Torremayor Hotel Santiago

... the night away finally leaving for the hotel around 3am, a little worse for wear....<br><br>The phone rang at 10.30am the following morning asking whether we were coming to the Picnic at the Parque Municipal, we had to say we´ll catch the rest of the group up. The Parque was great it´s a little mountain in the middle of Santiago, with a Zoo and a Cable Car taking you to the top of the mountain and allowing you to see magnigicent views ...

... for a memorable (or not!) last night - thank you Nico! The following day we meandered around Bellavista, which is quite studently and has an arty/relaxed feel to it. Then sadly it was time to pick up our bags and head to the English-speaking world again!<br><br>How sad I am to leave this amazing continent! One day I'll be back, hopefully with more developed linguistic skills!!<br><br>Chau!

... that Sundays in Chile are stictly<br>family days and that big Sunday lunches were normal (this also quickly<br>explained why the entire CBD was shut last time when i was here on a<br>Sunday...shops are open locally though)<br><br>From lunch, it was a nap<br>and meeting up with Caro. We then went apartment hunting based on a<br>couple of places they´d found for me. After visiting a boring looking<br>apartment with a 30-somethings couple- incl´d the wife whose job ...

... heading to a sports bar for some general merriment (and amusement at the multiple power cuts). Sunday was dedicated to RICE for Angela´s leg. We´d bought this day with the flight booking, so it was spent in front of the telly with me surfing and watching some Premiership footie and Angela hoisting her leg up! We rounded it off with a cinema trip to see Watchmen (interesting as it wasn´t a formulaic hero movie). We´d booked a day-long tour to see ...

... but i guess is supposed to be an awesome city so is better to be stuck there then somewhere like santiago. thats about it. 22 hours to buenos aires but i decided this time to pay extra and get a sleeper bus for the first time. bus tickets are much more expensive here and i have to spend about 25 bucks for the ticket. renata is lots of fun and we having a good time although she is at school today so i am exploring alone today.

... going up the mountain to see the statue of Christ the Redeemer. We stood at his feet but only had fleeting moments where we could actually see his face through the clouds, but this was enough time for Danny to say he looked just like Jimmy Hill with a massive chin - I think it was more his beard than chin - but Danny did have a bit of a point!! We went to a view point and could see many of the mountains that are all over the city and the beaches. We could also ...

... the stuff was fine, but it was a right escapade to get it. I ordered it at one counter, they then scanned it and printed off a ticket. I was then sent to the other end of the shop, with just my ticket, to pay for the one item whilst they bagged it. After paying - and a bit of argy bargy in the queue with the locals trying to push in - I got another ticket to take back to the original counter to pick up my deodorant. Back at this counter, the shop assistant ...

... a bit earlier, I opted to wait for a Spanish one, in the event that there might be some Spanish hotties on the tour. It turned out that there were no Spanish hotties, but it was worth a try! It's funny here - I've had a few locals, thinking that I live in Chile or was a student studying here, comment that my Spanish isn't that good. But when they find out I'm a tourist from Canada, they say "Oh, well then you speak it quite well!" Double ...

... and I decided to head back to the hostel because we were knackered and suitably merry. <br><br>We collapsed when we got back to our room, after successfully putting 2007 to bed and welcoming in 2008 in great style!<br><br>All in all Katie and I have had a fantastic year and ...