Last weekend we hopped on a plane and headed to Mendoza. We had intended to go on our last trip here, but there’s only so much time and there are an infinite number (OK, maybe not infinite, but a lot) of places to go and things to do.

The main attractions of Mendoza are its many wineries (or here, bodegas, which is a very confusing words with many different meanings depending on what country you’re in) and its location at the foothills of the Andes. Wine and mountain views? Yes, please!

We arrived Thursday evening and decided to just get the lay of the land. Our AirBnB was in the first multi-story building in Mendoza, built in 1926. To get to it, we had to walk into a pasaje, or pedestrian mall, head four flights up an elevator, across the roof, to the tower part of the building and up 34 steps. It was very cute and a great choice for a short stay even taking into consideration the five keys we needed to enter and exit.

Staying in Mendoza city means you’re not that close to the wineries, but we decided we didn’t want to limit ourselves to only drinking wine (What! That’s the whole point) and didn’t want to have to drive ourselves from winery to winery because then we couldn’t drink the wine. So we stayed in town figuring that we could walk to restaurants and wouldn’t be confined to the winery restaurants, which are luxurious, but in a frou frou style that’s just not us.

Thursday, we had pizza at Bigalia since we figured that would be easy. We got there around 9, just in time to beat the rush. Somehow (I don’t remember how but it was probably Steven, since he always talks to people and then says he doesn’t like people (not my fault! they marveled at the baratta cheese on my pizza when the waiter used a blowtorch to cook) we got to talking to a Canadian couple who are looking for a new place to settle. They seemed nice enough, we chatted for a bit and then said our goodbyes.

Friday we had booked an olive oil tasting at Olivicola Laur. (Can’t drink wine all the time! (I am not willing to agree to this assessment )). It was in Maipu, about a half hour drive from us. We got some coffee and what the Argentinians call “media lunas,” which are sort of croissants but heavier and not as buttery and headed off to the tasting. Learning about process of making olive oil was interesting, but then we got to taste different oils and, even better, balsamic vinegars (with wine to cleanse our palates!). They make some delicious vinegars and we took a few small bottles with us.

That evening, we had a tasting at a local wine shop. We arrived to find … the Canadians! They had met a local women who steered them to the shop. That was a pleasant surprise. We tried a bunch of different wines from Maricio Lorca winery and we decided we are big fans of Cabernet franc. Of course, we love Malbec, don’t worry! We had gotten a charcuterie plate with our tasting, but none of us was hungry, so when two English couples walked it, I went over and asked if they wanted any. I had had quite more than my usual amount of wine by then, so I was feeling friendly. Turns out the men were former British Marines and now were what I deemed part of Oliver’s Army. You old folks and Elvis Costello fans know what I mean. They said they had been in the Falklands and I quickly corrected them because here in Argentina they are Las Malvinas. Here is the English side. Here is the Argentinian side. You can see why the military guys might not have liked that especially since I said it more than once. I was joking, of course, although there are signs all over Argentina proclaiming their right to Las Malvinas.

After the wine tasting, we walked over to Mumbai Masala, because you should have Indian food in every place you travel. It was yummy and fairly spicy for Argentina.

Saturday, we had to get up early to find some coffee and “facturas,” which is what Argentinians call pastries even though in the rest of the Spanish speaking world “facturas” means a bill or invoice. We booked a tour through Trout and Wine of Uco Valley wineries. There are two main wine producing areas in Mendoza: Uco Valley, which is fairly new, and Lujan de Cuyo, which holds the older wineries and style of wine-making. We mostly decided on Uco Valley because it is at the foot of the Andes and we wanted the views. We went to three wineries: Familia Blanco, Atamisque, and Domaine Bousquet. (Wine tasting started at 10:00am – definitely my kind of town)

Our favorite was Atamisque, where we bought two bottles of cab franc and got to drink wine straight from the vat. You’d think it would taste bad, but it just tasted like the sugar hadn’t all been eaten yet, although not exactly sweet like a sweet wine. At Domaine Bousquet we had a delicious four-course lunch. Steven had a big hunk of meat and I had a grilled veggie salad. Now, which one sounds better to you? Haha.

All told, we tried about 15 different wines. It was a long day and we realized while sitting around the lunch table that we were not going to want dinner, so we cancelled our reservation at an Italian restaurant. We all napped, at least briefly, on the way back. Speaking of all, there were three other couples, all interesting and fun to be around (Hi y’all, hope you are enjoying — or at least reading the blog). We like private tours, but sometimes it’s nice to talk to other people. Our guide, Gabi, was knowledgeable and fun. She even recommended a good Spanish sitcom for me to watch. We learned about the history of wine-making and the city of Mendoza as well.

BTW: Mendoza produces more than 70 percent of all the wine made in Argentina and the province has been home to winemakers for more than 450 years. The city is about 2,500 above sea level and the wineries sit at somewhere between 2,000-4,900 feet. Although the area is practically a desert, with less than 10 inches of rain a year, snowmelt from the Andes irrigates the vines of Mendoza. The province also contains the highest peaks in the Andes, which brings me to Sunday.

This time, we booked a private tour, partly because I am wary of not being able to keep up on a hike right now, even a short one, and partly because we like to go at our own pace when we’re stopping at various tourist sites. We hit Ruta 40 again, which winds its way the entire length of Argentina on the west and which the guides called “Argentina’s Route 66,” and headed to the Andes.

Saturday involved a lot of driving, but we did get to see Aconcagua, the highest peak outside Asia, at 22,832 feet or 6,961 meters. We were only at about 3,000 feet at our lookout point. I love mountains and can’t wait until I can hike some of them again, but I was glad to at least be among them.

From there, we headed to Puente del Inca, where minerals deposited atop a glacier formed a natural bridge. It had been the site of Hotel Termas, a resort hotel, where people went to soak in the hot springs, but a landslide destroyed it in 1965. It’s now basically a spot to take pictures of the natural grandeur and then buy fake Inca-ish souvenirs. Of course, we bought a couple of fridge magnets. There are no prices on anything, so you just know you’re getting the gringo price, especially when they send in the cute preteen to sell to you. We didn’t really care. What was very interesting was that when the boy found out we were from the U.S., he asked if it was true that millionaires throw out perfectly good things. Yes! I said, lots of them. Then we gave him a big tip and told him that someday he could come to the U.S. and see for himself.

We ended the day back where we had had a brief breakfast, Uspallata, a town surrounded by desert mountains that contain some Incan petroglyphs. If you didn’t know you were in Argentina, you might believe you were in the U.S. Southwest or maybe Tibet, since Seven Years in Tibet was filmed around there. This time, we had lunch at a mediocre restaurant since, of course, many people want a traditional asado. Steven said it was good, but could not compare to our friend Marco’s asador skills. I had ravioli.

Sunday night we had the best meal of the trip at Anna Bistro. We sat out on the back terrace, which contains a lovely little garden behind it. Everything, from the wine recommendation of a Durigutti reserve cab franc, to Steven’s skirt steak empanada and leg of lamb and my gazpacho and Andean trout, were delicious. The service was impeccable, and best of all for us, while the food was great, it wasn’t overly fussy. I splurged on dessert, three chocolate mousse, made into a small cake. Yum! We would definitely go back if we ever get the chance to go to Mendoza again.

Monday, we got up well before dawn (much to my surprise you can get an Uber at 5:30 a.m. and the driver will be awake!) to make a 7:35 a.m. flight back to Buenos Aires. Why do we always do that to ourselves?