Our first holiday abroad together since we arrived to Chile was the famous wine land Mendoza in Argentina. Apart from numerous vineyards and olive oil factories, Mendoza is a mecca for all adventure sports' fans. You can do
cabalgatas (= horseback riding), rafting, trekking, canyoning, hiking and skiing in the winter. At first, as I had already seen Mendoza in 2005 and its many adventurous possibilities, I wasn't really keen on going there. However, the trip turned out to be amazing in its simplicity!
After the cold and hectic Santiago, Mendoza was tranquil and soothing, and the weather was warm and sunny. Mendoza is village-like eventhough it has about one million inhabitants.
Along the ride to Mendoza some impressions of Chilean countryside.
Little village by the road.
The Andes looked menacing at this light.
At the boarder, waiting for our turn to get the passports checked.
The flag of Argentina at the border.
The bus trip from Santiago to Mendoza over the Andes takes about 6 to 7 hours depending on the
Aduana, Customs where we had to queue an hour to get our passports and luggage checked.
The trip went smoothly thanks to a great book and comfortable seats. The busses here are cheap to travel with and as comfortable as a business class seat on an airplane. They even serve some snacks and show films.
Flying over the
cordillera, however, takes only about 38 minutes. Just enough to sit down and stand up.
When we finally arrived to Mendoza, it was already late. We just went for pizza and beer near our apartment. We got the apartment at the last minute - every other hotel was booked out because of the
feriados in the honour of Christopher Columbus.
Día de la Raza is celebrated on October 12th. It's the day when Columbus arrived in 1492.
The next day in the city we met the owner of the apartment we were renting, Martin. One of his grandparents were from Germany, so he was speaking German. He gave us many useful tips concerning the life in South America and must-sees in Mendoza.
The pedestrian street,
Peatonal Sarmiento.
Plaza Independencia.
Of course, when in Argentina, you have to have steak.
We were strolling along this beautiful avenue to a park called
Parque Gral. San Martín.
The whole way there were these cute little houses.
The park was wonderful for relaxing and enjoying the outdoors.
Because of the Día de la Raza, hispanic heritage of Latin America was presented in many forms: typical Spanish paella, sangria, flamenco, and many other ethnic and cultural influences were seen.
Everyone on
Plaza España was on party mood.
San JuanThe next day we headed 2 hours up north, to San Juan.
On the road to San Juan.
Lukas relaxing.
First thing we did after arriving to San Juan was to go to our 5-star hotel's, Hotel Del Bono Park's, pool.
Too bad the water was too cold to swim!
The little boy was braver than I was.
As you can see, our neighbourhood is relatively green and calm but very close to services and grocery stores.
Avenida Ricardo Lyon. Our building is three blocks further. 
Boulevard Lyon, our building on the right. Cool entrance with the palm trees, huh?! 
The view from our balcony on the street, Ricardo Lyon. 
And the view to the pool at sunset...
There are so many great and interesting restaurants here that we could go and eat out every night. That would be hard on the wallet, though.
We were eating at this Ky restaurant one Friday with Lukas's workmates and their girlfriends/wives. 
Last weekend we went to a local InterSpar or Prisma, a hipermarket called Jumbo. We were happy to find imported products you don't find from the normal Chilean stores: pickles, baking paper, Chavroux's goat cheese, Haribo sweets, and Tchibo's filter coffee. That's right - you have to find the joy from little things. ;)
Lukas spends often his evenings studying Spanish. 
And while Lukas studies, I like to cook (or watch telly). Last weekend I tried Magdalena's Kartoffelsalat (=potato salad), and tzatziki. The kitchen is my office! 
And for dessert we had coffee and Torta de Tres Leches, three milks cake. Yum-my!
Once in a while, we pamper ourselves - Lukas got himself a haircut for $5.000 Pesos (7 Euros), and I got a manicure for $6.000 Pesos (8 Euros). 
The view of Providencia over the river.
Sundays are popular at the park. Families come for a picnic or some games for the afternoon. 
Here another lovely neighbourhood, Parque Las Lilas. 
Sometimes I feed the stray doggies, but they are picky - he fished the chicken steak between the sandwich, and left the salad, cheese and toast untouched!
