It's 6:17 on Friday night - what are YOU up to? As for me - I'm easing into another beautiful weekend on the California coast with a new blogpost. :) This next email was sent from Mendoza, Argentina and as always, it's posted here exactly as it was originally sent out. It's funny to read these emails now, after all this time - some parts make me cringe at the cheesiness but mostly, they bring back incredible memories and make me wish I was still traveling. It really is true what they say about the Travel Bug - once you've been bit, you'll never fully recover!
In the email posted below, I wrote a little story about a wine-country tour that Jax and I did on bicycles with our friend Clare. I can't help noticing that the original email leaves out one of the most memorable parts of this story - the fact that Clare and I were both hopelessly hungover because we stayed up half the night before, drinking lots of wine and having lots of gir
l-talk (mostly about men, of course). Being hungover maybe doesn't sound like that big of a deal...until you're on a bicycle on a rough road in the hot sun and you have a huge headache and you run out of water and it's MILES in between stops and everyone is cranky and Auntie Flo makes an unexpected visit. Then being hungover is actually a VERY big deal, and makes for quite the memorable experience. This pic is a self-portrait taken after we arrived at the first bodega - already hungry and thirsty and tired - only to discover that it was closed! I think the expression says it all.So without further adieu, here is the full email - happy reading, and happy travels!
Wine Country en Espanol
Date Dec 3, 2006 3:40 PM
Hola from Mendoza, Argentina - the heart of Argeninian wine country. Adios (or more correctly - hasta luego) to cra
ppy coffee, boxed wine, and cold showers! Mendoza is a very beautiful city - in appearance, atmosphere, people, culture, and of course - in vino. The streets of Mendoza are lined with giant sycamore trees which form leafy canopies high above the pavement. There is one hugely impressive plaza - Plaza Independencia - in the heart of the city. This main plaza is surrounded by four smaller ones, each situated three or four blocks diagonally from the corners of the main plaza. In the evenings (and into the night), artisans line the walkways which serpentine throughout the massive park area to display and sell their goods. In the center of the park/plaza, there is a giant, two-level, stone/marble/concrete area which is occupied simultaneously by a cluster of little cafe tables (yes there is also a cafe IN the park), various performers, a beautiful fountain (which reminds me of a smaller version of the 
one in front of the Bellagio in Las Vegas), and dozens of passers-by. It doesn't get dark here until 9PM or so; my favorite time of day is around 6 or 7PM, when the sidewalks are spotted with little shadows of dancing sycamore leaves.
It is not so unusual to see the sun rise in Argentina - everything seems to work on a different time system here. Siesta begins at noon, which means that all the shops and businesses close down. Depending on the city, siesta may last until 5 or 6PM, at which point everything opens up again, until anywhere from 9PM until midnight or later. Many businesses remain closed between start of siesta on Saturday and Monday morning. Restaurants do not open for dinner until 8PM...at the earliest. Restaurant patrons are never rushed away from a table. Rather, the general atmosphere tends to be
conducive to lounging, relaxing, and perhaps partaking in that after-dinner port or cocktail that you would otherwise pass up.
So back to my orignal topic - wine country. After exploring some of the wineries - bodegas - around Mendoza, I must say that I feel a bit spoiled in California! The wines itself are incredible virtually everywhere around Mendoza, but the ease in which the tasting room experience unfolds is not always so incredible....which I say in comparison to, for instance, Paso Robles or Sonoma. There are several provinces surrounding Mendoza which each individually have separate bodegas and champaigneras (spelling inaccuracy noted). On our first day here, we decided to explore the closest province, which is called Maipu (pronounced My-Poo). Lacking a vehicle (and not wanting to drive anyways) we rented bikes for the day, with our friend Clare.
Lesson of the day - look at the map before you leave! The roads in Maipu are unpaved (ie rocky and depending on the bike rider - potentially hazardous) and l-o-n-g. Most of the bodegas are at least several km apart. Some of the bodegas on the bike map are not open for tastings...but you can look at them through a gate. When you do find a bodega with a viable tasting room, you will maybe recieve a small sip of something not for sale, which I can tell you with confidence does not quench the type of thirst one might develop after having a hard plastic bike seat crammed up one's ass on a hot HOT day while on what would
seem to be a wild goose chase for a nice little wine buzz. ;)
That being said, we ended the day at an INCREDIBLE bodega called Tempus Alba, which is run by a very handsome older man and his two handsome sons - all three of whom assisted in quenching our healthy thirsts and graciously shared their winemaking passion with us. Tempus Alba has a huge patio (remniscent of that at Chateau Souvereign) overlooking their vineyards. We lounged on the patio sipping wine and chatting with other folks until the sun started sinking. I bought a bottle of wine to preserve the memory - I'm not sure how it will stand up to a few weeks in my backpack, but I plan to bring it home for Christmas!
