Torta

This adorable little quiche with a crust on top was filled with chard, spinach, and half a hard boiled egg. I had decided to treat myself to a hot lunch in a cafe with my laptop (not that I don't love my little ham and cheese sandwiches during the break at class. It was beautiful with clean flavors despite being a relatively heavy food. How much did this delight set me back, you ask? 12 pesos. THREE DOLLARS AND FIFTEEN CENTS in the US!!!

And I wonder why I meet so many Americans that never leave...

Cuisines y Vins 2009

Dear Chicago,

This one is a bit out of order but I had to include it. Last Thursday, Carrie (classmate and fellow GIC student) and I took our sommolier's recommendation and went to the Cuisine y Vin event downtown. The event was an expo of Argentinian wines and artisanal cheeses. Admission was 2 for 1 on Thursday. We couldn't have had a better time! This annual event is an exclusive tasting party in the wine community so we were lucky to have the invite from Augustin!

Over 50 bodegas gave generous tastings - I had Malbec, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranilla, Chardonnay, Sauvingon Blanc. We ran into Augustin, the sommolier, who was so glad to see us. The space itself was unbelievable - Palacio Paz was an old estate of a wealthy family and now serves as a private military club - here called a "Circulo Militar". Only after telling my senora about it did I realize how lucky I was to get to see the inside of such an exclusive building in the city. I perceived it to be like the palace of Versailles - giant gold ornaments and crown moldings around massive mirrors and long corridors. For the event, it was decked out in modern sculptures with hot pink lights everywhere - one of the best venues I've ever experienced!

Syrah Salon


Malbec Salon


Me, Carrie& my new boots!


Salud, Chicago!

Tess

Mendoza: Day Three: Asado at Hostel Lao

Dear Chicago,

It was no surprise that Sweeney and I were tired after a busy weekend! It was almost a blessing that everything in Mendoza was closed for the National Holiday, because we would have been hard pressed to fit in another day of museums and sight seeing. We instead took a long walk into downtown Mendoza to see their 'central park' - Parque San Martin. It was well worth the hour walk each way:





After the long walk we got back to the hostel in time for the big Sunday afternoon asado, which took place on the holiday. I couldn't have imagined a more lovely event - the tables were set for about 25 people, which included the hostel guests, hostel owners and their parents, siblings and a little two year old nephew. I got the recipe for Proveleta (provolone) on the grill, a rustic way to serve hot cheese and bread. Delicious. The group of us sipped wine from Mason jars and snacked while the meat cooked over a hot wood fired open oven:



The meal began at 1:ooPM. 20 bottles of red wine accompanied salad, bread, grilled sweet onions and half a dozen different types of meat! We had ribs, flank steak, a soft meat marinated in lemon and garlic. There were big bowls of rustic olive oil and mixed spices to spoon onto everything - the salad, bread, meat. It was unbelievable. The hostel owners were an adorable couple named Mike and Celeste. I sat near Celeste's parents and heard funny stories about the family. I was also seated near a funny guy from Estonia and girls from New York who had just come from Colombia. All had amazing stories to share. At 6:30pm, lunch was still going strong. Sweeney and I had to excuse ourselves to go catch the bus!

During our meal:



The aftermath:



It was the perfect ending to a perfect weekend. I could not have imagined a better time spent over more varied experiences. I was so content that I curled up for the long bus ride home. Woke up once: I had to have a peek out the window to see what the stars looked like over the central plains of Argentina... unfortunately, no words to describe those, either.

Ciao-
Muy Contento Tess

Mendoza: Day Two: Caballera in the Andes

Dear Chicago,

Those Twin Lakes trail rides don't hold a candle to the day trip Sweeney and I took on Sunday. Late Saturday night we decided to book a full-day horseback ride in the region. It seemed a little expensive at $250 Argentine pesos but it came highly recommended and we felt we could spring for the $70 US. Sunday morning we woke up before the sun to dress in warm clothes (I was brilliant in packing ski gloves, scarf, hat and long underwear - hard to believe in June!) and pack snacks for the day. Our ride came right on Argentine time - an hour late! We piled in a bus full of other American students and some Brits and were off.

The bus ride alone would have been worth the fee:


From the bus we got on our horses and were off! It was a nice slow trail ride through big fields of dried grasses at the foothills of the Andean mountain range. We were about an hour from Chile.



The ride was easy at first, chatting with our fellow riders and following a little path. About half an hour into the ride, we were cutting across fields and going into little ravines and through streams. It was gorgeous and I felt like I was really riding a horse, not just following the one in front of me! We took a break to rest our horses after 2 hours. At this point I made new friends - ever the snacker, I pulled out a bag of dried fruit from Trader Joe's. Everyone huddled in a circle eating raisins and joking in Spanish as we took in the view and our horses ate and rested. It was such a peaceful afternoon - the only thing I could hear was the rustling of our horses legs through the grass, the sound of their horseshoes clinking into stones and a few eagles and hawks flying around the fields. We saw two giant hares bolt through the grass when we passed them - I've never seems rabbits so big! The day got very cold very quickly. Our guide explained that a 'sondra' was rolling in over the mountains. When the Chilean wind hits the Argentine mountains, the air gets very cold, the water evaporates and as a result it becomes a dust storm. In less than an hour our gorgeous panorama became a hazy field - I would never have been able to tell there were mountains! It was so lucky that our day started so early.

