Salta, Argentina

Dear Family and Friends,

Our friend, Sumana, who lives here in Cuenca, spent several months living in Salta, Argentina a few years back.  We were intrigued when she shared how much she loved the city.

Since we were in that neck of the woods (well, the same country) we decided to tack a week on our trip and check out Salta and the surrounding wine country. Before Sumana went there, I had never heard of this town.

We spent a couple of days in Salta.  The first day we spent walking around the main plaza.  Here are some pictures to share how nice it is:

This government building is built in the French Baroque style.  With the sidewalk cafes beneath it, you certainly get a French experience.

This church is on the plaza.  It is painted in pink and cream colors.  It is quite beautiful.

The main park is quite a bit larger than Parque Calderon, here in Cuenca and while we were there appeared to be used just as much as ours.

I was fascinated by this blossoming tree in the park.  I don't think I have ever seen these blossoms before.

Here is a close up.  Maybe someone can provide the name.

There is a gazebo in the park, just like in our park.

Here is another interesting building on the park.  We had coffee in the restaurant there.

After our walk around the center of town, we walked back to our apartment.  I was intrigued with this man and his dog.

Here is a typical tourist shop window.  What appears to be silver is something they called Alpaca???

The second day we took the open air tourist bus to see the sights of Salta.

We found that they have many, many lush, well kept parks.

Here is a convent....not sure how old but very interesting.

I was intrigued with how many fine homes they have.

We didn't see any indigenous people like we see in Cuenca.  I guess they have been absorbed into the main stream culture.  They do have this monument though that honors the past culture.

Just like when you take the tour of Cuenca, the bus took us into the hills and we were able to see Salta from above.

A beautiful blue church..

The domes on top were spectacular.

The last stop on the tour was a very nice tourist shopping area.  Fine quality items to buy.

Chuck shopped while I walked around and admired the building.  Here is a beautiful cat that I guess lives there.

When it is time for siesta everything closes.  Even the dogs find a shady spot and snooze away.  These guys tickled me.

That evening we went to a restaurant for dinner.  We ordered steak, of course, because we were in Argentina.  We could not believe the size of the steak...it was enormous and absolutely melt in your mouth tender.

 After eating the steak we shared a banana split..  

My next post will be about our trip to the wine producing region of Cafeyette.

Love,
Nancy