Very Happy New Year

Hey folks we finally made it to years end with more than 52 posts, meeting the humble goal of one post per week, which is´nt as easy as it seems considering that some assignments are in the boonies with poor or no IN connection..
Thanks for following and may this new year bring you lots of Joy and prosperity.

Tigre: A place to eat

 
You will notice that being a tourist destination there will be a lot of places to eat in Tigre, specially along the canal. One place that I liked was the "Villa Julia Hotel" located at 800 Paseo Victorica.
 

They have a la carte or a fixed menu for a moderate price, I paid around 15 American per person, and the food was quite good, another thing is that I tend to enjoy meals best when eating in a nice ambiance.

You can eat inside or on the veranda and if you arrive at what Argies consider early, which is our normal eating schedule, you´ll have the whole place to yourself.. Of course as its name tells you, this is a hotel so you can also spend the night here.

El Museo de Arte de Tigre

The Art Museum of Tigre which is located by the riverside beside the municipality is a beautiful building originally built in 1912 for the Tigre club which was intended to be a place of gathering for the locals.

It was also used as a casino before becoming a Building of National Patrimony and an Arts Museum.

The museum itself is kinda empty and with some modern abstract exhibitions that are not even worth mentioning. I was interested more in the architecture of the building which is predominantly French.

The front of the building is graced with a covered corridor that leads to the river which is also a terrace that offers a better view of the museum and of the surrounding area.

WWG - El Museo Naval en Tigre - Buenos Aires Province

I have to recommend going to the Naval museum in Tigre, if you want to understand more about Argentine history, which involved some naval battles along the way.

Its situated bout 30 minutes walk from the train station along the riverside and is actually very well set up

It has rooms dedicated to most of the country's naval wars and a detailed history of William Brown aka Guillermo Brown who was an Irishman that fought for the newly created Argentine republic.

A trip to Tigre

The city of Tigre lies 28kms away from Buenos Aires in the Northern part of the greater BA and can be easily accessed by car or train. It lies on the Parana Delta and is an important tourist and weekend destination for locals and foreigners.

I took the Mitre Line train and was surprised at how quick and comfy I got there ( less than an Hour from Retiro Terminal). Upon arriving you´ll see the brand new train station pictured above and you´ll find the main canal which can be walked along by a riverside walk, that is littered with restaurants and outdoor markets.

Tigre is also famous for its rowing clubs which are very similar to those found along the Thames river in London. Above we see the "La Marina Rowing Club" and below "Club de remo Argentino"

Merry Christmas 2015

An aereal guided tour of Buenos Aires

Here is a great video of Buenos Aires filmed with a Drone, if you want detailed info on the sites refer to a post from another blog I recommend.
http://mavieenargentine.eklablog.com/buenos-aires-en-3-min-a119645478

See the video Here Buenos Aires desde el Aire

The Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica In Buenos Aires

Strolling through the Palermo neighbourhood in Buenos Aires you might want to check out one of its nicest Church, the Basila de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, at Medrano y Mansilla across from a small park called Plaza Guemes.

This is one ol the oldest churches in Palermo and is quite an institution in the hood. Its mix of Romanesque and Gothic styles gives it a very atractive look.

It has been recently restored and renovated and is nice place for prayers & pics.

The Trip to Lobos - Part Five

I begun  second day in Lobos having a wonderful breakfast at the B&B and headed out to explore the area and the Lagoon that is located on the outskirts of the town.

Right outside town I passed by the "Aerodromo de Lobos" that is the local airfield, that's basically a field without tarmac. When I was passing by I saw some skydivers so i decided to check out the prices. I was told that you can jump for about $150 bucks with the instructor.

Arriving at the Lagoon I circled it and found a nice spot to dip in, the water was brown but clean, do´nt expect Canadian lake quality,

Before heading back to town  I fuelled up with a ice cold pint of "Cerveza Artesanal" or microbrewery beer that is draught, this one was "Barba Roja" and it was pretty good, I also had a greasy Choripan to complete the calorie intake for the 15 click bike ride.

Instead of taking the "Ruta 205" back I took an old railroad track tha' abandoned and that shortens the ride 5 clicks. Its pretty smooth riding cuz the sleepers are totally covered by dirt, until you hit the abandoned bridge, and that can be trickier when you have two or more sleepers missing, then you have to keep your balance under pain of falling with bike and equipment into the river.
It was easy riding except for some nasty 3 inch thorns that will puncture any bike tire.

Aftaer that it was back to the train station for the tieresome 4hrr trip back to Baires.

The Trip to Lobos - Part Four

Now, after arriving back at Lobos y went back to the B&B y was staying, its called "Lo de Salgado" and is on Salgado street which honours the founder of the town, Jose Salgado. This was actually his house that now serves as a B&B. I do recommend the place which is also bike friendly.

Lobos is really a small town 98km away from the big city. It does have some life of its own but serves mainly as the conection link in between the farms that surround it and Buenos Aires, via the raillway.

I strolled by 9 de Julio street that is the towns main thorough way and was delighted to find at least 5 ice cream parlours in the same amount of blocks.

