A Day Away: La Plata

With only a little more than 2 weeks before we leave Buenos Aires and head home, there are still things to do, people to see, and decisions about what to pack and what to leave behind...yes, we are coming back again and already have our return ticket for mid-January 2011.

And as much as we love the city, we think it will be really nice to get away for the day. So on Saturday, we catch a bus that takes us to La Plata, a city with a population of more than 700,000 and 60 kilometers southeast of Buenos Aires. My friend Lilian, who I met last year when we were both taking painting lessons, and her boyfriend Fernando, who lives in La Plata, have invited us to spend the day with them. Because they have a car and know the city well, we see so much more than if we were going there on our own.

Founded in 1882, La Plata is known for its parks, cultural centers, theaters and opera house, university complexes, beautiful old government buildings...

and especially for its Natural History Museum and Cathedral. Our first stop is the museum, which is flanked by life-sized saber tooth tiger statues guarding the entrance.

The museum, renowned for its collection of large fossilized mammals, was built between 1884 and 1888 (pre-electricity), and designed to maximize natural light. There are 23 rooms and glass ceilings everywhere, so light floods in. From the main entrance hall, surrounded by paintings of animals of the country, some now extinct...

we are delighted by dinosaurs that once roamed Argentina, and especially Patagonia, which is rich in dinosaur fossils...

whale jawbones and giant sea turtles found in the continent's coastal waters and oceans...

mummies (part of the only collection of Egyptian artifacts on the continent)...

and everyone's favorite, glyptodotes, huge predecessors of armadillos.

David and I love a good natural science museum, so this is a rare treat for us. Next, we all have lunch at a little Italian restaurant, one of Lilian and Fernando's favorites...

and then to the Cathedral de la Plata, the largest church in Argentina. Its architecture is neo-Gothic, complete with flying buttresses, 2 spires, 6 turrets, 200 pinnacles, and 800 needles.

Its towers rise to 367 feet...

the colors of the 37 stained glass windows are fabulous...

the soaring arches and carved wood choir seats are magnificent...

and it took over a century (1884-1999) to build. We have a wonderful time, and we are very fortunate to have had Lilian and Fernando to show us their city.