Mendoza

Last weekend was a long one here in Argentina so we decided to venture out west and make the crossing via Mendoza over the Andes to Santiago de Chile. It was a full day drive to get to Mendoza and when we arrived there we heard that the pass to Santiago had been closed due to snowy weather but that it would probably open the next day again. We did go all the way up to the tunnel that connects Argentina with Chile, but the wait just to get into the tunnel was already very long; they did only let a limited amount of cars in at the time because on the other side there was a long line for the border control with Chile. Once through the tunnel it could take up to 4 hours to finally make it into Chile! We decided not to spend our weekend waiting and went back to Mendoza. Passing the Puente de las Incas where Nina & Stasiu got to play in the snow and later visiting two bodegas/wine houses in the region. The drive in Mendoza was spectacular, especially when the weather picked up. 

Drum lessons

Stasiu is going to take percussion classes with one of his school buddies. We had already wanted to get him a drum set before but now was the time :) After mounting the set, the whole family had a go and we all love it! Not sure by now who spent more time making noise, parents or kids... In any case, it's good that we don't have residential neighbours!

Oil for the people: YPF nationalized.

Argentina is looking carefully at the highly successful business model of Venezuela....

By presidential decree, Repsol, the biggest company in Spain, lost 51% of its 57% share in the biggest company in Argentina. Just another monday morning....

Pulpo

Kids eat the weirdest things: last week we went to Buenos Aires China town and got fresh octopus. Left it in a marinade for a couple of hours, fried it and this was the result - They are lovin'it!

Stasiu's Birthday

The 8th of April was Stasiu's 3rd birthday; he's a big boy! In the morning there were lots of presents and later in the day we had some kids over to double the birthday fun together with an Easter egg hunt because the two coincided. Then during the week, we had Stasiu's birthday party for his whole class in a salon de fiesta, as is custom here in Argentina. It was a pirate party complete with entertainment, snacks. sweets, treats, a pirate cake and of course a pinata! The kids had great fun and Stasiu got lots of presents, but the treatbag at the end was the most important; sweet!

Libertad

When in port, Libertad, a training vessel for the Argentine Marine, doubles as a museum ship that you can  visit. The kids love it with all the big lines, steering wheels etc. to touch and enough space to run around. Laura joined us this time too!

Horse riding

Nina had been invited to a birthday party at the club hipico in Palermo. About 30 excited kids and 4 ponies - they had to wait their turn but it was worth it. At first Nina was a bit shy, but later she wanted to go again. Stasiu had no fear whatsoever and the went forward. backward and probably upside down if they would have let him. 

Shop girls

A saturday morning, getting ready to do some serious shopping at the Palermo market!

Mi Sueno

Mi Sueno (My Dream), supposedly the best street parilla in Buenos Aires and judging from the queue waiting to get their choripans and bondiolas this is true as welll as from our own experience. A Sunday afternoon lunch in the after summer, enjoying the food a drink and the people passing by on the boulevard in Puerto Madero. 

Flight attendants

On the flight back from Holland to Argentina, Nina and Stasiu were put to work! They got the help the flight attendant handing out sugar, milk and even collecting empty trays. You can never start too early with exposing them to a carreer in aviation :) They had a great time of course and (most) people thought they were so cute.