With the days starting to intermingle, it was a surprise to find out we were checking out of Le Revé this morning. Adjusting our plan accordingly, we hurried to pack and see a few more things before leaving the city.
Walking down the quaint, clean streets of Providencia we noticed how nice and plentiful the parks are throughout Santiago.
Lapis Lazuli is the national stone and only found here and in Afghanistan. Searching for the store that specializes in This beautiful blue stone, we popped into a boot shop hoping to receive directions. A black pair of Brazilian boots caught MamaLu's eyes and BC was not letting her leave until she got them. They were a perfect fit!
Boots in hand and pointed in the right direction, we found the Blue Lapis Lazuli store. BC was Daddy Warbucks today and also surprised Andrea with a bracelet and earrings.
To get a feel for public transportation, we bought tickets for the subway and navigated our way across the city to the Bella Vista area. Admiring monuments and the bridge of locks we made our way towards the Cerro San Cristobal which is the largest park in South America. Stopping for lunch at a well known Chilean eatery, Galindo, we shared empanadas, a meat and corn casserole served in a cast iron dish and carne mechada.
Our intentions were to ride the Funicular cable car to the top of the park but the long lines weren't going to allow us today. MamaLu jumped on the back of an Alpaca for a photo op and we left.
An hour south of Santiago is the home to Concha Y Toro winery, one of the oldest and most well known in Chile. We arrived just in time for our 4pm tour. Learning the tale of the devil that guards the cellar was right up there with our Sommelier led wine and cheese tasting.
Back on the road again, we drove further south towards San Fernando. While google maps had been good to us thus far, it led us astray tonight. It was the start of quite an adventure when we hired a taxi to drive us almost 20 minutes away and into a remote area to find our hotel. Hopeful upon arriving at what looked to be our destination, things got more interesting when not a soul was to be found. Our helpful taxi driver searched high and low in the pitch black. Finally after honking his horn many times, BC spotted someone with his hunting eyes. No one heard us because they were all sitting down to dinner and the only staff inside was serving.
Dropping off our bags, we headed into the dining room that dated back to 1650. Here we met Herman, the owner of the estate and his two guests. Fernando, the butler, quickly brought us steak dinners and we were finally able to sit back and relax while Herman shared the history of his family's Hacienda.
We spent the rest of the evening conversing around a fire in the salon and went to bed in disbelief over the past several hours.