Athena - Argentina - Recoleta: The Rich & the Dead

Recoleta

Today I embraced my inner tourist and visited the well-known area of Recoleta. This area is the wealthiest part of Buenos Aires and is known for its famous cemetery, museums and shopping. I took the subway (see my post about cultural misunderstandings for a funny story about my first subway trip) and then had to walk about 15ish blocks to get to the Recoleta Cemetery.

 (Main entrance to the cemetary. The engraving reads: Rest in Peace)

 
 Use this link to see a slideshow of my pics from this trip: Recoleta Slideshow

Although it sounds morbid, this cemetery is one of the largest tourist attractions and it’s huge. There are literally tombs/mausoleums that are 2-3 stories high. And some people will sell their families land here to others who want the prestige of being buried in this historical cemetery.  And of course, Eva Peron is buried here and she is the main attraction. 

The things that struck me most about the cemetery are how big it is (huge), the state of some tombs in great disrepair and Eva Peron’s tomb. Her final resting place (she’s had several) was much more understated than I thought it would be. We saw several other tombs that were bigger and much grander. Peron’s tomb physically seemed to blend in with the others around it, minus the fact that it had a big crowd around and lots of fresh flowers as well.

  

  I took some pics, including a selfie, which at first felt weird, but then it didn’t. Hopefully those buried there will forgive me if they were offended.

   

After the cemetery I visited the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes.

 It was very cool, but smaller than I thought. I really liked how each room in the museum was painted a bright color. I don't recall other museums being this bold and I think it added some spark to the art viewing experience. There were a couple of groups of young students touring the museum as well and they were funny to watch. Interestingly, each student wore a white smock over their uniform, I guess so it’s easy for their teachers to see them. At any rate, the students were quite amusing with their interest, or lack thereof, in the artwork. It was great to see some of my favorite painters (I have a huge soft spot for the Impressionists in my heart!). I found it very inspiring to see such creativity and a wide range of artwork. From paintings, to sculptures, to jewelry, to tapestries, the museum had a wide range of art…and being the museum dork that I am I enjoyed every minute of it.


One of my favorite painters! Claude Monet's "La berge de la Seine"