So we left off in our hostel Princessa Insolente and a great BBQ. That night was fun filled and we made some great friends. There was dancing and merrymaking and a late bed time. Next day we all decided to take it easy, Theresa had to check out the BOlivian embassy and I was hung over from the night before :-) We all did our own thing until about noon when we went out for lunch and got some ice cream and hung out in the park for awhile, then we can home with cheesy snacks and watched the tennis final of the US Open. Nadal played Djokovitch and lost. I’ve watched a few tennis matches in my life, some more exciting than most, but this was the best game of tennis I”ve ever seen with serious athleticism. After we had some delicious dessert courtesy of E&D and then went to bed.

Tuesday we went to Valparaiso! Such a beautiful and amazing city. There’s graffitti, good and bad, everywhere and the city’s layout is so unique, I”ve never seen anything like it. There are little trolly like cars that take you up the super steep hills that the city boasts of and you have a great view of the surrounding area. We had lunch in a great bar called bar ingles and then spent most of the day walking around and taking photos. We eventually found a wonderful little cafe with real coffee and sweet treats where we enjoyed a nice break from climbing all of the hills and stairwells. It was a lovely day and we had a nice time sharing some wine and more cheese that night.

Wednesday we decided to take a free walking tour with the “Spicy Chile” tour group. Our guide, Nicholas, was very friendly and knowledgeable, but about halfway through we discovered that while important landmarks were being pointed out to us we weren’t going in to see any of them. We were planning on doing some more wine tasting on Thursday, but with the cost of the tours combined with all the important and beautiful looking buildings we decided to go back through the city and see all the spots we were interested in. At the end of the tour we went off to have Chile’s famous sandwiches which I’m forgetting the name of right now. Lumpillos? Something like that, I’m sure my friends will correct me :-) THen back home to the hostel to recover from a full day of walking. We ended up watching an uneventful futbol game between Argentina and Brazil, no on won.

Thursday we set about seeing all the sites we didn’t get to go into the day before. A church in PLaza de las Armas, the Museo de las Artes Bellas, Santa Lucia Hill, Pablo Neruda’s House and statue of the Virgin Mary at the top of the tallest hill in the city. The Museum we went in had a special exhibit of Degas sculptures that was very impressive, I had no idea he sculpted as well as painted and found that his study of movement in sculpture was impressive. Santa Lucia Hill is the hill where the city was founded and used by the Spanish to win the wars against the indigenous Mapuches. I lied in my last post, the independence day here is to celebrate statehood which happened in 1810. I have never read any of Pablo Neruda’s poetry, but his house was most impressive! Built like a ship it has many different wings that are only accessible if you exit the building and walk up stairs or across courtyards. He was apparently a great collector of things, from doorknobs to bottles to paintings of watermelons. It was quite wonderful to see the house and all his stuff, and his nobel prize for literature was also on display, an impressive medal. Before the trip up to the Virgin Statue we stopped for some GIGANTIC beers and some delicious nacho like fries at one of the long strips of cafes that defines Bella Vista (the neighborhood we were in). Then up to the top of the hill we went and took pictures and waited for sunset. The “Funicular” that took us up was old and the hill was extremely steep so it made for some thrilling travel. We had dinner at a “Mexican” place that gave us free pisco sours and came back to pack up and get ready for the inevitable departures.

Friday morning D&T left to start their 50 hour bus ride from Santiago to Cuzco and E&D and I had time for some lunch and hanging out before they had to leave for their flight back to Southern California. It was a sad day for me and I used it to get my laundry done and take it easy. Early to bed and late to rise and I feel great today. I’ve walked around the city a bit and tonight I will be going out with some of my hostel mates to check out the tents that pop up around the city in celebration of their independence day. Apparently the tents are filled with traditional Chilean food and drink and there’s dancing and such. It should be a good night and Ill update you on the details.

I leave on a flight to Cuzco on MOnday, so for now I’m enjoying as much of Santiago as I can. Until next time!

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