Cin and Galib
Cinnamon and Galib Joined: December 24th 2005
Logged in: August 9th 2011
Logged in: August 9th 2011
Travel Blog Posts
Glasses ready for our tasting
O.Fournier Vineyard is located in the Uco Valley, Mendoza. Upon approaching the grounds, one wonders if a UFO has just landed...the building is shaped like a flying saucer. The vineyard is located just 15km from the Andes mountain range. The O.Fournier logo is an ostrich, pronounced "choi-ko". Our wine tour agency, Ampora, arranged a private lunch for Galib & I and we were lucky enough to have a very kind couple from Switzerland join us. Our English speaking guide, Luli, was very educational, providing us the history of Mendoza and informing us of the wine making process. The lunch was a 6 course culinary experience, involving every single taste sensation from sweet to savory and beyond. If you find yourself in the Mendoza area, O.Fournier should be at the top of your wine tour list. The ... read more
Grapes
Ampora Wine Tours was a small office we stumbled across while walking in Mendoza. The manager, Kai, speaks English, (as well as Spanish and German), so it is easy to communicate your wants and needs. On the top of our list of wineries to visit was "La Linda", because Naz gifted us a bottle from his visit to Buenos Aires in '07. However we soon learned that "La Linda" was a wine, rather than a vineyard. The vineyard is "Luigi Bosca". Ampora set up an appointment with Luigi Bosca and arranged a driver as well. Unlike Naramata, when attending vineyards in Mendoza, one must have an appointment and be registered with the security guard, otherwise there is positively no admittance. This would be the first of our 2 winery visits of the day, the other being ... read more
Wine glasses
The Vines of Mendoza was a unique tasting room we discovered within the first day of arrival to this magnificent city. More than a typical wine bar, the Vines of Mendoza offers various services from private reserve tastings from boutique vineyards to wine & cheese pairing evenings. Our first encounter was a special private reserve tasting of the "Las Reservas de Argentina" set in an intimate modern dining room. Our educator was very passionate and knowledgeable about wine. Argentina only offers Argentinian wine, therefore citizens know their product. The Vines selects and serves over 90 special, small production wines by the guided flight, glass and bottle. Our educator informed us about altitude, climate conditions and the different regions in the province (note there is the city of Mendoza and the province of Mendoza). The Uco Valley ... read more
Boca Juniors
Ask any of the locals in Buenos Aires which is area one must be wary of, and they all seem to name, La Boca. Really? Well, everyone knows how I rise to that challenge...tell me that a place is a little sketchy and I definitely want to check it out!!! La Boca is the home of the famous football team (known as soccer in Canada), Boca Juniors. The stadium, affectionaly known as "La Bombonera", the Chocolate Box, as it is shaped like a rectangle. The stadium gives off a major energy vibe. Even though a game wasn't on, you could feel the Boca Junior aura. Across the street from the stadium, tango dancers stand on the street corners, waiting for tourists to gather and watch their moves. Brightly colored, the neighborhood displays houses painted in blue, ... read more
Pink Flower
Going to Uruguay via Buquebus, well the experience was not exactly what we had envisioned. We called to confirm our tickets, which they did, however upon arrival we were informed that when we called earlier, the ticket agent booked us a duplicate sets of tickets, therefore she cancelled both. Ahhhh! This is where taking some Spanish lessons prior to travelling would have been a smart thing to do. We managed to get the Montevideo to Buenos Aires booked, which we attempted to explain in sign language that we need to get there, in order to come back. They just wouldn't book us a ticket to get to Montevideo. Overall, it took us 2 hours to rebook the tickets because the agents had no idea what we were talking about since we didn't speak Spanish. They thought ... read more
Learning to Tango
When Galib said that we should go to Buenos Aires for our honeymoon, I jumped at the idea. Good food, good wine, warm weather, and a place where neither of us had travelled before. Little did I know, how good the food & wine was, and how beautiful the weather would be. Temperatures averaged 30-35 degrees. Sure it was hot & humid, but the air conditioning and park lined trees balance that out. Argentineans are so friendly. Surprisingly, several people speak English, so getting around is not a problem. Spanish is a lovely and romantic language and easy to learn. The easiest phrases one should know are: buenos dias (good morning), buenos tardes (good afternoon), and buenos noches (good evening). Practice rolling those "r's". RRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Also to note, remembering which "buenos" to say becomes increasingly more ... read more
Where's Waldo?
Can you find him? This is one of the main means of transportation in some villages. Can you count how many people? I'm guessing you can't go very fast with that many people on the muddy roads... ... read more
Hotel in Mombasa
Galib enjoyed a bit of time off in Mombasa, Kenya. He read some books, dranks lots of coffee and relaxed in the sauna and steam room. The hotel also featured a nice blue pool. He fell in love with a restaurant called "Tamarind", feasting on a dish named "lobster swahili". The room was quite nice, Galib was startled when a monkey was staring at him through the glass. You can see in the photo that the monkey is staring right at Galib's stuff. ... read more
UN chopper
Galib flew in a helicopter to check out a local village, Kurmuk. He has now been there a few times to report on the local conditions and current situation, which changes from day to day. To put things in perspective, Damazin is located at 11°46′0″N, 34°21′0″E. Vancouver is located at: 49°15' N 123°6' W. Galib comments further on his experience: "The Sudanese are very social people with a great deal of pride. I love driving to work everyday by the villages and by the schools in the city and see the beautiful children, the girls with head coverings and pants and the boys wearing their Sudan football jerseys, and all with very white teeth wave at me and smile. It is truly amazing. The really incredible thing is that through the civil war, the famine, the ... read more
The Big Apple
Cinnamon takes Manhattan North America » United States » New York » New York » Manhattan By Cin and Galib June 23rd 2007 Cinnamon and Galib The Big Apple I met my friend Sabrina in New York for a weekend get away. This was my third visit, so I am getting to know the city very well, although there is always something new to discover. In only a few days, Sabrina & I covered shopping at Filene's Basement, DSW, Tiffany's, explored Greenwich Village & Chelsea market, ate lunch at Morimoto's, had a picnic in Central Park, trekked through Lincoln Centre, watched the Pride Parade (which was apparently toned down this year) and with my friends Peter & Leslie, I ended the trip with attending a comic book convention featuring "David Faustino/Bud Bundy" and "Eddie Munster", and ... read more
