We like the cars that go boom.

Today was sunny and festive and rather enjoyable. Being Sunday and Independence Day and good weather, people were out and about and there was much going on. My impression of Rosario has improved. I began the day by attending another free guitar concert (though on a much smaller scale) in the municipal building and then walked along the waterfront. Ferías, or sidewalk artisan markets, were up and in full Sunday swing. Families flew kites. Couples smooched. Vendors yelled their food items for sale and performers drew crowds. And everyone (by "everyone," I mean EV-ER-Y-ONE) was drinking mate. Every cluster of people sitting and chatting, or walking along, or manning a fería booth was centered around a mate cup and a thermos of hot water. I´ve never seen anything like it. To give you a sense, more people drink mate and drink it often than the number and frequency of cigarette smoking. This is a big deal.
I also walked many, many blocks to visit Parque Independencia. In so doing, I discovered the bustling Avenida Pellegrini and broad, spacious, tree-lined Bv. Otoño. These two streets made me feel better about Rosario. Anyway, the park was absolutely alive with people and activity. A car show was happening as part of the Independence Day celebrations and all sorts of entertaining vehicles were lined up for display along the curving roads within the park...ranging from antiques like the Ford Model "A" to classic cars like the original Mustang to new, flashy numbers that had been souped up with lights and all manner of sound systems. And there were SO MANY entertaining cars to look at. I had much fun, despite the fact that I really have little interest in or knowledge about cars in general. I also stumbled upon a sort of amusement park for children and could not help but smile at the sight of all those niños having a ball on the bumper cars and teacups. I bought a bag of sugary popcorn and just strolled through it all. The park is large, with a stadium, rec areas, green space, a children´s museum, and a lake (with paddleboats and fountains). As a result of all this strolling, I missed the World Cup final. The story on CNN makes it seem like it was a great game. Boo for me.
This evening I tried to visit the planetarium/observatory, but somehow ended up in a sort of science museum. I enjoyed this, but even though I have a decent grasp of Spanish and science, the combination of trying to do both at the same time eventually did me in.
Truth be told, I´m getting a little homesick and am looking forward to the 17th. The way to counter this is to move on to the next place, and for this I´ll be glad to hit the road for Posadas tomorrow.