Mendoza does pretty well.

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This past July, 2008, I went to Argentina for 22 days. I went to Buenas Aires, La Plata, Mendoza, Salta, Cordoba, and Colonia, Uraguay, and some of the towns surrounding those areas.

In Mendoza, I rented an apartment for a week. It was really nice. I went grocery shopping in the evening for our dinner of empanadas or pizza and for my breakfast of coffee, bread, cheese, and ham. I would eat around our table and watch the news, and there was quite a bit of news. My apartment had maid service as well- a pleasant surprise- so I did not have to do our dishes or make the bed the entire week.

Outside of the apartment, I spent time wandering around the plazas, walking through the park, eating ice cream and drinking coffee and wine, searching for a laundrymat, perusing the wares of the artisans, surfing the net, and touring the city. On the weekends in the park they have city sponsored aerobic-dancing.

I took two excursions out of the city. One was on the way to Miapu- I rented some bikes and went on a wine tour. This sounds so easy, but first I had to buy lots of little things to gather enough change for the bus, then I missed our stop and went all the way in to Miapu and had to go to a bank to get more change, "please, sir, may I have some change for the bus?" I finally got back to our stop, about half way back the way I'd come. I picked up my bike and got a list of six venues to visit including bodegas (wineries), a liquor and chocolate factory, and an olive plantation. The first stop was a winery- I got a tour with a large group of people and one glass of wine. The next stop was for chocolate and liquor, where I bought some chocolate dulce de leche. Then I went to another bodega where we shared two glasses of wine. The fourth stop, another bodega, also had a restaurant, so I took some time out to savor some delicious food with even more wine. Then I took the tour and tasted several more varieties of wine. I headed off to the olive plantation, but was misdirected up a very long hill and by the time I gave up, headed back, and found the right road, the sun was going down and I needed to head back to the bike rental. In a sad turn of events, I lost the pictures of this day, taken on an ill-fated camera.

The second excursion was a full day trip to near-by Canyon Atuel, some photos of this trip are included below.

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Photos

At the end of the rainbow
Mendoza plaza fountain- Marta finally found what lies at the end of the rainbow.

Another beautiful view...
Mendoza- Parque San Martin

It's soooo not cold
Mendoza's Cafe Teatro near Plaza Independencia- It was such a mild winter. Much warmer than expected. But in the shade with a breeze it was still a bit chilly.

Picture perfect
Canyon Atuel- a beautiful lake scene