Congress and the Gran Taberna

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Today we continue to explore and dine in the neighborhood. We walk a few blocks to the Gran Taberna pictured at left for lunch.

This restaurant is just behind the Congress (i.e., the National Legislature or "Congreso de la Nación Argentina") so I suppose they get a lot of traffic from well heeled staff and legislators. We're here because it's a good restaurant for sea food and pescetarians like Kate. There's middle aged male servers dressed in white shirts, bow ties and vests; crisp table cloths; lovely bread and olive oil appetizer while we select from a large menu.

We each order a dish and share some wine. In the album there's a picture of the cod, potatoes and chick-pea dish I ordered. It would have been enough to feed all four of us and the remaining three of us ordered likewise large dishes. The waiter had cautioned us that perhaps we were ordering a bit too much but that must have got lost in translation. It was an incredible feast and we ended up taking much of it home which we had as leftovers for several days following.

The Congress itself is a very grand building very much in the style of what one would expect in Paris or some European country. Nearby are likewise impressive Beaux Artes buildings including an odd spire with a wind mill. There's a lot of fine architecture here. In front is a large green space: the Plaza del Congreso with the grand fountain Monumento a los Dos Congresos (currrently dry and fenced off) and assorted monuments including a version of Rodin's "The Thinker" at the far end. We are back another day when we try to catch a hop on/hop off bus tour of the city.

That evening we have we're on our roof top patio of our flat on Moreno in Balvanera watching the sunset. Gord and Leslie practice their Tango dance.