Champers and campers
Trip Start
Sep 2005
1
34
52
Trip End
Sep 2006
Lago Blanca,
Argentina
Saturday, February 11, 2006
I got invited by Miguel to the wedding of Pedro Small and Ana Webb, on the Argentine/Chilean border. I didn't want to overdraw on my hosts hospitality but it was a chance to meet up with my friends again, and it sounded like it as going to be a bit of a blast, so why not. It was also a really good chance to see how Patagonians throw a good wedding. Coming from Ireland I knew that you never go to an all day wedding empty handed unless you're a total sponger. So I wrecked my brain to think of something the happy couple might need. The happy couple I'd never met. Champagne! Of course, you can never have too much bubbly.
The estancia was right in the middle of nowhere, and I had to do a lot of early morning driving to do, but I managed to arrive just after the service had started
01 View from back of the church
. The Walls reputuation for arriving late remains in tact. Not wanting to stroll into the religious service swinging my 2 bottles I left the champagne in the car. The nearest church was about 3 hours drive away so the service was actually held in a field. I found it just in time to see Pedro share the first sacred kiss with Ana, while punching the air. Fair play to him. She was very beautiful. They keep the service short and sweet. About 20 mintures for the whole shabang: the I do's, the kiss, the names in the book. No time to spare for 10 minute solos of dodgy organ music. In and out and down to business.Straight after we retired to the garden for a champagne reception. Mariano gave me a tour of the "kitchen". It was a mass grave for sheep and cows. Superb. If you threw a few more on you could have used it for tv footage for the BSE crisis. The dinners was great - pretty much a self-service affair. Free-for-all seating, help-yourself salad bar. Then you went to the kitchen to collect a platter of meat on a stay-hot grill. The only waiter involvement was with the wine - which flowed liberally.
As the day progressed the penny started to drop that this was no ordinary patagonian wedding. The estancia was ginormous; 30,000 sheep, 1,500 cows, a permanent kitchen staff of 8. The guest list included artists, tv producers, celebrity chefs, and even an international computer programmer! Not the sort of crowd you throw a few sandwiches at in the evening. Instead we had beef, flambeed with Johny Walker Red. Delicious. Then more champagne. The champagne reception pretty much which lasted as long as you could drink. For most of us this was about 8 hours. This was no cheapo champagne either it was top quality tipple. It was definitely not the occasion for presenting my own two humble bottles to the happy couple.
