In a first for our year abroad we bought a round trip airline ticket versus a one-way. From Buenos Aires we found cheap flights to Mendoza. We elected to spend a week in wine country before bidding farewell to South America and returning to Europe to close out our year of travel. If it isn’t obvious from our previous posts, Madeline and I love a good winery. The combination of the food, wine and atmosphere checks our adult need boxes and, with a bit of prior research, we find places with activities the kids also enjoy or at least field to run and play in.
Where Are We?
For our last week in South America we are staying in the popular wine region of Mendoza, Argentina. We found a fantastic Airbnb about 25 minutes south of the city in the town of Luján de Cuyo with views of the Andes from our back patio. The home was surrounded by vineyards and we enjoyed exploring the area in the warm days and cool nights of the southern hemisphere autumn.
Our main agenda for the week was to relax, both at our accommodation and at as many wineries as we could muster. There is no shortage of them here, and fortunately a lot of them were kid friendly, with several having play areas or even dedicated activities for them. In general, we would go in the mornings when the kids are in a better mood, tour the place and conclude with a delectable lunch and wine before returning home for Emmett’s nap.
And when I say Emmett’s nap I really mean a family nap, as several of us would fall asleep in the warm sun with full bellies. In the afternoons we lounged in the yard, playing soccer and jumping in the pool when we got hot. The kids found the pool skimmer and spent hours rescuing bees, ants and wayward olives that had fallen into the water from the surrounding trees. When we weren’t pretending to be the rescued bugs parents, Madeline and I read by the pool on the loungers and cooked easy meals.
On one day we ventured outside of our bubble, heading west into the Andes to the hot springs of Terma Cacheuta. We first drove past the hot springs to the mountain reservoir lake, Potrerillos, and ate a picnic lunch overlooking the placid waters, which provided some neat, reflective photos. That tranquility was contrasted by our arrival at the hot springs, which had many “attendants” helping you park and directing you towards their restaurant with the “best prices”. While a bit overwhelming, everyone respected our “no, gracias”. At the hot springs, we took turns having solo time while the other parent played mermaids in the warm-but-not-as-warm baths.
Finally on the day of our departure we visited the town of Mendoza itself, starting at the Monument to the Army of the Andes at the top of a hill overlooking the town. From there we spent the rest of our time walking in a square between the four central plazas of the city: Chile, San Martin, Espana and Italia. Each of these squares had themed walkways and playgrounds to reflect their namesake and the kids worked up an appetite chasing all of the pigeons. We found a fantastic, pink restaurant (Mae said it was the same color she wanted to paint her house when she grows up) called Cariñito Fonda where we reflectively ate our final non-airport food meal of the trip.
Mendoza was a great place to end our tour of a small portion of South America, mixing luxurious wineries with local experiences at food stalls and hot springs. My High School Spanish saw us safely through 2 months in these countries. Madeline and I again reflected both on how lucky we are to do this and also what flexible and amazing kids we have. South America was better than our already high expectations and we can’t wait to return to both the same and new countries entirely.
Favorite Things
Here were some of our favorite things we did in Mendoza and about the wineries we visited with our kids.
- The Wineries –
- Bodega Cruzat – Cruzat was a short drive in Lujan de Cuyo. The winery specialized in sparking wines and had a really engaging tour, complete with liquid nitrogen! They had a kids brunch with juice pairing that they loved but the adult brunch was lacking. A later meal or pairing might be better. We signed up for the kids activity where they got to create a wine label and attach it for our included bottle of bubbly (for the parents).
- Bodega Susana Balbo – Bodega Susana Balbo, named after one of the first female wine makers and founder, was our favorite of the trip. The grounds were beautiful with large gardens and a pond with the backdrop of the Andes. The wine was also top notch and the “picnic lunch” was really a 3 course meal alongside the tailored kids menu.
- Bodega Kaiken – This was the winery within walking distance of our accommodations so an easy visit. The proximity and views of the mountains were the highlight for this place and the food/wine was quite tasty as well. No dedicated kid activities/area but they were welcomed. They kept themselves plenty busy playing cars in the surroundings vines and talking to other friendly guests.
