La noche de las Librerías in Avenida Corrientes

Last night I went to the Bookstore night in Buenos Aires, It was held in Avenida Corrientes which became into a pedestrian for the night.

As I previously mentioned B.A. is a very literate city, where until today most of the important editorials of South America still publish.
The Event attracted multitudes in conjunction with the Porteño´s attraction with nightlife.

The bookstores were really packed, making it difficult to move around, and also there were long lineups to cash out.

Anywhere else this event would have been held during the early afternoon hours, but not in Buenos Aires, where people go to dine out at 11pm.

I reccomend: Icecream in Buenos Aires - Tufic Palermo Soho

Before the summer ends, here´s another Palermo favourite. Tufic is located at the intersection of Guatemala and Armenia street in Palermo soho. It markets itself as a "Espacio de sabores" which vaguely translates to an area of flavours, kinda....The quality quantity is good and they have some original flavours worth trying like "Frutos del Bosque con Nutella"

The trip to chile - El Valle Nevado

The Valle Nevado is located 46 clics East of Santiago, obviously towards the Andes

It is a popular ski resort during winter time, and a very nice trekking and sightseeing destination during the summer. From there you can see the magnificent Andes mountains and watch the majestic Condor fly.

I went there by car from Santiago and the road was pristine, I do not know if there is any kind of public transport that can bring you there, but I certainly recommend going there for sunset and Condor pics.

The trip to Chile - Downtown Santiago

So Santiago de Chile is a Modern Capital city withs fare share of classic buildings. On my first day I wondered around the bank district while exanging money at the local exange shops.

Close to the presidential Palce I spotted these two carabineros ( local military police) on their way to a ceremony.

There is a cute area around the "Bolsa de Valores" building wich has kept its original look

The city struck me as very tidy and clean, though a bit poluted with smog.

The trip to Chile - from Mendoza to Santiago,

Now, this is when the scenic part of the trip begins, Once you cross the border you get to see the other side of the Andes Mountains that fall dramatically into the sea forming a real wall.

you start by winding down a road for at least 1000 meters down hill and then continue on a much lower level than on the Argentine side

if you travel o a nice day it will do for great pics even through the bus window.

The trip to Chile - From Buenos Aires to Mendoza

So for my holidays this summer I decided to go to visit some friends in neighbouring Chile, I will try to bring you through step by step by the different stages of my trip.
I wanted to go by bus for two reasons, one being the scenery of the crossing of the Andes mountain range, which i´ve seen innumerable times by plane, but never up close, and second cuz I wanted to bring back a bicycle which I used to move around in Chile.
So I started catching the bus at the Retiro bus terminal headed for Mendoza which was the first stop before crossing towards Chile. Y travelled by Andesmar at "Cama" which is the most comfy option allowing you to actually sleep during the 14 hrs trip .

I arrived to Mendoza at 8am on a Sunday Morning and had to catch the 10.30 bus to Santiago de Chile. I was pleased to find out that the Mendoza bus terminal is 10 blocks away from the city´s historical core, so I looked for a luggage locker and found one that will keep your bags for 30 pesos for the whole day.
So off I went on an quick tour of the city, which was deserted at that hour, allowing me to enjoy the sites freely.

Mendoza is quite colonial and has plenty of parks, but I left the grand tour for the return trip.

Top 10 pizza joints in Buenos Aires +2 - La Mezzetta - Villa Ortuzar

Now along with Angelin, La Mezzetta sits amongst the 3 best neighbourhood pizza joints in Buenos Aires, again this is only for the die hard pizza lovers, Spanish only, non tourist friendly,crowded, very popular.

Another tell tale tip about restaurants in general is that if its frequented by taxi drivers you can be sure its good eating.
La Mezzetta is located at Alvarez Thomas 1321 in Villa Ortuzar, a hood far from the downtown tourist scene. Its stand up only or take away, but its always crowded and they serve great pizza and fainá.

La mezzetta en Villa Ortuzar es a mi ver junto con Angelin una de las mejores pizerías de rioba, ha ganado el premio a la mejor pizza de Buenos Aires durante varios años, pero sigue siendo un lugar popular y tradicional con los mismos empleados de siempre.
Siempre esta lleno de taxistas, una señal segura de buena comida, por lo menos en Baires.