TINDGA 2013

In a sense, TINDGA really is in a place far far away (spiritually) from Toronto .... the Toronto Islands!

After a long hiatus, Christos decided that with June 21st falling on a Friday this year, it was time to resurrect an ancient club, the Toronto Island Night Disc Golf Association!

We caught the 7pm ferry to Ward's, meeting Chris and Crispin on the ferry, and made it to the DG grounds just before 7:30 to find the rest of the crew for the evening's adventure already there.

It was a glorious evening to be on the course and although the first round did not start until almost 8pm we had more than a full hour of light to play in. Some sweet shots were made including a beautiful 15 metre shot into the basket by Lisa and more than a sweet toss or two from Jster and Adam. We played a half round, enjoying some fine beverages on the way, before breaking for dinner and bootstrap glow disc manufacture. We use LEDs, packing tape, and small 3v batteries to light up transparent discs, providing both a fun thing to watch when playing and a surefire way to track any errant discs. 

Four Days In London!

Lisa's schedule is always hectic, with business often taking her across the pond for a few days. This particular time, she was attending a conference based out of the famous Claridge's Hotel in Mayfair, London on a Monday-Tuesday. Never one to miss an opportunity to stay at a swank hotel, Ctos came along for the trip and we decided to make a weekend out of it, taking the Friday night flight to arrive in London first thing (7am) Saturday morning. We arrived safe and sound and were ensconced at the hotel well before 10am. Not wanting to let the jetlag get the best of us, it was a quick shower then off for a quick walk around Mayfair and some coffee! On our walk we stopped at a gallery full of works by Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones which and had a tour from the gallery saleswoman (Lucy). It was early Saturday so the place was basically deserted. In addition to Ronnie's work, there were also several pieces from Bob Dylan. The building itself was a gorgeous old english residence with a huge staircase, lots of light and high ceilings on its three floors. Of course, with the pictures priced in the thousands of punds we certainly were not buying but we had a great time with Lucy the who exuded the Art of Salesmanship ... we left after perhaps an hour and it now being afternoon we had our first pints of cold and lovely Guinness before heading back to the hotel for a wee nap!

Our second walk later in the afternoon found us in the Dunhill Shop on Davies Street where Ctos booked a massage for Lisa on Tuesday afternoon, post conference. The store was a lovely three floors showcasing the luxury of Dunhill leather products and cigars. Before we made it back to the hotel we found this lovely bench-statue ("Allies") and of course had to indulge in just two more pints ... followed by a late dinner at a fish restaurant in Mayfair.

Our second day, Sunday, started late with breakfast at the Audley Pub and then a long walk through Hyde Park, including a visit to the Prince Albert memorial, in the afternoon before getting back to the hotel at 5ish on Sunday. We watched an old four part serial of Dr. Who from the BBC ("Resurrection of the Daleks"), which Lisa admitted to not being "too bad" before heading down to the "Snuggery", a tiny little bar space, for drinks and snacks with some of the other conference attendees. Finally it was time to relax in the room and order room service before bed as Lisa had to work early the next morning.

Monday was a work day for Lisa but Ctos had the day to explore the city and headed up to the RAF museum at Colindale Station, arriving as it opened at 10am. The museum consists of two main hangars containing fighters and bombers from early aviation to the present and a side hangar with an exhibit on the Battle of Britain. Aircraft included the revolutionary ME-262 jet fighter, the massive Liberator bomber and a salvaged lancaster bomber.

As a history buff, Ctos spent some three hours at the place and did not get back to downtown London until 2pm, exiting the tube at Charing Cross Station on Trafalgar Square. Ctos then wandered back to the hotel, seeing the Horse Guards and the spot where Constable Yvonne Fletcher was shot from the Libyan Embassy in 1984 before getting back to the hotel at 5pm.

At 6ish, Lisa and Ctos boarded a bus and with a group of conference attendees went down to the London Eye where after being whisked to the front of the line our Party boarded two of the ferris wheel bubble contraptions. We enjoyed two rotations of the Eye complete with champagne and hors d'oeuvres lasting just under an hour. Finally it was time for dinner at Bellamy's which Scotia had booked for the night. The food and wine were excellent and free flowing, as was the conversation. Eventually, it was time for the ten minute stumble back to the hotel and bed as another day of conferencing awaited Lisa.



