Stop 2: SANTIAGO, CHILE!!

I've only been here in Chile for 3 days but I love it!! I'm staying at my friend Jose's apartment in an awesome area of the city with his brother Juan and their other roommate Jorge. Last night all their friends came over for drinks, I had forgotten how friendly and generous everyone is here.

The weather is absolutely gorgeous, mid-70's to low-80's and hasn't been a

cloud in the sky since. I arrived. Yesterday Jose (on right) and I went for coffee then I laid by the pool and read. Late afternoon we went to the Mercado Central and ate bowls of fresh seafood. Some of it was pretty weird, but I at least tried everything. The strangest was probably the picoroco, the only edible barnacle, or the orange squishy inside of a sea urchin. We then explored the really cool neighborhood nearby filled with colorful and interesting architecture, little alleyways and sidewalk stands selling books, antiques and random items. We had drinks and dinner later at the apartment and then had my first night out on the town in Santiago. Of

course, doing it the Chilean way, we didn't even leave for the club until 1am. We were on the guest list because Jose works in television and has a radio show.

Today I did a little housekeeping (gotta earn my stay somehow!) and then went over to the Bohemian neighborhood called Bellavista. They sell all sorts of great jewelry and artisan creations. I bought a few gifts while there and got myself some great little stud earrings that I got last time I was here but eventually lost and could never find in the US. Everything there was very reasonable, I bought a few pairs of the studs, one turquoise and

one lapis-lazule (famous to Chile). I had lunch at Cafe Istanbul, ordering falafel and salad and a beer (I've had one with lunch every day, I'm taking full advantage of my vacation status). Another very Chilean detail I noticed was that the yogurt sauce was mayonnaise-yogurt sauce, haha, they loooooove the mayonesa! Tonight we are going out for sushi and drinks, the city has a good diversity of restaurants compared with the other cities in the country.

This weekend I might go out to the coast for a night just to change things up and give the boys a break from me, and on Tuesday I leave for Mendoza! More to come later...

Much love!