Ana Travels
Travel notes
Recoleta Cemetery: the City of the Dead
Recoleta Cemetery truly feels like a city within a city with its grid street plan and mausoleums that resemble small houses and churches. It was opened in November, 1822 as the first public necropolis in the city of Buenos Aires on land that belonged to the Franciscan monks. What I find interesting is that a … Continue reading
The English pub
A bit of history The pub is a time-honoured English institution. The word pub derives from the phrase public house, a drinking establishment. Its origins an be traced back to the times of the Roman occupation of Britain. The Romans established a network of tabernae, or inns. After the Romans left, the Anglo-Saxons took up … Continue reading
Trip to England: highlights
Here are some of the highlights of our recent trip to England. Although it was family-centred, we managed to visit some interesting places. I’ve always wanted to see the Temple Church. My first attempt was a few years ago when I had a few hours to kill in London before my flight back home, I … Continue reading
Day trip to Chichester
I left the train station and followed a few people who looked like they were going to the town centre. I had no choice because I didn’t have a map or guide. Then I followed the signs to the Tourist Information Centre, a shop on South Street. I bought a guide in the form of … Continue reading
Carlos Keen: snapshots of the countryside
Carlos Keen is a small country town located less than 90 kilometres west of the city of Buenos Aires (see map here). The nearest big town is Luján. Carlos Keen is known for its restaurants and is an ideal place to spend a quiet Sunday afternoon ambling about, checking out the goods at the arts … Continue reading
Only in Paris, Texas
We searched high and low for the elusive Eiffel Tower. We drove around Paris for a good while, navigating unknown streets, scanning the horizon, trying to follow the GPS directions. At long last we saw it in all its 65 foot high glory. And a red cowboy hat on top. Welcome to Paris, Texas, the … Continue reading
5 fun facts about Argentina
Did you know that… The president of the Republic is the godparent of the seventh son born to any family. However, it is the edecán (aide-de-camp) who attends the christening on behalf of the president. It is said that this tradition began in 1907 when a Russian immigrant asked President José Figueroa Alcorta to be … Continue reading
Notes from Ottawa
Arriving in Canada was like meeting an old friend; albeit a very frigid one: it was about -18 Celsius. I gasped for air as soon as I crossed the doors of the terminal towards the taxi. We drove past stores like Loblaw’s, Metro, Tim Horton’s, Canadian Tire, all of which brought back so many memories … Continue reading
Toronto’s iconic street food: hot dogs
I thought I’d join the lunchtime crowd at Nathan Phillips Square (in front of the City Hall) on a busy weekday. Well, busy for them, not for me, so this gave me the illusion I was in a hurry to go somewhere. I pretended I had an important meeting and had just enough time to … Continue reading
Cabbagetown
Cabbagetown got its funny name from the Irish immigrants who settled in the area and used to grow vegetables in their front gardens. Nowadays, the residents of this tony neighbourhood wear that name with pride and fly the neighbourhood’s flag high. It is a lovely area with mostly Victorian homes, although other architectural styles like … Continue reading