A fun fact is that walking round town I bumped into the town library that used to be a masonic lodge. I found it curious that there would be a lodge in such a small place. I was told that in the early 1800 hundreds a good number of Italians moved here and some were masons thus building a lodge, but they insisted in provoking the catholics in the area by celebrating Sept 20 that was the day Garibaldi conquered the Vatican. So the church taking advantage of the Italians from Teggiano that were devoted to San Cono had big processions on his feast day that is Sept 23rd spoiling the masons party.

The Trip to Lobos - Part three

After visiting the main house of the "Estancia" I went for lunch which was passport to visit the place cuz they will not let you in unless you stay, spend the day or have lunch there, all of the above with previous appointment which will put you on the list that is checked at the main gate.
















Lunch is very good and will cost you the same as a regular restaurant in Buenos Aires. You get all u can eat Asado with taters and salad, plus one drink, dessert and coffee.

After lunch I toured the rest of the premises which include a nice little German style church and a little mill house.

I also took a nap in anticipation of the 15 clicks return trip to Lobos, that was quite nice thanks to the Jacaranda trees that were in full bloom.

The Trip to Lobos - Part Two

I made it to lobos at bout 10.40 after a 3.5 h trip by train which was´nt so bad considering the weather was great. I hit the road and biked to the "Estancia La Candelaria" that sits 15 clicks away from town. The road cuts through pampa farmland adorned grazing fat cows.

The Estancia was my main reason for the trip, as you can see it resembles a french chateau like the ones found besides the Loire River. It was built in 1894 by Manuel Fraga owner of the state.Its surrounded by a magnificent park designed by Charles Thays, a French landscaper that designed most of the big parks in Buenos Aires.

The Chateau has Gothic,Normand and baroque elements and is decorated inside with Louis XV and XVI furniture.
Today the Estancia serves as a Hotel and you can either spend the nigh there, or do a "Día de Campo"staying there for the day.
http://www.estanciacandelaria.com/

The Trip to Lobos - Part One

Last weekend was a long one here in Buenos Aires, they call them "Feriados Puente", wich is no novelty , but this time it ran from Saturday to Tuesday. So this time I decided to get out of the B.A, (Big Apple or Buenos Aires, as you prefer).
The chosen destination Lobos which sits roughly 100 clicks from the Capital. Of course it would be no fun to just go by car, so I did the Train-Bike combo.

Aprovechando el finde largo el 8 de Diciembre decidí hacer un viaje a Lobos para conocer las estancias y la Laguna. Lobos queda a unos 100km de Baires y se puede acceder por ruta o tren. Pero para evitar la monotonía se me ocurrió ir en bici y tren.

My Idea was to take on the first train of the Sarmiento Line from Once terminal which leaves at 5.30 am, so as to arrive at Lobos around 8 and be able to bike around without being torched by the Sun, but unfortunately the second train that departs from Merlo station does not have a sequential schedule with that service, which left me with the 7.09 train that brings you to Merlo at 8.28 enough to run for the departing train to Lobos.

As I mentioned on a previous post, bikes must travel on the cargo waggon of the train which here is called "Furgón". Fortunately there were several other bikers that were doing the same stunt, so it made up for a nice trip with conversation and helpfull tips.

The Sarmiento line has new trains with AC which made the Once-Merlo stage of the trip comfy, as for the second stage from Merlo to Lobos, you get to use the vintage trains that travel slow making the 80km trip a 2.5h journey.

In any case the trip took roughly 3.5 hrs from Once to Lobos setting me back 6.50 pesos which is bout 50c American.

This was the timetable for the Trip from Buenos Aires to Lobos

6:25 am. Departure from Palermo (by bike)
6:50 am. Arribal at Once Station (Ferrocarril Sarmiento)
7:16 am  Departure train Once-Merlo
8:20 am Train arives at Merlo station
8:28 am  Departure train Merlo-Lobos
10:45 am  train arives at Lobo

In Passing Snapshot - Spring at the Bosques de Palermo

I went on a bike ride with fellow bike enthusiasts at the "Bosques de Palermo" and was hoping to get some nice pics of Blooming Jacarandá trees, that are very beautiful this time of year. But unfortunately due to the last storm they were with few flowers left.
Instead I found this enchanting tree covered lane with a carpet of the "Tipa" tree that also abound in Buenos Aires.


Ayer me hice una escapada a los bosques de Palermo para andar en bici y ver los Jacarandaes en Flor que suelen adornar las plazas y veredas de Baires en estas fechas.
Lamentablemente los Jacarandaes estaban con pocas flores debido a la última tormenta. Igualmente encontré este camino arbolado con una alfombra de flores de las tipas, otro árbol que abunda en Buenos Aires.

In Passing Snapshot - Sunset at la Costanera

One of the things I miss about Montevideo are the sunsets over the River Plate, since Buenos Aires is on the southern side of the River you can only catch the sunrise, which can also be nice. But in exploring the area I managed to get a nice pano of the sunset with the city´s skyline and the "Club de Pescadores" at the Costanera riverside walk.

By appointment to her Majesty the (Argie)Queen

Great news for Argie beer loving fans, now you can buy dutch beers made locally. I will not voucher for the quality, but at least it beats the local watery versions of beer.


Ya se que la Reina Maxima no tubo nada que ver, o tal vez si. Lo cierto es que las cervezas importadas son demasiado caras y han viajado demasiado para mi gusto. Por eso me alegra que se fabriquen cervezas holandesas en Argentina.