Rio Bidasoa Hotel Santiago

... of European style streetscapes and endless parks, a tour by bike is the perfect way to see the sights.<br><br>Our final day of travel was spent wandering the streets of Santiago and visiting the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. The highlight of our visit to the museum was a chance to see works created by Mario Irarrazabal, one of Chile&#8217;s most famous ...

... the fines master so he couldn&#8217;t afford to stay in bed!<br><br>Fines:<br><br>Horse &#8211; Tree Goat, stealing hot dogs, kicking fence<br><br>Jack - falling on ski lift<br><br>Fran - falling on ski lift, going to bed early<br><br>Fitzy -<br><br>We ended up hammered!Horse falls asleep sitting up &amp; we ended up playing Bucaroo we bottle tops, bottles, cards and anything lying around.Wasn&#8217;t a happy bunny when he woke up!We videoed the whole thing too with his camera!<br><br><br>

... That night there was a communal dinner at the hostel and a bit of a disco with red lights and a disco ball!! Over the next few days the weather improved and we took in the sights of the area, including a cable car to up a mountain where the views of the lakes were amazing. The town was swiss influenced with Chocolate shops, wooden chalets and fondue!!<br><br>Time to move on again this time to Mendoza, it was a 17 hour bus journey overnight but perfectly ...

... Bella Vista, the central focus for Santiago´s nightlife. I´d been to Santiago twice before, and each visit has improved my opinion of this city. At first, you´re put off by the smog and general pollution, but you realise that it´s actually well-policed and quite safe (expensive though). Chilean´s are passionate (couples snogging everywhere!) and proud of their country and city. Our location next to Bellavista improved our experience here I think ...

... I think about back home. You can just feel the life and vibrancy strolling along the pedestrian sidewalks, watching evangelical groups preach, mimes entertain, street performers dazzle, shop owners sell, families enjoying a Sunday afternoon ...<br><br>Tomorrow, we plan on doing a day trip to the coastal cities of Valparaiso and Viña del Mar, less than 2 hours away from Santiago and about 15 min away from each other...

... buildings and a bustling central plaza. The sun was shining and it was a great day to sightsee. We followed a local map checking out most of the notable government buildings, museums and cathedral. By the end of the day we were fairly exhausted and had an early night in preparation for our morning flight out of Chile to Buenos Aires, Argentina.

... loved them!!! Rio was just as hot and sticky but without the sunshine there - just highy humidity. We persuaded Danny it was OK to eat cheap off the street stalls (something we have done safely all throughout the trip) Danny wasn´t so sure - and it turned out to be a very bad idea as the three of us were extremely ill with food poisoning the next day!!! Sorry Danny!!! We visited Copacobana and Ipanema beaches which were amazing with enormous waves that knocked ...

... the rest of the world, and i thought this is not a bad thing at all, but Tony didn't share my enthusiasm. Actually, his anxiety started to grow at an alarming speed, particularly when we discovered he can't even receive messages or set a mail box, and there is no international roaming. So please, all of you, email us back all your phone numbers, so Tony can continue to function happily. Hopefully we will get this phone fixed in the next few days ...

... the GAP Adventures tour we are starting today. Wow - a real hotel! But too bad, there do not appear to be any female employees like Macarena or Liszett :( I went up to my room and dropped off my bag - as part of being a single traveler, GAP pairs you up with another single of the same sex. It appears that my roommate hadn't checked in yet, so I held out hope that there was no other person staying with me, and I'd have the room all to myself. But ...

... the streets of Santiago! <br><br> <br><br> <br><br>By now Katie &amp; I were both trashed, but having a fantastic time! <br><br> <br><br>Katie made friends with a cute little girl who was enjoying the show up on her Mum's shoulders, who I think found Katie's electric blue wig ...