Cool, Rainy Sunday

Cool, Rainy Sunday

Sunday, Jan. 22, Mendoza, Chile

Clouds moved in early in the evening yesterday, but no rain came. This morning, however, a drizzle started. It is now early afternoon and light rain continues. The forecast calls for it to start clearing by the evening. I hope it will. I had planned to go to the big park here--the biggest and nicest in all of Argentina--today. If the weather improves, maybe people will get out and going there will still be possible.

Besides the rain, it is cool. The temperature is about 68 F (18 C). It reminds me of many summer days in Denmark. It´s a good day to stay inside. I did that all morning, but I needed to leave the room so that the maids could clean it. If the weather doesn´t improve, I will go back there and just read for the rest of the day.

Because I had a very light lunch yesterday, I wanted a nice dinner. To have a nice dinner here, however, means a late dinner. Restaurants don´t even start serving dinner until 9 p.m. And at that time, it is only the tourists who are at them. Local people go out for dinner around 10:30-11:00 p.m. I spent most of the evening yesterday just waiting until I could go to eat. I went to Plaza Independencia and read and watched people. I wandered around neighborhoods. Along with 3-4 other tables of tourists, I showed up at the restaurant at 9:15.

I chose a pasta place that had been recommended by my guidebook. I sat at a table on the sidewalk out front so that I could watch people strolling up and down the street. My fellow diners included a lone man about 45 years old from Germany, two couples from Chile, and another lone man about 40 years old who had light features and was probably from someplace like Holland. Others who came were too far from me to see or hear them.

I was so hungry that I over-ordered. The waitress said I had to decide on a pasta from a long list and then decide on a sauce from another long list. First, I decided to have the Canneloni Verdura, four canneloni stuffed with a mixture of ricotta cheese, pumpkin, spinach, and other ingredients I cannot remember. That just sounded good to me. The waitress suggested a sauce that had garlic, basil and cheese. Then she asked if I wanted one of the appetizers--meatballs, salad, or chicken in sauce. The appetizer was only another $1.15, so I ordered the meatballs. To go with it all, I ordered a small bottle (half-size) of malbec by Trapiche. They brought a basket with cheesy breadsticks and round rolls. The meatballs were big. There were 3 of them in a tasty tomato sauce. I could have made my meal on them and the bread. The four canneloni were delicious, too, and were so rich in taste. I barely finished them, mainly because I was not only full but the flavor was just too rich to eat more. Instead of being creamy inside as I expected, they were rather dry--just the grated vegetables mixed into the ricotta cheese and rolled up inside the pasta. The bill for all that, including a good tip, totaled just less than $8 U.S. I waddled back to the hotel around 10:45.

Even a half bottle of wine was too much for me. I spent much of the evening feeling dehydrated and somewhat tipsy. I guess I need to start asking whether they have a wine they sell by the glass when I go to restaurants. And I need to start eating my big meal at lunch and having only a snack for dinner.

It being Sunday, I am not sure what I will do about eating today. Many restaurants stay closed. When I leave the cyber cafe, I will see if there is a place for lunch. I may just go to the supermarket and buy things I can eat in my room. They sell packets in the meat department of the ends of salamis and hams and cheeses that have been cut into chunks. They also sell small plastic packets of olives. So I might picnic on that. I can also check out the deli department if I don´t find a restaurant.