Christmas visit to Santiago,Chile

Here I am in beautiful Santiago, Chile. My flight was unenventful. I sat next to a nice woman from Chile. and practiced my Spanish, but had difficulty understanding her. She used some words I had never heard. :) I spent most of yesterday playing with the grandchildren and taking short naps. The weather was a little cooler, so we had dinner inside. Then after the children went to bed, we sat on the porch and enjoyed the evening. There is such a nice view of the mountains from the back yard. As you can see, their neighborhood looks very similar to ones in the U.S. Each street is a cul de sac, with a park running the length at the beginning. These photos will give you some idea of the architecture of this particular neighborhood. Others are built in Spanish style or ultra modern. I didn't see any evidence of the earthquake. Their neighborhood is located at the base of the foothills. There are huge boulders perched above us and lots of cactus.

                                    Yikes-hope one of these boulders does not come tumbling down!

                                 This photo was taken from the 2nd floor balcony.

                                          A view of the back porch


I'll be making pralines this morning. In the afternoon Dawn, Sarah and I will go to see The Nutcracker. The kiddos are excited about Christmas and are counting down the days.

Tomorrow we will go to one of the neighbor's houses for Feast of the Seven Fishes. Until then ...