The Belgian Season

October is always a special month, for many reasons... and this year was no exception! On Tuesday the 3rd some lovely guests from Linburg, Belgium arrived at the Little Stone House... Everything was ready. Spring was starting to make herself noticed although rains had yet to make their long awaited appearance.

Bill and Jeanne were able to enjoy two sunny days, visiting Villa General Belgrano, and also paddling for a while in the lake, on a fairly windy day. We shared very interesting talks over dinner, about history, politics, and the similarities of Belgian and Argentinian way of life. Their trip was a very interesting one, almost a quest, and I hope everything goes very well with them!

While Bill and Jeanne were enjoying their stay, there was a phone call and a new reservation came to be... a friendly voice on the other side asked for the possibility to stay for a few nights with his family... a family from... Belgium!

On Friday the 7th, they arrived from Villa Berna, where they have had a very nice stay, except for a minor misunderstanding over extras and sock laundry with the self proclaimed partner of the nice place they stayed at.

We met at the entrance of Villa del Dique, on what came to be, and will be remembered as a memorable moment. "This is me!" and "This is us!" That was the beginning of a truly wonderful stay over the weekend with Yves, Annelies, Livia and Juul... It was a real pleasure meeting them, and enjoying long, fun and meaningful talks, full of laughs, thoughts, stories, and memories...

A rainy day (yes, it rained, it finally rained!), a windy day with lots of fun in the water and in the nearby ruins, and a barbecue day next to the river where enough to make this a stay to remember. Rest assured we will be in contact and a visit to Belgium won`t take long to happen!

I wish them the best on their Argentinian Expedition and hope to see them again very soon!

In the meantime, a new reservation dawns in the November horizon, and I eagerly look forward to it.... Till then....

Six degrees of separation

On Friday 3rd of June, the telephone rang and a cheerful voice in english asked me if there was availability for the weekend at the B&B. Hopefully there was, because I was able to meet two fantastic persons.

I started getting everything ready, and also baking some bread and puddings for my coming guests. The day was a bit windy, and the forecast for the weekend was not that good, but it turned out to be quite different.

On Saturday morning I went to the bus station to wait for Dominique and Mario, who were coming from Cordoba. We got to the B&B and talked for a little before I let them accommodate themselves.

Fortunately the day was quite sunny, in spite of the wind, but Dominique and Mario could enjoy the bikes and also take some walks.

In the evening I fixed a picada and we enjoyed a nice talk in the living room. After that, we also had dinner together and talked until late at night. It turned out to be that Mario was a close friend of my brother's father in law... talking about the law of six degrees of separation! We were really surprised about the coincidence! He also told me he was restoring a Vespa motorbike, and that we had many antique pieces that belonged to his father. Yet another coincidence!

It was a really nice evening.

On Sunday, Dominique and Mario were able to enjoy the canoe after a delicious barbecue Mario cooked, which we enjoyed in the garden. The lake was calm and the weather was beautiful!

In the evening we shared dinner, with some crispy milanesas and beer. We shared an interesting talk until 2 in the morning :)

It was a real pleasure meeting them, and we will hopefully see each other soon! Definitely those kind of persons you want to find!

The sound of the Mandolin

After a few calm months following the intense days of January, our Stone House was ready to welcome new guests. On May 25, Izaak, Kynda and Caden arrived to spend a few days enjoying the peaceful and somehow warm autumn. They got to Villa del Dique from Cordoba, by car. Before that, they had visited Buenos Aires and Mendoza, and told me some interesting road stories and experiences driving the wild argentinian routes.

It was my first "solo" reservation, and everything went fine. I put special attention to the food and prepared some tasty dinners for them to enjoy.

Izaak was a musician, and during the afternoons he played his Mandolin in the barbecue area outside. The sound of it was absolutely magical. It felt like being transported to the middle ages. Meanwhile, Caden enjoyed his work on the yard :)

It was wonderful meeting our new guests! Caden, who was almost 5 years old, promised he would be back when he was older!

Winter holidays are approaching fast, hopefully new guests will come. Until then :)

Nostalgic Autumn

Autumn is here... the sun has a completely different light and the weather is much cooler, especially during the evenings. The place is much quieter... less people strolling around the lake, which is as calm as it can be. Sunny mornings are very inviting and a canoe getaway is always a nice choice...

Days in the B&B have been quiet. We had some requests and a booking for May. So we are looking forward to that.

Sad news is that Noe won't be able to work at the B&B for personal reasons that make her impossible to travel to Villa del Dique. We are both terribly sad about that. She will, however, still help with recipes and any kind of support she might be able to give from Cordoba. I will really miss her, and so will our beloved Stone House. The doors will forever be open for when you can return.

