Antiques and drums in San Telmo

a market stall selling all things gaucho

On Sunday we went to San Telmo. San Telmo is one of the older parts of town as it is close to the original fortress. It is compared by Time Out to Brooklyn in New York, in that it is being made over into something trendier and more salubrious than it was. Whilst it is next to one of the poorest and more dodgy areas of town (La Boca) we saw no sign of anything other than friendly people albeit that many were clearly catering to tourism. We went on the Sunday because that is when the flea market is on.

a street sign

Generally the stalls in markets like this are full of overpriced, mass reproduced and tacky items. But this was different. Yes I have no doubt that some of the prices were a little high - it is a tourist area - but most of the stalls had genuinely nice things to sell. Not all of it was old, but it was a pleasure to walk around.

Had I been on holiday and able to take things home, I probably would have bought quite a few pieces. As it was, I restrained myself to a single bracelet!

the bar in El Federal

After the temptation of the market, we made our way into a nearby cafe called El Federal. It is a cafe 'notable' because it dates from 1864. Given that the city only really got going from about 1840, that makes it a very early building. It's a nice place and is very well preserved.

Refreshed by our submarinos, we found an indoor market that was a bit less touristy than the main one outside.  The stuff here was less well presented and not quite so fancy, but still there were some nice pieces.

Watching the penalties

In this market we came across a cafe where they were showing the last throes of the Brazil - v - Paraguay match.  It had gathered quite a crowd.  Those of you that have been paying attention to earlier blogs will already know what happened, but it was interesting to see how pleased the locals were with the result. Those of you looking carefully may have spotted that Nic is one of those watching.

As we left the market we were drawn to the sound of drumming. When we got onto the streets we found a couple of bands playing. We stopped to listen to one for a while and they were pretty good. We gather they will have been practising for carnival - a task that goes on throughout the year.

We liked San Telmo and will doubtless be back - the only real question is whether I will be able to resist buying pretty bits of glass and such like!