Beattys Overseas

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Black & yellow taxis are the official cabs for the city.  But, that doesn't mean that they have honest drivers.  (see blog about 950-peso trip)

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Stock photo (sorry, I haven't accessed any rooftops yet to take cool aerial shots like this) of one of Buenos Aires' grand avenues

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John was so excited to see this Ford Falcon when we were driving into the city.  His parents drove a red one when he was little.  He later read that they're very common vehicles in this city. 

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Our muy romantico Valentine's dinner at a neighborhood place called 1816. 

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At 1816, the ice cubes are almost as big as the water glasses. 

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Yum yum.  Malbec is Argentina's premier grape, producing soft and mild wines. 

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We arrived to 1816 a little late (11:40pm) without a reservation.  We waited for a table and were surprised when we looked around at the end of our meal to see that the place was practically empty. 

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We went out to a dance club where John caught Whitney in a moment of "I really don't fit in here." 

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We left the dance club and headed to Palermo, where late-night eateries and cantinas stay open till dawn.

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This photo, taken around 3am, shows that the city doesn't quiet down. Ever.

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Still looking a little out of place, like the poorly-cast Natalie Wood in West Side Story;  a box of brown hair dye does not make you Latina. 

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Next day, we take a stroll around our 'hood and find another Kennedy School for John.

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In Recoleta, design is IN, and a huge expo building called Buenos Aires Design: is on my personal list of places to visit without an impatient and uninterested husband. 

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A common sight in Recoleta... a vegetable shop with a duitful apartment dog waiting - unleashed - for his owner to return. 

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This doorway leads to a little mall of interior designers' and architects' offices

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Unlike Santiago, Chile, where stray dogs are a problem, Buenos Aires has a huge population of feral cats.  We found like this little guy perched inside a non-running fountain in front of a municipal building. 

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About 5 blocks from our apartment lies the famous Recoleta Cemetery, where some of the wealthiest Buenos Aires inhabitants are buried in individual mausoleums.

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Like miniature mansions for the deceased.

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I took this photo for my nephew Brady, a pirate guy. Note the skull & crossbones on the tomb window, B!

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Whitney waited in this long line to see the tomb of Eva Peron. 

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Meanwhile, John sunck around the corner and came to the tomb from the other side - completely cutting in front of the Rule-Followers who waited patiently - to take this blurry photo of her tomb's plaque

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The "streets" of the cemetery feature tombs of different styles:  Some are shiny black marble...

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...Some look like beat-up Mexican missions

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Some are laden with huge boquets of fresh flowers...

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...Some are short. (John likened this one to a dog house)

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Some have graceful statues adorning the roofs...

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...Some have windows, where you can look down onto the rows of one family's coffins stacked atop each other.

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Some have urns of one's ashes along with coffins...

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All the tombs feature plaques on the facade stating who is buried within.  We saw as many as 14 plaques on the front of one tomb.  That's a whole lot of family members buried in one place.

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Some look like large chimneys...

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...and some look like cavemen's resting places

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Some look like monuments to the dead...

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...some appear with a statue that seems to be rising from his coffin.

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Cruising the cemetery was very cool - not at all spooky.  It speaks to the history and wealth of this country, with the crypts of past presidents, military heros, and celebrated rich familes all jammed into one spectacular neighborhood for ghosts.

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As we left, we noticed how the tombs of the cemetery are packed right up to the brick retaining walls. No more room at the cemetery, it seems.