Beautiful Argentina
Brenda Radford
I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to talk about beautiful Argentina, having just arrived back home from an extended Family Trip.
The first photo gallery shows the wonderful ranch we stayed at and a selection of bodegas we visited. Most of the wineries produce olive oil as well as incredibly tasty wines. Some of the grape and olive vines date back to the 1920’s.
This is our ranch in Lujan de Cuyo where we relaxed, swam, cooked steak on an Argentinian style barbecue, and some of us worked remotely. The peach tree gave us an abundance of peaches and peach jam every morning at breakfast.
THE WINERIES! OH, THE WINERIES
Bodega Mendel: a very old, traditional, Argentinian family-owned winery. Our host was welcoming and extremely knowledgeable about all of the wines in Lujan de Cuyo and Uco Valley. It was our privilege to learn from her.
Bodega Vistalba: a breathtaking vineyard and mountain-backed property with gorgeous vistas where we enjoyed a leisurely 5 star meal in the Zen-like surroundings. This winery has already been purchased and plans are in place for creating a high end sustainable housing development.
Bodega Budeguer: a newer family-owned winery that is also a large producer of sugar cane. Using recent technologies and experiments for their wine blends, the young company is growing and already producing some impressive wines.
You may notice nets holding rows of grape vines in Bodega Budeguer. The nets are there for protection against extreme weather. While we were in the region we experienced predictable summer hail storms with hail as large as eggs that have the potential to ruin this year’s and next year’s crops! The nets are expensive, so not every winery is able to purchase them. Another way to mitigate damage is by exploding “bombs” in the sky to break up the ice balls.
We were treated to many wine tastings and delicious meals with wonderful people from all over the world.
BUENOS AIRES
We walked, relaxed, played cards, drank wine, ate steak and other Argentinian delights, we explored the streets of Palermo, went on tours, appreciated art, and laughed a lot. Much of the architecture is breathtaking and is old European building design down to the last detail.
The best tours are the walking tours. We learned about early settlers and the significance of the city’s port, we listened to entertaining stories about competitions among wealthy 19th century European immigrants who created the best European architecture and luxurious homes in Buenos Aires.
LA BOCA
We learned about the mixing and melding of music and dance among the indigenous Argentinians and the Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and African immigrant labourers who shared their culture with each other to create Tango in the streets of Buenos Aires. The area called La Boca is the working class area where the pulse of art and music, sports and community is felt on every colourful and shoddy street.
RECOLETA CEMETERY
We toured the Recoleta Cemetery where the wealthy and powerful created a small city of the most beautiful mausoleums, each one more impressive and opulent than the next, to house their departed loved ones. We heard the amazing life and death story of Evita, (Eva Peron), and her capacity to stir the hearts of the working class.
MY FAVOURITE GALLERY, MALBA
Museo de Arte Latino Americano de Buenos Aires
Latin American art from the beginning of the 20th century to today. You might recognize works by Diego Rivera or Frida Kahlo, perhaps Antonio Berni. Ongoing temporary exhibitions enhance the small but impressive permanent collection. The passion of the Argentinian people is evident in political works as well as the Pop Art.
WE WELCOMED THE NEW YEAR WITH TANGO!
THE BEST BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS
There were two nights of celebration for my birthday. One was at a sustainable restaurant where many unusual ingredients were masterfully turned into delicious courses. Everything was made in house. Some of the dishes included lamb testicles, duck tacos, lamb tongue.
The tango dancers were two of our table mates at the second dinner celebration. I include this picture of our special friends because we learned over the course of the evening, that they are world champions of Tango, yet very warm and humble people. The dinner was a secret affair for 8 at our chef’s private house. We were privileged to spend the evening getting to know one another. It was so special that I didn’t think to take pictures!