Buenos Aires, Argentina

I had pre booked a ticket to go inside the Casa Rosada. This is the pink coloured building where the President of Argentina has his government. This building has seen many famous speeches from its balcony, to the crowds in the Plaza de Mayo. I was keen to get inside and have a look. The building was apparently a fort that then had the palace next to it, until they decided to bring it together. It was also by the river when the fort was built, now the river is a good 2km away. We had a good tour, seeing several plush rooms and also more simple ones that are offices. There is even a elevator for the single floor which features a comfy velvet seat in case the ride is too strenuous. We even got to stand on one of the balconies to see what addressing the masses would feel like! The tour was about an hour and after, I popped into the museum Casa Rosada. The museum wasn’t very interesting but for one piece. They have the first mural painted in Argentina. A mural by David Alfaro Siqueiros. He was a Mexican communist in the 1930s who was exiled and then started annoying the Argentinian Politicians. The house he stayed in belonged to a wealthy man who asked him to paint a non political mural in his basement in lieu of rent. The resulting mural has since been cut out of the basement and is now housed in this museum. It is meant to be viewed laying on the floor, where you view a s celebration of woman. It is as if you are in a tunnel with women of different ages swimming past or standing on the tunnel. Really great work, very interesting. This evening I caught up with a German friend from school, Inka. We found a great little steak place in Palermo and enjoyed an evening of griddled cheese, steak and of course Malbec!