For six weeks, I’ve taken my foodie urges south, way south, to the land of carne y vino – Argentina.

I’m here as part of a Rotary Foundation Group Study Exchange, where a team of Idaho professionals travels for four weeks to multiple cities in a country on a vocational and cultural exchange. We are traveling across the La Pampa & Buenos Aires provinces, hitting 7 cities in 4 weeks. Then I will extend my stay for 14 days to spend time in Buenos Aires, Colonia, Uruguay and Iguazu Falls.

And my stomach has come along for the ride

For the past week+ I’ve been the crazy American taking photos of everything she is eating and drinking. I plan to post individual blogs about my favorite experiences, but just to highlight a few foodie things I already love about Argentina:

- Dulce de leche (need I say more?)
- Vino at dinner AND lunch
- Love of pasta, there is even a ‘Day of the Gnocchi’ every month on the 29th
- The art of the asado (a blog to come, but a photo below of my awesome hosts in Trenque Lauquen teaching me asado)
- Helado (aka ice cream) that is beyond delicious. AND, they deliver it to your door via moto. Hells yes.
- Pre-feasting. A term I’ve coined for the spread of chorizo and cheese and bread that comes before lunch and dinner
- Carne is king. Heck, Argentina is the #1 country for the amount of meat consumed per capita
- Meals as the social center of the day. I love how people come together over food here. Meals last for hours and young and old alike truly ‘break bread’ and spend time with each other.

More to come – but a few photos to share.
- Jess