Plaza De Mayo

Today I went to LA Plaza De Mayo. It is The most famous square in Buenos Aires. According to my guid book, it has long been the center for protests and actives since the city began to develop. There were with crosses in the park when I was there, although it was unclear who they Were meant to remember. They even keep a fence near by to be ready for a moments notice to control a protest. Below are some pictures of my adventure today. 

Although it was quite since most things are closed on sundays, Avanida De Mayo Seemed like a very classy street. It is the home to many shops and cafes including the oldest cafe in Buenos Aires.  It was intended to be like the Champ Elysee in Paris. 

My original plan was to start to day with a tour of La Casa Rosada, but I had accidentally left my leatherman tool in my purse and I didn't want to risk having it taken away when they scanned by bag. Below is a picture of the outside of the building. 

Statue out side of La Casa Rosada

Beautiful purple windowed building that looks over the Plaza de Mayo.

If it was not for the purple building I would not have found this craft market on a cute cobblestone street. Although some stands sold items geared towards tourists, the majority of them had beautiful hand crafted trinkets. Some of my favorites included hand made ​​leather belts, bags and wallets, paintings, hand carved wood scenes and mate gourds. (Mate is tea and they drink it with a straw out of a gourd). 

The Cabildo - build Between 1725 and 1810

The Cabilo is one of the only remaining buildings of its time. It used to extend into the streets that are on either side, but parts were demolished to expand the streets. A Cabildo is a town hall, they used to be required of every city. Now it is a museum. Although inside the museum was nothing special, it was a great test for my Spanish skills, since all the exhibits were in Spanish. The white washed walls of the building looked slightly out of place compared to the colors and ornate decorations of the surrounding buildings. 

The Plaza de Mayo 100 years ago. 

Arch way outside el Cabildo. 

Next, I went to the main Catholic cathedral in Buenos Aires. It was a challenge for me to find because the outside is undecorated stone, and the steeple is not very apparent. I was only able to find it after consulting my map on exactly where it was and hearing the church bells ring. The original church was build in the 1500s, but the cathedral that stands today was not completed in the 1800s. There is mass in the cathedral every day with multiple on weekends. When I arrived a mass was concluding. 

View from the front to the back of the Cathedral. 

Tomb of Jose de San Martin is guarded by the statues Represent Argentina, Peru and Chile. The General died in exile in Europe, but the body was requested back in Buenos Aires twenty years later.  

The royal guards of the tomb. One of them smiled when an old lady was taking a picture of him.

Many of the Saint statues have flower Placed by them. This is a statue of the Virgin Mary.

That is all for today. Living in the city is great so far, but I need to find ear plugs so I can fall asleep faster and not be woken up by people yelling. I start Spanish classes tomorrow!