I wandered outside of my hostel and walked down Avenida Aristedes Villanueva, a residential area that leads to the University of Mendoza and the grand Parque San Martin. To start out, I walked in the opposite direction towards downtown.
I came across a beautiful cathedral that doubles as a Catholic secondary school. As is the case in the States, school kids don't go home immediately. They hang out in segregated groups batting eyelashes and acting macho until Mom, Dad or, in this instance, the Police shoo them home.
I then ambled onto Benegas, which houses many modern furniture and design stores and one of the most celebrated wine bars, Marcelino. They host wine tastings each Monday. 8-10 top-end wines for about 40 pesos, $13 USD.
I got hungry and so I headed to Casa 3 for a bite, a hip little cafe/bar with couches out front, a garden in the back and an inventive menu. A good place for afternoon lounging, so I was told. On the way to Casa 3, I passed Plaza Italia. Absolutely beautiful.
When I arrived at Casa 3, it was closed. I guess they really do observe the siesta here. It looked really nice from the outside, though. Will have to return in the future.
So I doubled back and walked through Plaza Independencia. Caught a few more shaded beautiful blocks on the way.
I crossed Avenida Belgrano and Sarmiento turned into Emilio Civit, a street with a few good cafes and a Wallpaper* recommended winery. I headed for Kato, a swank, modern cafe popular with locals. I ate a baguette sandwich with grilled chicken, avocado and mozarella cheese. Simple and welcome after too many nights of big steaks.
After lunch, I headed to Bodegas Salentein, the Wallpaper* recommended winery. Turns out that their vineyward is two hours outside of Mendoza City. What I found instead is their family home, which is closed to the public. It sits right on the corner of Emilio Civit and the main entrance to Parque San Martin. The bubbling brook runs right past their door, the same system that runs throughout the entire city and on to irrigate the grapes that make that wine we all love so much. I hope it never dries up;)
Since I was right at Parque San Martin, I went on in. And my first view was breathtaking. Green, green, green, with the Andes mountains in the background. I went to the information center for a map and ran into a tourist group just about to take off on a tour through the park. I hopped on the bus, front seat of course so I could take photos;)
After we toured the main grounds, we headed to the top of the park, the San Martin monument. The climb was a site in itself, check out those Andes!
And here we are.
On the way down, we ran into a crowd of secondary school students chanting and running down the middle of the avenue. Our bus was stuck in a sea of Argentine teens, banging on our windows and begging us to take pictures of them. There were pieces of white paper flying everywhere. The guide turned on the windshield wipers and explained that it was the last day of classes and it's a town tradition to tear up your final exams and run bohemian style through the park. They were all headed to a central meeting point, where they apparently drink, play drums and make out with each other until the whee hours of the morning. Nice.
Today is my last day here. I'll board an overnight bus tonight back to Buenos Aires. I'll spend a day there and then head to an estancia a few hours outside of town for a few days. Can't wait.
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1 comment:
Yeah, babe! Keep going :)
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