Argentina: Wine Tip

Salentein Reserve Pinot Noir 2007, Valle de Uco, Mendoza, Argentina.

Very good wine, if you are in Argentina you will easily find, but you can also try to get them somewhere else because Salentein exports to a lot of different countries.
This winery has a great architecture and also has an art center: Killka, but more on that later.

Portugal: Charming Guesthouse in Foz do Arelho

Views from O Facho Guesthouse, Foz do Arelho, Portugal.

At just about 100km from Portuguese Capital, Lisboa, there is this wonderful fisherman's town with an amazing beach called Foz do Arelho. Here you can find the charming and bohemian O Facho Guesthouse right on the beach. This old style hotel, previously called Eden Palace first opened in 1910, used to host a lot of famous Portuguese artists and writers and they still receive their guests as if they were at home. It's a very simple and cozy hotel and its location is absolutely priceless!
It's a great side trip to a Lisbon Getaway near to the UNESCO world heritage Óbidos, Peniche, Nazaré, Caldas da Rainha and São Martinho do Porto. It's recommended to rent a car and always take some warm cloths all year round cause in this region you can really feel the intense Atlantic breeze.

Hope you enjoy!

For more information: ofachoguesthouse@hotmail.com

Uruguay: Hotel & Restaurant in Garzon

Me and Chef Sebastián Flores at Garzón.

I had the chance of enjoying a really nice and fulfilling meal at the Restaurant Garzon, in the good company of Sebastián Flores whom I hadn't seen for quite a while in the tiny, tiny town in the middle of nowhere in Uruguay called Garzón.

This kind of deserted town has only 200 inhabitants but it is charming! The people are nice and pleasant and it looks like time stopped a few years back, and everything is quiet and still as it was 50 years ago.

This was until, world known Argentinian Chef Francis Mallmann fell in love with this place and decided to open one of his restaurants here. He bought one lovely brick house, on one of the corners of the main square and he opened the Hotel & Restaurant Garzon.

It is quite expensive, but because my friend Sebas was working there for the summer, we got an important discount!
The food is good, huge portions, all cooked with locally raised animals and fresh vegetables. We stayed in the house of local Nicolas Mendez, one of the sous-chef's at the restô and his house's farm, taken care by his mom, supplies most of the vegetables to the restaurant and having the opportunity to visit it we got to know the vast variety of normal and weird vegetables that they grow there. It was cool to see how the things that are in your plate are so naturally raised and grown.

What I most liked about the food here is that the dishes are so, so simple, but having such high quality ingredients, makes them GREAT. But that's how it is supposed to be... isn't it?!

Ohhhh and the fig's soup, don't get me started.... it's Amazing!

Argentina: Outdoor Activities in Mendoza

Hiking in Potrerillos, Mendoza, Argentina.

Let me talk to you about Discover the Andes, it's a boutique outdoor activities company, based in Mendoza, who's owner is Pedro Rosell, a good friend of mine, whom I met while working at the Cavas Wine Lodge.

Discover the Andes targets a more upscale tourist, one that doesn't want to do outdoor activities in huge groups, having lunch in large crowds, etc. They aim the tourist that wants to have all the thrills and adventure as everyone else but in groups with no more than 6 pax, enjoy a nice gourmet picnic in an isolated place, have custom made tours designed specially for him with only the activities that he is really in the mood for. They offer everything that the Andes can offer, Hiking, trekking, white water rafting, horseback riding, rappel, canopy, etc, etc.

They also provide more extreme expeditions, like crossing the cordillera either by mountain bike, foot or horseback riding, or to remote and more unreachable spots in the region.

If you ever go to Mendoza, and you are in a mood for adventure in a more classy way... go with Discover the Andes.

Chile: Hotel Tip

Zero Hotel. Valparaiso, Chile.

Valparaiso is a delightful destination to visit, but in this post I will focus in the hotel that I had the chance of staying while I visit there.

The Zero Hotel is a boutique hotel located in the heart of the old town, which is UNESCO World Heritage, with amazing views for the huge Valparaiso bay. It's in a typical Valparaiso's architectural style mansion in the edge of one of the many hills overlooking the pacific ocean.

The hotel is cozy, well decorated, with a nice atmosphere and full of small little details that make your stay much more pleasant: the free lemonades, home made ice teas, smell of home baked cakes, etc. The lounge and the restaurant are in the lower part of this old mansion where the sundeck and small pool are also located. All of them with great views.

The room's are big while the suites are huge, the toilets are normal size but the amenities are of really good quality. All the rooms have double height ceilings and have a very simple, comfortable and very tasteful decor. There are two views: the street view which is ordinary, and the bay view which is...breathtaking during the day and specially at night.

Breakfast is filled with good quality items and you can order almost anything you want.

Another plus about our stay there was meeting Claudio Toro Martinez, a local man that works at Zero Hotel and helped us with a lot of tips and with the orientation in Valparaiso wchich can sometimes be quite confusing. He also told us that in the hotel garden is commun to see hummingbirds feeding themselves, fact that we couldn't verify in loco but he later sent us the photos backing up his story.

I would rate my stay there with an 8 in 10 and definitly recomend this hotel.

introduction

hotel Meridiano Sur, Santiago de Chile.

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