Chile - Day 8

Today we were truly tourists, and why not? That is what we are afterall.

We took a bus tour of Santiago today. The bus was a red double decker. It was cool. We rode on the top level until it started getting too cold. It was a nice day, not quite as warm as yesterday, but warm enough that jackets weren't need until later.

The highlight of the day was the ride to see the virgin mary at the top of the mountain in the middle of the city of Santiago. To get to the top, you can ride something called a funicular. It basically is 2 cable cars pulling each other up a really steep mountain.

From the top, not only is there a huge Virgin Mary statue, but also a great view of all of Santiago. It is city of 7 million people, but it is not packed on top of everything like NYC is (dada says). It is a hybrid of NYC and LA, with some room to spread out, but not enough to be a sprawl like LA.

anyway, the view is great and Dada liked seeing the mountains some more. It was a smoggy day, so we couldn't see as far as you sometimes can, but it was still awesome.

We ate some food at the top, then fed some birds and cats and dogs.

The rest of the tour took us to a lot of the important buildings in the history of Chile. When Dada gets back he said he is going to read some more about the history because it pretty cool. Gramma K would like to know that President Kennedy was so loved her in Chile too that they named a big avenue after him. As an American Dada felt weird every time he saw 11 de Septienbre avenue. In Chile it has a much different meaning than it does in the USA. Sept 11 marks the anniversary of the uprising against the conquistadores in 1541 as well as in 1973 the coup of President Allende and the start of the Pinochet regime. Like I said, Dada is very interested in reading more about all of this.

Anyway, the tour was fun and we learned alot. We only have one more full day in Chile, which makes me sad. But then we head home, which makes me happy. Such confusing times!

Chile - Day 7

What a busy day we had today!

First we went to Centro artesanal de los dominicos in the foothills of the Andes. For those of you who have been to Old Town in San Diego, it was like that, except Chilean artwork and history. It was cool. The weather was great and we didn't need to lug around the big heavy jackets.

We walked around for a few hours and looked at some stuff. Watched some animals, listened to some music, and of course, ate food. I also played with some hand crafted toys and watched a few artists do their thing.

The best part of going there today was that we went with Mama's uncle Roberto and cousin Janet. I already know Toto, that's what I call him, and Janet was a lot of fun. She was very tall and played games with me.

After we finished walking the place, and eating yummy baked treats like calzon roto, we left to go meet some more family. Of course, I needed to get cotton candy first.

We got dinner from a Chinese restaurant called Salon China. I know, seems weird at first, but why wouldn't every big city in the world have foods from all over the world. Dada said it was good and tasted different from American Chinese. I will take his word for it as I mainly ate the rice.

At dinner we had more guests at Perri's house as Toto's son, Daniel and his wife Zita, came over too. It was a lot of fun having Mama's cousins at the house. There was a lot of spanish going on, but I think I am understanding better now. Dada seems to understand better too...but still can't speak it well enough to have a conversation that is more than 2 word sentences.

After dinner we played a game I invented. I called it bounce and push or something like that. I don't remember exactly, but I definitely won!

We listened to music while stories were told. I surprised everyone with my ability to lip synch to A-Ha's "I Dream Myself Alive"

Later on we had hot dogs. Yup, it was a great day.

Chile - Day 6

Here I am at Parque Arauco. According to tourist handouts it is the most important Shopping Center in South America! I have no idea how they judge these things, but it was quite large and nice. There was a mix of regular mall like areas and outside walking shops and a bunch of parks. We walked around alot (or Dada carried me) and saw lots of people. My favorite parts were when I got a balloon for being me and later I played a game with some girls in one of the shops.

We had lunch at an Italian place called Vendetta's which was good, but different from what I am used to. I order spaghetti and meatballs. It was a lot, so I took some back to Perri's and had more later.

I like riding in taxis, but I have to be very quiet in them as a theory has proven true. When the taxi driver hears me or Dada speak English, the taxi driver suddenly seems to have "trouble" finding where we are going. On one trip it costs twice as much to get home as it did to get there. So now I know, taxi = ssshhhh.

Today we are seeing some more family so that will be fun!

Chile - Day 5

Another cold and rainy day here Chile. Still had a great day though! Weather can't stop me from having a good time. Spent the day with Perri and Toto (which is exactly why we came in the first place, so check!)

After dominating Dada in a game of bowling we looked at a ton of pictures when Momma was younger. I wish I had a scanner so I could show you the one that looks just like me! It was a grumpy face, but it was funny too!

I saw some pictures of Livio (Momma's grandfather and my middle name) at his job working for the television station. I heard Momma say we are going to visit the station before we leave. That will be fun!

After the rain died down we went out for some more shopping. I love seeing all the people outside on the street and in the shops. We came home and ate and then watched some TV - American shows with spanish subtitles make me laugh. Then Dada and I watched UP on our little DVD player and then went to bed.

Forecast is for heavy rain today, so what the plan is, who knows!

Chile - Day 4

Today was a great day to be outside...so that's exactly what we did. Spent some quality time hanging out at Perri's before heading out to a shopping district. I really love to go shopping, because it usually means I get stuff!