We are staying in a great little h
ostel here. It is just off the plaza on the northwest corner of Plaza Independencia - one called Olaza Chile. I was sold the second I saw the garden here - it is paved with huge, flat, weathered-looking stones, with scattered shrubs and trees. One wall supports a mountain of bouganvillia and assorted other vines, all growing wild and bushy (like my hair). There is a plot of grass in the center, which is occupied by a unique assortment of garden ornaments - one small lemon tree, one mini palm tree, one rod-iron lamp post, and one GIANT gardenia bush, which currently displays a hearty bloom of large flowers in all of their sweet fragrant glory. I love gardenias - they remind me of my 
Grandpa Martin's old backyard.
I also realized today, while admiring the assorment of flowers in our hostel garden, that although I appreciate Mother Nature's purpose in creating The Bee, I have a ridiculously stubborn fear of such creatures (no matter how many time my mom tell me to 'just stand still'!
Date Dec 3, 2006 3:40 PM
Hola from Mendoza, Argentina - the heart of Argeninian wine country. Adios (or more correctly - hasta luego) to cra
ppy coffee, boxed wine, and cold showers! Mendoza is a very beautiful city - in appearance, atmosphere, people, culture, and of course - in vino. The streets of Mendoza are lined with giant sycamore trees which form leafy canopies high above the pavement. There is one hugely impressive plaza - Plaza Independencia - in the heart of the city. This main plaza is surrounded by four smaller ones, each situated three or four blocks diagonally from the corners of the main plaza. In the evenings (and into the night), artisans line the walkways which serpentine throughout the massive park area to display and sell their goods. In the center of the park/plaza, there is a giant, two-level, stone/marble/concrete area which is occupied simultaneously by a cluster of little cafe tables (yes there is also a cafe IN the park), various performers, a beautiful fountain (which reminds me of a smaller version of the 
one in front of the Bellagio in Las Vegas), and dozens of passers-by. It doesn't get dark here until 9PM or so; my favorite time of day is around 6 or 7PM, when the sidewalks are spotted with little shadows of dancing sycamore leaves.It is not so unusual to see the sun rise in Argentina - everything seems to work on a different time system here. Siesta begins at noon, which means that all the shops and businesses close down. Depending on the city, siesta may last until 5 or 6PM, at which point everything opens up again, until anywhere from 9PM until midnight or later. Many businesses remain closed between start of siesta on Saturday and Monday morning. Restaurants do not open for dinner until 8PM...at the earliest. Restaurant patrons are never rushed away from a table. Rather, the general atmosphere tends to be
conducive to lounging, relaxing, and perhaps partaking in that after-dinner port or cocktail that you would otherwise pass up.So back to my orignal topic - wine country. After exploring some of the wineries - bodegas - around Mendoza, I must say that I feel a bit spoiled in California! The wines itself are incredible virtually everywhere around Mendoza, but the ease in which the tasting room experience unfolds is not always so incredible....which I say in comparison to, for instance, Paso Robles or Sonoma. There are several provinces surrounding Mendoza which each individually have separate bodegas and champaigneras (spelling inaccuracy noted). On our first day here, we decided to explore the closest province, which is called Maipu (pronounced My-Poo). Lacking a vehicle (and not wanting to drive anyways) we rented bikes for the day, with our friend Clare.
Lesson of the day - look at the map before you leave! The roads in Maipu are unpaved (ie rocky and depending on the bike rider - potentially hazardous) and l-o-n-g. Most of the bodegas are at least several km apart. Some of the bodegas on the bike map are not open for tastings...but you can look at them through a gate. When you do find a bodega with a viable tasting room, you will maybe recieve a small sip of something not for sale, which I can tell you with confidence does not quench the type of thirst one might develop after having a hard plastic bike seat crammed up one's ass on a hot HOT day while on what would
seem to be a wild goose chase for a nice little wine buzz. ;)That being said, we ended the day at an INCREDIBLE bodega called Tempus Alba, which is run by a very handsome older man and his two handsome sons - all three of whom assisted in quenching our healthy thirsts and graciously shared their winemaking passion with us. Tempus Alba has a huge patio (remniscent of that at Chateau Souvereign) overlooking their vineyards. We lounged on the patio sipping wine and chatting with other folks until the sun started sinking. I bought a bottle of wine to preserve the memory - I'm not sure how it will stand up to a few weeks in my backpack, but I plan to bring it home for Christmas!
We are staying in a great little h
ostel here. It is just off the plaza on the northwest corner of Plaza Independencia - one called Olaza Chile. I was sold the second I saw the garden here - it is paved with huge, flat, weathered-looking stones, with scattered shrubs and trees. One wall supports a mountain of bouganvillia and assorted other vines, all growing wild and bushy (like my hair). There is a plot of grass in the center, which is occupied by a unique assortment of garden ornaments - one small lemon tree, one mini palm tree, one rod-iron lamp post, and one GIANT gardenia bush, which currently displays a hearty bloom of large flowers in all of their sweet fragrant glory. I love gardenias - they remind me of my 
Grandpa Martin's old backyard.I also realized today, while admiring the assorment of flowers in our hostel garden, that although I appreciate Mother Nature's purpose in creating The Bee, I have a ridiculously stubborn fear of such creatures (no matter how many time my mom tell me to 'just stand still'!
I hope to see you all soon!
Take care,
Aubrey
Aubrey
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