hiya! Just to let you know that Nick (Andy?s brother) also has a blog - www.offexploring.com/philandnick - (ours is better tho! teehee!)

Today we have been reinacting the film `sideways`and cycling around the vinyards of Mendoza and sampling their fine products! Went to three vinyards (the first was the best - family run and organic, the second best was the last and the third was the second we visited - both of which were huge company run things which produced about 14,000 bottles of vinegar, sorry, wine! per hour. Was all very enjoyable tho, and the cycling proved somewhat hair raising! Our guide didn`t really care about us and cycled thru red lights and between traffic, which was a little un-nerving, particularly as there was an Israli girl in our party who had the cycling prowess of a fish (she was quite fun to watch tho - wobbling everywhere, riding sophie off the rode, cutting up Andrew, and at one point she got lost and the guide had to go and find her!).

We also visited a chocolate factory where we consumed inordinated amounts of chocolate, liquer and dulce de leche (which is basically a kind of gloopy toffee which you can put on toast - yummy!).

Anyway, now we are back in the centre of Mendoza, and we are currently in the process of attempting to book a skiing trip in las Le? a few hrs South of here. We are so excited! It is not exactly within budget, but that is what overdrafts and credit cards were made for right?! If we go ahead and book, we will be skiing for eight days from the 23rd June, so we have a few wks to fill before then and we don?t know where we will go! We leave Mendoza tomorrow, and the possibilities are - Bariloche, La Bolson and the Lake district, or, Buenas Aires and whale watching on the coast - decisions.... will let you know asap where we end up!

adios!

p.s. after all this chocolate and wine, we aint feelin that slim!