Buenos Aires – Winter, not that it’s much of a winter, is clearly coming to an end. Flowers are starting to bud, and in some cases are already blooming. It was a gorgeous day, in the high 60s, with a stunning blue sky and just wisps of clouds. It was not a day to spend indoors, so I headed to Parque 3 de Febrero, in Palermo, roughly 1000 acres of woods, a lake, and winding trails, and numerous gardens, including the famous Paseo del Rosedal. 
This rose garden contains 15,000 rose bushes, with more than 1,000 different species, several of which were already in bloom. There is also the Jardín de los Poetas (Poets’ Garden), with statues of many literary figures, and also Patio Andaluz, with it’s unique tiled benches and fountain.
Why 3rd of February? In 1876, on February 3rd, Argentina and Paraguay signed an official treating defining the boundaries between the two countries.
Just outside the park are two fairly famous statues. The first is the Monumento de las Españoles, a towering edifice in the middle of the intersection of Avenues Libertador and Sarmiento. In the neighboring Plaza Seeber is a commemorative statue to Brigadier General Don Juan Manuel de Rosas (early to mid 19th century Argentinian dictator and governor of the Province of Buenos Aires).
[…] Further along, the street leads into the famed Parque 3 de Febrero, the south end of which I’d briefly toured before. This time, I spent several hours walking the length and breadth of it, including the Paseo del Rosedal, or rose garden, which is wildly in bloom right now. […]
[…] I launched into this fanciful idea yesterday with a foray along about half of the street 3 de Febrero, a date that has come up before in relation to the Parque 3 de Febrero. I have to admit that I’m not entirely sure why this date is important. Originally I thought it was that nearly 130 years ago, in 1876, Argentina and Paraguay signed an official treaty defining the frontier between the two countries and ending Argentina’s occupation of a portion of Paraguay following the War of the Triple Alliance. Also known as the Paraguayan War, it was fought from 1864 to 1870, and was the bloodiest conflict in Latin American history, and the second bloodiest conflict that occurred on the American continent. It was fought between Paraguay and the allied countries of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. This still seems like an important date to name a street and/or park after. […]