MAR DEL PLATA Y OTRAS COSAS

And now for some Spanish practice.... for me I mean...

Hace dos semanas, Román y yo fuimos a Mar del Plata.  Mar del Plata es una ciudad cerca del mar (obviamente...jeje).  Cuando estábamos en la ciudad, visitamos a una amiga de Román y su hija.  Corrimos cerca del mar y buscamos un lindo hotel para quedarnos.  Visitamos algunas playas y también fuimos a Sierra de los Padres.  La vista era espectacular.  Podés mirar algunas fotos abajo.

 Maria, Sol, y Román

 Mar del Plata

Playa fría

Recently, Román and I also took a trip to San Antonio de Areco with his parents.  Even though I had been there once before with my girlfriends, I wanted to go back again...this time without a hangover. ;-)

San Antonio de Areco is a traditional pueblito, but it is very cute and has a lot of nice shops.  It's touristy because there are a bunch of estancias (≈ ranches) in the area.  All small towns in Argentina have a central square with the church at one side and the municipal government building on the other.  As we walked around the plaza, we stopped inside the church and were surprised to find a choir practicing for a performance of Vivaldi later that night.  The other highlight of the trip was the chocolate shop that Román's mom had to visit before leaving.  That meant that although I arrived in San Antonio de Areco without a hangover, I left chocolate-wasted.  

Eating chocolate and watching how it is harvested

Román and his super nice dad Luis (who NEVER looks at the camera)

Next, a random addition to this post: A tribute to a couple of my favorite fruits (seriously)...

Maracuyá (a.k.a. Passion Fruit)

Wowza, maracuyá is delicious.  You can find the flavor in everything here from juice to ice cream.  It is a round, yellow fruit about the size of a large orange.  The inside has seeds like a pomegranate, but they are more gooey.  To eat it, you cut it open and scoop out the seeds.  The soft substance around the seeds has a tangy, tropical flavor that is really fresh and great for eating alone.  I know you've heard about it and probably had something with the flavor before, but if you come across a fresh one one day, I would recommend trying it.

Chirimoya

I LOVE Chirimoya.  It is grown in Peru, and it is not very popular in Argentina, but Román knows about it from his travels.  In Peru, they eat it soaked in orange juice for dessert.  On the outside it looks like a grenade, but the inside is like a dense sponge.  It is very sweet and absolutely fantastic.  You can skin the outside, remove the large seeds, and eat everything else.  

And, one more thing that I like that is not a fruit:  

Ombu Trees

Ombu trees are the descendants of prehistoric bushes.  They are typically wider than they are tall.  Their big trunks and twisted branches are perfect for climbing and sitting under.  They look so strong and are very different from any of the trees that I am used to, so I love them.  

Román under the umbrella...ooops...ombu tree

OK, last random thing to add to this patchwork blog post:

Román and I booked a flight to Peru!  We're going to Machu Picchu the first week in April.  If you are interested in joining us, feel free to let us know!