Our final day involved Lisa working in the morning, a quick trip to the National gallery in the afternoon, a 2pm massage for Lisa at Dunhill's Spa some shopping for socks on Jermyn street and of course the obligatory Guinness at the Coach and Horses (note the post massage appearance)! Dinner was at the Audley and then back to the hotel to prepare for the 515am wake-up on Wednesday. We arrived back in Toronto before noon local time on Wednesday to discover that the peonie on the deck had blossomed!

The end of the long and wine-ing road

Our last two nights in Mendoza were fantastic! On Thursday night we went to a cooking class where we watched and learned how to make empanadas, chimichurri with steak and caramelized fruit.

All the while our wine glasses were never empty of Malbec. The other students were also fun with a German speaking group of four, two American students from California and a couple of men from the US. One of the German speaking girls was sitting next to Christos and he had to keep indicating that he was here with his lovely wife! We finally left the school/farm/posada around midnight and stumbled back to our place shortly thereafter. The next day was our final day of wine tours and Christos had to skip the first tasting due to overindulgence the prior evening and a desire to do sometime riding. Christos enjoyed a couple short rides between wineries while Lisa travelled in the van.

Lunch was excellent although by the end (3pm) we were so tired we skipped the full winery tour and just hit the wine store. We made it back to Mendoza city shortly after 4pm and rested until dinner ... Dinner was simply amazing and the best meal of our trip. It was at a winery some half hour by cab from our hotel and was prepared by an American/Korean chef named Mun.

Dinner consisted of a chicken-tangerine salad followed by a cold spices soba noodle soup, a sushi plate (oh so yummy), a main of filet mignon with a Malbec reduction (and wasabi mash) and finally dessert of green tea ice cream and biscotti. The meal was served "closed door" which means one big table and no menu per se. We enjoyed chatting with the other diners and finally finished up around midnight for the cab ride back to Mendoza city and a few hours sleep before our early morning ride the next day across the Andes to Chile.

Boxing Day and the next

Our dinner Christmas Day was the best food we have had to date in Argentina! Lisa had a mouth watering steak while Christos once more had the salmon (gout stay away!). Both were excellent. For Boxing Day we were picked up around 10am for a day of bike riding but unforeseen opportunities changed our plans. Before we left Posada Salentein, the local old dog (Mitre), whom we had befriended, decided to take us for a walk around the grounds!

It was really quite touching. After breakfast, we visited the art gallery on the grounds of Posada Salentein which was pretty cool; a mixture of 19th century Dutch paintings, 20th century Argentinian paintings and Argentinian sculpture.

Our guides then suggested we go on the Salentein winery tour and it was worth it. The founder of the Salentein estates is a rich Dutchman and he spared no expense at the winery. Tasting was in an underground room with a huge marble table (perhaps four metres long, a metre wide and half a metre thick). The winery produces some 2m bottles per year, much more than other places we have visited on the trip. We finally got back on the road around 1pm so we were decidedly late for the biking. In any case, Lisa decided to stick with her strengths and passed on biking for the day. We arrived at our next stop, Posada Borravino, around 3pm and our guides started making a yummy lunch of sandwiches and toasted wraps for us. It took some time for lunch or get to our table but by 4:30pm lunch was done and we were stuffed. Christos went out for a short ride, Lisa lounged by the pool and our guides took off with plans to meet us the day after the next for more wine and bike fun. After relaxing for a few hours, it was off to dinner at a restaurant called "Hand of God" which is owned by the same people who own the first winery we visited on the trip. It was a half hour walk to the restaurant so we worked up a good hunger by the time we sat down. Dinner was an interesting experience .... The food was good (really yummy bruschetta and salad) but the service was literally the worst we have ever experienced. It was so bad we had to just roll with it and appreciate the experience for what it was! Our server was a cute dark haired girl who Christos was convinced was a "blonde" in spirit if not in appearance! She took forever with our water, messed up our order, took forever with our wine (which she opened and then plonked down on the table without pouring) and generally made a mess of the whole affair. The crazy thing was we were one of only two tables she had! The other table was a Canadian family so we bonded over the mutual experience ... They had some upside though as the husband ordered the five 2oz glass wine tasting menu but each glass was a free pour and was a full glass at least. We suspect he slept well! We finished dinner after 11pm and wandered back to our hotel where we polished off a half bottle of Sauvignon Blanc while listening to a live band play golden oldies next door until 1am for a local's birthday party!

Feliz Navidad en Mendoza!

