After I got over that, the week was fun. We went out to eat for Molly's last couple of nights at restaurants she wanted to go to before she left. Santiago has some really great food to offer. I also found a cafe last week that sells bagels and muffins, two things that I had been missing.
On Saturday morning our program coordinator took us to Valparaíso for a day trip! Mathias, Lucy, and I took advantage of the free ride there and free lunch on Saturday and spent the night. Valpo gets mixed reviews from Santiaguinos - some say it's beautiful and you HAVE to go there and some use adjectives more like "dirty" and "dangerous". After spending two days there, I think it is incredibly charming and unlike any city I've ever seen. It is a port town almost due west of Santiago, made up of 45 cerros (giant hills) complete with 15 ascensores (lifts) to get people up them. But that description doesn't even begin to give a good idea of what this place is like. It is FULL of winding streets, in fact I think the only remotely straight ones are ones within a few blocks of the port. There are narrow streets and staircases everywhere you go, and really cool street murals everywhere you look. It is the queen of cities that are best seen on foot. PICTURES:
We stayed in a hostel not far from the port called Hostal Millennium. We shared a room with a German woman and an Italian woman. We ate breakfast with the German and a couple from the Netherlands that was staying in another room. Hostels are so cool for that reason, plus it was a steal. On Saturday night, Chile had a world cup qualifying match against Venezuela so we got to go to a bar full of Chileans and watch it. So much fun! Unfortunately, Chile tied when they should have won, but it was a good game and a sweet atmosphere nonetheless. We (Chile) play Brasil this week... yikes! Whatever, they can be beat. Anyway, I found a boyfriend on Chile's national team: Matías Fernández. He's super excited about living in Minnesota.
Valparaíso has a city right next door called Viña del Mar. We drove through the downtown area on the bus on Saturday. It's much more modern and apparently cleaner. It's main attraction is its extensive beach. We're already talking about spending a few days there right when finals are over. Since the bus ride there comes out to about $6, day trips aren't really a problem!
On Saturday morning our program coordinator took us to Valparaíso for a day trip! Mathias, Lucy, and I took advantage of the free ride there and free lunch on Saturday and spent the night. Valpo gets mixed reviews from Santiaguinos - some say it's beautiful and you HAVE to go there and some use adjectives more like "dirty" and "dangerous". After spending two days there, I think it is incredibly charming and unlike any city I've ever seen. It is a port town almost due west of Santiago, made up of 45 cerros (giant hills) complete with 15 ascensores (lifts) to get people up them. But that description doesn't even begin to give a good idea of what this place is like. It is FULL of winding streets, in fact I think the only remotely straight ones are ones within a few blocks of the port. There are narrow streets and staircases everywhere you go, and really cool street murals everywhere you look. It is the queen of cities that are best seen on foot. PICTURES:
We stayed in a hostel not far from the port called Hostal Millennium. We shared a room with a German woman and an Italian woman. We ate breakfast with the German and a couple from the Netherlands that was staying in another room. Hostels are so cool for that reason, plus it was a steal. On Saturday night, Chile had a world cup qualifying match against Venezuela so we got to go to a bar full of Chileans and watch it. So much fun! Unfortunately, Chile tied when they should have won, but it was a good game and a sweet atmosphere nonetheless. We (Chile) play Brasil this week... yikes! Whatever, they can be beat. Anyway, I found a boyfriend on Chile's national team: Matías Fernández. He's super excited about living in Minnesota.Valparaíso has a city right next door called Viña del Mar. We drove through the downtown area on the bus on Saturday. It's much more modern and apparently cleaner. It's main attraction is its extensive beach. We're already talking about spending a few days there right when finals are over. Since the bus ride there comes out to about $6, day trips aren't really a problem!
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