3 days in Santiago: No Buenos Aires, that´s for sure.

A less bustling city than BA, still a slight European influence, smaller, less noisy. View of the opposite side of the Andes than Ive been used to. And with American chain stores! Never was I so happy to see a Dunkin Donuts than on our first day. Unfortunately the vanilla coffee was a bit burnt, but I still downed the whole thing. Second burst of excitement came when I found Orbit gum at the local supermarket. Have been slowly savoring the 2 packs I got from Shannon and Shelton back in BA in April. Bought 3 more packs.

There is also a street of amazing thrift stores where we all scored a nice item... or two. We all were a little worried about the apparently freezing temperatures of the Bolivian salt flats, so we were on a mission for some warm items. Ian got an Old Navy puffer vest and ski cap that goes with his whole Moby look (we´ve taken to singing "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?" at random times throughout the trip and crack up each time). Yvonne found a perfect Tommy Hilfiger puffer jacket in the kids´ section and I scored a brown leather jacket that fit me just so. $24 very well spent on my behalf. That was the first day. Tuesday we checked out the Mercado Central, full of fresh fish and shellfish of all kinds. Then we hiked this big hill (Cerra de Cristobal?) to get a view of the city, albeit covered in smog. Then took the funucula down (my first!). We also wandered around the Bohemian neighborhood Bellavista and hunted down a Bob´s Burgers so Yvonne could show me what an Ovaltine milkshake was all about (she had many when she was in Brazil for a month and couldn't stop talking about them. It was literally a mission and a half to find one, but we pursued and were successful). Also found a Yogen Fruz along the way, another burst of nostalgic excitement from my childhood. Emailed my dad and brothers immediately a picture of it, as the Coconut Grove store we used to frequent closed when I was probably 10. Tried one with a Chilean fruit called Nunuquena?

Yesterday we went back to the vintage street because a certain bright shiny red jacket (Michael Jackson red) was still calling my name and I didnt think the leather jacket would cut it in the salt flats. We went back last night (after a day of a wine tour in the morning and an artisinal market in the afternoon (where I bought homemade marshmallows, chocolate and a bookmark. Really wanted this leather cuff, but considering I´ve already bought 2 cuffs in Argentina, I skipped it). Anyway back to the vintage store round 2. The red shine turned out to be a bit much for me so I wandered over to another section of the store and almost immediately fell for a Ralph Lauren Polo army green puffer down jacket with hood and velveteen closures. $35. Sold! Yvonne picked up an amazing old black clutch purse circa 1952 for $4.

The food options are also a lot better than BA (although I cant say Ive really had a great meal thus far). A lot of Mexican and Asian options, which we have happily eaten up. Weve also Pisco Soured our way around town, with classic Chilean Piscos, Ginger Honey Piscos, Mango Piscos, Peruvian Piscos... which is why I woke up this morning to go for a run. I felt the ole Im traveling and eating and drinking like theres no tomorrow because Im on vacation coming around and I had to knock it down.

Today we are off to Vina del Mar, a UNESCO World Heritage site, then tonight we take the midnight bus up to La Serena, six hours north and on the coast. Supposed to be gorgeous views of the ocean and the stars. Planning to stay two nights but were open to see where the wind takes us.

Sorry for the lack of apostrophes in this posting, this keyboard makes it very difficult to be grammatically correct.