Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Mendoza is a small city in Argentina and we managed to see most the central sights in a day. The main streets were lined with shops and the pedestrian areas were crowded with tables and chairs. Simon was happy when he found a Subway for lunch! A large plaza, which resembled more of a park, was situated at the top of the high street. A few hippies sold their goods and people relaxed eating lunch in the sun. We were cooled down by the spray of fountain water which was carried in the slight breeze. Like everywhere in South America, stray dogs were aplenty. One became attached and followed us round the park for a good twenty minutes before seeking shade. As we made our way to the large park in the north of the city, we passed the bar district. Most the bars and pubs spilled out onto the street making it look like a clean and attractive Broad street. Although it looked expensive, prices in Argentina are reasonable. Mendoza's park was pretty large but shabby. We walked over the patchy dry grass and had a look at a few of the 'attractions' including the boating lake and the fountains but didn't reach the football stadium at it was too far away to walk in the heat. We made our way back to the hostel to freshen up in the worlds smallest bathroom - one of those where
the shower is over the toilet!
In the evening we met with our friends for dinner. Steak was on all our minds so we made our way to a restaurant. Simon, who ordered the same meal as me and Lucinda, had an awesome juicy piece, whereas ours was thin, tasteless and was covered in a layer of fat! Big disappointment! We enjoyed a drink at another restaurant before getting an early night before our wine tour.
Whilst in Mendoza, we hired bikes with our friends and did a tour of some wineries in the region. Starting at half nine, we hopped on our bikes and peddled to the first winery. Large oak barrels created a corridor leading to the cellar door. Before our free tasting, we had a look at the old fruit press machines and barrels stored in the back. We also peeked at the wine being made and stored which smelt delish! Our first tasting was nice but we were sadly given no information about the wine which was a little disappointing.
As we raced each other down the gravel road we felt like we were on the Sound of Music as the trees hung over our heads (well the girls did - not too sure about the lads). This second stop was a liquor and chocolate shop offering tours and tastings for a small fee. With the smell of chocolate in our noses me and Luce paid immediately! The guys, however, were less enthusiastic and just watched. Although the tour was of a small olive garden and a shed with a few machines inside, the tasting was epic. We started off trying different olive based pastes. I fell in love with the olive and garlic spread! yum yum! Then it was a round of sweet preserves including various dulce de leche flavours (a sweet caramel spread mixed with coffee or chocolate) and Chardonnay ice cream sauce. Before tucking into chocolate we tried several shots of homemade alcohol and finished off with a shot of 70% Absinthe! The lads couldn't resist once they saw the flame lit and decided to have a shot too! All of us struggled to maintain composure as the burn trickled down our necks.
Onwards we cycled and visited several more wineries sharing a bottle of wine at each place. The first stop was a disappointment as the waitress pushed the cork too far into the wine bottle so we were sieving out the broken bits as we drank. The other four or five wineries were lovely. We did a tour of a family owned winery and were shown how they used to process the wines. Our last bottle was enjoyed whilst over looking the vineyards from a rooftop bar before biking back and returning our bikes. One of the last stops had police outside. We were all eyeing up the police bike tempted to get on it for a photo, when the police in the car encourged us to. So we did. Just before Simon had his turn, the policeman who owned the bike came out and saw us posing away. He was less than happy and told us off. Thankfully we were able to pass the blame onto the cops in the car!!
Feeling a little tipsy off the wine, we made our way back to town where we munched on some good grub! Despite being a hostel restaurant, we had great service and really tasty grub! After a few bars we ended our night in a small club on the main strip. Our friends were heading to Chile before making their way to Buenos Aires where we planned to meet up again.
- comments