“Apparently, I can’t drink and take pictures. I guess I’ll have to stop taking pictures.”

We are back in Buenos Aires and I’m so happy. If I didn’t know before, I know it now – I’m definitely a big city girl. But first, I have to catch up on our last few days in Mendoza.

Saturday was a gorgeous day. Everything about it was gorgeous. Except our early morning wake-up call.

Actually, it wasn’t all that early, but Kara and I got caught up watching a cheesy made-for-TV movie last night about relationship abuse, and we didn’t end up going to bed until 1 or 1:30 a.m. But after we woke up and grabbed some breakfast, we headed into the Andes Mountains, our final destination being some renovated Incan remains, where we would have lunch. Our first stop on the three-hour drive was a viewing point at a scenic manmade lake. Although it was cloudy at that time, we could tell that the water was beyond clear, since it was runoff from the mountains.

After driving for another hour, we stopped at a lodge so we could rent equipment to go sledding, which I was beyond excited about. As soon as we stepped out of the bus to go to the lodge, we immediately noticed a drop in temperature. The skies were blue and we were surrounded by snowy mountains, but we were freezing. Needless to say, we were grateful that we were able to rent snow equipment because the temperature was only going to drop more. I bought a way cuter hat than the headband that I purchased last night (it was only after I tried it on that I saw I looked like an extra in a bad 1980s Richard Simmons workout video. Add that to the fact that my straightener doesn’t work so I’ve been rockin’ the natural curls, and it was just a disaster). We rented a two-person sled, and then continued on.

We stopped at a bridge that was a historical landmark and had been used by the Incans. Beneath the bridge was, literally, a babbling brook that looked just like a computer background. The water was clear mineral water straight from the Andes that was so pure we were able to drink from it.

About an hour later, we reached what I was most excited about – our sledding slope! – which was at the base of a ski resort in the Andes. We trekked through the packed snow and finally came to the hill, which was littered with children who were much younger than us. But we claimed a spot and began the climb to the top of the hill, which was a lot steeper than it originally looked. And I had the time of my life. I hadn’t been sledding in years, and I felt like I had been transported back to my childhood.

Half an hour later, we were sweating, but our toes were frozen, so we headed out. But we stopped only a few meters down the road to look at the Aconcagua viewpoint. Aida, our tour guide, told us that the people come from all over the world to climb the Aconcagua mountain, which is the highest peak in the Americas, and the Southern and Western hemispheres. It’s such a popular and severe climb that across the street from the viewpoint is a cemetery dedicated to climbers who didn’t make it.

A few minutes later, we arrived at the renovated Incan remains, where we had lunch. Although the lunch was far from my favorite, afterward, we saw a natural bridge over a creek that was absolutely stunning. Beyond the bridge were remains of a building and a standing church. Aida told us that about 50 or 60 years ago, a resort had been built, and overlooking the spring was a building that had been used as a spa. But after about 15 years of business, an avalanche had completely destroyed the resort and spa building. Oddly, though, it didn’t touch the church. Since then, numerous avalanches have occurred in that area, but the church is still untouched, which is why it has earned the name “The Miracle Church” among locals.

After returning to our hotel, we got ready for our night out at VOS, a wine-tasting restaurant. During our 3-hour dinner, we tried four different types of wine, a variety of hams and cheeses, empanadas, and a wine-based dessert. Although I’m still learning the different types and tastes of wines, I’m starting to see that I prefer white wine instead of red. That is, unless I have a big juicy steak to go with it…

The next morning, we had to wake up early to pack and check out of the hotel before embarking on our last day in Mendoza. Our first stop was what I was looking forward to most – cooking lessons! We drove to Salentein winery/hotel, which is where we would be making traditional empanadas. Although we were less than thrilled that the lessons would be outside (where it was a refreshing -7 degrees Celsius), our doubts were put to rest when we saw where we would be cooking – a breathtaking patio with a bar in front of an outdoor stove, a traditional empanada stove, acres upon acres of vineyard, and snow-covered mountains in the background. We were so taken aback by the views that we couldn’t even speak. They served us tapas (which are light appetizers) and white wine. We even got aprons, which we got to keep. I speak for everyone when I say we were in heaven. The chef taught us the proper technique to cook and season the meat and how to stuff and roll the pastry (and we were all appalled when we saw just how much fat goes into the empanada).

While they cooked, we toured the rest of the winery, which was a few meters down the road from the hotel, where we were cooking. The tour was quicker than the others since we were familiar with the process, but the bodega itself was gorgeous. The vineyards sat in front of the Andes, and the architecture on the winery was extremely modern. There was even an art gallery inside that we were able to look around.

After finishing our tour, we returned to the hotel portion for lunch and to eat our empanadas. Not to brag or anything, but our empanadas were absolutely delicious. The lunch was another asada, which is what they call their meat-filled meals where they keep bringing out more food (although this one was more reasonable than our lunch from a couple of days before). 

We still had one more bodega – Andaluna – to visit before boarding the bus back to the city. I know I sound like a broken record when I say this, but the views here were spectacular. There was an outdoor sitting area with couches and tables that were right next to the vineyard with the mountains in the distance. I felt like I was in The Parent Trap, sitting at the father’s Napa home.

After leaving, we went to the bus station, and I spent the whole cab ride praying that our bus would be comfortable. Words can’t express how happy I was when I saw that it was like our first bus ride. I fell asleep right after dinner and woke up right before we arrived in Buenos Aires.

Again, I’m beyond excited to be back to the city. Although most other people preferred the other cities, we were all ecstatic to return to Nico, our fantastic tour guide. We had a pretty calm day. We were able to return to places that we had skipped over on our last visit. We returned to La Boca, which I fell in love with even deeper. It was swarming with booths and shoppers. Little kids were there on a school field trip, and dozens of artists had hung up their artwork (I bought a photograph of people tangoing in front of a colorful building). It was an amazing atmosphere.

We then headed back to the Recoleta district, where we toured a brewery for Jonah’s project, and then we had lunch at a pizza place. As I’ve mentioned before, Argentina has a huge Italian influence, so for that reason, I’ve heard that they have delicious Italian food, but to be quite honest, I haven’t been that impressed with it. But the pizza today was wonderful… Definitely the best Italian food I’ve had since I’ve been here.

From there, we had our professional tour at C5N, which is a news station. We saw the studio and newsroom, where we met a woman whose job is to watch the 50+ cameras set up around the city. There are cameras overlooking the highways, city streets, even the airport. If something happens, they can increase the pixels to get a higher quality picture.

After leaving, we had free time, so Kara, Maggie, Margie, and I decided to explore the Santa Fe shopping district. We didn’t end up shopping that long, so after not too long, we decided to return to the hotel. We walked a few blocks, hoping to run into el Nueve de Julio (the street that our hotel is on), but we didn’t see it. So we walked a little further. Nothing. We opted not to hail a taxi because we were certain that we were getting close. Forty-five minutes later, we were still walking. We knew we were going the right way, but it turned out to be a MUCH longer walk than we had anticipated. Sixty or seventy blocks later, we finally returned to the hotel, exhausted and sweaty. We have a couple of hours of downtime before we are heading back out to Palermo to go to dinner for Kara’s birthday. As long as we’re taking a taxi, then I’ll be fine.