Advertisement
Published: August 1st 2010
*Mendoza*
First stop in Argentina was Mendoza. Considering that Mendoza is one of nine cities in the world in the network of Great Capitols of Wine and the largest producer of wine in all of Latin America, we had to go wine tasting! We stayed at an amazing hostal, Hostal Lao, that put out free wine for everyone in the hostal after 8pm and had a cozy living room with a fire place where we would all hang out at night. On our first night we met an Austrian girl who invited us to go with her and an American on a wine tasting tour the next day. Excitedly, we said yes! So the next day we went out to one of the wine tasting areas, Pedriel, rented bikes, and went around to four different wineries. Our first winery was Achaval Ferrer, which was actually one of the best wineries in all of Argentina. We got a whole tour of the winery and a thorough explanation of the processes they use, which are very unique to them. After trying some of the best red wine I have ever had, we headed to our second winery, Ruca Melon. Here, we enjoyed a
The view
Achaval Ferrer Wineryfive-course lunch with wine pairings. It was amazing to say the least!! For appetizers, we had a citric mousse on a red apple chip with a fresh Granny Smith apple wedge paired with a Chardonnay and a sweet and sour pork empanada with roasted onions and raisons paired with a Cabernet Sauvignon. For the next two main courses, we enjoyed caramelized carrots, spiced crust and dried ham on top of smoked goat cheese sauce paired with a Syrah, and grilled beef tenderloin served with baked potatoes and zucchini on a cheese and almond pesto paired with a Malbec and a different type of Cabernet Sauvignon. Finally for dessert, we had a chardonnay, lemon, and rosemary granitee and dulce de leche panna cotta with fresh fruits. This meal was by far the most amazing meal I have ever had!!! After leaving very full and satisfied, we headed to our last winery, Bonfanti, to finish this amazing day off with one last tasting.
On our second day in Mendoza, Johaan and I reluctantly rented bikes again even though our butts were so sore from the day before when we road them all day wine tasting. We knew that it was the best
decision since we only had a day to see the whole city of Mendoza and this was the best way to do it. After riding around the city for a while, we headed to Mendoza’s massive park, which includes a zoo, a university, a skate park, a soccer stadium, and more sport facilities. After our beautiful day in the park, we were ready to head to Cordoba.
*Cordoba*
When we first arrived in Cordoba, we walked around the town and plazas. It was pretty dead out because it was a Sunday and most shops and restaurants are closed on Sunday. Cordoba is the second largest city in Argentina and a main urban development in the central region of the country. The next day we went out to Alta Garcia to go to the Ernesto ‘’Che” Guevara Museum. Che grew up here for most of his childhood before he started travelling and becoming a revolutionary figure. I also knew the famous face of Che Guevara, but I hadn’t known all the information behind Che’s actions and his childhood. Also in Alta Garcia, were an old Jesuit Estancia and a church. Overall, it was a pretty cute town and a nice escape
Colorful La Boca
La Boca, Argentina from the city life of Cordoba. That night we were already on an overnight bus to Buenos Aires!
*Buenos Aires*
Buenos Aires is everything people say about it and more! It is definitely my favorite city I have ever been to. Buenos Aires is a cosmopolitan metropolis and unlike any other city in the world. It is the combination of a beautiful European-like city, attractive residents, gourmet cuisine, amazing shopping, and one of the best nightlife in South America, that make this city so appealing. The people of Buenos Aires, or portenos, love their tango, soccer, leather, fashion, and steak, and we tried to do it all. Because we could only spend 4 days in BA, our days were jam-packed. On our first day, we walked to Recoleta, which is one of the nicer neighborhoods in BA, to check out the famous cemetery, the flower sculpture, the park, and some pretty buildings. The cemetery was unlike any other cemetery I have seen! In the past, Recoleta was where all the rich and well-known families lived, and this cemetery was where they were buried. These people couldn’t just have been buried in the ground, but rather they needed elaborate and luxurious
tombs. This is also the place where the infamous Evita is buried. After walking around all day in the freezing cold, we were ready for dinner. We went to a restaurant that was recommended in our Lonely Planet at 6:00 pm and were denied food ☹ Since we weren’t allowed to order anything until 7:30 pm, we just ordered a bottle of wine and waited. In Argentina, people don’t go out to eat until 11 or 12 o’clock at night. Very often, we would see whole families with their young children out eating at 11:30 pm at night, but that is completely normal here. Unfortunately, Johaan and I aren’t quite used to eating so late, and never really got used to it. However, the food was worth the wait. Johaan ordered a common dish in Argentina, a cazuela, which is a type of stew. There are many different kinds of cazuelas, but he got one with shredded steak and onions with pumpkin on top, which was then heated in a type of pizza oven. It was amazing!
