Part 2

(Scroll down and read the next post first- this is the continued part)


These are the new stainless steel barrels that they use at the vineyard.
The cellar where they age the red wines:

After lunch on Saturday we went to Pablo Neruda's house. He was a famous poer- won the nobel prize- but also a politician and an ambassador from Chile. This is one of three or four houses, his Santiago house. He loved the sea and ships and everything nautical. His house was full of collections of seashells and navigational insruments, etc. There are three separate buildings with a courtyard in the middle.

It has been absolutely freezing here. Even with a sweater and winter coat and everything. They don't really have central heating here either. But anyway, it was so cold yesterday that it snowed on this hill, where it hasn't snowed in years or maybe even in forever.

Part of the view out of the window in the room on the 15th floor where we have breakfast every morning at the hotel:

Today we've had a bit of a slow morning- we all had to get individual photos for our Chilean IDs. My appointment was at ten. My hotel roommate and I tried to go to church at a church the guy here at the hotel told us about, but when we went for Mass at 9, the church was closed and locked, and when we tried back after our pictures, it was open but no one was there :-(

Later today we are going to the spot where Santiago was founded, and then I think maybe to another historical site or two before going on to Valparaíso and Viña to meet our host families. We are all really excited/nervous about it. It will be nice to go to a home though.