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.

the Buenos Aires Market night at the Hipodromo de Palermo

Now here´s a place to get your gastric juices flowing and at the same time take great pics of food and people. The Buenos Aires Market event is done periodically at different venues, gathering different food trucks and kiosks that offer from traditional Argentine grilled meat to Banh mi and other Asian and Mediterranean delicacies.
http://www.buenosairesmarket.com/

You can start by getting a drink served by funky bartenders.

If you´re into sweets, I strongly recommend the eclair at the Labán pastry, opposed to the french original, these are extra large and filled with a dulce de leche cream.

Also check out the Queso Brüle cart, to enjoy Delicious torched cheese sticks.

The Botanical Gardens in Palermo

Last Sunday morn I decided to check out the "Jardin Botanico de Buenos Aires" located in the heart of Palermo across from Plaza Italia.

It was created by renown landscape artist "Charles Thays" who designed most of Buenos Aire´s parks.It´s an ideal place to relax and flee from the crowds that wander around Plaza Italia, and obviously if you´re into botanics you can get acquainted with all the local trees and plant species.

The place brings you back to the nineteenth century with its statues and fountains, but with the privilege of having wi-fi, allowing you to sit anywhere and access the web.

I recommend: Ice cream in Buenos Aires - Daniel

Summer can be Bloody hot in Buenos Aires, and most porteños resort to fleeing to the coast for the summer holidays, now for those who still  remain here and for others that come here intentionally to evade the winter in the northern hemisphere, there is a consolation, and that is that Ice cream is very good in Argentina, on one hand due to its strong Italian tradition, and secondly for the quality of the local dairy products.
I have to confess that I do not like to eat Ice cream in large quantities, and always choose the smaller cone in the joint, but I also like to eat ice cream on a daily basis. So I decided to select some of the "Heladerias " that I judge to be good in quality and price.
I will start with one that sits a block away from where I live and one that I frequently stop at late hours to refresh myself with a cone.
Daniel is located at Soler y Armenia in Palermo, very close to several tourist circuits in Palermo, nevertheless you can get a small cone for the equivalent of a buck.
Recommended flavour: Cafe al Caramelo.

the Junk Food guide to Buenos Aires - El Choripan

Today I would like to talk about junk food. Every country has its own version of popular-junk food, be it greasy burgers or pies or choripapas, or choripan.
The choripan is one of the argentine fast food sandwiches that you can buy anywhere, mind you the sausages they use are a variety made only here in Argentina, to such an extent that when I lived in Mexico you had to ask for the specific chorizo argentino to differentiate it from the Spanish or Mexican type.

Big deal "El choripan" is just a grilled greasy sausage on a bun, maybe, but it sure is tasty. Now one of the most "prestigious" places to eat one is the Costanera, and among the many carts that offer their goods I prefer the one that is called "El chavo", for three reasons one being the quality of their meat which makes people line up to buy even when other carts are empty, Two, for its view of the River Plate and the Fisherman's club and third for its name evocative of childhood times when I watched "El chavo del ocho" one of Mexico's greatest comedians.