First, a little prelude: I can’t seem to be able to keep up with writing posts summarizing exactly what we’re doing and I have multiple excuses. I will list some so that I can feel better: 1) there is never enough time, 2) when there is time, I want to be relaxing and reading a book while drinking a glass of wine, 3) I love sharing these stories, but prefer to write about why we’re doing things, challenges that we’re having, and how all of this impacts our family, vs. summarizing our travels and 4) days pass so fast that it seems that I blink and we’re already on week six of the trip and well, I’ve yet to post on the first week.
OK. I feel better. Now that you understand how tough my life is, it will be much easier to forgive me for quickly summarizing the next three stops on our trip in one post. This post exists primarily so that I can save pics so that 10 years from now I will have a fun time reviewing them with my family. It also exists so that Jill and her family can do the same. For the rest of you? Not sure I would find this that exciting, but of course, feel free to read on! Otherwise, take a look at the pics or better yet, go back and find a post that may be more interesting.
Stop no. 2: Back to Buenos Aires
Jill, Peter and their three kiddos, Cole, Stella and Kai joined us in BA on NYE right after we came back from Punta (Uruguay). Theirs was a more difficult journey, however, arriving from California (well, Denver technically, but that’s their fault for deciding to squeeze in family time, ski time, AND Argentina all in one holiday break!).
When you live far away from home and someone from that home makes the effort to come see you and drags her whole family with her, including Kai Kai who’s 3, it’s remarkable. We love the Krimmels and were excited to share not only BA with them, but also explore new parts of Argentina where we’ve not been, including Mendoza and Bariloche. We’ve traveled with them in the past so we knew there would be no surprises, and of course it’s an added bonus that the kids get along really well and enjoy playing together. Given all that, I was overjoyed when Jill got out of the cab in the center of Recoleta in Buenos Aires with her family. They got to meet some of our friends in BA, see our neighborhood, school, and also some of BA’s highlights, including, of course, a Tango Show on NYE. The city was pretty dead which made it sort of an odd experience, but the joy of hanging out together was priceless.
Stop no. 3: Mendoza
After BA, we moved on to wine and adventures in Mendoza. Both Pete and Rob love wine and we’ve spent time tasting together with the Krimmels in Napa before so we were excited to try a new region together. Normally we would do it without the kids, but this time we had to plan an ‘exciting’ itinerary that would include little people too.
I wouldn’t describe Mendoza itself as a charming town. The city is an actual city that sprawls in all directions with a busy downtown, sufficiently tall buildings, and big malls on the outskirts. We walked around one late afternoon, got ice-cream and called it a day.
Regions outside of Mendoza proved to be much more welcoming. When we first arrived we immediately headed to a winery with some of our favorite wines where kids were entertained in a cooking class and we could relax by sipping wine and eating cheese.
The best part was our kids emerging after nearly two hours with just-baked delicious pizzas which tasted particularly good after we had already polished off two bottles! It was humid and sunny with vineyards stretching as far as the eye could see and we enjoyed hanging out, chatting about life, excited that we could be together. The stop set the tone of the next four days in Mendoza.
They were long and we filled them with activities that we could all enjoy. The first full day we went rafting and zip lining. None of the kids have ever rafted before so they had no idea what they were in for. The river allowed the adults to go first (class 3+ rapids) while the kiddos rode along on the bus above, to join their parents once the river calmed to class 2+ rapids.
It was a short ride, but coming around the bend and seeing the five kids all geared up with their paddles, helmets and wetsuits waiting for us to jump into the boat was precious. They climbed in and immediately got hit with a wave as we battled the first rapid which ensured squeaks of joy throughout the rest of the ride. All smiles, excitement, and adrenaline, they were disappointed when it all ended. But not to worry, afternoon was filled with zip-lining through the Andes ensuring continued smiles.
To ensure that Jill and Pete did not leave Argentina without fully knowing what an asado 
is, we booked a day-long cooking class with a chef where we ate more meat than I thought was possible. We cooked and ate all day. I had no idea we could consume so much meat, but it turns out that the human body is capable of many miracles.
And finally, of course, we had to do a full day wine tasting. Our itinerary ensured stops at several wineries in Maipu with an excellent lunch in between. We left the kids with babysitters and had one of the best days on the trip so far (I know, surprising!) The wineries were all super modern, mostly owned by foreigners unfortunately, often with an attached hotel and restaurant. It was like being in an upscale Napa and I was surprised how new everything was. It was as if someone decided that there is money to be made from visits to wineries (vs only producing and selling wines) just a few years ago and plowed millions of dollars into the region as a result. It was fun to explore and to be sure, we just did one day and saw only a small glimpse of the region. There is much more there especially for wine lovers but also for adventure seekers.
Here is our schedule since many have asked for recommendations (reservations need to be made ahead of time for all of these wineries):
Vallee de Uco:
- Diamandes (super ultra modern winery owned by an Italian (maybe French?) family. Wines OK. Views fantastic
- Casa Petrini (New winery with cool design. You can each lunch there as well, and it’s a boutique hotel too in case you need a beautiful place to stay).
- Corazaon del Sol (we never actually made it there at the end of the day, but it’s very highly recommended
- We had lunch at La Azul which was simple and so very incredibly delicious. Highly, highly recommended.
Separately, we loved visiting Zuccardi winery (Maipu Valley) for so many reasons including excellent wines and beautiful scenery. The bonus, however, was a kids’ cooking class during which the adults enjoyed wine while kids were fully occupied. It was brilliant.
Stop no. 4: Bariloche and the lakes region
We had been to the lake district of Patagonia already (San Martin) when we went skiing late last year, but still, I was super excited to see Bariloche, explore its history, and hike along some of the trails. Alas, the weather did not cooperate most of the time (it snowed one day!), but we still managed to have a great time in this mountain resort. We stayed at an incredible Airbnb (the pictures don’t do justice to the hospitality, warmth and comfort we felt while staying here as two families), and filled our days with adventures in the region. There was horseback riding with Carol Jones through meadows and valleys, trip through the seven-lakes region, boat riding, chocolate tasting, hiking, sightseeing and general relaxing by the lake. It was the first time I felt like we were on holiday even though we had already been traveling for nearly four weeks by then. We celebrated Jill’s birthday one evening, played a lot of games, and just hung out. It was fantastic to share laughs with friends for so long and we’re grateful for their ability to travel anywhere in the world with little kiddos in tow.
Below are some of the best pics of the last two weeks:
Building a Flying House 