Field trip day! The train ride down to La Plata was uneventful and very cheap. Actually, the hour and a half train ride cost less than our Subte ride to the train station. It cost us each only 2.10pesos. I don’t know how they’re able to operate on such low fares. On the train itself were the normal people walking back and forth trying to sell us stuff like Kleenex and bread. The day was grey and it was a relief to finally arrive in La Plata. I went through my second Le Corbusier building. My first was the Carpenter Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts; so now I can cross off both the only Corbu building in North America and the only Corbu building in South America from my list. I have to admit, I hated the Carpenter Center, but the Casa Curutchet was really delightful and charming. I’m discovering more and more how much I appreciate continuity of space vertically in addition to horizontally. I’m really enchanted by spaces that unexpectedly open up to above, as the living room did here. I think Corbu did an amazing job making the narrow, unimpressive, crowded urban site feel really intimate, secluded, nature-filled, and spacious. I was skeptical heading in but it was really delightful. Afterwards and after lunch, we walked through the drizzling rain to the Natural History Museum.
Wow.
So overwhelming and impressive. So many skeletons and stuffed animals and dinosaurs! Everything was so old and looked somewhat abandoned and sad. The building itself was large and beautiful‑but also somewhat under-kept. I could have spent many more hours there. Finally, a wet walk to the train and a long ride home. A hot shower was never more welcome.