Street Art in Boedo

My new obsession is Instagram. These are a couple of pics from the weekend, walking around the neighborhood of Boedo. Con el espíritu del Ñandú...

The White Rabbit

After the newspaper kiosk closes and the sun goes down, this little guy comes out to play on the corner of Dorrego and Amenabar in Palermo.

La Choza

My quest to find the perfect milk and yogurt in Buenos Aires is over; La Choza has it hands down. Thick, natural yogurt and delicious full cream milk, and when paired with some organic granola it makes my weekday breakfasts a breeze. 

I get my La Choza fix at El Galpon organic/hippie market in Chacarita, open Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Cine Premier

The delightfully vintage Cine Premier at number 1565 Avenida Corrientes, was the perfect place to see Oscar-winning film The Artist.  Only a handfull of people, a black and white silent movie and the faint sound of the film reel projecting its image onto the big screen. Cinema heaven.

Colour and Chaos

Chaotic, old, dirty, colourful, vibrant... the city of Buenos Aires always has something to you show.

Punta del Diablo

Punta del Diablo is a small fishing/surf village on the coast of Uruguay, close to the Brazilian border. We recently rented a small faded-yellow cabin and took advantage of the lovely April weather with lots of swimming, relaxing, reading, exploring and eating.

The Architecture of Montevideo (again!)

 

A recent trip to Uruguay has reignited my love of the architecture in the Ciudad Vieja of Montevideo. Such a unique experience to walk around the gothic, run-down streets on a Saturday when it is completely void of life. It's like a trip back in time.

On the Street, Uruguay

In the Ciudad Viejo or old city of Montevideo was this artwork depicting Candombe musicians, a traditional Uruguayan rhythm of African descent.

Pasaje General Paz

Walking along the street Ciudad de la Paz today to get to my doctors appointment, this building blew me away. Imagine living here and walking through this amazing arch every day!

I found a couple of photos that show it off a little better, from a blog in Spanish called Palo Architecture. There are some great photos from the suburb of Colegiales, so take a look!

Above photos from http://paloarq.com.ar

Casa Vieja

This old house in Palermo Hollywood caught my eye the other day, it has some great details if you look closely.

The Soda Bottle

In Argentina you can order these soda bottles at some of the more old-school restaurants, and you often see old men drinking red wine with soda water (and at some places you cannot only order a soda bottle, you have to order wine or a whisky too!). You can also get them delivered to your door; the trucks that deliver the 20L bottles of spring water always have crates of soda bottles next to them. I have wanted to get onto the delivery list for soda for some time now, but need to do some more research about how to find one of the companies who still offer it. This is the Argentina that I love.

Virginio Colombo Part #2

The amazing Venetian-style building by architect Virginio Colombo across the street from his more well-known building the Casa Calise in the suburb of Balvanera in Buenos Aires.

Casa Calise, Virginio Colombo

 

Virginio Colombo is another of Buenos Aires' Art Nouveau architects. Born in Milan in 1885, he came to Argentina when he was 21 and produced almost 50 buildings before his death in 1927 at the age of just 42. Two of his most iconic buildings are located in the neighborhood of Balvanera: The Casa de los Pavos Reales at Rivadavia 3216 and the Casa Calise at Hipolito Yrigoyen 2562, the latter depicted in these photos.

The Casa Calise is hidden in the backstreets, away from the tourist circuit. The facade features many decorative features such as cherubs, sculptures, lion heads, the use of different textures and ironwork, and has become one of the iconic examples of the Art Nouveau movement in Buenos Aires.

In order to build this new style of building that broke away from traditional architecture, Colombo purchased the land facing the Casa Calise so that nobody could object to his style. The building that now stands across the street was also built by Colombo and is quite different but incredibly beautiful. Such amazing history in the same narrow street!

 It is extremely difficult to photograph this building as the street is so narrow and there are trees that block the lower half!

Bookstore, Avenida de Mayo

A couple of weeks ago on an excursion with my architecture class, we stumbled upon this bookstore located inside one of the Art Nouveau buildings we were all admiring. The owner invited us inside to look at the building and her shop, which turned out to be quite amazing for two reasons: the collection of vintage books and Argentine memorabilia and the building itself with an amazing ceiling and other architectural details.

The bookshop is called La Calesita and I am definitely planning a return visit in the near future.

More Art Nouveau

Some more Art Nouveau buildings by Julian Garcia Nuñez. Perhaps his most well-known building the Hospital Español (above) on Avenida Belgrano and La Rioja (only half of it remains today), and below, an office building at Chacabuco 78 in the heart of the city.