LUXURY

The passionate people of Buenos Aires love to dance. It’s a
desire that’s embedded deep within their cultural psyche.
When porteños (as they are called) are not dancing the tango
on balmy, sultry Latin nights, they’re watching futbol (football),
a game that is followed with religious fervour.
You will also find porteños promenading around their
architecturally striking city, immersed in animated conversation
and resplendent in the latest chic fashion wear from Italy, France
and Spain.
At other times they will be discussing politics while dining on
the finest beef in the world in restaurants that are fully booked
from midnight until 2am – when the nightclubs start to hum.
Buenos Aires is the city that never sleeps. Having just arrived
from Auckland I’m not about to emulate the fast-paced life of
the porteños tonight.
The morning sees me stepping out to experience the sights of
the elegant, Parisian-inspired boulevards, avenues and alleyways
of this great city of 14 million. Buenos Aires took its first colonial
steps in the barrio (neighbourhood) of Plaza de Mayo, close to
the River Plate, so it’s appropriate to begin my first day’s walking
tour here.
Stepping out
in Buenos Aires
Paul Rush feels the beating heart of an electric city.
From under the gleaming white Pyramid of May, I look at the
broad sweep of public building facades and do a double take.
Am I really in South America? I shake my head in wonder, as all
the stately buildings appear to be faithful reproductions of Old
World edifices that line the piazzas of Rome and the boulevards
of Paris.
My local city guide has the answer to this enigma. It seems that
there was a boom time around 1900 when cattle were king and
wheat was gold. Architects travelled to Europe and returned
home with design ideas that would turn the ‘Great Village of
good airs’ into the ‘Paris of the Pampas’.
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