Photos:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=200340&id=510568119&l=5984047958
We crossed into Argentina just a few days before my birthday, and what better way to celebrate the last birthday of your 20s than to get in some practice for being a sophisticated 30-something and touring a Mendozan vineyard. We set off bright and early with our tour guide and fellow wine-tasters, calling at Finca Flichman Luigi Bosca and Catena Zapata wineries for an introduction to the art of winemaking, and local specialty Malbec, followed by the all-important tasting sessions. Half way through we stopped for an epic lunch (with more wine, of course), at Cava de Cano. Needless to say, by the end of the tour we were both slightly less ignorant about viticulture and slightly less sober... We also celebrated my cumpleaños with a delicious parrilla, another Argentinian specialty of barbequed steak, morcilla (blood sausage) and chorizo. And some more Malbec, of course.
After spending a leisurely few days in Mendoza we set off for Rosario - a city some 500 miles, or 10 hours away. Carrying on the birthday celebrations for as long as possible we decided to treat ourselves to the luxury version of bus travel - the Royal Suite. For the princely sum of thirty English pounds, we were provided with pre-dinner drinks and snacks, a three course hot meal complete with wine, an after dinner glass of bubbly, a film played on our own personal plasma screen TV and the pièce de résistance: a fully reclining leather armchair and footrest that combined to create a surprisingly comfortable full length bed. We slept for a whole 8 hours before being woken the next morning just in time to be served out hot breakfast before arriving in Rosario. The only downside to the experience is that I may never be able to bring myself to take a non-luxury nightbus again...
Sunday 29 August 2010
Thursday 5 August 2010
A New Day, a New Continent
Photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=193845&id=510568119&l=086bc2b927
I had a brilliant time in Central America, but I have to admit arriving in Santiago, Chile, was a breath of fresh air. It was like stepping into a Latin American version of Europe - suddenly we could buy red wine and pesto in the supermarket, tram and bus networks ran through the streets according to timetables and for the first time in months it felt like we were in a vibrant, fully fledged city. This was particularly impressive given that Santiago had suffered a massive earthquake just weeks earlier - the only evidence of it was the occasional dramatic crack in the facade of a building and otherwise everything seemed to be business as usual.
Compounding my happiness was the abundance of amazing empanadas, the ubiquitous South American pastie. The grandfather of all empanadas, the pino, is a steaming pastry pocket of mince, olive and hard boiled egg. Yum. Less successful were my samplings of the local beverages "Bilz" and "Pap." You can gauge my reaction to these appropriately named delicacies in the photo album.
We spent several happy days exploring the city, sipping lattes in sidewalk cafes, mooching around art galleries and funky boutiques and eating candy floss in our local park. A particular highlight was Cerro Santa Lucia - a leafy, landscaped hill adorned with Italian-esque fountains and curving staircases that sits in the heart of Santiago and offers excellent views across the city to the looming Andes mountain range beyond. We also went along to a Copa Libertadores game, which apparently is the South American version of the Champions League. Happily, both the football and the singing from the fans was infinitely more entertaining than in Guatemala.
Next stop was the faded seaside glamour of the port town Valparaiso. Named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003, "Valpo" is a unique city, but one that divides opinion. It's been described as down at heel and rough around the edges, but for me that only adds to its roguish Bohemian charm. Away from the naval port and the bustling commercial centre, funicular elevators creak up into the city's hills, where steep labyrinthine streets are lined with brightly coloured houses and even more brightly coloured murals. The original murals, painted by students from the Art Institute of the University of Valparaiso in the late 1960s, are collectively known as the Museo a Cielo Abierto - the "open sky museum." Today there are murals all over the city - so many in fact that after the first hour of excited photo snapping Rich admitted defeat and went for a coffee while I finished my architectural photoshoot. He soon cheered up when we sat down to sample Valparaiso's speciality, Chorillana, a veritable mountain of french fries smothered in fried onions, pork, egg and cheese. You can catch a glimpse of this culinary monster in the photo album, and yes, we did eat it all.
Sadly we were struggling for time in Chile and it wasn''t long before we needed to head for Argentina. We spent our last night admiring the fleet of tall ships with their masts lit up like Christmas trees that were lined up along the docks as part of Chile's bicentennial celebrations. Chile, we'll be back.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=193845&id=510568119&l=086bc2b927
I had a brilliant time in Central America, but I have to admit arriving in Santiago, Chile, was a breath of fresh air. It was like stepping into a Latin American version of Europe - suddenly we could buy red wine and pesto in the supermarket, tram and bus networks ran through the streets according to timetables and for the first time in months it felt like we were in a vibrant, fully fledged city. This was particularly impressive given that Santiago had suffered a massive earthquake just weeks earlier - the only evidence of it was the occasional dramatic crack in the facade of a building and otherwise everything seemed to be business as usual.
Compounding my happiness was the abundance of amazing empanadas, the ubiquitous South American pastie. The grandfather of all empanadas, the pino, is a steaming pastry pocket of mince, olive and hard boiled egg. Yum. Less successful were my samplings of the local beverages "Bilz" and "Pap." You can gauge my reaction to these appropriately named delicacies in the photo album.
We spent several happy days exploring the city, sipping lattes in sidewalk cafes, mooching around art galleries and funky boutiques and eating candy floss in our local park. A particular highlight was Cerro Santa Lucia - a leafy, landscaped hill adorned with Italian-esque fountains and curving staircases that sits in the heart of Santiago and offers excellent views across the city to the looming Andes mountain range beyond. We also went along to a Copa Libertadores game, which apparently is the South American version of the Champions League. Happily, both the football and the singing from the fans was infinitely more entertaining than in Guatemala.
Next stop was the faded seaside glamour of the port town Valparaiso. Named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003, "Valpo" is a unique city, but one that divides opinion. It's been described as down at heel and rough around the edges, but for me that only adds to its roguish Bohemian charm. Away from the naval port and the bustling commercial centre, funicular elevators creak up into the city's hills, where steep labyrinthine streets are lined with brightly coloured houses and even more brightly coloured murals. The original murals, painted by students from the Art Institute of the University of Valparaiso in the late 1960s, are collectively known as the Museo a Cielo Abierto - the "open sky museum." Today there are murals all over the city - so many in fact that after the first hour of excited photo snapping Rich admitted defeat and went for a coffee while I finished my architectural photoshoot. He soon cheered up when we sat down to sample Valparaiso's speciality, Chorillana, a veritable mountain of french fries smothered in fried onions, pork, egg and cheese. You can catch a glimpse of this culinary monster in the photo album, and yes, we did eat it all.
Sadly we were struggling for time in Chile and it wasn''t long before we needed to head for Argentina. We spent our last night admiring the fleet of tall ships with their masts lit up like Christmas trees that were lined up along the docks as part of Chile's bicentennial celebrations. Chile, we'll be back.
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