The city of Mendoza has grown around an historic center that is organized in a square, eight blocks by eight blocks, with a two-block-by-two-block park, the Plaza Indepencia, at its center.
Plaza Indepencia
One block in from each of the larger square’s corners is a smaller one-block-square park. Here is one of them, Plaza San Martin, with its bold statue of Argentine hero General Jose de San Martin at its center.
Plaza San Martin
This small a scale makes the entire historic center completely walkable; and of course, urban-planning enthusiasts that we are, this means that Dan and I compulsively block by block have to walk it.
One of the most striking features of the city is its lush greenery–this, in what is essentially an arid, desert climate. Trees, mostly plane trees, line both sides of every street, making even ordinary blocks seem elegant and inviting.
The secret to all this greenery lies in a system of irrigation originally pioneered by the original Huarpe inhabitants. A system of acequias (pronounced “ah-SAY-kee-ah”) lines both sides of every street. Acequias are irrigation ditches (it sounds much better in Spanish!) that bring water flowing from Andean snow melt throughout the city, controlled by gates (somewhere) that allow the flow now into one acequia, now into another. The trees are planted beside the acequias, where their roots receive all the water they need.
Acequia
Dividing the historic district west-to-east is the commercial Av. Sarmiento; the three blocks east of Plaza Indepencia comprise a wide, delightful, and crowded pedestrian mall.
Av. Sarmiento
No description of Mendoza would be complete without mention of its many restaurants. We especially enjoyed meals at the intimate and friendly Ocho Cepas (Eight Varietals… of wine grapes, naturally) and especially at the excellent Azafran, which instead of a wine list invites you *into its wine cellar* (not technically a cellar, but a climate-controlled room) where the sommelier helps select a very reasonably priced bottle of wine for your particular taste and meal. Like many restaurants in Mendoza, Azafran has a great outdoor dining area, but we especially liked the interior, where regional olive oils, spices, and other products decorate the walls–and you can buy them!
Azafran Restaurant