Christmas Eve dinner was at the Posada Salentein restaurant and consisted of salad, fish and two desserts. I guess it's double dessert time for holidays! After dinner we wandered back to our room, stopped at the pool on the way and discovered that at night it is the lair of many frogs! After lounging in deck chairs and staring at the stars for a while we headed back to our room, getting to bed some time after midnight. The next way we awoke and exchanged Christmas gifts before heading to breakfast. Breakfast was good, we finally had something more than toast, cheese and meats which seem to be the usual offerings at breakfast buffets in South America. We had omelettes! Then we headed out for a two hour ride which was wonderful! Perfect weather, the Andes in the distance, no traffic and Walkmans for listening to Christos' "All Folked Up" mix. After the ride it was time for lunch (almuerza in Spanish) which was salad followed by yummy beef ribs. We then lounged for a bit playing carcassonne before Christos headed out for another bike ride while Lisa lounged outside our room. Christos visited the Art Gallery on the grounds while riding and although it was closed the sculptures surrounding it piqued his interest.

It is now just after 7pm and we are watching a little television before dinner tonight around 9pm. All in all an excellent way to spend Christmas! See below for link to the "All Folked Up" mix. http://www.4shared.com/mp3/ZWQ-lBIc/All_Folked_Up.html

The Zonda!

Monday the 24th was out first full day in Mendoza and what a day it was! We awoke around 7:30am after a good sleep to get started on our wine and bike riding portion of the trip and met our guides with their van just before 9am. Our first stop was a winery just outside Mendoza city called Achaval Ferrer where we enjoyed the tour and enjoyed the tasting even more! We enjoyed the wine so much that we purchased three bottles to take back home with us! After that is was an hour drive towards the Andes where we visited another small winery called Azul where we bought two more bottles although one (a lovely Sauvignon Blanc) is earmarked for drinking before we return to Canada. We then stopped at Posada Salentein where we will be staying the next two nights to drop off our bags before lunch. What an amazing setting! Manicured gardens with the Andes in the background! Then it was off to lunch at an amazing place called Tupungato Divino. We had our best meal to date at this fine establishment which also boasted an amazing view of the local vineyards with the Andes in the background. Lisa had the steak while Christos had the salmon. At the end of lunch we noticed it suddenly getting hotter ... And then came the wind! This wind is called the Zonda and it blows hot and fierce. We had to cancel our afternoon bike ride due to the Zonda and its concomitant dust and danger. Truth be told, after the wine tasting and huge lunch we were already considering reducing our riding endeavours for the day, the Zonda finalized our decision. So we headed back to Posada Salentein in the van and as we turned on to the road that leads to the Posada we discovered that the beautiful tree lined path had suffered three casualties from the Zonda!

Our guide, his helper and Christos had to clear three trees from the path that had been knocked over by the wind! We finally got to the Posada and wisely decided on an afternoon siesta ....

The road to Wine Country

Our last night in BA was a blast. We arrived around 5pm, had a couple beers on the balcony of our hotel room and then hopped in a cab to go across town for dinner. A co-worker of Lisa's had recommended a place called El Obrero in the neighbourhood of Boca. Boca is a working class district and when we crossed into it our driver reached back and locked the cab door.

El Obrero was awesome. When we arrived the place was empty but all the tables had reservation signs on them; fortunately we had made a reservation as subsequent diners without reservations were turned away. Within half an hour, the place was packed. We had a super yummy cold calamari to start as well as an OK arugula salad followed by two excellent steaks! Christos finished his off (as well as most of a plate of potatoes) but Lisa could only get half way through hers. The waitress was excellent; both attentive and appropriately chatty. After dinner we took a cab back to Palermo and dropped in on a tango bar. When we arrived at 11:30pm classes were underway and we were told the actual dancing would not start until 2am! So we watched the class for a bit before heading back to our hotel as we had an early flight the next day to Mendoza. Back at our hotel, Christos set the alarm for 6:45am and we retired for a short sleep. When we awoke we got ready to head to the airport and then Lisa realized that Christos' blackberry was still on Uruguay time; in other words it was an hour ahead so it went off at 5:45am BA time! We had a little rest then it was off to the airport and the two hour flight to Mendoza. When we arrived in Mendoza our driver was not there to pick us up so we hopped in a cab to our hotel. Lisa put on her bitchy voice with our tour planner on the phone and when we arrived we discovered a bottle of wine with an apology from our tour planner; this smoothed things over quite a bit. We had a lovely salad lunch with really good arugula before heading back to our hotel for a little downtime. Mendoza is much hotter than we had anticipated; well over 30 degrees today and the forecast for tomorrow is even hotter with a high of 39! We shall see how much biking we manage to achieve ...