- Open-roof bus tour of the city with Jo (no, i would not pay for such a thing, i won a ticket at school!)
- Madres de la Plaza de Mayo - this group of women meets every Thursday afternoon at 3:30 at the Plaza de Mayo. Why? Read the wiki entry!
- Classic Argentine snack of medialunas y cafe
- Homer Simpson hanging out in Palermo
- Mini-fiesta at our apartment
- Mendoza (and some winery videos)
Now, onto Mendoza! The overnight bus: we played bingo (prize was a bottle of wine, of course), they served (airline-esque) food, cheap wine, and apparently I had the misfortune on being on an older bus. After taking sleeping pills and a glass of wine, equipped with the requisite ear plugs and eyemask, I slept on and off through the night, through apparently torrential rain, unfortunately having put my backpack under my seat... woke up to one soggy mess. Fortunately my clothes were more damp than soaked and I had some time to straighten things out at the hostel. Had a huge, bare bones private room and bath at the Hostal Confluencia with A/C not far from the city center. Not bad for $44. The city is laid out around 1 main plaza and 4 small plazas. Definitely a small-city feel with more of a Latin American vibe and less noise, less pollution, less craziness altogether. Was a welcome respite from BsAs.
After freshening up at the hostel and doing my best to look professional considering I slept on a bus, attired in all black (Astor, you've done me well), I ventured out with my map and a raving appetite. Hit one of the Lonely Planet recommended cafes on one of Mendoza's busier avenues (Mendoza busy = BsAs quaint) and enjoyed a grilled calamari salad. Sauntered over to the Bohemia Hotel where my mom and I plan to stay in March, just to make sure it was acceptable. Met Emir, the owner, an ex-NYer who has Argentine roots. Told him about my aspirations to move to Mendoza and he gave me his card in case I needed anything. Had time for a quick espresso at another Lonely Planet recommended spot and then it was go-time.
3:30 interview with the Vines of Mendoza, owned by an American and Argentine. Unfortunately Mike, the American owner, was out of town, visiting the US so I was set to meet with Sebastian, the Director of Operations. He came down and met me in the courtyard of the Vines' tasting room. Really cute venue (for lack of a better term), with an indoor tasting room operated by good-looking, bilingual 20-something Argentines, an al fresco courtyard and another room I didn't check out but saw a huge flatscreen TV inside. Sebastian had the typical "what brings you here and who are you" questions, I explained my experience and goals. Sebastian admitted there wasn't a concrete job position yet, but that I could definitely be put to good use for the Vines' planned expansion into a few different directions (a culinary resort and spa being one of them). After a good 30 minute talk, he suggested I stop by later to do one of their tasting flights, with a discount of course. I promised I would.
Then it was off to see Carolyn, the American woman who has started her own wine tourism company, married an Argentine and has the most adorable baby girls, with the elder 3-year old already bilingual. Her home office allows her to work and be a full time mom. I told her about my interview at the Vines (she is a good friend of Mike, the CEO), as she did their PR at one point but felt it was too corporate for her. She started brainstorming other people I might be able to work with, and got really excited about her friend Karim. Karim runs Alto Cedro, his family's small but highly ranked winery a bit off the map. He apparently wants to open a tasting room, which got Carolyn thinking. She quickly sent off an email with my CV and Astor letter of recommendation, began hyping up the potential of this being my chance to "ganar el piso" or "earn my floor," meaning pay my dues. She also mentioned a possible opportunity for me to work for her on an upcoming internet venture, also in the wine world.
Then it was back to the hostel to drop off my notebook and guidebook, freshen up, and turn back around to check out the Vines at nighttime. I pulled up a stool to the bar and asked for the blind tasting. Ramiro was my charming server for the evening who was pleased to give me the tasting in Spanish. Two whites and three reds, with a hint of possible types, and I got 4 of the 5 wines right. During the tasting, I met Karen, a transplanted Californian who, after 7 years of working for Microsoft in Seattle, is moving to NYC in a month to work at Google. Ah, Google. So glad you didn't offer me a job last year! I would never be here. Anyway, Karen and I hit it off as single traveling American women tend to do, and went out to dinner after. She'll be in BsAs tomorrow night and we've planned to meet again for dinner at a Peruvian restaurant she's been dying to try. And so it goes with people here. Friend for a week!
