This past week I traded my student hat for the tour guide hat, as Amelia was in South America for a visit. It was absolutely wonderful to see her, and an amazing time was had by all, even though it was rather short.
She arrived on Monday so I skipped out of school and went to the airport with my mom to pick her up. We gathered her after a slight confusion, but never the less we were on our way to Viña. Amelia quickly learned who my mom was and within minutes they were chatting in french english and spanish about all sorts of fun things. We got home ate lunch and then decided to check out Viña. Amelia was introduced to the beaches of Chile as well as the beggars who come up to you and start playing the flute really loudly in your ear. Note to self, if ever asking for money, dont play the flute obnoxiously close to anyones ears. We went home for dinner and the Weissers definitely put on a show for her first night. Vivi pulled out the guitar and everyone was singing along including Christian who later did a rather interesting pearl jam impression. We finally headed to bed and crashed almost immidiately.
Tuesday I took Amelia to school, because I had to take a test, but also so she could see the beautiful Santa Maria campus. Then after school got out we went into Valpo. For lunch we of course went to the famous J Cruz, the sight of my recent TV fame, and then took an ascensor up to the hills of Valpo. We wandered around, made a new friend with Juan, an artisan at the top of cerro concepcion, and then met up with anna. That evening we took a boat cruise with Gabe and his parents so we could see Valpo from the water. Afterwards we shared a Girafa at our favorite local spot and then went home for dinner. That nights dinner table adventure included signing Frere Jacque in four languanges in a round. Like I said the Weissers really jazzed up the meals for Amelia.
Wednesday I cut out of class again so I could show Viña to Amelia. We first went to the fruit market in the river and picked up a kilo of strawberries for the low low price of a dollar. Then we wandered around all the way to the plaza of Viña before turning back home for lunch. After lunch we got a random driving tour of Viña Reñaca and Con Con from Vivi before meeting up with Anna and Ned at Quinta Vergara, the giant amphitheater and park in viña. We then wandered down Avenida Valparaiso and introduced Amelia to manjar, the best food ever. More exploring led us to the beach and the feria where we checked out all the local artisan crafts and Amelia picked up a pair of the very chilean pants that everyone wears down here. We went home for dinner, but were soon back out in Viña, hitting up the Journal with Ned. Journal was its typical great atmosphere, and we spent a couple hours just hanging out, talking, and sharing a few brews. A great night was had by all.
Thursday was a bit of a struggle because I had to get up at 7 to make it to my 8 oclock class and four hours of sleep just isnt enough, but hey, es la vida. Amelia went for a morning adventure with Vivi and we reunited after I got home from school. After sharing some delicious seafood empanadas, we went to Reñaca to check out the dunes. Id never been there and it was an amazing day. With just enough clouds and sun and everything, you could see all of Valpo and Viña and watch the sun slowly fading into the west. It was a really cool sight to see, I cant believe its taken me so long to make it out there. Thursday night we hung out and relaxed, preparing ourselves for the weekend. And oh what a weekend it would be.
Friday, we got to sleep in and then after lunch we headed back to Valpo. We went to the house of Pablo Neruda, a Chilean poet and diplomat, who we have decided lived the coolest life ever. This guy lived such an awesome life, from traveling the world, to collecting all sorts of weird objects to designing his house in such a unique manner that no one would ever be able to replicate it. After that we did some more wandering through the hills of valpo, met up with Anna again and tried the most delicious lemon pastry ever. Yum. We then went back home and started planning for the nights barbeque. People started showing up around 1030 and the fun was on from there. Amelia got to meet all of our Chilean friends, and it was easy for her to fit in with everyone that was there. The mecanicos were great as usual sharing laughs and stories, and including everyone, even us gringos in with the mix. After the asado we decided to head out, and our first stop was the Casino. Unfortunately our favorite club inside the casino was closed so we did a 180 and went to Stingray. We got to skip the line by paying a pretty high cover, but it was well worth it. We all had a great time dancing and singing in an awesome club. Aside from the loud ringing in our ears as we left the club it was 100 percent worth it. A great night.
After a somewhat late evening (530 AM) we decided to sleep in on Saturday. Once we finally ate lunch and got motivated we went to the beach to hang out, and recount stories from the past night. It was a great time and a fun reflection. Also important note, the Viña water is definitely getting warmer, meaning that summer is basically here. We went home had dinner, and then relaxed, just talking and watching movies until we made the late night trek to the bus. Amelia hopped on and that was that. A week that seemed to go by in an instant was over, and I was back to being a student again. It was sad, but what an amazing week I had with Amelia. I wish she could have stayed longer, but Thanksgiving with the Mos is calling. Have fun in Vermont everyone I will surely be missing you down here. And thank you Amelia for a fabulous vacation in my home city.
La familia, que rico las relaciones con hermanos. Nunca en mi vida había una experiencia como esta. Solo hermanos juntos, disfrutabamos todos y todo el tiempo juntos. Me encanta la vida.
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