Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes

Woke up today nice and early and took a quick shower and grabbed some of the stock breakfast they serve here, which consists of hard boiled eggs, jam and dulce de leche (basically what you put on candy apples), and orange slices (just like in AYSO soccer). Spoke with Fred the frenchman for a bit and then headed out on my way. Today my plan was to go to two museums: Xul Solar and Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. I've heard a lot of Xul Solar (the man) since I got to Buenos Aires, because he is a very important artist who's from here. That's the museum I was most excited about today, because apparently the museum is in what used to be his home here in Palermo, the neighborhood I'm staying, and because he's such a renowned artist. So I walk out of the hostel and head over that way, which is about a 30 minute walk, and took some great pictures of graffiti along the way (see below). As I walk up to the museum I read a sign that says it's closed until March. Noooooooooo! Ha - it wasn't that dramatic but I was pretty bummed about not being able to enjoy this artist's work. So I left there and quickly rerouted to the Bellas Artes, which is a public museum which houses more classic works from artists such as Renoit, Degas, and Monet. I walked in and was pleasantly surprised to learn that entry is completely free of charge. Score. So I walked around a bit and I have to say I really just don't like portraits. There are always a lot of classic portraits of rich and nobility class people from the 15th to the 19th century, and they always bore the hell out of me. Maybe I just prefer modern and crazy art, but this old stuff just wasn't enough to make me happy for that long. I have to admit there were some amazing examples of Monet and Degas though. I could easily look at Monet's paintings, which include water landscapes, for hours. He has such a mastery of depth and light, with his ever unique style of "wispiness" that makes me want to sit and relax. So I sat in front of a Monet painting for a while and then quickly made my way through first floor gallery. Upstairs on the second floor there was an exhibit of photography which I didn't really fancy, but there was an outside area which was nice. I took some selfless in the window which I hope you like. Oh - as you'll see I decided to shave my beard today. Feels GREAT to have a clean face again :)

I headed back towards the hostel after the museum and grabbed a quick bite to eat nearby before taking a nice siesta nap. After that I had a few drinks on the rooftop with some good people, including a guy named Sobs from London. We've met a few times and always have great conversations, and after a few drinks we grabbed Mexican food near the hostel, which was surprisingly good and cheap. So now I'm back at the hostel and about to go to bed, because I have to wake up around 6:15am tomorrow to catch my boat to Uruguay. Very excited to get out of the city for a day and see another country. Also, I'm going to use my Polish passport for the first time, which I'm also excited about (I know, kinda lame, but oh well). I'll have some great pictures and updates tomorrow night, but until then have a great night and I hope you like the pics from today.

Sleep well.