Whew, where did the year go? The holiday season flew by, especially with Thanksgiving and Christmas being only 25 days apart. This month’s highlight combines NYC holiday times and a trip to South America to send the year off with good food and wine.
Best dinner/work/friends of the month
Amazing tasting menu at Mari
It's always a joy to share experiences with friends, and this month was no exception. I went back to Mari NYC with two friends, J and D. J and I met at an industry conference, where we bonded over our roles (she’s also a CFO at an exciting biotech company), and D through a mutual friend in New York, where we bonded over similar upbringings. It was a pleasant surprise to learn that J and D are also friends (especially because J does not live in NYC), adding another layer of shared experiences to our friendship. Since we met, we have found ways to work together, so our conversations traversed from deeply personal and professional to everything in between. We closed down the restaurant that night.
Chasing sunshine in Buenos Aires
We flew to Buenos Aires to start the end-of-year holidays in South America. Seeing Christmas decorations in peak summer reminded me of growing up in Los Angeles, where Santa Claus was likelier to climb a palm tree than find a sleigh. One of the most interesting tours was La Recoleta Cemetery, a burial site full of historical mausoleums that can stretch many stories underground. I also chatted with the locals at a small empanada shop using every word I learned in high school Spanish class. Another small world story? The two older gentlemen worked in pharmaceuticals before retirement! They made sure we knew where locals go for dinner, an advice we heeded promptly that evening.
Mendoza wine regions
My real reason for going to Argentina and Chile was to expand my wine experience and knowledge in South America (okay, the REAL reason is Carmenere and Malbec). Our second hub in Argentina was Mendoza, from where we traveled to three wine regions: Maipu, Lujan de Cuyo, and Uco Valley. Despite being famous for their Malbec, these wine regions are relatively young, gaining international popularity only about 30 years ago (even though the locals have been making wine since the 1500s!).
One of the most memorable vineyards was Corazon Del Sol, owned by Dr. Madaiah Revana, a cardiologist from Texas. The wines were sophisticated and unique, and I loved how the vineyards were innovating wine-making processes, unencumbered by legacy infrastructure and methods. Also, with so much recent negative news about wine, I told myself if it’s cardiologist-approved, it can’t be too bad :)
Oh, another reason I loved the experience? The food, especially the Argentinian beef. A fellow diner at a vineyard was from Texas, and he exclaimed that the tomahawk steak was the best he’d ever had. I am not one for hyperboles, but I could not agree more.
To Chile via one of the most dangerous roads over the Andes mountains
The next stop on the trip was Santiago, Chile. Numerous friends unanimously recommended we take the bus over Andes Mountain rather than fly. I am glad I didn’t do much research because the road is considered one of the most dangerous routes! It was so curvy and without guardrails that, at one point, I wasn’t sure if the double-decker bus was still on the road.
Chile—Santiago Valparaiso Casablanca
This leg of the trip was so picturesque I will let the gallery speak for itself.
These pictures make me think I need to upgrade my phone to do the scenery justice.
That’s it for December! Believe it or not, there was one more leg to the trip, so I plan to include that in the January highlights. See you soon!