First days in Buenos Aires

After a few days of getting enough rest and check-ins, we embarked in our first city tour! Although weather was not on our side and rain was menacing, we managed to get through Plaza de Mayo (May square), the most important square of the whole country. Plaza de Mayo is the oldest public square in Buenos aires, and has been the scene of many of the most important events in the city's history, from the second founding of the city in 1580, through the revolution of independence. There we could see the different historical and political buildings surrounding the city, as well as the images which pay homage to Madres and Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo. Our tour guides, Lucho and Javi, told us about these special events and specifically these historical and living legends. The Madres de la Plaza de Mayo (Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo) began meeting in the square in 1977 to demand information about their missing children during Argentina's last military dictatorship. Even today they continue to meet in the square and march around the May Pyramid every Thursday at 3.30pm.

Suddenly, rain became so intense that we had to seek for shelter on the bus. So, we got to see La Boca, Caminito, and the difference between the poor south of the city and the rich north from the bus. Fortunately, rain gave us a break on one of the many beautiful and colourful parks that we can see on the north part of the city. So we could make a stop to see "Floralis Genérica", a 20m-high, 18-tonne aluminium and stainless steel sculpture which dominates the Plaza de las Naciones Unidas paying homage to all flowers. It is the world's first mobile public sculpture to be controlled by hydraulics and photoelectric sensors and it's supposed to represent "a synthesis of all the flowers and a hope that is reborn every day", that's why it's six steel petals open at 8am each morning, and close at midnight.

We could take some pictures over there after getting shelter once more inside the warm bus. And fortunately we had some alfajores for merienda, our new favourite desert so far. Alfajores are very popular in Argentina and they are sort of a small cake consisting in a mixture of cookie, chocolate and the famous dulce de leche on the centre.

And continuing with desert, the following day was a perfect plan for the neverending rain: MATE AND CHOCOTORTA!

Yes, we got to learn about the traditional mate, it's cultural significante in Argentina and how to prepare it. Mate is something that Argentinians share, generally it's just one mate (the vessel is named 'mate' as well as the drink itself) and everybody take turns to drink it. And with the mate... chocotorta: Dulce de leche, cream cheese, chocolate cookies. Excellent combination! And also some students from other parts of the city came to share this 'merienda' with us, so it was a lot of fun to see students making new friends so fast!