Christmas 23rd - 27th Dec

We checked into a lovely hotel for Christmas in Mendoza city. We had air conditioning, a TV and our own bathroom with hot water- fantastic!!

It was very hot but despite the heat we hit the shops to continue our christmas shopping for each other! Later that day we had a well deserved dip in the jacuzzi on the roof terrace of the hotel, oh yes!!

Christmas Eve meant more shopping but this time for myself, I had been dying to get a skirt for about the last 2 weeks, having got fed up with wearing the same trousers and shorts day in, day out! After looking in the boutique shops it became apparent that unless I wanted a denim skirt I was getting nowhere. Then can you believe it a look in C&A and the problem was solved, one lovely skirt was found! Thank god as I was starting to melt under the hot sun.

That evening we went for a meal at a restaurant that a couple of our friends from the Drgaoman truck had booked us into. On arrival we didnt appear to have a reservation at all but they said they could happily lay us up a table, great we thought until we found out it was going to cost each of us 250 pesos (about 40 quid each), now on a travelling budget that is a lot of money. However something told me the food would be good at this place so we decided not to be rude and go ahead! ...........Well I was right, great food and great service. It was a 4 course meal and with each course we had a different glass (or glasses) of wine, including a sweet wine with dessert. As it got nearer to 12 o´clock we were both feeling quite tipsy and then they brought out the champagne to accompany fireworks. By the end of the display we were very much wobbly on our feet and I made the decision to make an exit whilst we could still do so graciously!!!

The next morning (Christmas Day) was a little fuzzy to begin with but it was christmas...... so we mustered our christmas cheer and went down to breakfast with our santa hats on! Then it was present sharing time! We had decorated our room with xmas fairy lights, a xmas wreath and a candle, which we put our presents around. We both got some lovely things, Steve got: a new T-shirt, a wallet, a necklace, and two bracelets - one woven and one metal (now you may think that sounds a bit girlie but its Steve...so you would be right!!!). I got a necklace with matching earrings (very nice), another pair of earrings, a beaded bracelet and some soothing foot cream as my feet have got very dry and cracked in the heat.

After some karaoke and dancing in our room to the i pod we headed out for xmas lunch. We went to a hotel called the Park Hyatt where we had a very posh buffet (much like my mums!). We had a variety of salads to start and then Turkey - yey!!! The desserts were gorgeous too, loads of variety that I had a chocolate mousse, a fruit fool and a creme brulee - well it was christmas!

In the afternoon we enjoyed web cam links with our families and then it was time for a game of Monopoly.......and once again I kicked Steve´s backside!!! The rest of the evening we watched xmas movies apart from another dip in the jacuzzi! At first I was a little worried christmas would be a let down being away from home but actually it was just different and Steve made it very special for me, thanks x

Boxing Day included a lot more wine, as we cycled around many of the vineyards in the Maipu Valley just outside of Mendoza. We joined another couple from America and made our way around 6 of the bodegas, sampling one if not many more of the wines of that vineyard. In the end I think we may have tried 10 or more wines so our cycling was a little less than straight! It was another good day but a lot more energetic than my usual Boxing Day. That evening we went out for another lovely meal where I had a great bit of Argentinian steak.

The next morning we left to explore Puente del Inca, another small village just outside of Mendoza.

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