Vineyard: Familia Zuccardi

We went on a trip with our program to the Familia Zuccardi vineyard. Not quite in Maipu, not quite in Mendoza, but somewhere in the middle.

Tasting room, which also had a ton of paintings.

My favorite painting in the room. Something very eerie about the emptiness of the room and staircase.

We were able to taste two different types of wine. In the past, the program was not allowed to provide students with alcohol. Past students had to do an olive oil tasting. Thankfully, things have changed, but we definitely weren't allowed to go overboard. This is a champagne. Really liked this. I wish I was better at describing flavors of wine, but I need some more practice.

Was not a huge fan of this red. Tasted...watery?

Torrontes is a type of grape specific to Argentina. There is apparently a debate going on about whether empanadas go better with Torrontes or red wine. My vote is Torrontes, but I'm partial to white wines.

Alisa looking pretty and angelic.

Huge breadsticks! After our wine tasting, we had lunch at the winery.

Lucky lady bug on my plate.

Cheers!

Pan casera <3

Lots of olive oils to try.

Eggplant tapenade. 

Beef with a horse-radishy sauce.

More beef. The bread was so good!!! 

We also had tuna sandwhiches, olives, sundried tomatoes, more tapenade, and fried balls of chicken.

Peaches, fruit salad, cream, and little cookies for dessert.

I Never Go To School

The weather dropped from comfortably warm to super chilly, leaving me with a cold. This always happens to me when the weather suddenly changes and it's anything but fun. The only cure is rest, tea and time.

My host mom's son lives in Brazil, so she gave me this lime and honey tea from Brazil to try. Very strong and soothing for a sore throat.

I stayed home from school so I had time to Skype with a friend. School in the U.S. is about to start up again. I'm not missing it, but I am missing my friends and how comfortable I feel around them.

As I was lying in bed trying to recover, my host mom brought me cookies with dulce de leche. That's my kinda medicine.

The next day, I also didn't go to school because there was a nation wide strike. Very few micros (buses) are running, flights are cancelled, and my university is closed. From my understanding, various types of employees including bus drivers, professors, and medical professionals are demanding higher pay. Apparently bus drivers are paid extremely well, even more than professors, but that's not saying much because professors are not paid well. For lunch I had spinach filled ravioli with a chunky meat sauce and mozzarella cheese. Slowly starting to feel better. Seems my host mom can cure a cold with her cooking.

Hot drinks and a night out

Met up with some friends in the beautiful Parque Central and drank mate. Mate is a central part of the culture in Argentina. One person prepares the mate. The cup and straw are shared and passed around in a circle. A little strong/bitter the first try, but you can always add sugar :)

The wind was strong, so we decided to move inside to a cafe. I ordered a cafe dolce which is coffee and condensed milk at the bottom. Super sweet and yummy.

For the first time since arriving, my host family and I went out to dinner. The bread came with spreadable cheese instead of butter. Definitely prefer the cheese.

Water is not free. Most people drink agua con gas o "soda," but I'm sticking to my roots with this agua sin gas.

Bife con papas fritas. Very popular meal here. Everything was soooo good.

For dessert back at home: canned peaches (duranos) with dulce de leche. I'm really starting to become a dulce de leche fiend...

Buenos Aires

Three days in Buenos Aires before arriving in Mendoza...

Ensalada con tomates y parmesana.

Balsamic and oil.

Spanish tart. Egg tart filled with potatoes.

Ravioli with pesto and creme.

Sweet potato blend and sweet cheese. Not really sure what these are called...

I tried to eat the sweet potato and cheese thing with bread, but it's meant to be eaten by itself. Note also, flan (or bread pudding...not sure...) with dulce de leche and sweet cream.

My first Argentinian empanada.

Fried calamari.

Breakfast at the Dazzler Palermo Hotel in the "Hollywood" district of Buenos Aires. I could look across my balcony and see the FOX network working away. Croissants are called medialunas.

Cafe con leche.

We went to a market.

Honey comb.