We stopped in a cute small town called Uspallata on the way for parilla (fire-grilled meats). I tried blood sausage (morizilla) and sausage (chorizo) and it all tastes good. The train that connected Argentina and Chile no longer runs but you can see the tracks, trestles, and tunnels it went through for the entire trip.
Mendoza is home to great leather products, great beef for eating, and so many wineries with grape vines growing for miles and miles around the city. The main downtown has trees lining every commercial street, which is odd for a bustling city. There is one main plaza with a huge fountain and hundreds of trees and benches, vendors, and people entertaining for money. In other locations are 4 more smaller plazas and there is a main pedestrian shopping area (like Pearl St. mall) that goes for many blocks.
Tourists from all over the world and from neighboring countries come here. I heard some English here and many other languages. Italians settled here and you can esily find pizza, homemade pasta and gelato It´s an easy city for travelers with so much going on and tons of people out walking. Nearby is Maipu, a small town where you can visit many of the older wineries. Mendoza and Maipu are hot in the summer and I felt it. It does not cool down at night either.
We rented bikes in Maipu (as did at least 50 other tourists) and rode along the Ciclovia (Bike lane) on the main street to various vineyards for tours. At the Orange Bike rental, the woman owner went over each vineyard on a map, what it costs and what you get, so it was very easy. Each time we stopped at a vineyard we´d see lots of bikes parked (other people doing the same thing), and sometimes we saw the same people at each stop. We did 2 tours, ate a good lunch, visited an olive farm, and I had a Pepsi at a beer garden that makes it own craft beer. I was bummed that I could not try their beer (since it has wheat and is not gluten free).
In Mendoza is a huge park called Parque Independencia and a large hill called Cerro Gloria. At the top of the hill is a huge statue celebrating Argentina´s independence. In the park in the evening were tons of people biking, running, roller blading, picnicking, and strolling. I saw so many varieties of trees and flowers and I wanted to run except it was way too hot for me. Another great day of seeing new things!
Mendoza is home to great leather products, great beef for eating, and so many wineries with grape vines growing for miles and miles around the city. The main downtown has trees lining every commercial street, which is odd for a bustling city. There is one main plaza with a huge fountain and hundreds of trees and benches, vendors, and people entertaining for money. In other locations are 4 more smaller plazas and there is a main pedestrian shopping area (like Pearl St. mall) that goes for many blocks.
Tourists from all over the world and from neighboring countries come here. I heard some English here and many other languages. Italians settled here and you can esily find pizza, homemade pasta and gelato It´s an easy city for travelers with so much going on and tons of people out walking. Nearby is Maipu, a small town where you can visit many of the older wineries. Mendoza and Maipu are hot in the summer and I felt it. It does not cool down at night either.
We rented bikes in Maipu (as did at least 50 other tourists) and rode along the Ciclovia (Bike lane) on the main street to various vineyards for tours. At the Orange Bike rental, the woman owner went over each vineyard on a map, what it costs and what you get, so it was very easy. Each time we stopped at a vineyard we´d see lots of bikes parked (other people doing the same thing), and sometimes we saw the same people at each stop. We did 2 tours, ate a good lunch, visited an olive farm, and I had a Pepsi at a beer garden that makes it own craft beer. I was bummed that I could not try their beer (since it has wheat and is not gluten free).
In Mendoza is a huge park called Parque Independencia and a large hill called Cerro Gloria. At the top of the hill is a huge statue celebrating Argentina´s independence. In the park in the evening were tons of people biking, running, roller blading, picnicking, and strolling. I saw so many varieties of trees and flowers and I wanted to run except it was way too hot for me. Another great day of seeing new things!
