San Telmo and Plaza de Mayo

     Today, we went to Plaza de Mayo to see the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral, or “Catedral Metropolitana de Buenos Aires.”  The main thing that is interesting about this church is that it appears from the outside to be an ancient temple like what the Greeks or Italians would have, not a Catholic Church.  When I walked in, there were three main isles, which people could walk down to tour the Church and there were tons of murals and sculptures depicting religious scenes that were very ornate.

     After we visited the church, Professor Rees talked to us about the design of the Plaza de Mayo.  They built the main avenue, appropriately named la Avenida de Mayo running right through the city.  All other side street were paved in such a way that it would appear that the street was vanishing from the main center in Plaza de Mayo, although the streets never decrease in width.  Something interesting too about this part of Buenos Aires is that wealthy people would live closer to the center of the Plaza and less wealthy people would live on the outskirts.  This is completely different in the US, as the less wealthy people tend to live more in the main parts of the city and the more wealthy people tend to live in the outskirts away from the poor.

     Of course I have to mention the markets in San Telmo! This market was nothing like I had ever seen before.  There were at least ten city-blocks worth of market shopping, possibly even more.  Anything and everything could be found, jewelry, purses, watches, antiques, magnets, glasses, hats, and plenty more.  In addition, most items were relatively reasonable in cost, even though I definitely didn’t bring as much money as I wanted to!  Overall, it was an incredibly exciting day, and most likely next Sunday we’ll go to the market in Recoleta.