Bodega Arizu.... when work mixes wonderfully with play!!

When my geography professors gave our class (essentially) free-reign on our final projects for the semester, a group of my friends/classmates were thrilled... they (Michelle, Celeste & Ana) and I had been throwing around the idea for several weeks of relating the physical geography of Mendoza (part of the specialization of our class) resulting in a climate that is no less than ideal for the growth, production and exportation of a class of wine/grape called the Malbec, to the nitch this particular wine has carved out for itself in the international market. My classmate Michelle, as it just so happened, was the niece of a local vineyard owner. YAY!

And that was how... on a beautiful Friday morning... the four of us girls found our way into Lujan's sunny countryside

 

Here in Mendoza, they use roses as indicators to detect diseases and insect infestations, that way they can save the more valuable vines before significant damage is done... And I thought they were decorative ;-p
pretty cool beans huh!!

Ana & Celeste peering into the champagne vault through the window into the basement

exploring the history of Arizu

The collection

Celeste & Michelle gleaning information for our project...

Carvings by a local artist commissioned by la bedega, documenting the history of Arizu and the wine-making process.

A glimpse of the Andes

Finding Maylaysia day 2: crossing borders

O dark 30 revely.
Michelle and I stumble about with sleep glazed eyes but make it to the train station with time to spare. We award ourselves points for finding a nice hotel within 2 blocks of the station. Our long adventure the night before and getting caught in the rain had exhausted us, however enthusiasm returned with the discovery that
a) there was room-service (I'd never had room-service before!)
b) It was approximately the same price as restaurant food
c) French toast and chicken noodle were on the menu :)
Sean Penn and the film Milk were discovered on TV (first time either of us had watched anything other than BBC since arriving in Thailand) and 'The Other Boleyn Girl' followed, the latter putting us almost immediately asleep. (sorry Natalie Portman)

74 baht, 2 person, 3rd class trainride to Hat Yai commences 6:04am

our cabin companions; young girls on their way to school. Third class trains are free to all Thai natives.

Sunrise!

My pretty roommate, Michelle

One of the many train stations on our 5+ hour trip

little boy with an elephant hat!!!

Potentially dangerous (ie: indecipherable) menu

results of before-mentioned danger:
chicken feet.
Yes. I ate them.
No. Not all of them.

Christmas is everywhere :)

Playgrounds are universal...

and so, it would seem, is barbed wire.

You wouldn't know it just to look at them, but these malaysian folk were as persistent as any paparazzi. The one fellow on the left took pictures of Michelle and myself for over 20 minutes. It was making us a bit uncomfortable when finally Adam, an acquaintance Birmingham, UK and our resident knight in shining armor, stepped in and told him enough was enough.
Adam was on his way to Kuala Lampur and then off to the Philippines for a month to work on a water conservation project. Very cool stuff...

Sunset over Malaysian fields