The ice cream here is different, this was a chocolate and orange ice cream stick. I liked the chocolate part better than the orange. We also bought some scratch off lotto tickets for fun. I won 500 Chilean Pesos...which is like 1 dollar...but hey I won!

We watched some street performers doing opera and some Michael Jackson impersonators. I liked the dancing, but the singers were too loud.

We took taxis today and boy are they crazy here!

The days are nice, but the nights are cold. I am having a great time, but I wake up at night and miss my bed. I wake Momma and Dada up and make them snuggle with me...that part I like!

Chile-Day 3

Today it was kind of rainy, so it was a stay at Perri's house kind of day, with a little shopping sprinkled in. Here I am admiring the cinnamon sticks at the local bakery. We also bought some sugared banana chips...yummy!

We also drove to downtown Santiago to see some of the places we might want to visit later this week. We saw the Chile version of the White House. It sometimes has a big fountain and a reflecting pool in front, but it didn't tonight. Dada went to take a picture and the brand new batteries died! (Thanks 99 cent store...I am sure he can here everyone saying "you get what you pay for"!)

This year is also the bicentennial for Chile...which Dada thought was cool, but I just said "What?"

We went shopping at this big place called Lider. It is a cross between a supermarket and a department store. Also, in Chile they have some soda bottles that you recycle and some you throw away. The ones you throw away are more expensive!

Early (okay, early for me) to bed today to get an early start...we hope.

Chile - Day 2

Here I am with Dada and Toto (Mama's uncle Roberto) getting ready to go out on the town for a little bit. The really nice thing about this vacation is that we are not on any time tables at all. We do what we want when we feel like it. If that means I sleep in extra long because the cold weather makes me sleepy...so be it.

Anyway, on Day 2 we spent some time at Perri's house (Mama's grandma, my great grandma, mi biseabuela.) I showed her how good I am playing games on the laptop. She was impressed!

Dada tried to get me to eat some artichoke, but I thought it looked weird. I decided that the meat and rice was a better option.

Toto then drove us around the city a little bit. We also spent some time in Nunoa, which is the province we are staying in. Just like back home, we may live in North Hills, but we tell people Los Angeles because no one knows where North Hills is. Same here, you live in Nunoa but it belongs to the city of Santiago.

The city looks big and cool. We are going to do more exploring later this week. Dada says we are taking the Metro sometime too.

The highlight of the day was the visit to Condi. A cafe that had cool desserts! I had a yogurt pie with raspberry jello. Dada had a kuchen manzana (apple danish). Mama had something called a torta de merengue y lucuma. It looked like ice cream smashed in between caked merengue. It was good. Perri knows the owner, Michael, who came over and said hello and gave me a chocolate doggie. It was so cute, I didn't eat it yet.

Not sure what today will bring, but I am sure it will be fun!

The Andes

Dada was impressed. I was just cold.

The driving down here is crazy. Lots of cars, lots of weird roads, lots of tolls....just lots of stuff happening on the roads here.

They say that the earthquake here moved the Andes closer to the city, and it is a visible difference...wow. We saw one building that is still tilted from the quake and engineers are working on fixing it.

On The Plane

Even though Momma and Dada brought lots of fun stuff to do AND there was a great in-flight entertainment package on LAN...the ride was simply too long not to sleep. Although as you can see, it wasn't a restful sleep. I think this was during some turbulance.

I didn't mind the bouncing around....Dada said it was like a roller coaster. What I hated was the ear pain caused by descending from 37,000 ft into Lima, Peru. So much so, I was kind of a pain even getting onto the connecting flight. I cried and asked Momma "Please, not again"

But I got on like a big boy (afterall, we don't know anyone in Peru!) and the flight was okay. More bouncing and a little more ear pain, but I made it.

The other thing I HATED on the plane was the toilet. I already don't like our toilet at home, and say it is a monster. Momma and Dada say it isn't, but this one on the plane was! It was scary loud!

But I did like all the ladies on the plane...they kept looking at me.

Chilly in Chile

Well, we finally made it to Chile! It was VERY cold here this morning when we landed (like 25 degrees!) This is me and Momma riding from the airport to Peri's (momma's grandma) house.

After a looong day of flying we we tired and needed a nap. The rest if the day was spent hanging out except for a quick run to get some supplies for our stay. Hopefully I will post something everyday to keep everyone up to date on the trip.

Dentist

My first visit to the dentist was a rousing success!! I was a really good boy according to Momma and Dada. I highly recommend AGAINST the swallowing of too much fluoride!

1st visit to the dentist! So far so good!!

Happy Birthday To Me (Yesterday!)

Relaxing day yesterday.....today DISNEYLAND!

Idol?

I am the next BIG thing!

Went to the doctor's yesterday and actually was a super good boy! The doctor said, you can ask him. Everything is good, so now the birthday fun can really begin

Hi

Hello world! Just eating some lunch at the Argentinian resturant. I liked the bread and the entrana ( that last n needs the tilde, but I can't find it on the computer)

Off to do some shopping! I love shopping!