Argentina - the land of the flan...

One thing that is often associated with Argentina is beef! And, to be honest, it is everywhere to be found - and is amazingly good from what I've been told. You see the MM is a vegetarian. Well, is a term he uses rather loosely these days because he does consume rather large quantities of fish and (when possible) organic chicken and turkey...and the odd accidental shred of bacon thoughtlessly tossed into salads. But, as the photo above proves, there is life beyond the meat platter, and it IS possible to enjoy some first-rate pastas and salads at most restaurants. BTW - not sure who this scruffy dude is...he wasn't invited.


This great country is also famed for its excellent wine - and rightly so. We made a point of trying as many varieties as possible wherever we went at any time - in the name of science and cultural experimentation. We concluded that the critics were right and the wine is good! We tasted many a Malbec and failed to find a bad one anywhere. Now, just who are those two odd fellows lurking in the background? I wouldn't trust 'em...


Another example of a fine Argentine wine, and yet another depraved character trying to get a piece of the action in the background. I tell ya, you can't go anywhere, in any part of the world these days without being accosted by complete nutters. Hang on, is that a flan he's tucking into???


Which brings us nicely to...flans, and the whole point of this rather pointless blogging exercise. Something I didn't realize when I started out on this adventure is that Argentina is truly THE land of the flan. I kid you not. It is also true to say that whilst some are totally amazing many others are decidedly on the dodgy side. But, they are all over the place from top to bottom, lowland and highland. Each region appears to have its own special kinds, but that is hard to judge because we by no means sampled them all. If we had we would never have fitted, sardine-like, into our trusty van. Please note the bird notes on the dinner table thus illustrating that we were very serious birders indeed...


Everyone has their favorite flan...and this was mine. I love the flag, very patriotic. But what has all this got to do with moths I hear you say? Absolutely nothing - but who really cares when they taste this good...

I would like to thank my good friend and demon photographer Steve "still the small boy at the time" Pike for his glorious wine and flan images, generously shared with all of you in blogland. Three cheers for the boy...