LeAnn and Ray went down to visit Mariah in Mendoza as she was finishing off her semester of study there. We left on Monday afternoon and connected through Atlanta to Santiago, Chile and then to Mendoza. It was about a 10 hour flight to Santiago and then a quick 20 minute flight across the Andes into Mendoza. The Andes were snow capped and beautiful as we flew over them. The highest peak in South America is Aconcagua and is located between Santiago and Mendoza. Mendoza is located on the east slope of the Andes, but in the gradual sloping foothills. The area is high desert and has warm days and cool nights, which is one of the reasons it is known as such great wine country. The weather is sunny most of the time, although we had some rain and clouds while we were there. Since Mendoza is in the southern hemisphere, it is spring time and the weather is getting wonderful. We arrived in Mendoza about 1:00PM on Tuesday and Mariah and her host mom, Susy, picked us up at the airport.
We drove about 20 minutes to the hotel that Mariah had picked out for us, the Bohemia Boutique Hotel. It was a small hotel that used to be a house in a residential neighborhood about a 15 minute walk from Mariah's house. The staff at the hotel all spoke English and were very helpful and friendly for our entire stay. The hotel is between the large San Martin park and Avenue Villanueva Aristides, which is lined with restaurants and shops. The restaurants all have outdoor seating areas and people would be eating or drinking at all times of the day. However, the dinner time did not usually start until about 9:30. This didn't work out too bad since the 3 hour time difference from home meant we would be eating about our regular time. Since it is a desert environment, most of the trees in the city were brought planted and then have to constantly watered. This is accomplished through a series of open troughs along the street, called
acequia. You have to pay attention to them so you don't step in them or trip on them as they are usually about 3 feet deep. The result is gorgeous tree lined streets.
Our first trek was to San Martin Park which houses part of the university, a velodrome, soccer stadium, lake with a rowing club, and a large fountain inside a roundabout. This was a great park to relax in and many people were walking through the park. We made our way to Avenue Villanueva Aristides and had our first taste of Argentine Malbec wine at a sidewalk cafe, and it was very good. Wine is very popular and available almost everywhere. We also had our first empanadas, which are like mini calzons about the size of one's fist. They are mainly filled with meat of some sort, beef, pork or chicken. Beef is very popular and served in large portions for every meal.
We then wondered over to see Mariah's house where she has been living for the past 4 months. She is fortunate to be so close to school, bus lines and the park. She has her own bedroom upstairs with a good amount of privacy. She also has a good sized backyard. Susy is an artist and has a lot of her paintings decorating the house. She also has a studio out int he backyard where she can work. Overall, it has worked out very well for her. She has had about a half dozen students stay with here int he past, and one even painted a mural on the wall leading up the steps to Mariah's bedroom. We went downtown to dinner at a great restaurant called 23 Gran Bar to eat at that night. It had a large enclosed outdoor seating area so there was no street noise, and an associated winery, although that had closed by the time we had eaten dinner, so we did not get a chance to go through it. We walked to Independence Plaza to see it lit up in the night before heading to bed after a full day
Originally we had planned on going to Potrerillos for kayaking and ziplining on Tuesday, but the weather was supposed to be rainy on Wednesday, so we stayed in town and decided to head to Potrerillos on Thursday. We walked down to back down to Independence Plaza and spent a little more time exploring the park. In the park, there were people playing a game very similar to bocce ball, except they used flat plastic discs rather than balls. The court was roped off and the discs had to stay within the confines of the court. We then walked over to the nearby stores selling local items such as leather goods, wine, olives, and candies. One of the candy stores was also the manufacturing location, so you could watch them make the product in the back of the store.
We also stopped at the Central Mercado. This was a wet market selling fresh meat, fruits and vegetables. We even at lunch there at a pizza place. We went to the city government center as Mariah found out we could go to the top of the building and look out over the city. It was just starting to rain as we got there, but quit by the time we made it to the top and found our way to the lookout. Unfortunately, it was cloudy and the view of the mountains was not that good, but still worth the effort. We stopped at Havana Cafe and had and afternoon treat called a Submarino. It is basically a glass of hot milk in which you dip and stir in a chocolate candy bar until you have hot chocolate. It was an fun and interesting way to make hot chocolate. We had planned on taking an open top tour bus through the city and park, but since it was threatening rain, we decided not to do that. We went back to the hotel and had some snacks in the small garden area outback before heading out to dinner at Azafran. the steak was delicious along with the shrimp. We got to go into the wine cellar to pick out our wine for the meal with the help of the sommelier. It was a great experience. We again ate out on the sidewalk, and even though we had a little rain, we stayed dry under their overhang. We took a cab back home in order to get ready for our adventure day on Thursday in Potrerillos
LeAnn and Ray went down to visit Mariah in Mendoza as she was finishing off her semester of study there. We left on Monday afternoon and connected through Atlanta to Santiago, Chile and then to Mendoza. It was about a 10 hour flight to Santiago and then a quick 20 minute flight across the Andes into Mendoza. The Andes were snow capped and beautiful as we flew over them. The highest peak in South America is Aconcagua and is located between Santiago and Mendoza. Mendoza is located on the east slope of the Andes, but in the gradual sloping foothills. The area is high desert and has warm days and cool nights, which is one of the reasons it is known as such great wine country. The weather is sunny most of the time, although we had some rain and clouds while we were there. Since Mendoza is in the southern hemisphere, it is spring time and the weather is getting wonderful. We arrived in Mendoza about 1:00PM on Tuesday and Mariah and her host mom, Susy, picked us up at the airport.
