Cordoba: the ice cream capital of the Americas

Last time I wrote, we were preparing for our overnight bus trip to Cordoba. We were skeptical of the buses to say the least, however, the ride was really nice. We are impressed. We took first class or cama suite class with General Urquiza from Buenos Aires to Cordoba and it was $60 well spent. We enjoyed free wi-fi and Shakira music videos in the VIP lounge at the bus station prior to departure. Also, there were only mild warnings of dengue fever AND the movie could only be heard if you plugged in your super cool headphones provided by the bus company. Talk about amazing.  Our leather seats reclined the full 180 degrees, and we were served lots of food (which of course we did not eat minus the brownie), drinks and alcohol. Luckily I have the bladder of a camel so I did not need to use the toilet on board. The only seats left on the bus were right in the front row, which seemed odd to us, as those are usually preferred seats. We found out that Argentines do not like to sit in the front row because it could be dangerous (you are on the top floor and right in front of the huge windshield), but we found these seats to be amazing. It’s like you’re driving the bus, you get a great view and extra leg room to boot. We slept super well and even arrived in Cordoba early. We are sold on Argentina buses..



We did a lot of sightseeing on the first day as we arrived before 7 am. Cordoba is home to over 6 universities and some very beautiful Jesuit buildings. UNESCO named it the Cultural Capital of the Americas, but I think a more fitting name would be the ice cream capital of the Americas. I thought Buenos Aires had a lot of ice cream parlors, but Cordoba definitely wins. There about 3 per block and all tasty and under $1 for a cone of artesenal ice cream. We also noticed that all of the sites, while impressive during the day, looked much better at night.

   Catedral by dayCatedral at night Jesuit block at night

Jesuit block by day

There were lots of pretty churches in Cordoba.

  

 

This church, called the church of the Cappucinos (lots of Italians here), was my favorite. Its purposely missing steeple signifies human imperfection. I thought that was pretty cool. It also has statues of men holding up parts of the church, which is meant to signify the crushing sins and guilt of mankind. Beautiful architecture.

 

 

This one is for Aunt Marty!

     

One last fun thing. There was a good amount of Middle Eastern food here, something that has been lacking in our diets. We went to all of the Arabian places, including a Doner Kebab fast food joint. But no lamb there, only 100% Argentine beef. Oh and they think all Arab people look like Aladdin, hence their happy meal mascot. Loved the informational ad “Que es Doner Kebap?”

-A