Casa Glebinias Chacras de Coria

... although we did pass other cyclists who were obviously having difficulties maintaining control of their bikes.<br> <br>That was yesterday - today we did admin and are hoping to find somewhere nice to eat (our last meal out in Argentina). Oh yeah - and I also bought some new sunglasses after my last pair broke. I blame the breaking on their cheapness (5 pounds) so this time I spend about 1.50. Tomorrow we cross the Andes into Chile.<br><br>See ya ...

After completing our final long haul bus trip (an 18 hour overnighter) our reward was the centre of wine in South America - Mendoza.<br><br>A wave of Italian immigrants over 100 years ago saw agricultural practices from Europe transplanted onto the Argentine landscape. Grape vines, olive trees and fruit trees now dominate the plain while the Andes looks down from on high (at some points close to 7000m).<br ...

... naturally, we gorged ourselves because eating red meat in chile is like a once or twice a month occurrence because the m************** and b) expensive<br><br>The next day we tee'd up with the two canadian girls in our room and just wandered the beautiful parks and wide leafy avenues all day, having a late lunch at a cafe by the lake<br><br>We got the 10.30pm bus back to Santiago, arriving again at 5am....and then had uni the whole day 8.30-6pm- it ...

... tour agents to work out what we would do in our tie in Mendoza. Highlight for Wayne was the agent "Wanka Tours" and we very nearly booked a day trip with the lovely fellow in the office based on the company nae but we soon found a cheaper option and went with the hostel's agent. We booked a combined horse riding and rafting trip in the base of the Andes for the next day. Later in the evening we searched for a place for dinner and settled on a fancier restaurant ...

... 10 years ago) by a French wine family (they own Tattinger). Tasted their Sparkling C******nay, Torrontes (white wine unique to Northern Argentina) plus Premium &amp; Grand Reserva Malbec. The top wines are kept in concrete vats rather than stainless steel &amp; almost everything is done by hand. The wines were great &amp; really good value (and they are rightly proud of their many awards and wine points - Parkers described them as "Outstanding"). I couldn ...

... many of the old methods with modern technology. The tour was really interesting and they are keen to focus on quality rather than expanding the business. We sampled 4 of their wines: La Flor Sauvignon Blanc (7quid) - nice and light also very pale in colour La Flor Cabernet Sauvignon (7quid) - very fruit, you could definitely enjoy a couple of glasses with dinner Merlot (can´t remember - somewhere in between 7 and 25) - not a big fan of this one ...

... Argentina . . . even though you have spent the past 45 minutes on Argentine soil!! Once your passports have been stamped, you then walk back and board the coach . . . . In fairness it was all very amusing, yet very baffling! We eventually arrived in Mendoza an hour later than scheduled, but the trip was worth the delay as it was 8 hours of scenery overload . . . praise Mr Apple and his wonderful i pods, they have been the saving grace on these trips and when ...

... out and told them just to return to the hotel now and pay me back tomorrow, because it would probably take forever to get the bill. Though the majority of the food was good, it was too bad that the brutal service ruined the meal. Once again, we left no tip - we've had some pretty shoddy service so far on this trip! As we were about to leave, some guy came by and asked if he could take Ranjit's leftover chicken. This was ...

... posse and caught the suspect, and then they struck and shut down the city the next day, protesting their lack of security. Lucky for us, Jose Luis, the owner of the bed and breakfast (Posada Olivar) where we stayed in Chacras de Coria called a friend who came and drove us the twenty miles or so to Chacras, which is something like Argentina's Napa Valley. The B&amp;B we stayed at was an old farm, complete with an olive grove, although its vineyards were planted ...