Extended Stay in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires at night, again from the balcony of the pool. The obelisk in the center reminds you of the monument in Washington DC. This is the main road through the center of town...check out the big roundabout.
The till boys found the "Green Club" three levels down in the hotel. A video golf course for their entertainment.
A shot outside on the balcony of the pool of the Buenos Aires skyline. Did you know that B. A. is the 8th largest city in the world?
It's not all bad being delayed since Continental is footing the bill for the hotel and food. I argued that our meal vouchers should be good for drinks too, but lost that battle. At the top of our hotel, Panamericano, they have a gym and pool. This is the pool, pretty cool...that rhymes.

Dios Mio! Till boys extended 3 days in Buenos Aires

And after all the dead people we were with, the Till Boys are D.O.A. Flight canceled home. Extended stay in Buenos Aries...and I mean extended, at this point the soonest they can get us on a flight is three days from now. If there is any good news about this, Continental is paying for all of our hotel and food expenses ...I guess we'll just be on extended Holiday...Sorry, we all were ready to get home to you all. Buenos Noches.
At plot "57", you will find the burial site of Eva Peron, the famous lady of Argentina.
Whole families are buried together and as you can see, you can peer in and see the caskets. Yikes, I would be totally freaked out if I got locked in this place at night.
We had not got a chance to see "Recolleta" on our bus tour, so we went there today. This is a burial area in the middle of the city with above ground mausoleums. Very ornate, and all of the famous people of Argentina are buried here.
After arriving back in Buenos Aires from Mendoza, we had a day to waste before our 10:45 flight home (NOT). This is an area that includes various arts, crafts, and antiques on Sunday. As you can see the streets are jammed.

Day Five Mendoza - "No Mas"

The third winery was Norton. You will find some of their wines at Hy Vee...we are approaching "no mas". Till boy John is now moaning with a stomach ache. Not sure if it is the wine, chimichurra, or the half cow he ate the night before. Off to Buenos Aires in the morning and then back to winter :-( Not sure you will see more blogs. And in case you were wondering, my shoulder "still hurts". Bunos Noches all you followers and "creepers"! Hope you liked.
Our lunch was a pairing of wines and food...till boy Craig was impressed with the number of glasses on one table.
Three "bodegas" today, plus checking out Chuck's project means 4. Don't worry Barb and Elmer, we are in the wine business so we have been "working" everyday! This is where we had lunch and the picture is a reflection of the window at the winery with the Till boys and the Andes in the background.

Day 4 Mendoza - Rio Mendoza Rafting

All safe and sound and finished with one heck of a rafting trip. Obviously one of the more exciting days of our trip. What a adrenaline rush.
The first half of the day was "tranquillo", but then things got rocking. Less than five minutes after lunch we went from resting to rescue. There were two boats in our group, and the guide on the second boat got thrown out. This created a rescue operation for the Till Boys as the rudderless boat flip and we had to begin pulling in swimmers to our boat...all while we where in a series of rapids called the "terminator". With some people pulled in, John turned over their boat and jumped into their empty boat. Too many people in our boat and on the wrong side, we proceeded to flip. Father Till went airborne into the river as did everyone else including our guide. "Sh-t the bed!" John proceeded to rescue. Till boys were worried for the old man who was now in the river who finally surfaced and pulling him in Quite the experience. After the accident, there were two girls on the other boat who would not continue, so two guys from their boat joined us for the remainder of the rafting trip. WOW.
The guides put our lunch display inside the old train station. We were hungry from both the cold and work.
Day four started high in the Andes on the Mendoza River. As you might be able to tell from our lower torso, the river is ice melt and very cold. We were out fitted with wet suits, helmets, boots, and jacket. The trip was a full day and this was our lunch stop, an abandoned train station. The air is warm so some of the till boys stripped down.

Mendoza Day Three - Vino in the Andes

Back to Salentin for lunch. Boy did we need some lunch after a couple hours of tasting. We had sparkling wine to clean off our purple teeth. Craig took this picture and the window is reflecting the 20,000 foot Andes in the background
Because we were such good customers, the wine maker pulled out the "wine thief" and let us sample wine still in the barrel. Special treatment for the Till boys.
Chuck purchased the special grand reserve so we could sample the finest of Azul. Our new found friends from North Carolina and Peru were very grateful. The drivers even slipped in for a taste-don't tell the federal es.
From grand to "boutique". Bodega Azul was our second stop. Now this is a place the till boys can relate to. The funny thing is that this wine quality was much more impressive than the wine from the 30 mil facility. Azul in Spanish is "Blue". The sky, the mountains and the river.
Till boy Tim reaching to the sky with the backdrop of the Andes Mountains...so cool words and pictures don't replicate this special place. Just giving you all a heads up...we'll be back.
The till boys and Chuck making a "five star" toast...it doesn't get much better than this...drinking wine at 11 in the morning.
Mike bellying up for a taste of a reserve Malbec, and boy do I mean "BELLY UP"...man I cannot wait to get back to working out.
The till boys in the reserve tasting room. John in his Argentine colors. Mike in midwest brown. Craig in the same shirt he has worn for days (whew), and Tim in his shades, who knows why, maybe he has a sty in his eye.
Large French oak cask hold the red wine during initial fermentation. These casks are used seven times and then replaced.
The lowest level is the barrel storage room. It is circular in shape with tiered steps. The wine barrels are the audience and the columns rise to the roof - impressive.

