Feria de San Pedro Telmo

Another great day of exploring Buenos Aires. I started off the day with what has become my morning ritual: café con leche at the Café Dorrego. This café can get very crowded with tourists later in the day, but first thing in the morning I have it to myself. The waiter knows who I am now and brings me a café con leche right away, along with a small plate of medialunas, a sweet Argentine version of croissant.

I sit at my favorite table (the one I imagine Borges must have chosen) and look out the window at the plaza across the street. I read my book, a novel called Un Sueño Realizado (A Dream Come True), by César Aira, and order a second café con leche. Tango music is playing on the stereo and all seems right with the world.

Today was Sunday, so the Plaza Dorrego and many of the streets of San Telmo began to fill up with vendors setting up their booths for the Feria de San Pedro Telmo. This weekly flea market and antique fair is one of the top attractions of Buenos Aires, drawing thousands of people who are looking for amazing antiques, arts and crafts, souvenirs, and oddly enough, lots of Beatles memorabilia.

I walk through the fair as I set out on my daily explorations, planning to see more later in the afternoon. At the end of the day, I do make it back to San Telmo and take in more of the festival. Musicians are out in the streets, tango dancers are moving in the rhythm of a live band, and a group of drummers are marching up the Calle Defensa.

But back to the afternoon in Buenos Aires. I wander through the fair, walking up Calle Defensa, which is filled with booths and displays all the way from Plaza Dorrego to Plaza de Mayo. Once at Plaza de Mayo, I take a break from the crowds of the fair, finding a quiet place to sit and rest.

I then walk across the street to the Catedral Metropolitana de Buenos Aires, the cathedral and main Catholic church in Buenos Aires. This massive temple blends a number of different architectural styles, as it was rebuilt and renovated many times over the years. The current building, with its soaring nave and baroque rococo altar, dates back to 1753 and blends the ecclesiastical and secular mythology of the nation. It is here that the remains of José de San Martín, the main hero of Argentine (and much of South American) independence, are sepulchered in a black sarcophagus atop an ornate marble mausoleum.

After leaving the cathedral, it was time for my first ride on the subway. Known as the Subte (short for Subteráneo), this transportation network is a quick and easy way to cover the great distances of this sprawling city. It is also amazingly cheap, with a single ride anywhere in the system costing five pesos, about 33 cents U.S. From Catedral Station, I took the B line out to Plaza Italia, in the neighborhood of Palermo. This middle class district is well outside the city center and is known for quiet tree-lined streets, small cafés, and grandiose city parks.

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