January 24 in Buenos Aires

We were wakened by voices coming through the thin walls in the hotel. We met Jones for the breakfast buffet There were interesting items among which were a cake wrapped around meat and vegetables. Another was cold quiche. The fresh fruit cup was delicious with kiwi, pineapple, citrus, strawberries, etc. We took the subte (subway) to visit the large cemetery where Eva Peron and Luis Firpo (a boxer from the Joe Louis era) are buried. We were there when a new body was laid to rest in a family vault. We walked round quite a while and then through another basillica. We then went to an outdoor cafe under a huge gum tree before going to a flea market where we bought a key chain and looked at many other crafts including some gourds hollowed out to contain mate, a tea like substance the locals suck on all day. We walked almost forever and then looked for a restaurant listed in the Frommers guide book but found it closed on Saturdays. Many of the stores are closed Saturdays and Sundays here. We took a cab back to the hotel to rest up until the evening’s tango show. We hailed a cab at 8 and went to the Carlos Gardel tango club. We were the first ones there and met a couple of dancers who were photographed with us. The shows are similar to the old time night clubs in the states. We ordered crab rouladen and a delicious raw beef plate for an appetizer. We ordered steaks--it was Argentina--but could hardly eat it. The national custom is to eat beef rare no matter what is ordered. It was not as good as last night’s, and my Italian pasta was not much better. The good news was that all the wine we wanted was included. The tango show was fantastic. The orchestra was above the stage and featured violins, accordions and a piano. The dancers were also great, making us want to learn the Argentinean tango. We had taken ballroom tango lessons in NC but this type was completely different. The dinner theater must have held 300 people and we sat next to 2 cardiologists and wives from Fort Wayne. We had a nice visit with them and another family from Brazil. We went back to the hotel around midnight happy about the day but sad that we couldn’t find a protestant church to attend Sunday.