Ok, we just jaywalked across the widest boulevard in the world. Leave it to a couple of Chinese people to make any street their personal Chinatown intersection. But hey, we did it for a great cause... to get a self-portrait shot of us and the beautiful French embassy. Leave it to us to risk life and limb for a picture. The building is a classic example of Belle Époque architecture, and it's hard to imagine that the whole street was once lined with these works of art before the government decided to raze them all in the name of Avenida 9 de Julio.
In fact, Buenos Aires (unfortunately abbreviated BsAs) is a remarkably beautiful city. Walking down Avenida de Mayo or Avenida Santa Fe with it's outdoor cafes really makes us feel like we're in Paris again. Or, strolling through the ritzy area of Recoleta takes us back to Manhattan's Upper East Side. Avenida Avlear's LV and Cartier stores remind us of Rodeo Drive. Palermo, like SF's Union Street.
But that's not to say the streets of BsAs aren't without it's own unique quirks... some good, some bad, some just plain gross. The buildings here are grand, with opulent facades, but some are in dire need of repair like the abandoned old church or the empty hospital in Recoleta. Practically every street in the city is lined with tall, lusciously green trees... absolutely beautiful, but you can't admire them too long since you'll need to pay attention to the obstacle course of dog poop and broken-up ass sidewalks, which btw, seem to be the responsibility of the home/shop owner since each plot in front of each building is paved differently... and sometimes not paved at all. 
There are no pedestrian lights on some streets, so you'll just have to look at the signal for oncoming traffic to make sure it's safe to go. Many intersections are blind, where the right of way is given to the car that doesn't feel like stopping. The cars get pretty close to you, but they'll honk before they run you over, unlike in China. Graffiti is rampant, but some look as though they should be hanging in museums. It's not uncommon to see dog walkers hanging on to like 20 dogs. Oh, and there's PDA all over the place... and I don't mean the Blackberry kind. These people need to get a room.Anyhoo, the streets of Buenos Aires definitely have a lot to offer... and not just a sole-ful of crap.
Random Stuff:
- There aren't too many fancy cars on the road, though there are a lot of 60's and 70's classics... and some 90's "classics" as well.
The Iglesia du Nuestra Senora Del Pilar is a nice, elaborate church next to the Recoleta cemetery. We paid $4 pesos to see the cloisters but it was worth it to see get a birds eye view of the mausoleums.
Shopping at Patio Bullrich, another high end mall.- For dinner, we had locro at Las Cabras, an Argentine stew of beans, vegetables, and beef. Pretty yummy.
The Reason We Do The Palermo Hop
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