Greetings from Buenos Aires!

I've long wanted to come to Buenos Aires, one of the great late nineteenth and early twentieth century cities of the world ... it was a long journey, but made bearable by the fact that there's only a 4 hour time difference from LA.  And made super-bearable by the fact that it's autumn: a clear crisp autumn day, with golden trees.  I'm staying in Palermo, an area of the city that feels a bit like a Turin suburb,

though of course the French influence is very strong - not least in this abandoned Boulangerie,

and in the iron work in the Botanical Gardens:

with a strange statue in front: why is he wearing a helmet, and nothing else?

The butterfly gardens (complete with many butterflies);

Plants being moved for winter safety into a greenhouse;

a tree with five huge Harris Hawks in it - they are the only hawks who move around in groups - family units of up to seven - to help hunting;

and trees.

Pretty exhausted, and I wasn't going to do much exploration when it came to finding somewhere to eat this evening, so I was very pleased that Santa Evita, a restaurant celebrating Eve Perón, is just down the street ... (polenta and an arugula salad was just what I wanted!).