Jardín Japonés

Today I went to the Jardín Japonés (Japanese Garden) in Palermo after class. Palermo is a barrio in the city. I decided today that I really like Palermo because there are so many parks and green spaces. It is such a beautiful part of the city because the green adds so much life to it. There are also a lot of really cool (and huge) monuments decorating the busy streets.

A park in Palermo

The Jardín Japonés was so cool. It was like a Japanese oasis in the middle of the city. There was a lake filled with huge colorful carp. My favorite part was the bright red bridges that criss-crossed the lake. Throughout the park there were all different kinds of Japanese flora and sculptures that represented their culture. It was cool to see all the different Japanese elements of the park because it’s not something you see a lot of in Buenos Aires, despite the large Japanese population. There was also a Japanese restaurant, but we did not go inside because it is apparently pretty pricey. Maybe next time I will buy Japanese food and bring it into the park so I can enjoy all the aspects of Japanese culture!

Wine Country

This weekend I went on a trip with my study abroad program to Mendoza aka wine country. The trip was included in the price of my study abroad, so everything was already paid for! Before I went I was honestly not super excited for the excursion because I am not a big fan of trips with itineraries where everything is planned to a T. It’s more exciting when you don’t know exactly what you will be doing or what your trip will bring you. When you have no plans, it leaves room for a little bit of wonder and spontaneity. But anyway, I really enjoyed the trip. It was a very fun and relaxing weekend.

San Rafael, Mendoza

We departed from Buenos Aires Thursday night at 7 and arrived at San Rafael, Mendoza, Argentina at 9 the next morning. Right away we moved into our cabanas that we would call home for the weekend. They were awesome! So cute and cozy. I could spend way longer than one weekend there. The location could not have been more perfect either. We were right next a river, and the mountains were just beyond the river. Our excursion for the day was to a lake in Valle Grande, where we paddled rafts out to a beach on the other side of the lake. We swam (the water was freezing!) and explored the beach for a couple hours. Two friends and I found a nice secluded spot on top of a hill where we laid out and enjoyed the warm sand for the afternoon. It was so relaxing that we just stayed there the whole time. When we returned to the cabanas we ate dinner and had the rest of the evening to ourselves. Since we were in wine country, we decided it was only right to spend the night “wine tasting”.

Cabana 3!

Lake at Valle Grande

The next day we did some real wine tasting. We visited two wineries. The first was a large well-known winery, while the second one was smaller and family-owned. At the first winery we went on a tour where they explained how the wine was made. We were also shown the vineyard and wine cellar. They had some pretty old wine. After the tour we had wine tasting and selling. I bought two bottles of Malbec, a red wine that Argentina is known for. And then we were on to the second winery. I liked this one better because it was smaller and more personal. The owner of the winery gave us another tour. He actually let us walk in the vineyard and try the grapes. One of the students asked if he had a problem with pesticides eating the grapes. He said no, the only problem he had were tourists. Ha! He was right because I could not stop eating them.

Vineyard at the second winery

Me in front of a wine barrel

Very old wine. These bottles were from 1924

Yummy grapes I couldn't stop eating

Sunday was our final day in Mendoza. We returned to the lake at Valle Grande for a ride on a catamaran boat. The driver played music and talked about the lake as we drove around at a nice, slow place. It was interesting to hear about the lake because at the time it was super low, and you could see the old water line in the rocks. We stopped at a different beach for an hour to enjoy the lake. On the way back to shore I took full advantage of the top deck to catch some sun. Afterwards we returned to the cabanas for a free afternoon. I spent mine lying by the pool with my friends, taking in the beautiful scenery, and enjoying the hot weather. The hours flew by and before we knew it the time had come to return to Buenos Aires.

Catamaran we rode on

You can see the line from the old water level

My weekend at Mendoza was short and sweet. Just enough time to make me want to come back as soon as I can!