The next day I woke early to venture out to the wineries with a private taxi, organized by Martin, a friend of Martha's, my Spanish teacher. Chandon was first on the list, followed by Ruca Malen and then Lopez. All recommendations by Jorge, my wine teacher. Chandon, which I loved in Napa, was just okay here. It was decorated in the trendy baroque style (Bulla you would love it), and since I was the first person to arrive, I enjoyed some cafe alone on the terrace, and then had a private tour (en espanol) which I found very informative. I think Constanza, my tour guide, was amused by my furious scribbling in my notebook in Spanglish. The espumantes were disappointingly just meh. Then it was off to Ruca Malen, which was simply stunning. The Andes backdrop and being surrounded by grapevines as far as the eye can see... definitely will be returning with my mom for their renowned lunch. Again, had a private tasting en espanol, this time with Eugenia, their in-house sommelier. Tried 3 pretty good reds, 2 Malbecs and a $180 peso Cab Sav that I'm sure would be amazing with a steak. Lopez was the finale, which was basically like being on a movie set. Super big, impersonal and a bit artifical, except for the fact that I got to see a bottling plant in process as well as one of the machines that de-stems grapes. I had yet to see anything in action until then. Posted some videos to Flickr. The wines at Lopez were pretty terrible, but I guess you don't go there for the wine. You go for the technology behind the scenes. I refrained from actually swallowing most of the wine all day as I had another overnight bus that night and still had some networking to do in the afternoon.
Was back in town by 2pm and had lunch at Anna Bistro, one of my new favorite restaurants (pics on Flickr). Sat in their very floral, green patio with a fresh juice of orange/ pineapple/ ginger. Lunch was gazpacho served with black olive tapenade toasts and a cheese and olive plate. Martin joined me after for a drink (a G&T for him, a cafe for me). Martin is in his mid to late 30s, runs a sommelier school, wine tourism company and leads adventure trips to Patagonia for an Australian company. After learning of my plans to live in Mendoza, he also excitedly started pulling out contacts for me to reach out to. Off the bat, a British friend who needs an English-speaker to teach classes and lead tours for her new company. He called her on the spot and she said to definitely send my CV over. In the meantime, Carolyn called me with urgent news that Karim was definitely interested and to keep him in mind if/when I talk to the Vines again. Martin then drove me through torrential rain back to the Vines, where I had told Sebastian I would stop by before going back to BsAs. No sign of Sebastian, so I enjoyed two glasses of wine (50% off after 7!) while chatting with a friendly couple visiting from Vegas, and called a taxi to the bus station.
Had a first class seat on the way home. Helllllo, big difference. It was only me and one other guy in the whole first class cabin(?), so we had plenty of space and it was super quiet. Seats also fully reclined 180 degrees. I slept like a baby until our arrival in BsAs (after playing AndesMar Bingo, of course).
Got home to a disaster of an apartment, and cannot wait to move out this weekend. Maggie's already moved into a new apartment in Palermo, so it's me, the new Dutch kid Daniel and Tujina, who is back from Chile. Showered, answered emails, napped, had Spanish class with Martha and finally Skyped with my dad. Around 11, Daniel and I met up with Maggie and her friend at a Wednesday night hotspot, some boat in Puerto Madero where everyone goes after work. Pretty standard BsAs scene with too much smoking, smoke machines and bad dance music. Highlight of the night was text from Martin saying he has another lead for me, as an English tour guide at an apparently amazing winery, Pulenta Estate.
Today met up with Ayelen, my favorite ex-teacher, for lunch. She accompanied me around Palermo to check out hiking boots, see apartments for my mom's visit, and dispute a charge at a local restaurant who mistakenly charged me twice for a dinner a few weeks ago. Oh, we also sat in Plaza Italia at one point to rest our feet. I showed her how to make a fortune teller out of looseleaf paper, which I hadn't done in years. Of course we played with it like giddy children. She asked me for a Spanish word, I said burbuja (bubble). So my favorite fortune, in Spanish: You will soon enter a giant bubble. (What?) After 5+ hours of Spanish and walking around the city, I'm pretty fried. Which explains my first Thursday night in since I've been here.
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