Travel

 

 

Our South America Vacation

Jim and I just returned from a 10 day trip to South America. Another continent checked off the list. We spent time in Argentina at Iguazu Falls and Buenos Aires. We then traveled to Colonia Del Sacramento and Montevideo in Uruguay. Kudos to Jim for planning another spectacular vacation.

If I ever wondered why Jim wanted to go to Argentina and Uruguay, the answer is THE BEEF! I think he had beef at nearly every single meal. Argentinians and Uruguayans love their meat. As one guide stated: “If we don’t have meat on the table, my husband feels it is not a true meal.” She went on to say they ate meat and potatoes, potatoes and meat every day. Sometimes they have pasta but of course they serve it  with a bolognese sauce made with beef. Our guide in Buenos Aires was a vegetarian. She questioned why she was born in Argentina of all places.  It is not easy to be vegetarian in Argentina.

Iguazu Falls

First stop was at Iguazu Falls, which is one of the seven natural wonders of the world. It is a 2.6 mile stretch of waterfalls, 275 falls in all. The falls have  multiple levels and make Niagara Falls look miniscule in comparison. There is an Argentinian and a Brazilian side to the falls and we visited  both. We did a Zodiac boat ride into the falls and got completely drenched but it was great fun.

 

Buenos Aires

Second stop was Buenos Aires, a city of 13 million people and home of Pope Francis. We got to see the papal embassy, which was 2 blocks from our hotel. We also visited the Cathedral where Pope Francis worked when he was Cardinal of Buenos Aires.

Our tour included multiple neighborhoods in Buenos Aires, including Recoleta, Palermo, San Telmo (birthplace of the Tango) and La Boca. Recoleta is home to the Recoleta cemetery, where all the gravesites are mausoleums, some rather simple, others very ornate. The remains of Eva Peron, of Evita fame, are located in this cemetery.

La Boca is a very colorful area down by the docks, home to many of the dock workers.  The houses are multi-colored because the dock workers  used to take whatever paint was left from painting the ships to paint small areas of their homes. Our last night in Buenos Aires we went to a Tango show in San Telmo and it was spectacular. Unfortunately taking  photographs was not permitted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Uruguay

Next, we took a one hour ferry ride from Buenos Aires to Uruguay. Uruguay is a very small country with only a little over 3 million total population. Half  of the population lives in the capital city of Montevideo. There are 3 times as many cows as people in Uruguay. As you might have guessed exporting beef to other countries is their biggest industry.

Colonia del Sacraento

We first went to Colonia del Sacramento, one of the oldest cities in Uruguay. The Portuguese colonized this area in the 1600’s and the historic city center is a UNESCO World heritage site. There are cobblestone streets and preserved stone buildings dating back to the 1700’s.

This is where we first heard about Chivitos, the Uruguayan national sandwich. Our guide described it as their version of fast food. It is a sandwich with a hunk of skirt steak topped with bacon, cheese, a fried egg and mayonnaise. It is served alongside fries, lettuce and tomato. Jim and I got a Chivito platter “sin pan” (without bread) and it was delicious. Good thing we walked a lot that day! Bring on the Lipitor!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Montevideo

Last stop Montevideo. This is the capital city of Uruguay and it is located on a river called the  Rio de la Plata. We toured the old city, the port area and the Rambla, which is a 17 mile walkway along the Rio de la Plata. The Rambla is home to beaches, biking and walking trails, and even a skateboard park.

We had some of the best food in Montevideo, including Empanadas from a little stand in the Mercado del Puerto Market (the Port Market), and Arroz con Mariscos (Rice with seafood) at a restaurant in the same market. And of course Jim got beef!

We also had Asado (translates to roasts) , a meal consisting of  different cuts of meat and sausages prepared  on a grill. Uruguayan families  gather together to enjoy this feast on Sundays. Family is very important to Latin Americans and Sunday is family day. I think that is very special and something we may have lost in the States. We often have our children over for dinner on a Sunday night. I will have to try serving Asado. My meat lovers will be very happy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Mallorca vacation

Jim and I just returned from a wonderful trip to Mallorca. Mallorca is a beautiful island off the Mediterranean coast of Spain. We rented a Finca (Spanish for farmhouse) outside of the little village of Colonia Sant Pere. This village is located in the district of Arta, shown on the map here.

Jim chose Colonia Sant Pere because we wanted to stay somewhere off the tourist grid. This small, somewhat sleepy fishing village more than exceeded our expectations! Pristine undeveloped white sand beaches were close by for long walks. We enjoyed gorgeous sunsets from the Finca terrace, with backdrop mountain views over the Mediterranean.  The biggest surprise was the number of fantastic restaurants in this tiny village. Truly a foodie’s dream. Three of our favorite restaurants were Corona, Es Vivers and Sa Xarxa.

We did several day trips to other areas including Cap de Formentor, which has winding roads climbing the side of the mountain to beautiful vistas of mountain to sea. Not for the faint of heart as there is very little separating one from a precipitous drop off the cliff into the sea.

The day we arrived we had a snack at a local restaurant and while waiting for our food to arrive, we saw paella being served tableside to the couple sitting next to us. The paella is  made in a large shallow pan, and the bottom of the rice is cooked until it is toasted and crispy (called socarrat)and is considered the best part of the paella. Paella can be made with seafood, or Mixta which contains meat and seafood. On the menu there was also a type of called paella ciega which was translated as blind and boneless. What? My husband finally figured out this meant the shrimp were served without the head (blind) and the shellfish was without the shells (boneless). The server scrapes the socarrat off the bottom of the pan as he is plating the paella, so every one gets some of the socarrat. The paella remaining after one is served is covered with a plate to keep it warm. We ordered paella in a restaurant looking out over a beautiful beach called Es Trenc. Below is a video of the server plating our paella. It was delicious.

Paella movie

For my favorite paella recipe click Paella.