Planning our travels...

Botanical Gardens, Buenos Aires

...Can be a real pain! I've just spent hours planning the research-slash-holiday trip with mum that we have been really looking forward to. After a missed trip to France 2 years ago, and then missing each other in Paris again last year (thanks, volcano) we have a lot to make up for! The plan for the next 5 weeks, here goes:

Buenos Aires  - Capital of Argentina, and in my humble opinion one of the best cities in the world. BA has a real 'vibe' to it unlike any other city; the people are so friendly, it's great value, and the food, shopping & nightlife are pretty much unsurpassable.

Colonia del Sacramento

Colonia del Sacramento (Uruguay) - Colonia is a gorgeous, UNESCO heritage-listed town in Uruguay just an hour's ferry from BA. As well as being cute as a button, in just a day trip it's possible to discover Uruguayan wines (Tannat! Like never before), food, history and a little bit of its culture.

Iguazu Falls - Famous for a reason; we're going to see both the Argentinian & Brazilian sides of the falls.

An estancia somewhere -  I haven't planned the whole thing yet! Estancias are traditional stations/ farms, many at which you can now stay. They range in luxuriousness and in activities offered from watching/ learning polo, trying traditional Argentinian food & wines, to spas and resort-type facilities.

Bariloche - In winter it's a ski resort; all year 'round it's one of the most beautiful places on earth

Lake / Andes crossing to Peulla (Chile) - Pretty mountain/lake town that apparently has a grand total of 2 hotels. The crossing is called 'Cruce de Lagos' and is a spectacular boat-and-bus crossing from Argentina into Chile.

Puerto Varas - Puerto Montt - Port towns in southern Chile at the base of the Andes

Bodegas Salentein, Valle d'Uco

Santiago - Chile's capital, is a city of about 6 million people and sister city to Paris! It has the stunning Andes as a background and stretches to seaside Valparaiso; it also allegedly has the biggest swimming pool in the world.
6 day tour of the wine regions of Chile

Mendoza (Argentina) - The main wine-producing area of Argentina, once again set to the stunning backdrop of the Andes mountains. Home to some fantastic accommodation options like fincas set on a vineyard and some wineries themselves have very luxe accommodation.We're hiring a car as there is a lot of ground to cover - wish us luck!

Salta & Jujuy - 'La Linda', The Beautiful, as it's known. Of everywhere I have spoken to Argentinians about, this is the area to make eyes light up. I'm excited!