High tea in the high mountains

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When we were in Montone we had borrowed the landlords TV to watch the All Blacks. When we were in Rome, Angus had SMSed updates throughout the second Bledisloe match. Today the All Blacks were playing Argentina for the first time in the Rugby Championship and we had our own TV to watch the game. The bad news was that the game was in New Zealand and due to the time difference it was on at 4.30am, but that wasn't going to stop us. We got up in time and snuggled in front of the TV. Harriet missed most of the second half including the tries because she kept falling asleep, but she woke up for the replays each time. Winning the game didn't keep Fiona and Harriet awake, so after the game they went back to bed, but Toby thought it was time for a run. 10km later he went back to bed.

We all got up properly and went out for breakfast just before noon. Argentinians are not big on breakfast. They eat larger meals at lunch, afternoon tea and dinner. For breakfast we had cake, coffee and medialunars. These are the Argentinian version of croissants. They are a bit smaller and are glazed. We didn't need much because we had booked for afternoon tea at the best hotel in Argentina, The Llao Llao Hotel.

One of the biggest tourist attractions in Bariloche is a circular drive called the Circuito Chico, that goes past the Llao Llao Hotel. You can stop and do different things at different points on the drive and you can also eat at various places. The drive can be done in a car, on a bike or even using the public buses. The Llao Llao hotel has had many important people to stay including Presidents. If you want to go in the hotel though you have to have a booking for a meal or for golf.

The drive starts out the same as the way to the ski field and then continues along the lake. The whole way is stunning. The first place that we stopped was Cerro Campanario. This is a chairlift to a lookout at the top of the mountain. The views from the top were pretty spectacular and 360 degree. The chairlift itself was a little scary, but much easier than walking to the top. There was a small path at the top and also a little shrine. We saw more big birds on the way down the chairlift.

At the hotel we had to give the gate keeper our name and then he let us in to the car park. The hotel had a hunting lodge feel to it with lots of wood and furs. The tea was served in a conservatory called the winter tea room. The views over the lake to the Andes were beautiful. We chose a buffet and were able to have as much cake and sandwiches as we wanted accompanied by juice and tea or chocolate. Fiona had the Llao Llao blend which was black tea with fruit and almonds and was really nice. There wasn't a large buffet, just one table, but there was enough there. We ate far too much but it was worth it. Toby and Harriet loved the strudel. Some kids who must have been staying at the hotel, discovered the grand piano in the bar next to the tea rooms and we were treated to a rendition of Fur Elise and then some Adele. We sat for a long time enjoying the food and drink and the view, but maybe not the music.

Back in the car we continued on the circuit. We could have stopped at a dinosaur park but it didn't look very exciting. We did stop at another lookout and took more photos before returning to Bariloche. We were very careful to make sure the lights were off every time we stopped. The dead battery did mean the radio no longer worked as we didn't have the code for it. We didn't really think we were missing much.We bought a bottle of wine and some snacks for dinner, watched Catherine Tait and had an early night.

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Photos

High tea at Llao Llao Hotel
The buffet table - small but delicious choice, in the winter tea room