Time with Good Friends in Mendoza

Today was an awesome day. I slept in, had a light breakfast and walked a few blocks from the hotel to buy some flowers for Belen. At 1:00, she arrived at the hotel along with her brother and her youngest daughter, to take me back to the family’s house near the microcenter (Microcentro). I have known Belen and her family for close to five (if not more) years now from Connecticut, where they lived until they recently returned to their hometown of Mendoza.

Upon arriving at her house, I then met her mother, her oldest daughter (who is now, at 12, taller than Belen!), her sister Paula (who still lives in CT but is visiting family in Argentina) and her other sisters, as well as her brother’s girlfriend and her sister’s friend from the university where they study architecture. Javier, her husband, is staying a few months more in Connecticut before re-joining his family in Mendoza.

Belen’s aunt and mother had prepared an incredibly delicious pasta/meat dish and between that and the red wine, I was stuffed! After coffee and dessert (also delicious!), all of us packed into two cars and headed for Parque San Martin. This is a huge park, one of the largest in Argentina, and was filled with families enjoying the warm weather. Within the park are fitness clubs, bike paths, statues, and a lake where you can rent kayaks and rowboats.

After spending some time there, we headed for an ice cream (helado) shop where we had ice cream (I went with Chocolate Rocher, a very rich selection) and coffee before her sister’s friend took me back to the airport for my 1¾ flight back to Buenos Aires.

Belen, Paula, and her entire family made my trip to Mendoza well worth it with their hospitality and friendship.