We got a late start today, beginning our walk to the Microcentro neighborhood around noon. First, we passed through the Plaza General San Martin, the location of the Monumento a los Caídos en Malvinas (the memorial to the Argentine veterans of the 1982 Falkland Islands War).

Passing the monument, we came upon some sort of monstrous Ficus tree whose limbs were so huge they had to be held up by metal supports:

An older Argentinian couple strolling through the park asked if we would like our photo taken together and we asked the wife to join us in the picture. They were very friendly and had visited the Florida Keys years ago, so I had an opportunity to practice my Spanish a little with them.

Continuing past the Plaza, we walked down Avenida 9 de Julio, the widest avenue in the world (according to Wikipedia), named for Argentina’s Independence Day, July 9, 1916.

That Washington Monument looking structure down the avenue is the Obelisco, a nearly 200-foot tall obelisk constructed in 1936 to mark the 400th anniversary of the Spanish landing here. The Obelisco sits in the middle of the Avenida 9 de Julio, surrounded on all sides by buildings and electronic billboards reminiscent of Times Square in New York City.

Symbolic of Washington’s recent capture by the bankers of New York.