Thursday, July 26, 2007

argentina, laos, & italy.

while in uruguay we had been vehemently recommended a hostel in mendoza, boasting free wine every evening at eight, by some amiable swedes. taking their advice, we arrived at hostel lao our first morning in mendoza. serendipitously, and unbeknownst to us, we were in mendoza for the week of vendimia, the massive wine harvest festival that takes over the city with parades & events galore. after settling ourselves into our hostel, philip and i took to the streets and wandered our way around the handsome city. with tree lined streets and plazas spattered throughout, mendoza proved to be one of our favorite stops along the way. after getting a good feel for the city, we loaded up on groceries and made our way back to the hostel to partake in the free wine hour.

at this point i must dedicate a section to hostel lao. of the almost dozen hostels we stayed at in southern america, hostel lao was our shining star. everywhere i went i extolled the virtues of lao, even going so far as giving detailed directions from the bus station for people who i thought would dig the lao vibe. the hostel is run by an ex-pat brit & his argentine girlfriend. first of all, the place is immaculate, a factor you definitely come to appreciate along the way; there always seemed to be someone cleaning. the common areas were bathed with light & the courtyard was littered with hammocks. it is the kind of place that you just want to hang out at. with only three dormitory rooms & three private rooms, the small size was imbued even further with the familiarity between guests & staff. i cannot say enough about this place (obviously).

our first evening in mendoza began with tasty homemade lentil burritos and a fair share of free wine. the wine put out on the table each night is not stellar, but the liberty with which you can fill your glass makes the taste that much richer and the palette the more eager. our wine consumption was shared with an entertaining set which consisted of two brits, a new yorker, a belgian, a texan, and us. i am happy to say that i tried my first 2002 malbec that evening sean. this bottle was not part of the free wine repertoire but it did come our way without charge. we were privy to a few personal contributions to the wine table and we did not, how shall i say, resist. wine was a prevailing theme during our time in mendoza. after a pleasing time spent with libations, we made our way to a nearby plaza for the italian festival. unfortunately, our poor timing meant we were arriving at the tail end, affording us a ready excuse to get to bed early so as to refresh ourselves for our time in mendoza.

the wine mooch miranda.

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