We did another half day of touring in Santiago before leaving for Buenos Aires. The highlight was seeing the changing of the guard at the Moneda Palace where the president works. This was an elaborate ceremony with a full military band that culminated with the two fellas who were on the podiums beside the gate stepping down, and two others stepping up.
We also visited the stock exchange (which was a bunch of computers looking at each other in a magnificent domed room … apparently the people actually work elsewhere), the national history museum (where we got many good shots of Flat Stanley), the central cathedral, and the shopping district.
The flight to BA was short. We arrived at our hotel to find out that our reservations had mysteriously been cancelled. The staff was helpful, and ended up giving us a few options, and we selected a two story penthouse at the very top of the building. Although it is quite an elegant room, it’s actually very small (in spite of being on two levels), and we realized in looking at photos of the building that it is where the building becomes very narrow … there are only two rooms on our floor!
We walked to the Racoleta section of town for dinner where we had a casual meal outside. The weather is very pleasant, and this city seems to have nowhere near the smog problem that they have in Santiago. The Racoleta district is quite upscale – stately apartment buildings full of night watchmen. Night watchman seems to be a major career opportunity in Buenos Aires.
-- Donna
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