Valpo to B.A.

Hello blog people,

Michelle and I are currently in the beautiful, beautiful city of Buenos Aires! It is pretty easily our favorite city thus far.

And now for a brief update on the last few days:

1. After spending a couple of days back in Santiago, we made our way to two small coast towns, Vina del Mar and Valparaiso. We stayed at a nice little hostel in Vina del Mar and spent most of our first day there recovering from a long, long, long walk from the bus station. We were totally lost after arriving, and ended up stopping at the police station to ask for directions to our hostel. A sweet little government worker ended up walking with us for well over an hour to our hostel. We tried to give her some pesos for a cab, but she shook her head, gave us a hug, and was off for an hour long trek back across town. There's been no shortage of blessings thus far. That night, we met up with a lady from Australia that we met in La Serena, as well as two of the Minnesota folk. It was great to re-connect with them and fun to see a bit of the nightlife in Vina.

2. The next day, (Thanksgiving) we took a short train to Valparaiso. Valpo (as the locals and informed travelers refer to it as), is a colorful, hilly, kind of run down city. It's a bit like a Chilean San Francisco. We spent all of the afternoon walking around, and taking old elevators lifts up to different parts of the town. We celebrated Thanksgiving by eating a delicious completo. What is a completo you ask? Let us tell you. It is a hot dog, smothered in guacamole, mayo, and tomatoes. Don't knock it unless you've tried it.








3. On Friday we flew over to Buenos Aires, and immediately fell in love with its boutiquey self. Picture a european style city with cobblestone streets and bookstores, cafes, galleries, and beautifulness everywhere. It's really amazing and is easily our favorite city thus far. We spent all of yesterday in the Palermo Viejo neighborhood. Michelle was immediately overwhelmed by all of the beautiful design and boutique shops. She at numerous points said that she was on, "sensory overload", and even at one point apologized in advance for providing bad conversation due to her constant boutique distraction. Last night we met up with an Australian couple that we met at the Brazilian consulate in Santiago. They were a lot of fun, though the club we went to was playing '80's/'90's pop music. Think Jock Jams. Michelle and I danced like we've never danced before. We also stayed at a sweet hostel pictured below.



4. Today we wandered about the San Telmo neighborhood which features one of the largest markets in Buenos Aires. Let's say it together, "sensory overload for Michelle". Little vendors, opera singers, puppet people, orange juicers, leather swindlers, and an occasional gringo, lined the streets for miles. And if that wasn't enough, there was an antique market at the end which sported lots of really expensive pocket watches, grammaphones, and other old goodies. I've had an absolute hay day with photography and Michelle has been incredibly patient throughout.







5. As if Buenos Aires couldn't be any greater, when returning to our hostel today, we were graced with the Vikings/Bears game. My did seeing Favre live make me giddy with glee. And then for him to dismantle yet another team. It was beautiful.

We are soon off to Uruguay (maybe) and then Iguazu Falls before venturing into Brazil.

We love you all and miss you much. It's really difficult being away from home for Thanksgiving and soon Christmas too, but we're starting to get into the swing of things and have been having a blast thus far. Please email us and keep us updated about life back home as well.

And now, I leave you with a picture of Michelle and her new bag, as well as a photo of the sushi place where we had dinner.