COOOOORDOOOOOOOBAAAAAAAA

A few weeks ago, I traveled to the province of Córdoba with Lauren, Dimelza, and Gabriel. We left Thursday night, arrived Friday morning and spent four full days in the area. We spent the first day in the city of Córdoba- the capital of the province. Lauded in guidebooks for being Argentina's "second city," (whatever the heck that means-- second biggest? second best? It's unclear, and frankly kind of stupid) Córdoba is beautiful. It has a very visible colonial and Jesuit presence and is home to one of the most prestigious universities in Argentina (right up there with the University of Buenos Aires and the Univerisity of La Plata where we attend!). I really liked this city. It has the feel of a big city but the center is very compact and walkable, a contrast to the sprawl of Buenos Aires. It also has several major pedestrian-only roads in the city center, which I love. As an added perk, our hostel was in a beautiful old house run by an extremely friendly couple. The woman is from Argentina but the man is from Vermont, and it really just felt like we were staying in their home.

Note the cute fake-shadow effect in the bricks.

A working convent- the nuns still live in seclusion as they have for hundreds of years. (Well, not the same nuns, but you know what I mean. Unless it's a vampire convent, which would be kind of cool.)

The Catedral de Córdoba which is, according to wikipedia, the "oldest church in continuous service in Argentina." Construction began in 1598.

You can tell it's spring in Argentina, can't you?

On Saturday, we traveled to Alta Gracia, where we stayed the next two nights. Around Córdoba city are several valleys surrounded by beautiful sierras; each valley is home to a string of small villages accessible via picturesque roads. Alta Gracia used to be a very popular resort town for middle- and upper-class families. Now it is somewhat less fashionable but still widely visited, largely because it was the childhood home of Ernesto "Che" Guevara. Interestingly, el Che came from a fairly well-to-do middle-class background, and his family moved here when he was a young child because the climate would be better for his asthma. We visited his home, which is now a museum chronicling his life with pictures, letters, and diary entries. Incidentally we happened to go on the 43rd anniversary of his death.

The museum was very interesting and touching, although the gift shop in back seemed a little ironic- perhaps a bit too capitalist. (Much like the ever-present Che t-shirt; Spanish-speakers should check out this song "McGuevara o CheDonald's" critiquing the use of Che Guevara's image for personal monetary gain. ) For general information about el Che, I direct you to Saint Wikipedia.

Alta Gracia is also home to a giant Catholic sanctuary-thingie. It was unclear to me what it actually was. It kind of freaked me out. But nonetheless the top of the mountain offered nice views and myriad cross-photo opportunities.

Overall, Alta Gracia was a very nice, somewhat sleepy-seeming town. The other town we visited in the valley was Villa General Belgrano. This little town is, oddly enough, of German heritage and features full on Alpine kitsch. We originally intended to go to Oktoberfest, but upon learning of the high entrance fee we skipped it and just enjoyed some German food and delicious beer in a restaurant/brewery. We also enjoyed watching the drunken masses stumbling around with silly hats on.

All told, this was a wonderful weekend trip. It was our first long bus ride and our first time outside of Buenos Aires province. And it has given me the travel bug, bad!

View from the road in between Alta Gracia and Villa General Belgrano.