Great food and wine in Mendoza

We are back from dinner. A two hour affair that began with a one block walk from our hotel to Francesco's, a wonderful Italian restaurant. The sommelier tried to steer us to a wonderful bottle of local malbec priced at $275 (pesos, or about $85US) but we figured our palate was not sophisticated enough for the difference between a $30 bottle and an $85, so we downgraded the selection. I guess when the concierge of the nicest hotel in town calls to make your reservation and you are seated in the front table facing the gardens they expect you can afford the expensive wines.

We each had delicious pasta dinners, but the appetizers were the rave. Mike had a shrimp brochette that he loved. My caprese salad came with an eggplant side dish that was fabulous. After we finished eating our waiter took us on a tour of the wine cellar (where two photos of our chef shaking hands with the pope are prominently displayed) and the huge gardens. On our way out the door we passed a young couple walking in the front door. They overheard us talking to each other and made mention of the fact that we were speaking English. That started the inevitable, "where are you from?". It turns out that we are all from Seattle. They are on a two week vacation in Argentina and jealous of our much longer trip.

Apparently internet only costs about 30 cents an hour in the internet cafes here, but we have no idea what we are paying at this hotel. They hand us a 2 hour password upon request and ascertaining our room number, but we don't know what we are paying. The wireless doesn't work in our room on the fifth floor so we are sitting out in the lobby working on this. It is 10:45 PM and the restaurant at the other side of the lobby is doing a hopping business so the lobby is filled with the noise of dinner conversations with a faint sound of Kenny G in the background.

Our hotel has a spa so we each had a Thai massage this afternoon. This was a first time experience, but we have both vowed that it won't be the last. Unlike a traditional Swedish massage, during this massage the therapist climbs up on the massage table to get a better angle. It works. The knots in both of our backs (the stress of carrying suitcases and making airplane schedules is horrendous!) were grateful for the rigorous work-out these therapists gave them. When we were all done we were amazed to find that two hour long massages were $100 combined. That is about half the price of massages at home.

At the airport today in Santiago, on our way to Mendoza, Mike struck up a conversation with an American from Pennsylvania while I was shopping in the duty free (for a new paperback book to read). This guy was approximately Mike's age, with long gray hair and a wiry, fit body. He was on his way to Mendoza to climb a 7000 meter (23,000 ft) mountain in the nearby Andes (we can see them from the windows of the hotel). He was surrounded by beat up canvas packs that he says have been on lots of previous climbs with him. He told us that he makes his living caddying at the nearby golf course in the summer and building rock climbing walls in the winter. We had a nice conversation and walked away thinking that he was an unusual fellow traveler that we would be unlikely to meet again given our temporary status at the upscale hotel in town. When we followed the hotel's driver to the car after he met us in the airport lobby as we cleared customs, our buddy was no where to be seen. So, we were surprised when we say him later this afternoon working on a computer in the lobby of the hotel. He said he likes to splurge on his climbing trips.

I apologize for all of the typos in the last several write-ups. Spell check does not work when you log in from other countries. Sorry.

I hope you are enjoying the stories as much as we are enjoying being here.

So long,
Deanne