Diary of an Expat Family: Touring the Town with Oma

Yes...finally after almost three years we had a visitor at Casa van Herksen. Oma Joke (JJ's Mom) came to visit us in Santiago. It was two weeks full of new experiences and getting to know our new home. We have lived in Santiago since July (wow, that is nine months...where does the time go) but with the freezing weather, trying to find a home, enrolling in new schools and getting our bearings we have not had much time to explore our new city and see all it has to offer.

But Oma was in town and we were excited to get this tour started. On her first weekend here we went to Algarrobo. We stayed at the San Alfonso del Mar Resort, best known for having the world's largest pool. Here you can see the pool. Yes, that is a pool. It was freezing, no seriously it was C-O-L-D. There was no way I was going to go in the water, but my boys managed to sneak in while I wasn't looking. They loved the sand. The mornings were cloudy and chilly, but when the afternoon rolled around the SUN warmed everything up. Apparently it is like this all year round.

Close by you will find Isla Negra...Pablo Neruda's favorite and most beautiful home. Here we are walking to the house. We were not sure what to expect...let's see.

Wow, the view is amazing. Pablo really knew how to pick some prime real estate.

Here we are outside after touring the unique estate. Mr. Neruda was a bit of a hoarder...sort of a collector of many things. He actually didn't like to be called a collector. He referred to himself as a "cosista" (thingist). He said he liked to collect "things" all sorts of things, but nothing of real value. Some of the collections we saw at Isla Negra were: insects, statues, globes, glass bottles, tea sets, shells and so much more.

Sam is taking a moment and soaking it all in by Neruda's tomb.

On our way back to Santiago we stopped at Casa del Bosque for lunch and some wine of course. We were unpleasantly surprised with the service (but they made up for it by offering a complimentary lunch after I filled out the comment card).

Papa and Sammy getting silly after a glass of wine...just kidding Sam didn't touch the stuff.

The four of us in the vineyard.

Back in town I took Joke to Los Dominicos - a local artisan center - with tons of shops and small galleries to browse.

Also lots of Chilean sweets to choose from...

Another day I took Oma to Santiago's Mercado Central to buy fresh fish for the night's recipe. The Mercado Central is the perfect place to sample some of the fine Chilean cuisine. We found a small corner restaurant that caters to locals and had a fantastic lunch with Sammy.

Center of the market...

Yes, that is the biggest piece of fish I have ever seen. It was ginormous!

Next stop...Bellavista...to visit La Chascona, one of Pablo Neruda's other houses. Sam behaved so well that day. I took him out of school a couple of days so that he could see the town with us and also I wouldn't have to run back to our neck of the woods for his 1 pm pick-up time.

In Bellavista you can also catch a ride on the funicular at the Cerro San Cristobal. As you can see the smog was over powering that day...unfortunately the norm in Santiago. On a clear day the mountains are right there and so spectacular. We need it to rain...after a rainy day to smog disappears.

It's Oma's last full day in town and called the big sight seeing guns. It was time to see the rest of Santiago before Oma left so there was only one way to do it. Hop-On, Hop-Off tour it is. As you can see Luka was worried by the amount of stops. Don't worry Lukkie it is going to be fun!

First stop was Santiago's Sculpture Park to play and take some photos with the works of art.

On to the the National Art Museum - Museo de Bellas Artes. What a gorgeous building and interesting collection. The entrance was only $1 USD...great bargain if you ask me.

Display with hundreds of shirts, blouses and t-shirts. The colors were beautiful.

Walking to the next stop. I love these newsstands that are wallpapered with the day's news, latest fashions, etc.

The boys happy to "hop on" again and chill a little on the bus with a snack.

As you can see from the photo Luka is very happy to arrive at our last stop. From here we will head to where we parked. When he found out we would now be riding and not hopping off he was ecstatic.

Sam was happy too. We are just waiting for the bus and suddenly they are both in a great mood.

For Joke's last meal in town we decided to take her to La Mar. We had heard nothing but great things about this place, and boy did it live up to the expectations. The ceviches were the best I have ever had and the food was DELICIOUS! I can't wait to go back again soon...