Microcentro

 Wierdly, in an abstract way, the frantic movement of the Porteños rushing to and from buildings in the Microcentro, reminds me of the foamy tidal ebb and flow of  Tauranga's muddy estuaries.

  The sand and foam come and go, but what it flows over on and through is more permanent. The eclecticism of the archictecture in Buenos Aires is as varied as it is stunning and warrants a blog section all of its own. For now, here is a taste.

The Spanish style building in the photo above is The Cabildo. One of the oldest buildings in the city, this was where the viceroy of Spain set-up shop before being booted out in around 1806 
(taking all the cash with him of course). Originally the Spaish troops were shipped off to go fight that short French guy (Napoleon),defenseless, the citizens were left to defend themselves against the English and the French. A civil militia was formed and the residents repelled invaders by throwing things from the balconies hence we have streets named 'Defensa' & 'Reconquista' the English mistakingly believed they were to be in charge. One story tells of a letter penned by the Alvear family to Queen Victoria offering the virtually abandonned country to become part of the English protectorate. The messenger arrives to Brasil, opens said letter reads it, to discover the news and runs back to Buenos Aires yelling "they want to give us to the bloody English now!" After repelling invaders four or five times they decided they didn't need Spain, and they should declare themselves an Independent Republic and stem the flow of money overseas and keep it here instead. The next fifty years was basically about which party, the red team or the white team would control it (the money). All this is to say that the Cabildo, one of the most important buildings in Argentina, from where they declared independence from Spain, formed the constitution, and declared themselves a Republic, is now arguably one of the most boring museums i've ever visited.
95% or 5%?