The ugly-pretty

My new thing is taking an interest in things that are not necessarily inherently attractive, and I have dubbed this the "ugly-pretty".  This city is full of ugly alongside pretty; an 18th Century building next to a 1970s tower of apartments, an old abandoned building with doors and windows that have been cemented in to prevent people occupying the building.

These buildings for example; their form, colours and the architecture interests me, but not because it´s pretty, because it´s almost kind of ugly.  I walk past here every day and I love the way the building looks at different times of the day, according to the light.  Here it´s late afternoon, when the sky has a soft glow and you know that darkness is soon coming.

Another entrance

Another building entrance to a friend´s apartment.  This time the entrance is enormous which makes you feel quite grand, walking down the deep green velvet carpet past the white fireplace.  I love the letters on the doors, the detailing on the walls and the double door entrance.

Beauty in the doorway

I love the old fashioned doors and entrances that the buildings here have.  Some of them are grand entrances, with a marble hallway and art deco lighting, and some of them are not as fancy but they have a vintage onda just as they are.  This is the entrance to a friends place in Abasto.  I changed the images to black and white just for a little artistic change, and to give them an all-so-slight air of film noir-ness.  In the un-touched light of day, the elevator door is emerald green and the entrance has a faded brown-goldie 50´s feel.

The Glow

It has been raining non-stop for two days now, which I find somehow calming.  It means that there are not as many people on the street; they are either indoors or in buses and taxis, and the city has this glow about it.  It´s just a steady rainfall, that makes it pleasant to put on your boots, grab your umbrella and walk.  In the afternoon when it gets a little darker, the sky just has this glow.  Everything is wet, but the colours seems more vivid and the buildings contrast against the silver-white glow that envelops everything below.

Montevideo

I love going back to a city that I know, revisiting places that are familiar but that have not been experienced for years.  Montevideo is the capital of Uruguay and just a ferry and bus ride away from Buenos Aires.  There are many similarities between the two cities, but my favourite things are the differences.  Montevideo has this kind of sinister gothic appeal to it, with a mix of different architectural styles, dirty building facades and the absense of people in the streets (which when you come from Buenos Aires is extremely obvious).  It´s the 1800´s meets the 1960´s, French meets Gothic, pretty meets ugly. When added together, these elements create a mood that is difficult to put into words but the photos do enough by themselves. 

The local beer is Pilsen and it´s very easy to throw one of these back in any of the old bars that are dotted around the city.

The Native North American Bus

Catching the 103 bus the other day I was pleasantly suprised to find these images of native american indians filling the otherwise blank interior.  The bus also had a blue light, the disco bus as I like to refer to it, so without a flash, the photos came out with a blue tone.  Que bueno!

 

 

San Telmo, Centro Wandering

 

  

 

Saturday is the perfect day to just wander around the centre of the city.  It is as quiet as a mouse, with all of the nine-to five workers at home and only a handful of tourists to be seen, or rather, heard.  Firstly a coffee at El Hipopotamo in San Telmo, then to visit an historic house in Parque Lezama, a walk to the 10 peso cine Tita Mirello near the obelisk and a beer at an old bar.