Protesting of some sort

We heard the sound of a wicked beat being played out on several drums. So we followed the sound down towards the Parliament building and lo and behold there was a protest. It was a parade and they had Marchers and people on stilts, a man on a unicorn juggling, and of course the band! There was a heavy police presence accompanying them.  We just marched along taking pictures and having fun.  We asked about it and it is a protest against child labor.

Stilts

Signs 

Drums

Costumes 

Government  building 

Video of the band. Look for Leslie at the end

Plaza de Armas

The Plaza de Armas was established in 1541 and we got to see the cathedral a really cool sculpture the square was filled with people and palm trees. We stopped for cappuccino and drank it and watch the world go by. This may be the capital of crazy boots. Then we walk down a Market Street that had every variety of vendor known to man set up in the middle of The Pedestrian walkway with coats hats Electronics fancy purses watches as well as entertainers.

The cathedral. 

Stained glass

The dome in the cathedral. Not so many worshipers. 

Huge doors 

A funny little steam powered tourist train as seen from our cappuccino spot 

Mercado Central

We had the market to ourselves because we got there so early. A lot of the Stalls and restaurants are not yet open for business. The fishmongers were already doing a great business and we were able to navigate around them relatively easily. It was still close quarters us customers and the fish!

Congor Eels which are really fish. I would call them the lipstick fish. 

Patagonian King Crab, people from all over the world come here to eat them during the four month season. 

Pick your pesce!  Notice the giant slabs of bright white squid steaks. 

It was a bit crowded 

The center of the market. The windows all around the top let in lots of light. 

Fritz is at the Ritz

We had a lovely dinner at The Ritz this evening the restaurants name was Estro and it does a farm-to-table artisinal restaurant experience. I had a abalone  with a citrus sauce as a starter and a ribeye with yuca pickled cabbage and a scotch egg as my entree. Leslie ordered a Chilean sea bass over a bed of shrimp and some local white beans.  If this is a taste of things to come we are in for a great culinary vacation.

The outdoor dining area

Very cool salt and pepper shakers and a fine cabernet from Arboleda winery

We sat outside and since it is winter here we sat by the flame

Sunset from our room

The Fritz Carlton

The Ritz has a great look.  The pool is on the top floor and is enclosed in a half pipe of glass. There is a terrace on the end that is perfect for watching the sunset.

We are on the 14th floor

We will be in here swimming 

Hot tub too

Looking out to the terrace

Having a great time

Lovely walk though the city of Santiago

After a rejuvenating nap, we jumped up showered and took a couple mile walk through the city of Santiago Chile. The architecture is very impressive there doesn't seem to be a single building that doesn't have a nice facade or accoutrement. We went past the British Embassy.  We saw dog parks, playgrounds, and beautiful residential areas.  All this adjacent to the cityscape.

Granite sculpture

Walking on air

A fountain with the tallest building in town behind.

Nice little church

Ziggy zaggy

Some trees have their leaves some don't 

Lots of flowers still blooming

One of many great buildings 

Chile is chilly

After a lengthy delay and a rather bumpy ride of 9 hours we arrived in Santiago Chile. The outside temperature was 37 degrees and a dense dense fog. The fog was so dense that we touched down and I didn't even realize we were that close to the ground because you still couldn't see it. The Gateway was super slippery but we got in got through customs fairly quickly our driver was waiting and took us right to the hotel. The Ritz certainly lives up to its name! We had a generous bacon filled breakfast with exotic fruits and juices. We could see the Andes off in the distance but not the far distance they seem to be very close.

The unique reflection pattern off of this building shows up in the foggy atmosphere. Brilliant design if intentional.

The honey dispenser has an actual honeycomb inside of it. The concierge told us at one point they tried to have bees in there but the bees didn't understand they were not supposed to Sting the people in the hotel.

Our lovely room with lovely Leslie!

Champagne and flowers were waiting for us in the room. A very nice and Classy Touch.

Leaving the USA behind

We have a 9 hour flight to Santiago Chile. We land at 6:30 in the morning exclamation point it'll be a rough start to the day but we are Troopers! We have lovely pods to recline in and to sleep "  during the flight.

The details of our flight 

Another delay,   not sure what or why but we have a new departure time of 10:15 PM. But we are passing the time nicely with a delightful gentleman  from Oklahoma. He is also going to Chile as well . 

Almost ready. We are a go!

Pod time!

In the air we go

On an overbooked flight with a rain delay there is nothing like the luxury of first class!

We are on our way after a small delay. 

Weather...arghh

It begins

Leg 1 of 14 legs has started. We made it through the gauntlet of Fort lauderdale-hollywood International Airport security. And now you're at the gate waiting for our first class flights to Dallas/Fort Worth. And then on to Santiago Chile

Travel blog business cards

Our latest travel blog cards are different from the leader on the blog because we will probably not swing by Paraguay. With the Iguazu falls to experience  we did not want to waste any time with borders or long lines. 

Tick tock tick tock the time is almost up.

36 days and only a small carry on bag with a shilder bag. Doing things right.  

With 2 days and 6 hours till we get on the plane, I am packed and almost ready to go!  I feel like the little kids in the Disney commercial when their parents tell them to go to sleep and they reply, we can't, we are too excited!

Try another way!

 The interweb told me to use blogger through Chrome and not using the Blogger app. Seems a little crazy why would you have a blogger app if it doesn't work. But here goes one more try !

One spreadsheet of 7. We are reducing them down to reasonable sizes.

Checking connections

With 11 days left we've checked all the flights connections and seat assignments. Now I'm trying to figure out how to get my new camera wirelessly connected through my phone but then still able to publish them on Blogger. It is never easy!