Hostel Romandia Santiago

... la calle. El metro funciona muy bien y la gente es muy agradable. Nos damos un paseo por el barrio de Brasil que tiene pinta de ser muy animado por la noche. Nos cruzamos por primera vez con la Kuntsner, cerveza con la intentaremos relacionarnos siempre que nos sea posible en Chile. Cansados, decidimos volver a la zona del hotel y cenar algo sencillo. Un restaurante "tipico" alemán de bocadillos parece lo más "facil". NO. Es la mejor decisión pero no la más fáfil. El ...

... is GROSS but still better than no gym! Memberships cost an arm and leg here (think 80AU/month for machines from the 80s...) and when i asked why its so much, the woman at the front desk told me "because unlike australia, chile isnt a sporty country- most people dont do any sport"...haha the gross part is that the machines dont get cleaned and there is nothing you can personally clean them with!! The strange thing is that there are LOTS of cleaners at the gym!! but they always clean ...

... time with a real sommelier, and cheese. So worth it. The vinyard tour is pretty standard with the exception of the ghost story time in the Casillero del Diablo ("devil's locker"), a cellar underground. Concha y Toro makes a budget wine by the same name that is good, but not quite as budget in the US as in Chile. During our tasting with the sommelier I learned how to first tilt a wine glass against a white ...

... me) as he could see we clearly weren't cyclists, escpecially when we hit a roundabout!

The cycle was gorgeous, the Andes on one side and miles of vineyards on the other. We cylced all the way to the end and then made our way back, stopping at wineries in the way. We picked up another guy on the way and between the four of us we probably sunk about 6 bottles of wine...then we started on the beer! It was a ...

... to say one thing OK, but as soon as they respond I am lost completely. I just asked Alessandra if she wanted help cooking lunch and I have no idea what she said in reply, but I took it as a ´no´ since nothing was pointed at. I really hope there are some other beginner students starting with me tomorrow, maybe that will make me feel less useless :) Yesterday I went for another wander around downtown. I was looking for ...

... translated for us. It was all very serious and they were really loud so load of other people gathered round to watch, but I find all that stuff a bit embarrassing. I always don't know where to look when they are acting as though its all real yet you clearly know you haven't gone back in time etc. The journalist woman was well over the top and hyper, I think she'd had one too many espresso's this morning. They were joined by a third bare chested guy who was ...

... more computers and free bicycle rental. All in all, a good place for my chase for a car.

So far I wasnt successful. Used cars are a lot more expensive than in Germany and mostly not in a very good condition. For example many chileans dont add antifreeze to the cooling fluid, so that the whole thing turns rusty brown. Yuck! Still there are many ...

... The highest point in Santiago has a statue of the Virgin Mary that overlooks and watches over the city. The views of the city are quite nice if there's no smog - that's a big if, since the smog really does take away from the views like it did today. I was also astounded as to how big the city of Santiago is, while being equally appreciative of the ...

... ville mais je me sens vraiment mieux au milieu des montagnes ou deserts...... Et ca y est, nous sommes dimanche soir... je prends le taxi pour l'aeroport.. le chauffeur insiste a faire la conversation meme si je ne comprends pas un mot de ce qu'il dit (l'espagnol du Chilie est vraiment different... au Perou ou en Bolivie je commencais a bien comprendre mais la pas grand chose!!...).. et j'arrive a l'aeroport ...

... important meetings and entertaining. (I was important?) The only two rooms furnished with modern furnishings are reserved for professional tastings. As Juan Carlos, Franck and I began our tasting in one, I could see the Concha y Toro winemakers in the other room tasting through barrel and vat samples. Of the wines we tried, my favorite was the Terrunyo Sauvignon Blanc, another shining star of the Casablanca valley exhibiting ...