Mendoza...

...is a most lovely city. Broad, tree-lined avenues in a pedestrian-friendly arrangement...central plazas and large parks...shops, restaurants, and plenty of sidewalk seating...a slow, enjoyable pace of life...pleasant weather...good wine (I hear...don´t know this for sure yet)...the Andes to the west...

There is pretty much no need to sidestep doggie deposits but a walker´s hazard here is the unpredicatably uneven sidewalks. Trenches separate the sidewalk from the curb, requiring high alert when crossing streets. Also, there are fewer streetlights here and no walk signals, so there´s an added level of excitement when crossing roads.

Still, I´ve enjoyed my strolls through the town (after a heart-breakingly disappointment of a loss against Germany in the quarterfinals--double overtime and penalty kicks...) and took in a selection of operatic arias and the filharmonic symphony last night at the Theatre.

I hope to tour a bit of wine country today. Too bad I don´t know anything about wine. There´s red and white. It´s made from grapes. I´m all set.