Having fun in Bariloche

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yesterday afternoon we were back to our room for nap time. after that we took a bus into the city centre and went shopping. patigonia, and particularly bariloche is famous here for chocolates. we went to 3 different chocolate shops and purchased a box of chocolates and some chocolate beer. malaya loved the free samples and the shop workers loved to keep giving her more chocolate. we walked up many hills and stairs with a stroller, carrying malaya, carrying a diaper bag and camera bag. i would say we definately worked off the chocolate and then some. we found a toy store and bought malaya some toys. the dollarama toys i brought for the trip were not very stimulating and malaya was bored with them a week ago. now she is over the moon to be playing with blocks. she stacks them and points them at us going boom boom. i think she is pretending it is a gun. i dont know.

today we went back into town in the morning and went to a very large chocolate shop for ice cream. the ice cream in argentina is very different from canada. it tastes good, not too rich, not too sweet. the store had a play area and that was fun to sit and relax for a bit eating ice cream while malaya ran around playing. we came home again for nap time and then back into town for the afternoon.

this afternoon we hit up the chocolate history museum where malaya was again given many free samples by the young women working there. i personally found the history of chocolate fascinating. did you know that the mayans gave their soldiers chocolate to make them more alert and stronger fighters. it was thought to be an energy booster. did you know that hot chocolate was once a drink only allowed for royalty and the nobility. weather women would drink hot chocolate in public places to show off their status. really interesting stuff.

later in the afternoo we went to a local artisan market and also visited the town square. the weather has been better in the past few days. it is now about 15 degrees. in a few days we will fly to salta where i hear it is incredibly hot. it is for this reason we will have to eat up all our chocolates before we leave. i cannot have melting.

i am also attaching photos of our hotel room for those that are curious. my uncle ralphy was nice enough to allow us to use his time share this week. the service here is great and it is nice to stay somewhere fancier than a youth hostel for a change. the extra fees here are ridiculous though. to use the work out room costs 40 dollars per week and to use the pool, sauna and hot tub for the week is 200 dollars. insanity. then there are other extras like a fee for the maid to wash our dishes (i can do this myself thanks) and a fee for a playpen. i found out about that after we got the playpen. oh and we are being charged 150 dollars for electricity this week. so stupid. it would be nice to go for a swim but im´not paying 200 dollars for something i wont use more than an hour this week.

i am feeling much better today as is mark. i acted out my cough symptoms at the farmacia and was given a mystery cough syrup. i would say it had codeine in it becuase it completely got rid of my cough overnight (a cough i have had for 3 weeks) and i´m sure i was high as a kite last night (in a good mellow way) Malaya is teething. she cut 3 big teeth this past week. that explains the fever and the non stop runny nose.

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Comments

[Audrey]

Yum Chocolate
Yum Chocolate. It looks like an interesting tour.