Mendoza- Part 2: Some of Kate's favorite things!
Over these past 10.5 weeks, I think some of my favorite things about Mendoza have been:
The people! - So many folks have been incredibly welcoming! We have been invited to several kids birthday parties (all super relaxed friendly gatherings), play dates in the parks, an excursion to the mountains with a ropes course for the kids, our Spanish teacher babysat our kiddos with her own daughters while Eric and I toured a vineyard via bike, and we even had one friend throw us a classic asado despedida (bbq farewell) party with Nell's classmates last weekend that was just lovely- a relaxed gathering over the classic dish of grilled meats. I also managed to make another expat mom-friend during our brief time here just during visits to the parks, and have found even passing conversations with folks like taxi drivers or the person at the pasta shop, or my gym coach to be friendly and relaxed. I can't really believe how welcomed we have felt in such a short amount of time!
(Above: Bday party; Sol's family walking down the street having babysat for me and Eric to go to a vineyard; excursion to the mountains for a hike and kids rope course, hanging out with friends, and asado despedida)
The sunshine! - Nearly every day has been fully sunny or partly sunny! I love it. Though our Airbnbs have been some what cool and dark (built that way to protect from the intense summer heat), we've been able to step out onto the patio or (in the case of our second spot) the roof terrace and enjoy the blast of dry, warm sunshine. When we first arrived some of the days were overwhelmingly hot, but by far most of the fall season here has been just spectacularly perfect climate from my perspective: sunny days in the low to mid-70s with nights in the mid 40s to 50s.
(Above: Sunrise during Eric's run in the desert, short walk in the mountains at Villa Vincencio, Papa Eric and the girls watch the sunrise on our rooftop terrace, beautiful desert fall blooms, bicycling wine tour)
The wide sidewalks and tree-lined streets! - The central part of Mendoza city was clearly very well planned. Not far outside the city you can see the natural landscape is one of low scrubby brush and cactuses; dry high desert environment. But in the city the sidewalks are about 10-15 feet wide and huge trees run up and down the streets surrounded by street pavement and sidewalk pavers. How do they do this? A trick called "asequias" which is a specially designed canal system that lines all the streets in the center of town and next to which all the trees are planted. Whenever rain falls that water runs into these small canals and waters the trees that line them. Occasionally the city sends water down the canals too, as the city is built on a very slight incline, and uses the power of gravity to send water through the city streets. Even though it is sunny every day, I have rarely felt like I'm getting too much sun, or that blistering heat that walking along street pavement can bring in other hot, urban areas.
(Above: tree-lined Avenida Civit and gates entrance to San Martin park with Andes in the distance, trees along an asequia, HUGE trees along an asequia, the girls watching the water flow down the asequia (it runs under streets with the canals open along the sidewalks)
The doors! - I don't really know the history of central Mendoza, though we can tell it is a more upscale area of town that we live in. (We have figured out, though, that the wealthiest people in the area actually live further outside the city center where they can have larger estates and more sprawling yards.) Something I love about this central part of town is the character of each home's fascade (the 5ta and 6ta sections as they are known). Each home has its own door and no two seem alike, unlike in the U.S. where it seems like most people get a standard door from Home Depot or Lowes! I love how beautiful they are to walk past and enjoy, some hidden behind gates or past a small courtyard, others without anything obscuring their view. We enjoy taking different routes each day on our way to and from school to admire and find new beautiful doors.
