A Trip to Rosario

On Wednesday we left at 6:45 am for Rosario, a city of about a million, a three hour drive from Rafaela. Rosario lies on the bank of the huge Rio Parana, a location which has always made it an important port city. It has a beautiful promenade along the river and a very important historical site called El Monumento a la Bandera (Monument to the Flag). The first Argentine flag was created and first raised here by one of Argentine´s national heroes, General Manuel Belgrano, in 1812 during the fight for independence. The site includes the impressively sized and sculpted stone strucuture pictured above which contains the tumb of Belgrano. Another part of the site contains the eternal flame, flanked elegantly by Sofia in the first picture. After visiting the monument we drove though the city, seeing a number of very pretty parks before having lunch at a nice outdoor cafe in one of the parks. We then had some free time on an pedrestrain only shopping street and returned to Rafaela at 9:00 that night. Our Argentine student hosts went with us, which made the day that much more enjoyable.