Palermo! Got off the subway and took a short walk to the Evita museum. Beautifully done in the building which was, during her time, a refuge and care center. Walked around Palermo, looked at the street fairs, tons of stalls, bought a pair of pants, and headed back. I am sure we would have been more enthusiastic about the area had we not been sick. James and I are both battling a cold so it has been a little difficult to enjoy it fully.
After a nap we went to dinner at a cute little italian restaurant near the hostel. We shared a plate of pollo portugese (chicken done with an onion and bell pepper sauce) and homemade fussili with a meat and tomato sauce. I have never had pasta so fresh and delicate. I could have had a bowl of that pasta, no sauce, just by itself.
After a night of rest (really taking advantage of this party hostel we are) we took a walk into San Telmo district. Since it was Sunday the majority of the streets were cordoned off and jam packed with antique stalls, homemade leather products, arts and crafts products, and any other product a hippie could ever want.
After a quick nap we grabbed a couple beers and headed off to a football game. Boca vs. Tigres. I of course underestimated the length of this trip and by the time we pulled in was darting down the streets to a McDonald's for the loo. Never have I loved McDonald's more. Had to push past the woman cleaning the stalls trying to tell me that the stalls were closed with many "por favor POR FAVOR!!!!" I think she got the gravity of the situation....she let me pass. Ended up having the entire football party waiting for me. Great. Round of applause to me.
The game itself was insane. Actually, for the entire 90 minutes I probably saw about 30 minutes of football (enough time to see one of the two goals). We sat in the Boca stands (the away team) along with the bus loads of hooligans. After grabbing our seat in the stands (an hour before kick off) we were privy to the setting up of the hooligans. Complete with a riot at the entrance with the police. Police in full riot gear, batons, and rubber bullet guns. There was a huge scuffle, we had a clear view of a few guys being beaten by the police, and about 10 guys shot through the commotion with their smuggled drums. All that for drums! Well, we could see soon after that it was worth it. Huge bags full of flags and banners were emptied, one legged men were climbing up walls to secure the banners over the crowd. Boys climbed up the barbed wire fence to hang from the top, shaking the fence so the loud speakers were dangerously close to falling over onto the crowd. The navy blue and yellow flags were everywhere. Beer and alcohol are banned from the stands so instead, the entire boca stand was covered by a thick cloud of smoke from weed. Bit of a surprise really... and you would think that maybe it would calm the fans down! Nope. Not a chance. These men (about 95% were men) spent the entire game, resting only during half time, singing, shouting, waving their flags, jumping up and down, shaking the stadium. The game was won 2-0 Boca. I was able to see the second goal, before I was shoved down a few stairs (by James who lost his footing....not his fault) by the crowd of Argentines behind us. I have never seen a crowd go so crazy after a goal. I almost hoped for there to be no more goals just to save my life. Amazing experience overall. During half time we spoke to a few of the older men who were sitting around us and found out that they were 'older' hooligans, who have calmed down since their crazy years of drinking and support (not that their support has dwindled at all). Later we found that our tickets were so expensive not only because they were bought through the mafia but for security. The older gentleman were paid to look out for us, and we reckon to pay off some of the tougher more decorated men around us, "this is why you still have camera" said our guide at the end. Fine by me!
Got back around 11:30pm, had an apple for dinner and passed out.
Moving to Art Factory Hostel today and maybe take it easy and try to get better before our concert.
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