Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Apartment #2 - Monserrat, the Neighbourhood

The neighbourhood of Monserrat is a mixed bag, featuring European architecture, 1970s scary architecture, a bit of dirt and grime and a slightly bigger bit of attitude. This emanates just as much from the streets themselves as from the very old and traditional bars on the street corners and the old characters (mostly men) that frequent them.  Things were very quiet on the Sunday these pictures were taken, allowing a different perspective to be observed of this otherwise busy down-town location.

There was some interesting text and lettering around, as well as stencils and pictures on windows and garage doors.  Some buildings were abandoned and boarded up, while others, through an open door, allowed a glimpse into a secret world of apartments and gardens.

Monserrat has a charm reminiscent of the more touristy San Telmo, but it´s a little more grungy and lacking in fancy bars in comparison.  The feature here are several large and traditional Spanish restaurants and cultural clubs that are home to the Spanish community, and many important buildings, such as the Buenos Aires Police Headquarters (see photo below).

Overall, it seems like an interesting place to live...

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