This weekend was filled with more exploring through the city! On Friday our class went to Palermo, the barrio where Jorge Luis Borges, the late Argentine writer, lived during some of his childhood. 

Our teacher, Mercedez (far right), has done an excellent job teaching us (in spanish of course!) about the culture and some of the more important points of Buenos Aires history during these past two weeks in Intensive Spanish class. We had read some of Borges' work and history prior to visiting the area.

On Saturday I went to La Boca, a neighborhood (or barrio) with lots of color and strong European influence as many of the early settlers were from the city of Genoa, Italy. The buildings were bright and colorful and there was a true sense of community amongst the people. 

 One thing I wasn't prepared for was the amount of pollution in the air and water. It was hard to breathe as it smelt so bad. There were tires, trash, and large pieces of scrap metal sitting in the thick mud-like shore and water. The government said they would clean it up a number of years ago but there appears to have been little improvement.

Below are some more pictures of the houses and shops in La Boca

"El Gaucho Argentino"

An artist making silver-plated gourds (for mate) on a side street in La Boca