Joel Bowman with a mercifully brief Note From the End of the World: Buenos Aires, Argentina…
Before we dive into this week’s Notes, a quick reminder that enrollment is now open for The Essential Greeks video course, which begins this Wednesday, October 15.
Hosted by Classical Wisdom, The Essential Greeks is a ten part video course that guides you through a “who’s who” of ancient Greece, starting with the Big 3 philosophers, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle... working through the historians Herodotus and Thucydides... on through the playwrights, Sophocles, Aeschylus and Euripides... and, of course, Homer’s twin epics, The Iliad and The Odyssey.
Each chapter focuses on the life and works of a Greek thinker and includes videos, a quiz, biographies and transcripts… and the whole thing is narrated by yours truly. (Full disclosure: your Notes editor has a relationship with Classical Wisdom’s founder, Anya Leonard… as in, we are married.)
So, if you’ve ever been interested in delving into the ancients… or you just want to brush up on your classical knowledge, this is a great way to get started. The course itself will run over six weeks. You can either follow along in real time… or “binge watch” the chapters, a la your favorite Netflix show.
Enroll today and get $50 off the regular course fee…
Oh yes, you also get access to a special welcome webinar, hosted by Anya on Wednesday, plus coursework, lesson quizzes and even an e-book copy of The Essential Greeks anthology to reference as you go. Enroll today and grab $50 off, right here...
And now for your Notes From the End of the Week…
Final Notes…
The short clip above was taken on an aimless wander down the storied Avenida de Mayo, in downtown Buenos Aires. We had taken some friends to enjoy an unhurried lunch at the historical Café de los Angelitos (which you can read about here) and decided upon a leisurely stroll to while away the afternoon.
Constructed toward the end of the 19th Century, the famed avenue harkens back to a bygone era of wealth and sophistication here in Buenos Aires, a city that is sometimes called “the capital of an empire that never was.”
The neoclassical and Art Nouveau buildings you see lining the broad street often inspire comparisons with the grand boulevards of Europe, in particular, La Gran Vía in Madrid, although the Spanish avenue was built some quarter of a century later. Beginning at the Congressional Plaza, the leafy avenue runs all the way down to the Plaza de Mayo, our front of the Casa Rosada (the presidential palace, or the “Pink House”), crossing the world’s widest avenue, Avenida 9 de Julio, along the way.
The grand apartments you see overlooking the street are a mix of residential and commercial spaces, with many retaining their original moldings, double overhead ceilings and stately libraries and ballrooms. Once a prized location in the city, it has in recent decades fallen into disrepair and, as such, is far from the most expensive real estate in town.
One wonders whether, should there be an economic revival down here at the End of the World, these grand old apartments might once again draw the interest of those in the know. More to come…
In the meantime, enjoy your weekend… and stay tuned for more Notes From the End of the World…
Cheers,
Joel Bowman
