January 21,

We were up and about by 0700. So by 0800, we went for a walk to the large Parque General San Martin. The weather was warm but about as cool as it gets here in Mendoza during the summer. We saw and watched some scullers and kayakers on the long narrow lake in the park. They were taking advantage of the milder morning air.

Around 0900 we were back at our place. After we cooled down, we made our own breakfasts. I had fried egg with onion on toast and melon.; Jeff had melon and yogurt. The melon was as good as the prior one and much larger. We continue eating on our patio, watching the local businesses open up for another day. I blogged as Jeff read.

We went out for a late lunch, wanting more Parrilla(Argentine BBQ). The place we had in mind did not open until 1700…that would be 2.5 more hours. So we went back to Estancia La Pasion. It had been only three days ago, but well, it’s a great restaurant. We ordered Parrilla for two with sauteed veggies. We waited just over an hour for our food… The parrilla was for two, and it’s basically a platter of different, grilled meats: Beef rib, flank steak, gizzard, pork loin, pork belly, sausage/chorizo, and blood sausage. It was all seasoned well. I did not have any blood sausage- I’m not a fan at all. Jeff did not mind it- he said it was better than any he has had before. We shared a Zuccardi Q Malbec – the waiter had recommended it for our meal. It was all great, and worth the wait. We asked for the bill. The waiter came over and actually offered us a free dessert. We hesitantly agreed, as we were full. He came back with an overly decorated flan with a crystal caramel flourish accompanied by large spoons of caramel and honey, and a face with strawberry puree like a feather out of the cinnamon head. Strange to look at, but it was good. The bill was 80,800 CLP, $56.53. Wowza, what a deal! We walked back to our place and watched more Star Wars stories, while eating a snack of bread with avocado, and crackers.

     January 22,

Up and about, we had our Javas (we skipped these up yesterday, due to being hot). We both had a bit of Muesli/cereal with yogurt. Again we watch the shops opening; people walking about- doing their tasks; and vehicles of all sorts, zooming from one red light to another. Time seems to stand still as we are on our balcony. I love it out here, but we needed to put up some laundry that the machine washed for us.

Just after ten we went down, catching the bus. We chose to ride it to see some more of the city of Mendoza, on our way to another large grocery store. We were able to pay with our credit cards – so convenient. We did a small “L” circuit around the center to the Coto store. Acquired our goods, paid, and caught the bus back the rest of the “L” back to our place. We unloaded, only having 15 minutes…

We then went across the street to a wine tasting we had booked for noon. We tried five wines: three white, two red. They gave us a food board of two kinds of cheeses; two cold cuts of meat; cubes of a stiffened strawberry puree;a basket of bread and some trail mix of fruit bits & nuts. Our white wines: Trivento- a White Malbec; Biplano de Galeria- a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Voigner, and Chardonnay; Anala- a Sauvignon Blanc. Then our sommelier brought us a great empanada for the first red wine- an Accuro Malbec. Then we had two dessert cups brought to us (one a chocolate cookie with caramel cream, the other a blackberry cheesecake) with our last red wine- Antucura Cabernet Franc. As we were drinking this last one she offered more of a white wine of sour choice. We wanted the second one, a blend. She came back and it was finished, so she offered another blend, Amalaya, a Torrontes & Riesling blend. The tasting was more than we expected and we were quite pleased to try so many different wines! It cost us 30,000 CLP ($21) each.

Wowza! We walked back across the street to our place. The last wine (the free sixth one) was one too many… after that many wine samplings, you lose your tasting ability. But we could not have tried that many kinds at a winery for the same price, because you have to count the expense of getting to the winery and back in with the tasting. And we don’t need another tour of a vineyard to learn how wine is made.

The rest of the afternoon and evening we had a siesta; listened to music; and had a snack of red pepper, bread and hummus. Enjoying Mendoza!