We drove about 20 minutes to the hotel that Mariah had picked out for us, the Bohemia Boutique Hotel. It was a small hotel that used to be a house in a residential neighborhood about a 15 minute walk from Mariah's house. The staff at the hotel all spoke English and were very helpful and friendly for our entire stay. The hotel is between the large San Martin park and Avenue Villanueva Aristides, which is lined with restaurants and shops. The restaurants all have outdoor seating areas and people would be eating or drinking at all times of the day. However, the dinner time did not usually start until about 9:30. This didn't work out too bad since the 3 hour time difference from home meant we would be eating about our regular time. Since it is a desert environment, most of the trees in the city were brought planted and then have to constantly watered. This is accomplished through a series of open troughs along the street, called acequia. You have to pay attention to them so you don't step in them or trip on them as they are usually about 3 feet deep. The result is gorgeous tree lined streets.
Our first trek was to San Martin Park which houses part of the university, a velodrome, soccer stadium, lake with a rowing club, and a large fountain inside a roundabout. This was a great park to relax in and many people were walking through the park. We made our way to Avenue Villanueva Aristides and had our first taste of Argentine Malbec wine at a sidewalk cafe, and it was very good. Wine is very popular and available almost everywhere. We also had our first empanadas, which are like mini calzons about the size of one's fist. They are mainly filled with meat of some sort, beef, pork or chicken. Beef is very popular and served in large portions for every meal.
We then wondered over to see Mariah's house where she has been living for the past 4 months. She is fortunate to be so close to school, bus lines and the park. She has her own bedroom upstairs with a good amount of privacy. She also has a good sized backyard. Susy is an artist and has a lot of her paintings decorating the house. She also has a studio out int he backyard where she can work. Overall, it has worked out very well for her. She has had about a half dozen students stay with here int he past, and one even painted a mural on the wall leading up the steps to Mariah's bedroom. We went downtown to dinner at a great restaurant called 23 Gran Bar to eat at that night. It had a large enclosed outdoor seating area so there was no street noise, and an associated winery, although that had closed by the time we had eaten dinner, so we did not get a chance to go through it. We walked to Independence Plaza to see it lit up in the night before heading to bed after a full day
Originally we had planned on going to Potrerillos for kayaking and ziplining on Tuesday, but the weather was supposed to be rainy on Wednesday, so we stayed in town and decided to head to Potrerillos on Thursday. We walked down to back down to Independence Plaza and spent a little more time exploring the park. In the park, there were people playing a game very similar to bocce ball, except they used flat plastic discs rather than balls. The court was roped off and the discs had to stay within the confines of the court. We then walked over to the nearby stores selling local items such as leather goods, wine, olives, and candies. One of the candy stores was also the manufacturing location, so you could watch them make the product in the back of the store.
We also stopped at the Central Mercado. This was a wet market selling fresh meat, fruits and vegetables. We even at lunch there at a pizza place. We went to the city government center as Mariah found out we could go to the top of the building and look out over the city. It was just starting to rain as we got there, but quit by the time we made it to the top and found our way to the lookout. Unfortunately, it was cloudy and the view of the mountains was not that good, but still worth the effort. We stopped at Havana Cafe and had and afternoon treat called a Submarino. It is basically a glass of hot milk in which you dip and stir in a chocolate candy bar until you have hot chocolate. It was an fun and interesting way to make hot chocolate. We had planned on taking an open top tour bus through the city and park, but since it was threatening rain, we decided not to do that. We went back to the hotel and had some snacks in the small garden area outback before heading out to dinner at Azafran. the steak was delicious along with the shrimp. We got to go into the wine cellar to pick out our wine for the meal with the help of the sommelier. It was a great experience. We again ate out on the sidewalk, and even though we had a little rain, we stayed dry under their overhang. We took a cab back home in order to get ready for our adventure day on Thursday in Potrerillos
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