Friday Night in Mendoza

Friends meeting!

It is Friday afternoon. After a hard week of working and studying, the weekend is just around the corner. Dusk is falling in Mendoza and it invites me to relax and enjoy great moments with friends. Around seven p.m. I finish washing my car and  start planning what I will do during the night.  

After taking a bath, I call my girlfriend and, as usual, she has no idea where to go. Suddenly, I remember one of my favorite places: “El Cerro” drive-in cinema. It is located in a perfect spot near General San Martín Park. What I enjoy the most about it is the wonderful view of the city that its location offers. Do you want to see?

View of Mendoza at night

So the plan is set. We make some sandwiches, grab some coke, cookies and blankets in case it is cold, and head towards the cinema. Mendoza’s downtown looks gorgeous at night. The street lamps illuminate pedestrians talking to each other, groups of friends chatting cheerfully, families walking together, or eating in one of the excellent restaurants that you can find.

Aristides Villanueva Street

We are driving through Arístides Villanueva Street, one of the main streets in Mendoza. This is where people of all ages gather to spend time with friends and have blissful moments. As we pass through one of our favorite food places, “El Palenque,” we decide to stop and have dinner (We still have time before the movie starts.)

The place has a distinct style, very rustic and traditional. It resembles the pulperías of the 18^th and 19^th centuries.

El Palenque Restaurant

My girlfriend and I order the same dish we always order, the amazing lomitos, in my opinion, the best ones in Mendoza.

Lomito, one of my favourite meals.

After this wonderful meal we continue on our way. We get to the drive-in cinema at 10 p.m., just in time for the movie!

Around 12.30 our friends text us and invite us to go to Iskra, a club in San Martín Sur Street. My girlfriend, who loves dancing, is down for it immediately. I am not a good dancer, but I can always follow her, so I say yes. It is 1.30 a.m. and the streets are packed with young people. This is the “rush hour” when everyone is heading towards clubs to enjoy the night.

Iskra, a club in San Martín Sur Street

We meet our friends at Iskra’s entrance. The place is completely crowded. The great and varied music, the flashing lights, and the nice environment make Iskra the perfect place to hang out with friends and dance during the night.

At 5 in the morning we leave the club and decide to finally go home to rest. The night has been long.  When I get home and see the Sun slowly rising over the horizon, I cannot believe it is a new day already. This night has been one of the happiest of my life.