My Valpo

Valparaíso, All I can say is WOW. After taking a bus from Santiago, we arrive to this dreamy, surreal city on the coast of Chile. Right away I fell in love. Street art is EVERYWHERE. You can barely find an untouched wall without colorful paint. What makes this city even more charming? the way the city is built. The houses are on top of one another on the hills facing the shore. At any point you can see water. To get from the city center into the hills (where our hostel was) you have to take an "ascensor" these hundred year old structures will relieve the painful hike up the steep stairs to get to the top of the hills. We were staying on Cerro Concepcion, where everything was within a walkable distance

Santiago De Chile

 After a wonderful trip through Patagonia, we now go back to city life. Taking a bus from Bariloche crossing through Mendoza, waiting at the border for 4 hours, and getting into Santiago around 11 pm. That was a LONG trip, but we got to see beautiful landscape along the way. We spent around 5 days in the city before heading to Valparaiso. Santiago is a big, clean, busy city with beautiful historic, yet stunning modern architecture. The first day we explored downtown and plaza de armas area, walked around all day stopping by the main cathedral, and cerro santa lucia. the second day we met up with our dear friend from San Diego , Fabiola, and her daughter Mayra. We had a blast. Wend the city hopping from metro to metro, neighborhood to neighborhood. Ate delicious ice cream with delicious local flavours that I never had before. And of course we visited the local parks. Public parks are everywhere in Santiago, and generally all around South America. It is where people take a break, kids play, hangout over the weekends, play music, and of course have street snacks.We also hit a few museums , went and ate at the fish market, and tried fruits we never had before. Overall Santiago was a great place to visit especially if you know a local :D . Matthew and I also celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary in this beautiful city. It will  be a memory we will not forget.

 

Along the bus ride from Argentina to Chile

graffitti at our hostel

University of Santiago

the entry of Cerro Santa Lucia

View from the top of Cerro Santa Lucia

Mercado Central

Mercado Central

the Churh at Plaza de armas 

obama was in Santiago as well. I don't think he was liked!

anniversary dinner