Part 2 of the Tourist 2 Townie Interview of the Cookie King

A couple of days ago Tourist 2 Townie posted part 1 of an interview with yours truly. Here is part 2.

In this one we talk about school for the little ones; literacy initiatives; John Cusack; Vin Diesel; having milk and cookies with President Obama and some of my hidden gems and pet peeves of Buenos Aires.

If you are curious I can expand on the things that I like about Argentina.

And yes, those ears are natural!

Forest by the Beach: Carilo

http://www.aguacalma.com.ar/

One of the places that always seemed to come up as a natural for us to be in has been Carilo. This is a vacation spot that is very popular and a bit exclusive.

I remember going for a weekend when my wife was pregnant with our first daughter.

The roads were not paved (on purpose within the town) and it had rained so it was a very bumpy ride. So it was cold, rainy and windy, and very few people around.

All the peace and quite was actually quite welcoming, not like the weekend reflected in these pictures.

Now you have larger hotels and it was in danger of just growing out of control. There is still a lot of demand for this place, but they are slowing it down.

Apart from the large complexes you have some very impressive homes nestled nicely among the trees of the forest of Carilo.

And you also get pretty close to nature...

Now we managed to have two clients in Carilo after years of trying. One is the AguaCalma mentioned at the top of this post. Quite honestly, it sounds like a perfect match. This location is trying to offer the very best to their guests and they have our products as welcome gifts.

This place gets it! Just from reading their website I am tempted to go back for a long weekend.

The other place that has some of our products is La Proveeduria. Here is a picture I found of it on Flickr:

Carilo is about 300km from Buenos Aires and it is a peaceful beautiful forest town with a beach. If you are visiting Buenos Aires and you would like a quick escape to relax then you can't really go wrong with this town.

And to add to the enjoyment of this place now you can also have access to your favorite Sugar and Spice cookies, pound cakes, and brownies!

It just can't get much better than that.

Tourist 2 Townie Interviews The Cookie King

I honestly really dislike watching myself on T.V.

I apologize beforehand for all the "ums" and "ands". I have to work on that especially if I am on one of The Best Latin American Travel Blogs for crying out loud!

I know I can get it right and I have done an Interview on T.V. before that came out really well with very few of those nervous ticks.

Gareth, if you ever interview me again, I promise to be better.

Here is Part 1 of Gareth´s interview.

Secrets of Home Beer Brewing

Guest Post by James Mowery

There's nothing quite like enjoying a glass of home brewed beer, especially when it's made the right way using handed down secrets that only you and grand pa know.

Of course, any great home brewer knows that the best beers are brewed using quality supplies, because what you brew your beer in and the ingredients that you use, all lend to the flavor and crispness of your beer.

Now this doesn't mean you have to run out and buy the most expensive brewing supplies and ingredients. What you should do is go to a reputable brewing supply shop and find out what's available for the type of beer you wish to create.

Some true beer aficionados like to experiment with different shops to compare which they like most. But most go the easy route and pick up a micro brewery kit.

The most challenging part of home brewing is having the right fermenter. It should be capable of brewing up to six gallons of beer with enough room to allow for foam.

You'll also need a hydrometer to measure the alcohol content in your beer. Always stir with a plastic spoon, a tap with sediment reducer to prevent sludge in your bottles, an airlock and grommet, a thermometer to keep control of the all important brewing temperature and plastic bottles for your beer.

Some like glass bottles, but they are more likely to explode.

Beer is made by boiling malt and water and adding hops. This becomes unfermented beer, which is then cooled and yeast is added to bring on fermentation.

There are also other ingredients that make 'your secret
recipe' truly yours, and they can include spices, gains, fruit, sugar,
honey, etc.

Perhaps the biggest secret brewing the best beer is proper hygiene. You have to start with impeccably clean equipment, or you'll run the risk of poor beer fermentation. Any residual sugar left in a bottle will ruin a good beer.

About the author: James Mowery is a computer geek that writes about beer brewing and related topics. To read more blog posts by him, go to led tv.

Anuva Wine Tastings

This is one of those things that have been going on under my nose, in my own neighborhood, and I am just realizing of its existence.

I have known Daniel Karlin of Anuva Wines for some time now. We have shared some beer and some laughs till the wee hours of the morning actually. And, just last week he asked me if I would like to attend one of his wine tastings.

I know, I know, he has invited me to lots of events and he could probably be the first to tell you that it's not easy to get me out of the house. When I get home I am exhausted most nights.

But, I am glad I went out this night. Daniel ran a great wine tasting. The set up is in a very nice new hotel in Palermo Hollywood called Rendez-vouz. It's very stylish and would probably be even better if they pampered their guests with Sugar & Spice cookies (hint, hint Rendez-vouz).

But, this is Dan's gig so back to the wine. The tables had 7 glasses per person waiting to receive the different wines.

We started with Hom Sparkling that was paired with a modified waldorf salad. The wine itself had a light lemon/lime aroma and green apple tart in the mouth with a nice crisp acidity.

I could only imagine this going really well with my own lemon poppy-seed pound cake.

Each wine was paired with a specific food that ranged from cheeses, to sausages, to chocolates.

What was great about this wine tasting is that it was not boring or technical in nature. We got to sample all of the wines right next to each other and they were paired with food. Daniel kept moving it along, but it was not rushed. In fact, I got to meet and talk to the people that were seated at my table. We were able to listen to Daniel talk a little bit about the wine, and we were also able to talk amongst ourselves as well.

I met a woman from Australia who was touring South America and this was the last leg of her tour. I also met a couple who are living here for 5 months. He is a US history professor that has been to Argentina before and this time he wanted to come back with his family so they could experience just how cool this place really is.

For those people who were vacationing from the States they had the added bonus that they could also join Daniel's wine club and be able to purchase wines to be delivered to their home. I don't know about you, but I hate lugging around bottles through airports.

The wines he carries are small boutique wines that are not available at large retailers so that is also another big plus.

He finished the night with one of my new favorite wines from Durigutti.

If you are reading this in the States and you want to try to recreate our wine tasting experience you can go to Anuva Wine Club's site where you can order any of these wines and have them delivered to your home.

Wines Tasted:
Hom Sparkling
Coiron Torrontes by Palo Alto
Mairena Bonarda
San Gimignano Syrah
Callejon del Crimen Sangiovese by Finca La Luz
Durigutti Reserva Malbec

I had a previous wine tasting paired with my cookies. This got me to thinking about the possibility of doing this sort of thing again.


Trip Advisor Reviews of Anuva Wine Tastings
Anuva Blog

Travesti Mii

My 5 year old: Pa, quieres ver el travesti Mii que hice?
(translation: Dad, do you want to see the transvestite Mii that I made?)

Oh, the joys of urban living. I knew I was going to have to talk about the birds and the bees, but about the bees who think they are birds?

Me: Sure, sweetpea. I see your classmates are all here.

I couldn't resist. I had to look it up to see if something like this existed and sure enough someone has already thought of it.

You can find how to make transvestite Mii's here like the one you see below.

Of course you can make other types of Miis in case your kids are not up to transvestites. I found a Winnie the Pooh, Chicken Little, etc.

My 5 year old is going to be a handful.