I had a foolproof plan set out for our last day of the trip. We were going to see three sites right next to our hotel: Circulo Militar, the Arms Museum and the British Monument.
On my run this morning, I learned that the British Monument was closed. Strike one. We arrived late to the Criculo Militar and were amazed to see that the English tour started at 3:30pm, not 3:00pm like we thought. We were actually right on time. Only then were we told that all the rooms were rented out for functions and there were no tours this week. Argh! Strike 2.
Fortunately, the Arms Museum was open and was a bigger hit than I had expected. It was, just like the name suggested, a big old collection of guns, swords and other war goodies. Naturally, there was no English explanations, but when guns are involved, do you really need any?
Unexpectedly, we happened to be in the area of a walking tour the Fodors book recommened. So, while not planned, I was able to take in a couple more interesting sites before we left town. These included the Galeria Pacifica - a mall with some incredible art on the ceilings and an intereseting history to match. I also saw the former homestead of Ana Diaz, the wife of the founder of Buenos Aires who was involved in its creation. The homestead is especially interesting because it's a Burger King on the first floor and a beautiful historic building upstairs.
Before we knew it, it was time to catch a cab to the airport. Of course we left at rush hour. This was like taking an amusement park ride, minus the safety factory. To say the Buenos Aires drivers are a bit aggressive is an understatement.
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