http://blogs.bootsnall.com/Mel-and-Brendan Follow the antics of Brendan and Mel (a.k.a. Brel) as they traipse the world for the next 10 months in search of the perfect beach, wine and espresso. Sun, 11 May 2008 19:14:21 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en   Bariloche, in northern Patagonia, Argentina, is home to more than 50 artesan chocolate shops and over a dozen microbreweries. How do you spell Brel heaven? B-A-R-I-L-O-C-H-E. Set amidst the Andes, Bariloche is also a world-reknowned ski destination. Though it isn´t ski season yet, the mountains are snow-capped and it´s -2 degrees Celsius. We´ve ... http://blogs.bootsnall.com/Mel-and-Brendan/just-think-of-us-as-coming-from-the-land-of-chocolate.html   You know Mel is the one writing this blog when this photo actually makes it onto the site. I just can´t help laughing out loud every time I see it...do I actually date this person? Of course this photo begs the question...is this the worst photo of Brendan EVER? I´d love to ... http://blogs.bootsnall.com/Mel-and-Brendan/world%c2%b4s-worst-photo-of-brendanor-is-it.html   Gaining an understanding of Argentina means more than just hanging out in trendy restaurants and binging on beef and wine in Buenos Aires. (Not that there´s anything wrong with that.) And so we journeyed to the province of Salta, way up north near the Bolivian border and encountered an Argentina we hadn´t yet seen . ... http://blogs.bootsnall.com/Mel-and-Brendan/journey-to-salta.html An open letter to Ted Rogers:  One would think that being out of the country for 4 months would translate to fewer issues with you, the cable and internet provider from hell. I’m sure you understand our surprise then, to find out that our Rogers woes continue. It seems you have ... http://blogs.bootsnall.com/Mel-and-Brendan/a-rant-about-rogers.html We are going to Grooooove Armada! Right now!! In Buenos Aires!  Wicked. http://blogs.bootsnall.com/Mel-and-Brendan/groove-armada.html Since the City Slickers movies of the early 90’s, Mel has dreamed of staying at a working dude ranch – learning to ride while living the cowboy life. (Surely this is coincidental to her ongoing attraction to men in cowboy hats and boots). What better place to experience this, than ... http://blogs.bootsnall.com/Mel-and-Brendan/slickers-de-la-ciudad.html No, that wasn´t just to get your attention. We are spending the next month in wine country - Bariloche, the Maipo Valley and Mendoza.  So as you can imagine, we don´t want our love affair with Argentinian wines to end. We know we can´t just ship wine to Canada, because our wonderful ... http://blogs.bootsnall.com/Mel-and-Brendan/free-case-of-wine-to-a-chronicles-reader.html While it may seem like our trip is all fun and games (and it is, mostly), Mel has been taking private Spanish lessons (3 hours/day) for the past few weeks. Well beyond telling time and counting, she can now form entire sentences – in the present AND past tense! And ... http://blogs.bootsnall.com/Mel-and-Brendan/la-cumbre-en-espagnol.html   With two years of dating behind us, and this many months of intensive dating via travelling, it was only a matter of time before we would start to become each other.  Yes, groan away, we’re going to give details. Ways in which Brendan has been Pichefied: Has made a habit of turning ... http://blogs.bootsnall.com/Mel-and-Brendan/the-pichefying-of-brendan-and-the-powelling-of-mel.html   We find ourselves in La Cumbre, a posh town in the northern part of the province of Cordoba, about 800 km from Buenos Aires. Known as a groovy, artsy town, La Cumbre is world-famous for one thing – paragliding. In fact, they recently hosted the paragliding World Championships. Still high from ... http://blogs.bootsnall.com/Mel-and-Brendan/yet-another-brel-attempt-to-get-injured-maimed-or-die.html