In the meantime, family and friends might help in long term bookings.

Plans are in imagineering stage for the natural pool... Yes! Ground breaking should start soon!

I might post a sketch of what it will look like, and it will hopefully be ready for the summer.

Full January!

2010 left us with a surprise, the request for a whole month booking for January! What a challenge! A couple with a 9 year old girl, and a cute dog named Hannah. And a challenge it was! We had to make some changes to the bedroom, to accommodate a single bed, so we moved the barrel next to the couch and everything worked just fine. A little dog basket with it's own pillow added the final touch.
We really hope our guests had a nice and relaxing stay. They could enjoy the canoe and mostly the quietness of their room.
We expanded our menu to make many different dinner options, adding fish, pies, and salads.
It was a very nice experience overall!
We also received some information requests for February, so it has been a busy month!
This week things are back to quiet state. Lots of birds singing, a cloudy day with a refreshing breeze, and the distant sound of some motor boats crossing the lake.
Anyway, after this last stay, after this Full January, only one phrase comes to mind... "ya nada sera igual..."

Goodbye July!

What a month! July was full of emotions! First of all, winter made itself noticeable with very cold days and frosty mornings. Then, we had snow! Yes, one morning the mountains dawned with their white peaks proudly gazing at the sun, and it was a beautiful picture to look at.

Sometime around the 10^th, we had a nice 1 night reservation from a friend couple from Cordoba. Ana and Carlitos came along to visit us and stay at our B&B. We enjoyed empanadas and costeletas, and a tasty picada while watching the final games of the World Cup in South Africa. It was a really nice weekend and we hope to see them again soon!

The following weekend we decided to go up the mountains, which were still snowed, to spend a day in the pine forests and frozen streams. We visited a very old chapel from 1947, hidden in the middle of the valleys up river, near El Durazno. It was a great day to enjoy the snow, especially for Osha, who was so tired as we came back home, that she fell asleep during the whole trip.

July 25 was approaching fast, and we were really excited about that because we had a reservation for 2 nights. Ed, from Nottingham, and Fran, from Buenos Aires, arrived on Sunday morning. The day was cold, and we received them with a warm breakfast. We were happy they could enjoy the bikes and take walks along the beach that day. At night, they invited us to join them while having dinner, and we had a wonderful time.

Fortunately, the following day was sunny and warm, so they could hike up to the hill and enjoy the canoe and the lake! In the afternoon we took them to the small reservation called Eden, and we had some fun watching the monkeys, deers, ostriches, and pumas!

At night we joined them at dinner again, and we talked up until midnight. It was a pleasure for us to have them as guests, and we really had a wonderful time. We hope to see you again soon! Oh, and thank you very much for the presents!

Coming next is August… We hope for more snow and less wind this coming month, and of course, some nice guests visiting our Stone House.

Express booking

June is flying by with the South Africa 2010 World Cup, and one would think everyone is in the Dark Continent enjoying the beautiful game. That might be true, and certainly many of us would like to be able to get on a plane and follow the national team in every match.

While eating, drinking, dreaming and breathing “futbol”, we were in Cordoba running some errands on the weekend of June 19^th. Around midday, we checked our email and we found a last minute booking for… June 19^th!!

Fast as we could, we had to gather some vital provisions and fly, not to South Africa, but to Villa del Dique, to get everything ready to receive our coming guests. We were not sure what time they would be arriving, or if they knew how to get to our B&B.

As fast as the traffic, and the speed limit allowed, we arrived and started to work on every item in the list. Ready the bed, turn on the heaters, the lights and the water heater, bake some bread and a special pudding, a little touch here and there and by 7 in the afternoon everything was ready.

Not 10 minutes after that, the phone rang, and a nice english accent made us realize our guests were here. They rented and car and came all the way from Rosario to our B&B. Amazing! We went to look for them and they followed us back home.

Russell and Lida, from the UK and Holland, were our wonderful guests. They had come to Argentina to enjoy the Youth Rugby Tournament, and since they wanted to know more of Argentina’s countryside, they decided to stay a night with us. We had some nice talks about bed and breakfasts and tourism, and just before they left back to Rosario, we packed them some lunch to go for they long ride. It was an honour they chose us, and we were happy to know they had a very pleasant stay.

Not everyone was in South Africa.

That same night, we received a booking request for the last days of July, and so we are looking forward to that. In the meantime, we still keep an eye on the Dark Continent, since a white and light blue flag is still waving in that faraway land.