Mendoza: Day 1

Mendoza was a trip I know us four girls will always remember. When we arrived on Monday afternoon we checked into our hotel the Huentala and due to some discrepancies we unfortunately could not make it to Almacen del Sur for the lunch we had previously planned. Instead we headed off into town to find some food. Mendoza came as quite a shock to both Jessica and I as we did not expect such a large city. Located in the northern-eastern part of Argentina just east of the Andes mountains, Mendoza is Argentina's fourth largest city with a population just over 110,000. After wandering the streets of this surprisingly bustling downtown we came across a little place to grab a bite to eat. After enjoying some chicken fajitas we headed off to find the Vines of Mendoza, a highly talked about tasting room, and were disappointed to find that it is not opened on Mondays. Therefore we wandered downtown for a bit more and found ourselves at a rooftop bar with a magnificent view of the city. Located in the city center, on the corner of San Martín & Garibaldi, Decimo can be found on the 10th floor of the Gómez building. After watching the sun set over a couple of happy hour daiquiris and mojitos, we found the day had already slipped away and it was time to go back to the hotel so we could get ready for dinner. That night we enjoyed an incredibly delicious meal at Don Mario, where Greta and I shared arguably the best bife de lomo (filet mignon) I've had since my time here in Argentina. Don Mario is a casual and frill-less restaurant that gives one the comfort of eating in a home. The wait staff was friendly -- as were the patrons-- which we came to find out towards the end of our meal when the waiter approached us with a note from 'the upstairs'. On the note read, "How are you. What do you do in Argentina?" The note was then followed by a bottle of wine, which was then followed by four boys from 'the upstairs'. After a rather hilarious encounter with the local boys of Mendoza, we found time had slipped away from us once again and we headed back to the hotel as we had an early wake up call the next morning.