The next day, we joined a tour group from our hostel and headed to the old port town of La Boca. Between 1880
The barrel room
Achaval Ferrer Winery and 1930, around 6 million foreign immigrants settled in the big port city. Since the town was so heavily populated, residents would commonly rent rooms in large building, kind of like a hostel, resulting in many families all living in one building. This set up worked fine until there was a massive outbreak of a disease. As a result, a lot of people moved from La Boca to Buenos Aires and other cities. Today, the residents of La Boca are mostly poor and sometimes dangerous, there is a barrio on the other side of the river that is much like a favella in Brazil. According to our tour guide, the people that live there only care about “drugs, drugs, drugs, and money for the drugs”. Obviously, we didn’t go to this part of La Boca. Instead, we roamed the main tourist street of Caminito. Caminito is the main street that is full of color, people dancing tango, artists selling their paintings, and souvenirs. In the past, as they began constructing homes and businesses, the paint supply was very limited. As a solution, the people used any and all leftover paint from the shippers painting their ships. Sometimes the left over
Their flight of wines
Achaval Ferrer Winery paint would only be enough to cover 20 feet or so of the house, so they would go back to the shipyard and steal some more paint. As a result, all the buildings are variously colored and bright. After Caminito, we had lunch at a local parrilla, which a steak restaurant common of Argentina. After lunch we went to the famous Boca Junior Stadium. The Boca Juniors are one of the main soccer teams in Buenos Aires and the people go nuts for them.
The third day in BA was reserved for shopping! Since leather is everywhere and cheaper than in the states, I was on a mission to find some leather boots. Johaan and I headed down the pedestrian shopping streets of Florida and Santa Fe and to the main galleria, Pacifica. After a whole day and way too many leather shops, I finally found the perfect pair of boots, which Johaan generously bought me for an early birthday present ☺ That night we went out to a very famous steak restaurant, La Cabrera. With the steak of you choice, you get a bunch of different sides that go with your steak. As was expected, this was the best
Achaval Ferrer Winery
The top wine in Argentina steak I have ever had in my life.
On our fourth and final day in Buenos Aires, Johaan and I tried to see all the historal places and buildings. We went to see the Casa Rosada, or governmental house, which became well known after Madonna stared in the movie Evita. We also went to the Teatro Colon, one of the biggest and best theatres in the world, the cathedral, and the shipping port. That night, we went to become educated in Tango. We started our Tango education with an hour and a half of Tango lessons. After receiving our certificates of completion of beginner Tango, we sat down for an amazing three-course meal and all the wine you could drink. Finally, after dinner we watched a two-hour Tango show with professional dancers, a live band, and live singing. The music and dancing was incredible! Overall, our entire Tango experience was absolutely amazing and was a perfect way to end our time in Buenos Aires.
Lastly, sorry for the long blog entry and the delay. We are currently in Rio De Janiero and are headed home on Tuesday. I will try to get my Uruguay and Brazil blog up soon. Can’t
wait to see everyone!!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.043s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 7; qc: 25; dbt: 0.0211s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Rochelle
non-member comment
Wow
this is such a great picture of you two. I've never seen johaan so serious!