Friday, November 28, 2008

Argentina Trip 2008 - Day 7: Andes Outta Here

The next morning we had breakfast at Lares (I can’t remember if I mentioned this before, but Argentinian breakfast usually consists of just a piece of toast or a croissant and some coffee).  We saw Matt and Nicole again and the four of us decided to meet at a bodega called “Ruca Malen” that we’d was great for lunch and tour/eat together. 

Matt and Nicole headed to a bodega at which they had reservations and Sarah and I took the bikes that Lares had for vistors and took a ride around Chacras.  

After our ride we hired a driver and headed out to the bodega to get a tour.  Of the tours we went on, this one was the most “cookie cutter-ish”… the guide was the least knowledgeable and just seemed to know the basics.  And we were with about 12 other people, which made it a lot less personal.


But!  We had a great time hanging out with Matt and Nicole.  We sat together outside – all looking at the mountains.  Oh, and the food was amazing.  Ruca Malen gave us a different wine to try with each dish.  This was a ducle de leche mouse for dessert. 

After lunch Matt and Nicole took Sarah and I back to Lares de Chacras – they had rented a car instead of hiring a driver to get around.  It’s a slightly cheaper options, but you do have to be careful about how much wine you “taste”! 

 We packed up and headed out to the airport.  The Taxi dropped us off and we went inside and stood in line at LAN (AA doesn’t fly into Mendoza, so they had to fly it over on a sister airline).  LO AND BEHOLD THEY HAD MY BAG.  After 6 days of no luggage!

With about an hour before we needed to be at the Omnibus stop, we headed back into Mendoza because we wanted to buy a specific wine we were worried we wouldn’t be able to get in BA: La Azul Reserve.  We had this wine for lunch at Tupungato Divino and it was our favorite of the entire trip.  We drove past the winery near Salentine but weren’t able to tour it.  Anyhow, we stopped by a wine shop in Mendoza and they had it – so we bought two bottles to bring back with us to the US. 

Finally we got to the bus stop, with 30 minutes to spare, and were able to get on a slightly earlier bus than what we’d planned on.  Again we had great seats and this time remembered our Tylenol PM.  We slept a lot better on this bus! 

5 comments:

Jeff H said...

Glad to see y'all are back on the blogging bandwagon. Keep the updates coming.

Oh, and I really, really hope this was a typo:

"This was a ducle de leche mouse for dessert."

ryan dobson said...

Hey, if I ate thyroid (sweetbreads) - you NEVER KNOW

Jeff H said...

Um. Y'all aren't still IN Argentina, are you? Do you need us to call the U.S. Consulate for you?

Kelli Kirkland Powers said...

Matt and I have a "travel to do list". Argentina was never on that list until now. It looks AMAZING and it sounds like, despite the luggage stuff, you had a fabulous time. And since Matt and I never ever under any circumstances check luggage we should be fine. Glad you and Sarah had a great trip. And think of all the comedy that would have been missed had American Airlines been at all competent.

Jeff H said...

I don't think they're ever coming home.