One huge advantage (in Akiko's estimation) of Belgrano is a couple Asian markets in Chinatown and a non-sushi Japanese izakaya (pub) restaurant.
Other than that, we took in a few significant landmarks and enjoyed walking around the neighborhood on this sunny day.
10 WORDS BELGRANO
Busy > Commercial > Midtown-NY > Traintracks > Asian > Bustling > Crowded > Locals > Retail > TimesSquare (Cabildo and Juramento)
THINGS TO DO
1. Monuments and historical buildings around General Manual Belgrano Square on Avenida Juramento
2. View the artwork at Enrique Larreta Spanish Art Museum
3. Window shop along the busy commercial street of Avenida Cabildo
4. Visit Chinatown, buy some Asian groceries, eat at a Chinese or Japanese restaurant
5. Admire the huge magnolia tree at the Belgrano Cliffs park
HISTORY
"In 1855, a settlement located north of Buenos Aires was named Belgrano in honor of the military man, politician and creator of the Argentine flag. The village soon grew in population and, in accordance with 19th century’s standards, was declared a city. In 1880, it served as seat of the National Government during a conflict with the city of Buenos Aires’ authorities. Once this disagreement was settled, a law was passed in 1887 including Belgrano into the capital city as one of its districts. Nowadays, Belgrano is a lively commercial area, especially around Cabildo Avenue. In this district, ancient mansions and stately dwellings coexist with tall and modern buildings." -Sitio oficial de turismo de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, http://bue.gov.ar/
As described, we did see "ancient mansions and stately dwellings coexisiting with tall and modern buildings."
The historical ground zero of Belgrano is General Manuel Belgrano Square. His life size statue stands in the middle of the square, flanked by Immaculate Concepcion Parish Church with a beautiful rotunda.
We didn't go inside, but here's the exterior of the Enrique Larreta Spanish Art Museum, showcasing Enrique Larreta's extensive Spanish art collection at his former residence, collected throughout his career as an ambassador and writer.
This humongous magnolia tree sits in a place called Belgrano Cliffs where the waters of the Río de la Plata washed up against this embankment until the mid-19th century, after which the land dried up when the railroads were built. We were expecting an actual cliff, but it was more like a very small slope! We cannot imagine the waters coming this far in.
We took a rest at a very cozy cafe, Salvame Maria, and Akiko had to sit next to these amazing croissants!
Across the tracks becomes Chinatown.
Of course we found an Asian market! Typical of one, there were aisles of fresh tofu, tofu and fish balls, dried mushrooms, ready-made sushi rolls, an eatery inside, huge seafood market, rows of noodles, etc.
We scoped out a Japanese izakaya (pub) in Chinatown that isn't a sushi place. We've seen plenty of Japanese restaurants in Peru and Buenos Aires, but they're all sushi joints, as if that's the only type of Japanese food. We are looking forward to trying out Nobiru, sometime in the next couple of weeks.
...but, until then, we made do with a bowl of curry udon (カレーうどん) noodles from ingredients we bought at the Asian market for dinner!
Oh, almost forgot about this very large Japanese anime/manga store!!
Well, that was our adventure for today!