Flag Day & Casa Rosada Tour

Today was a federal holiday in Argentina.  Many of the businesses, banks and all of the government agencies were completely shut down today and the public transportation system was running a limited schedule. This means... there was no school for us either. There was a rally in the Plaza de Mayo and because it was not a regular working day for the President and her staff the Casa Rosada was open today for tours.  It is safe to say that flag day here is taken a lot more seriously than in the United States.

We took the tour completely in Spanish because it's nice to practice and because we were the only three that   weren't from Argentina on the tour.  The tour lasted about 45 minutes from start to finish, but we had to wait about an hour with our tickets before it started.

This is the outside of the Casa Rosada and each fence section has a different crest on it.

This is the foyer where we had to wait for the tour to begin.

One of the many garden areas inside of the residence.

One of the garden areas that was open to the public had windows to the desks of actual government workers.  I thought it was interesting that this particular employee decided to leave phone numbers and other information in plain sight on sticky notes.  I have no idea if this information is sensitive... so you viewed it and you might be wanted by the government.

Chapel

This is where the President does her press conferences.  

Another of the internal gardens, I think this was probably my favorite one.

The view of the Plaza de Mayo from the Presidential Balcony.  Basically I felt like Eva Peron.

This was the "white room" and it is probably one of the most ornate rooms I have ever seen.

One of the meeting rooms... usually used for photo ops.

Presidential Office - we learned that the sitting president no longer lives in the Casa Rosada and it is only used for official government work.  The Presidential Residence is at another location.

The fireplace in the President's Office - I just thought the attention to detail was amazing.

So, now it can feel like you all took a tour of the Casa Rosada today too... Feliz Dia de la Bandera!

Ciao,

Tim

First Day of Classes & First Tour of the City

Our schedule of classes is basically Mon-Wed-Thurs from 10 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. with a 30 minute break for lunch around noon.  On Tuesday we generally will have classes from 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. with a couple of 30 minute breaks throughout the day. 
I first have a grammar class with students from my same Spanish level for 2 hours in the morning.  I took some pictures from the windows of the classroom – the entire time we could hear people honking their horns… because this is a favorite pastime of most drivers in the city.

Today, however, we went on a Bus/Walking tour of parts of the city.  We went to a cemetery in the Recoleta area and there were some really elegant tombs there.  I have included some pictures of the cemetery below.  The tour guide told really amazing historical stories throughout the tour – mostly of the crazy things that happened to the body of Eva Perón.


These looked the same about a year ago, but a family purchased the one on the right in 2011 for their daughter and renovated the space, I have no idea what they did with the bodies that were there before.This is actually on the INSIDE of one of the tombs, that is why there is a reflection – it was a really big space and truly ornate.
After the cemetery we left and went to the Casa Rosada, which I actually went back to and took the following picture on my way home… it turns out I basically pass the equivalent of their White House everyday on my way to and from school. 

It has lights on the outside to illuminate it at night and it truly a Casa Rosada (Pink House).

We finished our tour in the La Boca area of the city.  This part of town is known for its colorful houses and has a lot of tourist traffic.  Our tour guide informed us that the real reason the houses were initially painted different colors was because the poor immigrants couldn’t afford to buy all of one color paint and had to make-do with leftovers of whatever color was available.

I also bought some candies, some sort of sweet potato concoction and mate which is kind of like the national drink.  I will put up some reviews of these items when I get a chance.
Ciao,
Tim