Palermo Images, Part 2 (by Janice)

This second blog post will show more about life in Palermo.  Above is a receptacle for garbage, which is picked up 6 nights per week.  However, there aren't enough receptacles, so it doesn't always look this neat.

A sushi place?  No, it's the place to take your laundry, where for 17 pesos a bag, they wash, dry, and fold it for you.

Building construction is rampant and involves much cement and detouring on the sidewalks.

 Our little tour group of 8 stayed in this house with a nondescript front.  However, it was nicely designed and modern inside.  And like many other properties, it is for sale.

 

Have a lunch!  Quilmes is one of Argentina's favourite beers.

Although the place we stayed was remodeled, there was a remnant of what was there before, a lovely mosaic and water tap.

A view from the roof of the place where we stayed.  Those water towers can be noisy.  You have to pump city water up into your private tower in order to get any water pressure.

A vendor selling flowers, viewed through a cafe window.

There are many derelict places, ripe for redevelopment.

 

Our favorite tourist is admiring the coming of spring before crossing the street.

Palermo Images, Part 1 (by Janice)

This part 1 of 2 blog entries shows buildings in Palermo Hollywood, a part of Buenos Aires.  The area is in transition, with charming older smaller dwellings situated among modern apartment buildings of several stories.

A few places, such as this one on the corner with the elaborate posts and gate, are more imposing and are heritage and definitely worth retaining. Few surfaces escape graffiti.

Pasaje Voltaire (above) is a 2-block long charming street with a cafe (below) at one end.  It is reminiscent of a village somewhere in Europe.

Now we know why this area is called Palermo Hollywood!  A film was being made as I walked by on this charming Pasaje Voltaire.

Yarn Bombing in Palermo Hollywood, Buenos Aires

On our stroll this noon, we stumbled upon some beautiful examples of "yarn bombing".  Near the corner of Voltaire and Angel J. Carranza stand several typically bland poles and a rather nondescript looking tree.  Some thoughtful artistic knitter proceeded to lavish attention on both, transforming the corner into something having a touch of magic.

Yarn bombing (according to Wikipedia, that source of information--right or wrong, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yarn_bombing), yarn bombing began in Holland in 2004 and is now being practiced internationally.  Sometimes called guerrilla knitting or graffiti knitting, this beautiful type of art is nondestructive, and if it carries a message to other knitters, I'm missing it.

One of the elderly tree's lower branches was amputated, so someone thoughtfully provided it a lovely tree cozy.