So this is the Dutch bear...
After a morning wandering about the busy shopping streets spending my last pesos on various things I decided it was time to tackle the metro. What I really wanted was a day-ticket where I could just hop on and off but that wasn't an option. What you get is a one-way ticket to anywhere. As soon as you come out you have to have a new ticket. A ticket costs 1.10 ar$, about 30 euro cent. You can buy multiples to save you from having to queue for a new one every time. I didn't know this at first and thought it was a pretty daft system till I did... So I went on a number of different lines. The A line has old wood lined carriages. The C line has the best tiled stations.
I didn't really have time to gO anywhere in particular as at 3.30I wanted to be at the Plaza de Mayo as every Thursday afternoon at this time for the past 31 years the Madres de la Plaza, mothers and grandmothers of people who 'disappeared' during the dictatorship in the 70's, have a sort of miniature protest march in front of the government buildings. Over the years they have become a sort of alternative tourist attraction in themselves, complete with flags and printed headscarves. It's a very odd sort of atmosphere. Festive even, this is a part of their lives now, just 'what they do' on Thursdays. But you can never forget why they're there. Before the march they sell various cards and books and things to raise money for publicity for their cause. In the background there was another protest march going on, this time by the workers of the Teatro Colon, I think a lot of them have been sacked or put on unpaid leave during the renovation. The day before I'd also got caught up in a protest march, older male workers. I think after years of living under a dictatorship where such things were banned the Argentinians take every opportunity to make use of their right to protest publicly now.
In the evening I went to see the film 'Vicky, Christina, Barcelona' in a cinema with a strange optical illusion which sometimes made you feel as if you were lying back looking up at the screen. It was like being inside one of those drawings that you can look at in 2 separate ways to change the perspective. Something to do with the slope of the floor and the diagonal bloks of wood on the walls. Film is worth seeing. Even if it's only to hear Penelope Cruz being hysterical in Spanish. Most of it is in English though.
I didn't really have time to gO anywhere in particular as at 3.30I wanted to be at the Plaza de Mayo as every Thursday afternoon at this time for the past 31 years the Madres de la Plaza, mothers and grandmothers of people who 'disappeared' during the dictatorship in the 70's, have a sort of miniature protest march in front of the government buildings. Over the years they have become a sort of alternative tourist attraction in themselves, complete with flags and printed headscarves. It's a very odd sort of atmosphere. Festive even, this is a part of their lives now, just 'what they do' on Thursdays. But you can never forget why they're there. Before the march they sell various cards and books and things to raise money for publicity for their cause. In the background there was another protest march going on, this time by the workers of the Teatro Colon, I think a lot of them have been sacked or put on unpaid leave during the renovation. The day before I'd also got caught up in a protest march, older male workers. I think after years of living under a dictatorship where such things were banned the Argentinians take every opportunity to make use of their right to protest publicly now.
In the evening I went to see the film 'Vicky, Christina, Barcelona' in a cinema with a strange optical illusion which sometimes made you feel as if you were lying back looking up at the screen. It was like being inside one of those drawings that you can look at in 2 separate ways to change the perspective. Something to do with the slope of the floor and the diagonal bloks of wood on the walls. Film is worth seeing. Even if it's only to hear Penelope Cruz being hysterical in Spanish. Most of it is in English though.
Afterwards was up till about 3 postponing packing my bag...