- Terma Cacheuta – A natural hot springs less than an hour from Mendoza. There are two ways to visit, through the hotel for a more refined experience or, as the locals do, through the main hot springs entrance and facilities. We opted for the later and enjoyed exploring the dozens of outdoor pools of varying temperatures with the kids. The facilities were decent but the pools excellent and it ended up being one of our favorite days. We heard it can be busy but on a weekday in April, there was still plenty of room.
- Cariñito Fonda – Aside from the wineries we didn’t go out to eat much, but one place worth mentioning is Carinito Fonda. All pink with green accents, the restaurant had a retro vibe and gave me one final chance to have the Argentinian Choripan (chorizo on bread) I’d been devouring for 3 weeks. Madeline was surprised with how good the trout was and the kids downed the glasses of cold, homemade ginger and mint lemonade.
Family Moments
- Parrillas in the Backyard– After 2 months of trial and error I finally got the hang of the Parrilla. Getting the fire started and just right for cooking was always the challenge, but luckily I had two enthusiastic helpers. The kids helped to prepare all of the grillables and constantly reminded me not to “burn anything”. It’s been fun (and flavorful) using this slower grilling method and turn it into an all day event!
- Pan Y Oliva. Familia Zuccardi – Ok, so this place isn’t technically a winery but an olive orchard that had wine. We went here for lunch and the advertised kids cooking class for Mae and Emmett. The class was awesome, with both kids making bread dough from scratch before making a loaf of their own and a pizza to eat. The staff were super friendly and helpful with them. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that we left with two olive tree saplings that the kids planted as part of learning where the ingredients come from. We sadly left them with our Mendoza hosts versus packing them in our suitcases for a few months.
- Per Mae (5 Yr Old): Favorite moment was “Making Pizzas” – The cooking class was Mae’s favorite part, particularly making the pizzas. Taking a food she loves and having a “real chef” show her how to make it from scratch blew her mind. She loved watching it in the huge oven.
- Per Emmett (2.75 Yr Old): Favorite moment was “Bugs in the Pool” – Emmett loved rescuing bugs from the pool and giving us a blow-by-blow of how the waterlogged bugs were doing. He loves to talk and tell stories, even if they do meander a bit.
Tips & Lessons Learned
This is where we put all of the things we learned along the way about traveling in the region as well as traveling with toddlers.
About Mendoza:
- Argentina Online Booking – As noted in the Buenous Aires post, booking anything online in Argentina was a challenge. In Mendoza, we struggled with reservations at the wineries online and most often resorted to just sending them a WhatsApp request instead. All major credit cards were accepted in perrson, but online they were constantly blocked.
- Getting Around – Getting between the wineries of Mendoza requires a ride. Argentina also has a zero tolerance policy, so any drinking and driving can result in big fines and license suspension. Generally this meant I was only having a few sips of wine or having a glass and then eating lunch and waiting for a while before we left. You can hire drivers, but for our pace of only doing a single winery in a day with kids, a driver didn’t make sense. We also saw a lot of people biking, but didn’t look into it.
About Traveling with Toddlers:
- Winery Strategy – After countless wineries across many countries, here’s our strategy for making it a successful kid outing:
- Research ahead for “kid-friendly wineries” in the area. Check their websites for kid activities or if they allow you to specify you have kids attending in the booking.
- Reserve the earliest in the day time slot (best moods for our kids) and ideally a weekday (less people). Mention you have kids and the ages to confirm that it is alright. If there’s an option for a picnic, this is always a great option so kids have space to roam!
- Tell your kids ahead of time what to expect and what is expected of them
- Sit outside if it’s an option and order food for snacking if you didn’t already
- Bring entertainment! Mae and Emmett do a great job of entertaining themselves, most of the time. We do always come prepared with a selection of toys and drawing items, but the best thing we’ve done is let them fill a small bag (6″x6″) with any toys they want to bring with them. It lets them both pick something that currently has their attention and also gets them excited to bring something they pick with them.
Closing
Thanks for reading everyone. Our journey’s end is in sight as we move on to Europe. We’ve got 88 days of exploring before we head home with two days to spare on our tourist visas.