Our first stop this morning after about an hour ride was Bodega Salentin. For you non Spanish speakers, a "Bodega" is a winery. This one might as well been a church, or museum.

Built in 2000 at cost of 30 million, it is state of the art gravity flow starting at the top and descending a couple levels into the ground.

Day 2 Mendoza - We meet up with Chuck

We had our own little corner spot in the winery restaurant to sample their wines with our lunch. Chuck is sitting between Craig and Tim. Chuck is passionate about the wine business and a great person for us to connect with ...maybe more business opportunities in Mendoza for the Till Boys.
Chuck took us out in the vineyard to show us some of their viticulture practices. This is a "learning trip" in case you followers didn't know. You may notice the netting above the vines, this is to protect the fruit from hail. The dark pot in the left corner is a smug pot that they put diesel fuel in and burn to protect the crop from frost.
At the winery, they also have a restaurant in the middle of the vineyard...and yes, yes, we had meat again. This grill is typical of what you see here for all grilled meat, wood burning on the side and then they transfer hot coals underneath the grate. This wood actually is old grape vines. The dark sausage is "blood sausage".
After we met Chuck, we went to a very large winery called "Familia Zuccardi". Very Impressive. They have wine presses that could handle our entire harvest in one crush.
Who is this Chuck Arnett guy...we are waiting for him at the Mendoza airport as he arrives from Miami, via Panama City Panama, via Santiago Chile ( 29 hours), come to find out he is doing business with Dennis Erickson's business associate Craig Carmack and the "Three Angry Wives" label in Mendoza.

First Day In Mendoza

One more late picture. This guy might be in the el bano later... and continues to complain about his shoulder.... love craig

A late picture post by Craig. Our Weinert tour guide and "private" tasting of the till boy John's birth date wine. Buenos Noches all you followers and "creepers"! We are tired and it's well past midnight and we are "Slingboxed" back to the US watching the colllege football game. Yea Husker basketball, we watched the end of their game too after a short stop at the hotel bar checking out some local cocktails.
Outside dining this evening in Mendoza. 4 liters of beer...we were getting tired of vino and it's over 100 degrees here.
A top view of this wonderful plate? RIGHT!
What can I say...these are organ meats. John and I shared a mixed grill for two. Blood sausage, lung, kidneys, tripe and other fine (oh, I had to break to puke) grilled guts! We had to try them...eat your heart out Andrew Zimmerman and Anthoney Bordain...we might start our own Food Network show.
Our driver, Javier Eppents was able to take part in our private tasting of a 1983 wine we purchased in honor of John's birth year. Sorry if you want to try it, we are finishing off the bottle in our hotel room.
"Till boy" Tim is giving a thumbs up to the 1977 Malbec in the cellar. Now that is some old wine. Mike is pointing down to his feet to make sure he keeps one foot in front of the other. At least there is no ice here (yes my shoulder is killing me...the juice helps).
This is an ornamental cask, representing the Winert shield and the wine god. Mike is showing a heisman like wine god pose.
After arrival in Mendoza and checking into 2 hotels (another story you don't need to read) we went to the Weinert Winery. Weinert is one of the top 100 international wineries. An "old school" winery founded in the 1800's. This french oak cask was made in the 70's and will be good for 200 years...that's a long f...ing time! Let's just say that this one cask holds way more wine than us till boys make in one year!

Mendoza Video

Little Video i put together on the plane ride to Mendoza

Videos from Buenos Aires

Best Steaks in Buenos Aires

Dinner with friends from the US Embassy at what they say is the "best" steaks in Buenos Aires. Diego in the back center and Sarah to his left with Sarah's husband Brad. Of course we had steak...again, don't tell Dr. Rhoades.

The steaks are cooked on a large wood charcoal grill .....yum.

This is the restaurant entrance with a large glass displayed wine cellar...double yum on the Malbec wine.

Till Boys Buenos Aires Bus Tour

Oh ya, tango dancing...till boys like the tango "dancer" :-) Nice Leg!!

John sampling the Argentine national beer "Quilmes" (Stout, Bock, Crystal). We needed one as it is "hot" here...did I mention it is hot here, like over 100 degrees warmer than Nebraska.

In the Boca district, they use primary colors to paint the buildings. It is OK to be here during the day, but the area shuts down at night and is not considered safe.

The till boys outside the "pink" house. This is where the President of Argentina resides and the square they are standing on is a historical place dating back to the liberation from Spain, and protests during the 1900's . Argentines are known for protesting (anything) and this is the place they do it. Their military government in the middle of the last century bombed their own people in this square. It is called the pink house because the two major political parties are the "white" and the "red" party, so they named it the pink house for cooperation.

(Tip from Craig - Click on picture to see full size/resolution)

Evening at La Ventana

The till boys toasting at La Ventana. We were treated to folk music, tango dancers, and interesting acts - check out the ball clacking gaucho man video. I've never seen a guy do so much with two balls!
...and yes, we had "baby beef", there was nothing baby about it as all of us had to leave some meat on the plate. Thank god for crestor! I am sure I'll need to get my diet and exercise fixed upon return to the US, but that can wait.