FUN:travel – Viña del Mar, Chile to Mendoza, Argentina

February 27, 2013 by · Comments Off on FUN:travel – Viña del Mar, Chile to Mendoza, Argentina 

Mendoza, Argentina 8

B & B Plaza Italia

The ABC’s of Chile
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration

Day 22 – Wednesday, February 20– Viña del Mar, Chile to Mendoza, Argentina – warm sunshine, blue skies, cool breeze – low 60’s

  • 7:10 – wake up
  • B – another horrible night of no sleep
  • B – 7:30 – head to Starbuck’s – doesn’t open until 8:00
  • B – McDonald’s is open but no cream because McCafe doesn’t open until 8:00
  • 11:00 – taxi to Santiago airport takes 90 minutes
  • A – we stay @ airport Hilton on way back from Easter Island, plan to drop 2 bags of heavy clothes & coats so we don’t have to schlep & get hit w/outrageous baggage fees
  • B – 11:30 – OMG! we are in downtown Santiago
  • B – taxi driver has no idea where the hotel is – he is stopping & asking people – he has a phone but doesn’t use it!
  • 1:30 – arrive airport for 3:50 flight
  • A – airport has tons of shops so you can easily entertain yourself
  • C – airport security is great – shoes, laptops, liquids no problema
  • C – no baggage police or baggage nazi’s @ LAN in Santiago (unike Ecuador & Peru last year)
  • B – 3:50 – flight delayed
Mendoza, Argentina 5

Downtown

  •  B – we lost our jetway & now have to take a bus & schlep our bags up & down stairs
  • A – flying in, clouds are so thick & packed together in some spots, they look like heads of cauliflower at the market
  • A – blue skies for the Andes, incredible & see snow capped volcano
  • 5:00 – arrive Mendoza

    Mendoza, Argentina 1

    Plaza Italia

  • B – Argentina makes you scan all bags when leaving the airport
  • B – takes an hour to get through customs
  • A – taxi to city costs $10
  • 6:30 – arrive B&B Plaza Italia
  • A – Javier, son of owner Mercedes, welcomes us & spends 45 minutes telling us about their family home (where we are staying) & where to go in Mendoza & asking what our plans are during stay
  • C – fast, free internet
  • C – big, quiet room w/our own bathroom
  • 7:30 – dinner Azafran recommended by Javier – 1st salmon tartar on bed of thinly sliced cucumbers topped w/guacamole & plantain chips – 2nd arugula salad w/guacamole between 2 thin wafers of fried provolone & grilled shrimp, citrus vinaigrette – 3rd quinoa crusted chicken breast stuffed w/ricotta goat cheese, topped w/buffalo mozzarella, spinach cream sauce, crispy fried carrots & eggplant rolls – bottle Monteagrelo Malbec , $38 – total dinner $90 & VG!

Lessons Learned – don’t get out of bed before 8:00 if you want a good cup of coffee. Pad extra travel time for less stress!

FF – (FUN-fact) – Viña del Mar is very clean, has lots of parks, and lots of horse drawn carriages.
Not so FF – Chile is a lot more expensive than Argentina for everything.

Mendoza, Argentina 9

Really Good Malbec!

FUN:travel – Viña del Mar, Chile – Day 2

February 25, 2013 by · Comments Off on FUN:travel – Viña del Mar, Chile – Day 2 

The ABC’s of Chile
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration

Day 21 – Tuesday, February 19 – Viña del Mar – more full on sun, blue skies, cool breeze – low 60’sVina Del Mar, Chile 1

  • B – horrible night – no sleep – noisy even w/double paned windows (I’ve slept @ airport hotels w/ planes taking off all night that were more quiet)
  • A – 8:00 walk for really good Americano @ Starbucks
  • 10:25 – breakfast of fresh fruit & sandwich for later – guacamole, turkey & cheese
  • 12:00 – nice walk along beach boardwalk
  • some restaurants & local vendors
  • 1:00 – picnic in the park w/sandwiches from breakfast buffet
  • A – sand sculpture artists dot the shoreline
  • 7:15 – dinner @ Margarita’s – chicken fajitas  – not so good – chips, guacamole, black beans, salsa verde, pico de gallo, jalapeno’s make it better
  • bottle of wine costs $15 & a cocktail costs $10
Vina Del Mar, Chile 5

Sand Sculpture

Lesson Learned – I live in San Diego so I don’t need to have an ocean view room, however, for a quiet room I would have paid the extra $30 to be off the main street.

Not so FF – (FUN-fact) – Viña del Mar has a large homeless dog population. That means no one is picking up after them and you need to be careful where you step.

FUN:travel – Viña del Mar, Chile

February 25, 2013 by · Comments Off on FUN:travel – Viña del Mar, Chile 

The ABC’s of Chile
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration

Day 20 – Monday, February 18 – Valparaíso to Viña del Mar, Chile – blue skies, cool ocean breeze – low 60’sVina Del Mar, Chile 7

  • 11:00 – check in to Hotel San Martin
  • B – room isn’t ready until 2:00
  • take a stroll through town
  • C – there’s a Starbucks 2 blocks from hotel! have a cappuccino break
  • 12:30 – lunch @ Diego’s Pizza across from hotel – local beer Cristal not bad – nice arugula, tomato, onion, feta salad
  • B – pizza just so-so
  • B – costs $53 for 3 beers, 1 salad & I medium pizza
  • 2:00 – check in & siesta
  • B – size does matter when it comes to a room – and so does being off a busy street! forgot to request a quiet room!
  • A – free internet
  • B – very slow
  • 8:15 – dinner @ Delicias del Mar – recommended by hotel – butterfish w/spinach cream sauce (never eaten this before) mushrooms w/baby shrimp, green salad w/avocado, hearts of palm

FF – (FUN-fact) – Chris says I am always looking for the pearl. It’s true! I like to try new things which can be risky or make for a wonderful surprise.