Travelling around the City of Porteños

This weekend, I had the opportunity to see the diverse aspects of Buenos Aires. Since the city was built around a port, it is sometimes called Porteña City. As such, the citizens of Buenos Aires are often referred to as Porteños.

My host P.I. invited me to her home to meet her husband and to see some sights in the city. After a short bus ride, I found myself in the downtown area of Buenos Aires. My P.I.'s flat is absolutely gorgeous and has a European-esque interior architecture. Her study was well designed and had some interesting artwork:

Animal figureheads used by indigenous people in Northern Argentina for special ceremonies.

Afterwards, we walked around the neighborhood to look at some points of interest. One of them included the great ombú tree.

ombú

It's branching was extraordinarily long and extensive. It was hard to believe that it all came from one tree. This majestic tree is regarded as something like the unofficial national tree of Argentina. Apparently the branches grow so large sometimes that they have to be held by scaffolds to support the massive weight. A park was built around the great ombú, and families were out enjoying the warm Sunday afternoon. Buenos Aires has several such parks dotted around the city, and they work as nice respites from the towering skyscrapers and bustling city life.

The Obelisk of Buenos Aires

Only a few hundred meters away from the ombú tree, one can see the massive Obelisk monument. This is one of the great symbols of the city and are comparable to the Empire State Building of New York City or the Space Needle of Seattle. It stands proudly at the center of a busy intersection that is supposedly the widest avenue in the world.

María Eva Duarte de Perón

On the same avenue lies a building that commemorates one of the most influential First Ladies of Argentine history. She was affectionately known as Evita Perón by the common people, and she was a champion for woman's suffrage and the well-being of the poor. She was widely popular among the people and was known as the "Spiritual Leader of the Nation" before her early death. Evita's work as a revolutionary female political activist is still celebrated by Argentinians.

The Río de la Plata

Next on the stop was the great Río de la Plata. Literally, the name translates to the Silver River. This acts as the water boundary between Argentina and Uruguay. However, the river is so vast, you couldn't make out the other side. I actually thought it was an ocean because it was so expansive. One could say that the port based off of this river is what gave Buenos Aires its namesake.

Bife de chorizo (top); papas fritas provenzal (left); house-baked bread and chimichurri sauce (right)

We went to one of the most popular tourist destinations of Buenos Aires for carne asada in the colorful neighborhood of San Telmo. The name of the restaurant was El Desnivel, and it is definitely worth the trip, even if some wait time is involved. I ordered a dish of bife de chorizo, which is like a type of sirloin cut. It is rated by many websites to be the #1 cut of meat to try in Buenos Aires. Chimichurri sauce, which is an olive oil-based sauce with many different spices, works as a very good steak sauce. To accompany my main course, I ordered papas fritas provenzal (very crispy French fries with parsley and garlic). The meal was definitely satisfying and left me full for the entire day.

A remodeled house in San Telmo, now transformed to various artisan shops.

San Telmo is definitely one of the tourist hot-spots in Buenos Aires. On the streets, there are artisans with their craftsmanship displayed and for sale. Food vendors regularly walk around with empanadas, cakes, and other sweets, hoping to catch the attention of passerby. Many of the buildings used to be residences of wealthy families, but after years of disuse, they have been renovated into shops.

Inside the shops, many artisans are actively at work, making all kinds of hand-woven clothes from the native llama wool. These are definitely beautiful pieces but very pricey for their authenticity and quality of work.

Plaza Francia on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

Our last stop was at Plaza Francia, definitely a recommended destination for visitors to the city. There were many people simply lounging on the grass on picnic blankets while various musicians performed impromptu concerts in front of them. But the real attraction of Plaza Francia lies in the various stalls lined up around the grassy areas. All kinds of artisans flock to sell their creations on Saturdays and Sundays. These goods go from mate tea gourds, to Argentinian leather bags, to handcrafted silver jewelry, and many more.

In terms of my research, things have progressed better than we hoped for! Although we don't have a substantial n for the second round of experiments, correlations have been unbelievably high (~0.98 range). My P.I. would like for me to start up another write-up of our results, so most of this week will be dedicated to that cause. We may also start a third group of experiments which will measure the activity of the two cells that we previously studied in relation to tension application. That will work as a nice wrap-up to everything I've done here so far! With a little less than three weeks left here, I'm hoping to make the most out of my time in Buenos Aires.