Bares Notables - Cafe La Poesia - San Telmo

I have mentioned before what here are called the "Bares notables" a variant of the cafes in Paris.

There was a time where you could find a Bar in every intersection in all the neighbourhoods in Buenos Aires, where mostly men gathered on a daily basis to talk about politics, soccer or any other hot topic of the moment.

Today those left are half nostalgia bars, half tourist traps, but among those you can find "La Poesia" at the intersections of Chile and Bolivar streets in San Telmo.

They do have a varied menu from which you can choose from coffee, beer or main dishes for lunch or dinner.

"Bares Notables" in Buenos Aires - Bar sur

 

Buenos Aires has always had a rich Café culture and many of its classic cafes were meeting places for its literary and intellectual elite.
These places are called "Cafés Notables" which still have their interiors well preserved but still serve its patrons as any other café in town. There is a list of these bars but you will certainly see them walking around downtown Buenos Aires.
The Photo above was taken at Bar Sur in San Telmo.

The San Telmo Market

 

The San Telmo Market is a roofed marked brought over from England back in the late 1800s and served faithfully for over a century in San Telmo as a regular produce market that now became a tourist attraction.

You will certainly go in when in San Telmo and check out its restos or gift shops.

It also seems to be an ideal place for pick pockets and bag snatchers, I lost a brand new phone once and almost every time I went I heard that someone got his bag taken in a moment of distraction.
Not that this is a privilege of this market since in every big city you can be robbed specially in very crowded places.

In Passing snapshot - French´s umbrellas

It seems to be the new fad to hang umbrellas over patios, at least in Buenos Aires. At least in the "Galería Solar de French" in San Telmo they can be seen and make a great I´ve been there photo background.
 

The Church of San Pedro Telmo in Buenos Aires

One of them being the "Iglesia de San Pedro Gonzalez Telmo" located one block from the "Plaza Dorrego" which is the neighbourhoods main square.

Speaking of tourist traps, you will most likely visit the neighbourhood of San Telmo rife with overpriced trinkets and pickpockets, but not to be pessimist there are plenty of interesting things to see while you avoid being robbed or ripped off

Standing since 1734 it witnessed most of the transformation of the San Telmo hood and of the city of Buenos Aires.

In passing snapshot - Tango & Polkadots

I loved the street tango singer´s dress at san telmo in Buenos Aires

Stuff you find in San Telmo

Walking through the streets of San Telmo neighbourhood in Buenos Aires, I bumped into some very interesting items.

Lots of religious articles, mostly in silver.

Fine cristalware and silverware.

And the classic seltzer bottles called sifones which make great decoration pieces.

The Copper pot man in San Telmo

Here´s a tip for you, if you visit the San Telmo fair, on Plaza Dorrego, in Buenos Aires. Among the many tables found there, you will see the old man that sells copper ware, basically anything made of copper, but specially pans and pots which he makes himself. There isn’t much science in a copper pot, but these are well made and very cheap. Like normally a medium size copper pot will set u back around 120 to 150 bucks. Here you can get a brand new one for $40. I actually used one to make marmalade and was very satisfied with its performance, so I got a second one.

La Casa Minima

When you visit San Telmo, make sure you pass by the Pasaje San Lorenzo, on number 380, you´ll see whats considered the smallest lot in Buenos Aires. called "Casa Minima" or "Casa del Liberto", it is said to have belonged to an emancipated slave, that made his abode in a small lot that was vacant.

Have I mentioned San Telmo

San Telmo (named after Pedro González Telmo, Saint Telmo, who was a Spanish Dominican Saint) is one of the primitive neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires, much visited and crowded by tourists. There you can find well established antiquee shops as well as a semi-permanent antique fair.San Telmo's attractions include old churches (e.g. San Pedro Telmo), museums,restaurants and antique stores, which provide many colourful subjects for photos.