On the ride back to the ranch the group was joking around and we got to know each other better. There was a cute couple from Manchester, England, an Argentine couple and a strange old expat who went riding every weekend with this guide. We were a random group but had a blast trotting and galloping through the fields as the sun started to set. I've never gone so fast on a horse before!! Our last task was to drive home a herd of horses back with us to the stable. We were literally herding horses! There was a hole in the fence, so unfortunately our efforts were in vain.

We rode into the ranch for a big asado lunch, the typical Argentine barbeque the countryside is famous for. The group of us saddled up (pun intended) to plates of empanadas, salad, grilled ribs and grilled skirtsteak. Warm fresh bread and big pitchers of dry red wine took the chill out of everyone. The entire group spoke in Spanish and I got details out of the guide about the types of birds we saw and the specific towns we were in. Sweeney and I told the story of a day in Spanish class - our profesora had asked everyone what compliments the men shouted at them on the streets. All of the girls immediately chimed in "bella" or "chica" or "bonita". The only thing anyone has called me was "naranja" - orange! It got the table laughing and our very funny guide Rodrigo presented me with a fresh orange for the bus ride. It was a gorgeous day of fresh air - after a long bus ride home, Sweeney and I both napped. Dinner was at a fancy pasta restaurant that came highly recommended - but I have to say I liked the barbeque much more. It was, so far, the most memorable way to spend a Sunday I've ever had!



Ciao Ciao (no one here says 'adios')

Tess

Mendoza: Day One: BienBebidos a Wine Country!

Dear Chicago,

This weekend I traveled with a classmate named Sweeney to the western part of Argentina. Our bus to Mendoza left the Buenos Aires bus station at 9:30 on Friday night. After a champagne toast and hot meal, we slept in fully reclining seats for the 12 hour trip to Mendoza. The ride was great and we arrived relatively well rested to the city of Mendoza in Mendoza province early Saturday morning. Our hostel was only a few blocks from the station and we were greeted quite warmly with a free breakfast and storage for our bags. By noon we were on a local bus to Maipu, a tiny town about 15 miles outside of Mendoza. We were hoping to see the bodegas (vineyards and wine houses) of Maipu on our own and skip the bikes-and-wines tourist route we'd heard about. Our arrival in Maipu and a consultation with the bike people brought us to another conclusion - vineyards were all about a mile apart, and the bike rental was about $9.00US. Suddenly the bikes seemed like a great plan.

Sweeney and I spent the entire day pedaling old bikes down one main road that lead to half a dozen vineyards. It was chilly but the sun was out and we could see the snow capped Andes mountains the entire day. The first stop was La Rural, a cute vineyard with its own wine museum. A bit touristy, but the glass of cabernet sauvignon at the end of the visit was very, very good. Later at dinner, we saw their wines on the menu. After our first stop we pedaled all the way to the end of the road, in order to work our way back by the end of the day. It was about an hour ride on both busy and quiet streets, difficult because of the old bike.

La Carinae was my favorite vineyard - I loved it as much for the wine as the people and their stories. A French couple were vacationing in Mendoza and fell in love with the place, bought an abandoned vineyard on a whim and have been making award winning wine for the past 5 years. They were adorable and I bought a Malbec Rose to take home. It was very good and very inexpensive. It was fun to have a great story behind the bottle. Next was La Leur olive oil farm across the street. The tasting alone was worth it at this place - a quick tour followed by: a big platter of bread, olive oil, tapenade and sun dried tomatoes. Delicious and a cheap, rustic lunch!
From the olive oil factory we were off to ride farther down the path to our next vineyard. Vina del Campo was a little cheezy, seemed to be the Disney of the Argentinian wine country if that makes sense. We saved our pesos and pedaled onwards to an adorable little chocolate shop. Family run, family owned, we saw how they make chocolate liquors and had a GREAT tasting: flights of homemade chocolate and a shot of dulce-de-leche vodka! It was a cute set up and a good way to end the day.
We pedaled back to downtown Maipu as the sun was setting, just in time to catch a bus back to the city of Mendoza. The region is doing well as recent investment in vineyards and tourism has increased greatly, but like most of Argentina, many people are still reeling from the economic crisis of 2001. Poverty is a fact here that lead to our desire to get back to the hostel before dark. We suceeded and took the hostel staff recommendation to get dinner at El Palenque, a local barbeque place. It was another unbelievable Argentine meal - I went all out and ordered steak with sauteed mushrooms to go with the bottle of Malbec we split. Another memorable meal as Sweeney and I recounted a surreal day. Gorgeous vistas, great flavors, good language practice and good company.

That was only day one! Day two: the horseback trip of my life. Story to follow!

Ciao Chicago - Tess

Into the Interior...

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Tonight I leave for my trip to Mendoza! I'm joined by a classmate named Sweeney, a great girl from Florida. We're on the same page with our travel style, which makes this trip even better. I'm looking forward to a 12 hour bus ride tonight - it actually should be great experience. We bought 'ejecutivo suite' seats - the most expensive fully reclining seats with 2 hot meals, an open bar and movies --- $120 round trip! Tomorrow we're hoping to tour a few vineyards and bodegas in towns outside of the city called Maipu and Lujan de Cuyo. I want to get into the Andes mountains during the day on Sunday - either hiking or by horseback. We'll have Monday to continue exploring - its a three day weekend in the country in celebration of Flag Day.

I'm going to see the Andes mountains!!!

Tess

Estoy Caminando a Clase - Views on My Walk to Class