cobble stone.
The side walks present an interesting mosaic of diverse finishes. It appears that each house owner is responsible for the bit of side walk in front of his property. There is tile, brick, cobble stone, asphalt, dirt...some quite inventive and attractive, others not too well maintained.
The side walks present an interesting mosaic of diverse finishes. It appears that each house owner is responsible for the bit of side walk in front of his property. There is tile, brick, cobble stone, asphalt, dirt...some quite inventive and attractive, others not too well maintained.
So, if one does not step into a decorative brown heap of ....., one may step into numerous holes, cracks, puddles of mud, mounts of sand, whatever the owner has left as a welcome mat.
Fresh fruit in abundance, and at absolutely incredible low prices. The duraznos (peaches) are absolutely delicious right now.
Fresh fruit in abundance, and at absolutely incredible low prices. The duraznos (peaches) are absolutely delicious right now.
Most of the streets around my neighbourhood are tree-lined...Apartment buildings range from historic low rise to modern glass towers, none taller than maybe ten stories. All have secure entrances, needing codes and keys.
These ladies must have been the oldest and the weightiest human beings I saw all day.
Where are they hiding? Maybe they live in other neighbourhoods...
I also was surprised (or maybe not) of the almost total absence of overweight people. But, there is also a welcome absence of McDonalds, KFC, Subway, Wendy's, DunkinDonuts, Krispykreem or whatever our Northamerican preferences are. I am sure a few of them are around, but why eat prefabricated junk, if the most delectable food is offered at every corner?
Quite stylish, and very avant guarde - or maybe it only seems that way...ugly is definitely not trendy. Not a wet look hairdoo in sight, no sneakers (those are the tourists), and not a whole load of make up either, no 'gothic' and black lipstick.
The guys are exempt...shorts, t-shirts prevail. Many young men wear their hair long (not this one), parted in the middle and twirled into a tight knot in the nape of their necks, or their locks waving in the breeze a la Fabio, or pulled straight back into a pony tail.
Hardly anybody is seen slouching...
And - public affection seems de rigueur....
When I step out of my apartment I can have Argentinian Breakfast (media lunas, i.e. croissants, coffee and juice) for $3.50, or have my laundry done for a couple of dollars a bag, or buy a pretty something to wear, or head for 'Disco', the grocery store, around the corner, or pick up some fruit or some Argentininian (or other) wine and fresh baked goods. A couple of the 570 bus lines in Buenos Aires stop in front of my apartment, and the subway station is a leisurely stroll down the street.
What may tomorrow bring??
