BA Free Tour (finally)

Have we mentioned that we're jet lagged?! Waking up is a real chore and getting ourselves to the meeting place for the free tour is a slog. Walking to the meeting spot, we both feel drugged (not a good state for dodging dog poo).

However, we do make it to the Plaza del Congresso (Congress buildings) and meet up with Gaston, our tour guide, along with 15 other lost and shellshocked tourists (are we projecting here?!?!).

A Buenos Aires native or "Porteño", Gaston is the founder of BA Free Tours which provide two different tours of the city at different times of the day. Free means he hopes you will enjoy the tour and leave a tip at the end. He is enthusiastic, knowledgeable and quite entertaining. He leads us down the Av. de Mayo (or, "May Avenue" in English), stopping at various points to share a story, give us small history lessons and tell us how to properly order coffee.




Highlights of the tour include the Plaza del Congresso where Parliament meets.




The incredible building beside it which once was a parliament building and is now home to squatters. The city cannot get them out and will not have agency to take over the building for 30 years. As it is condemned, this means it may collapse and sadly, be lost as a historic piece of architecture.




Some of the French and Italian architecturally influenced buildings.



The Av. 9 Julio where the Obelisco is situated marking the independence of Argentina (no photo, too much scary traffic!)

The Cabildo, the original parliament building and only one to survive the rebuilding craze of the 1880's.




The Piramide de Mayo which marks the first anniversary of the May 25 Revolution when Argentina first threw off the Spanish rule (it wasn't until six years later on July 9 that Argentina was formally granted independence. Both days get "independence" holidays here!).




And then the Casa Rosada (Madonna's, er, Evita's pink house) which after the tour we venture into to have a little look around. We do not get in line to tour the balcony as the tours here are all in Spanish and we need a bit more prep first (fine, quite a bit more prep!)

Also, after the tour, we pester Gaston with our most pressing questions: How to find bathrooms when out and about? How to do laundry? How to find a bank machine?

He kindly obliges and even hands out his email address in case we would like any more "recommendations."

For the first time in three days, the sun is out and there is nary a cloud in the sky. We walk back to our barrio San Telmo in hopes that a restaurant we spied the day before will be open for lunch.