Because of our border delay on the way to Mendoza we had less than two days to do everything so we did a quick swing through town today on the way home.
First stop was the Cerro de la Gloria in the
Parque General San Martin. San Martin was involved in liberating both Argentina and Chile (and Peru?) from the Spanish and is considered a national hero in Argentina. The park itself was huge with many different activities but we just hit the Cerro for the view and for a chance to hike up a small hill and expend some energy before sitting for the ride home.
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| The Zoo wasn't open yet but he hung out at the entrance. |
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| Cerro de la Gloria |
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| Getting our energy out before the long ride home. |
We then headed downtown to see the May Day activities near Plaza Independencia.
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| The city fountains are "tinted" pink during the wine harvest season. |
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| Rob gave the kids a brief overview of Argentine politics - their eyes glazed over but they enjoyed the drums and music at the march. |
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| The governor of Mendoza Province, I guess |
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| We even found the sole baritone for Renee |
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| On Labor Day the sidewalk cleaners were still out there sweeping up with palm branches - surprisingly, it worked quite well. |
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| A portable cafe! Maybe I'll open one on football Saturdays in South Bend! |
After having a coffee (at a sit down place!) and some treats we were off to cross the mountains again. This time the border crossing took 2.25 hours but it was a gorgeous day and we made the best of it.
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| Leaving Mendoza |
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| The answer to a previous question is "Yes, there is meat in a Chilean hotdog." |
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| They knew he was a Gringo when he tried to channel Steve Carlton (that's the only baseball pitcher's name that I know!) |
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| One actually landed in the car. |
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| Renee's inspiration |
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| Two hours into it and still smiling! |
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| Bureaucracy at its finest - nine stamps to get the car in and out of the country! |
This time Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and some Ralph S. Mouse got us through. We'll finish the Harry Potter on our last voyage the week before we leave.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAMANTHA!
Ah, wine. If I only I drank... I enjoyed the kids' comments about the flavours. I can't quite imagine the "graphite" taste - are they thinking about a chewed pencil taste, or the actual rock?
ReplyDeleteSarah was thrilled to hear it was less than fifty days until you come home. She is so looking forward to seeing Elisee.
have you heard the latest news from N.D.? Speaking of which, does anyone follow N.D. football down there? I know some people do in Mexico, but I seem to remember Rob struggled to pick up the games.
Ah, I want to write more but Owen has decided the floor is not for him. Will try again later (P.S. I am taking Kelson to a midnight showing of the Avengers tonight - a treat for being such a lovely kid:-)