Dec 15th- Liz's birthday in Mendoza- Goal reached!

This whole trip started with an idea that it would be fun to celebrate my 45th birthday by visiting Argentina and touring the wineries that produce the stuff we love to drink at home. Today we reached that goal!
We took a taxi to the town of Maipu ( in Mendoza) where we rented bikes- a tandem for Remy and Bowen- and armed with a map of the 15 wineries and olive oil farms, off we went! I think Remy must have had a " talk" with the boys before we left our house because I didn't hear a peep of complaining the entire day. The roads are lined with huge leafy trees that provide much needed shade and the wineries are well marked and welcoming. As I said to Remy as we were happily cycling along- "I am so happy to be ALIVE! This is a day we will remember forever" Here is a photo of our first winery, chocolate, olive oil and liquor tasting.

We thought we'd be able to visit 5 or 6 wineries but we ended up meeting Chris from Portland- I seem to attract people from Portland- and talked with him for over an hour in an underground bodega. It was cool, the wines were delicious and the boys were happily sipping their sprite and joining in on the inspiring conversation... HEAVEN! We only got to 3 vineyards but we had just the best time.
Here is a video of our vineyard visit today.

Before we returned the bikes we checked out the artisanal beer place along the way. What's a day of wine drinking without a little beer at the end? I didn't like the beer but the atmosphere was interesting. It was a makeshift joint at the end of a dirt road that was decorated with old couches and filled with hippie types smoking long slender cigarettes. I hope we don't get a belly ache!

When we returned home Remy attempted to go to town alone to purchase some water, wood and some cakes for my birthday. The owners crazy dog, Broco,  followed him there chasing cars, barking and fighting with EVERY other dog on the way. Remy's plan was to gather all the heavy  stuff and take a cab home but he found Broco waiting patiently outside the grocery store for him.  Needless to say, Remy felt he couldn't just ditch him in town to jump in a cab so opted to walk the 3 or 4 kms instead. Remy showed up about 1.5 hours later dripping with sweat  from his long walk in the heat and calling the dog all sorts of names...... Nasty Remy names like "dufus"!

So... our bbq dinner was put off by a day and we made pasta instead finishing up around 11:30 pm. I was surprised with a gift  I had been eying in Buenos Aires ( a piggy bank made of orange leather)  and some alfajores ( an Argentinean speciality) for dessert. It was such a remarkable way to turn 45 I think I might do something similar next year!
~Liz

A happy day! Note Liz's grey teeth from all the wine drinking