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Obelisco de la Plaza Francia

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Tavia
Tavia
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3 out of 5
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1
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How I discovered El Obelisco de la Plaza Francia

  • May 5, 2001
  • Rated 3 of 5 by Tavia from New York, New York
How I discovered El Obelisco de la Plaza Francia

I was in Caracas for only 2 days for business, so I didn't have much of a chance to experience the cultural aspects of the city such as visit museums or take in a baseball game. However, I did get stuck in a rainfall of Biblical proportions, which brought the city to a screeching halt and left me with a unique impresion of Caracas. I was finishing up my appointment with my customer when we realized it was raining buckets (this was good news as they had been in a drought). We had no luck in calling a taxi, as they were all occupied and would need an hour to arrive to the store. The street outside was a literal river (of water) as well as metaphorical (the cars were so close together they seemed to flow into one another). After about half an hour, the rain petered out, so I decided to walk the three blocks to the metro. Well, I got there only to discover a "puddle" about 50 feet wide through which policemen were wading up to their thighs. The subway, it goes without saying, had pulled down its gates and shut down. I can only assume the "puddle" had flooded into the subway completely. I had already resigned myself to the fact that I was never getting to my next appointment, so I picked up on the vibe of the Venezuelans and went for a stroll. Many folks were milling about, enjoying the freshly-cooled and cleaned air in the valley, some heading off to get a POLAR. I walked back up towards the bookshop and found the leafy Plaza Francia in Altamira, most recognized by its obelisque (or OBELISCO as it's called here). Eventually I hailed a cab (which drove through puddles three feet deep to get me back to the hotel!), but in the meantime I simply enjoyed that post-rain relaxation that permeated the city. Going with the flow took on a literal meaning for me in Caracas that afternoon!

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