San Isidro Travel Guide

Below the section of the Plaza containing Mitre’s statue is a floral clock dating back to 1913 – the first of its kind in South America. Another museum of note can be found a little to the south of the Plaza – the Quinta y Museo Pueyrredon. This home belonged to General Juan Manuel de Pueyrredon, a colleague of San Martin’s in the Wars of the Independence – also a leader in the earlier repulsion of British forces in 1806-1807. For a short time, he was the Supreme Director of the United Provinces of La Plata, the nebulous arrangement that emerged from the 1816 Congress in Tucuman. He was instrumental in maintaining the fight against Spain, though also being a good porteno Unitarian, he was able to watch with glee as the Portugese march in from Brazil as they smashed the Federalist forces of Jose Artigas in Uruguay, thus eliminating the ‘barbarian democracy’ on the other side of the Rio de la Plata.

This line originated in 1891 and ran from BsAS to Tigre. Part of the line running between Olivos and Tigre was reestablished in 1995. You can access the line from the Retiro Station by transferring at Olivos from the normal train lines and then walking over the viaduct to this light rail line. The line was built by the owners of the big amusement park in Tigre, Parque de la Costa –also owners of the huge casino next door. There are 11 stops en route and most have tried to recycle the old look of the original stations with an 1890’s look. The line whips past many very upscale neighborhoods and offers the occasional view out over the Rio de la Plata and BsAs beyond. The train station in San Isidro contains a small trendy shopping mall that you walk through as you head to the cathedral on the hill behind.

With the end of the school term, all of the tests and papers have been returned. No need to save them becasue we are graduating!! School's out forever!! in the words of the immortal Alice Cooper.