January 9, 2007
Carla Emanuele and Harmony Dougher
La Estancia! Y muchos bugs! -- Our visit to an Estancia
We went as a group at around 9:30 am to leave on a bus trip to visit an estancia. The trip was about two hours long but it wasn’t bad. It was interesting to watch our surroundings change from city into a more rural setting and wide fields as we drove further away from Buenos Aires.
The many fields had cattle or horses grazing and the grass was high. The trees were tall and very spread out. The fields seemed dry but occasionally you could note a small stream running through them.
Once we reached the estancia, the driver had to get out to open the gate before we could drive in. The road leading into the estancia was long, we assume to provide some sort of protection to the property. We were given a tour of the house, which dated back to the 1800s and the early 1900s. We saw all of the insides of the houses and the outside and were given a more detailed description of different rooms. The woman told us about their collection of 50,000 books and stacks of newspapers dating back to the early 1800s. She also showed us the kitchen and different bedrooms. The house had a rustic look. It was dark and cold on the inside compared to the hot and muggy outside. The woman told us about the different people who came and studied from different universities, such as Princeton and Harvard and used their library for research.
After the tour, we were given some free time while the woman and her family prepared lunch. We split up and walked either to the pool or to the van, to avoid the massive attack of insects. We were all surprised at how clean the pool actually was and had a lot of fun playing games, joking around and sun-bathing. We were served lunch at 1pm which began with empanadas, followed by salad and vegetables and finally, a variety of meats. Dessert was a custard-flan type of thing complimented by a chocolate sauce served in hand-made bowls.
After the estancia, we drove to a church-the Basilica of the Virgin of Luján, the patron saint of Argentina. the basilica is very large and gorgeous on the inside, although teh virgin herslef is only 2 feet tall. There was plenty to see, and plenty to buy right outside. There is an endless row of street vendors, dressed in lab coats for some reason.
After the church, we split up and had dinner at different places. One group went to the shopping center on Florida Ave, while another had dinner at a nice Peruvian restaurant. Another group had dinner at a little café behind the hotel and it was a hilarious experience. Let’s just say, bad ravioli and bad drinks but a lot of laughter. All in all it was a good day. Very hot and full of bites, but entertaining and very informative. The pool was also a nice touch for those of us that went!
La Estancia! Y muchos bugs! -- Our visit to an Estancia
We went as a group at around 9:30 am to leave on a bus trip to visit an estancia. The trip was about two hours long but it wasn’t bad. It was interesting to watch our surroundings change from city into a more rural setting and wide fields as we drove further away from Buenos Aires.
The many fields had cattle or horses grazing and the grass was high. The trees were tall and very spread out. The fields seemed dry but occasionally you could note a small stream running through them.
Once we reached the estancia, the driver had to get out to open the gate before we could drive in. The road leading into the estancia was long, we assume to provide some sort of protection to the property. We were given a tour of the house, which dated back to the 1800s and the early 1900s. We saw all of the insides of the houses and the outside and were given a more detailed description of different rooms. The woman told us about their collection of 50,000 books and stacks of newspapers dating back to the early 1800s. She also showed us the kitchen and different bedrooms. The house had a rustic look. It was dark and cold on the inside compared to the hot and muggy outside. The woman told us about the different people who came and studied from different universities, such as Princeton and Harvard and used their library for research.
After the tour, we were given some free time while the woman and her family prepared lunch. We split up and walked either to the pool or to the van, to avoid the massive attack of insects. We were all surprised at how clean the pool actually was and had a lot of fun playing games, joking around and sun-bathing. We were served lunch at 1pm which began with empanadas, followed by salad and vegetables and finally, a variety of meats. Dessert was a custard-flan type of thing complimented by a chocolate sauce served in hand-made bowls.
After the estancia, we drove to a church-the Basilica of the Virgin of Luján, the patron saint of Argentina. the basilica is very large and gorgeous on the inside, although teh virgin herslef is only 2 feet tall. There was plenty to see, and plenty to buy right outside. There is an endless row of street vendors, dressed in lab coats for some reason.
After the church, we split up and had dinner at different places. One group went to the shopping center on Florida Ave, while another had dinner at a nice Peruvian restaurant. Another group had dinner at a little café behind the hotel and it was a hilarious experience. Let’s just say, bad ravioli and bad drinks but a lot of laughter. All in all it was a good day. Very hot and full of bites, but entertaining and very informative. The pool was also a nice touch for those of us that went!
posted by Sandra Jamieson @ 5:18 PM
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