Perseverance Pays Off

Remember my post about the unidentified tree I saw at Los Dominicos market in Santiago? I've been searching the web periodically in hopes of finding it. Perseverance  does pay off--success at last!. 

Blooms of a Jacaranda Tree

I read that this tree is native to South America, but can grow here in the U.S. in warm climates. It would be very difficult to grow at Salsipuedes because of our cold winters. So I guess I'll just have to remember its beauty!! Wish I had taken more photos, but I can always go to the "web" for many great images!!

Final day of Chilean vacation

I spent my last day in Chile just being a grandmother--the best of all! Sarah, Owen and I played most of the day-I watched the grandchildren ride their bikes without training wheels, we played go fish, legos, etc. We watched a movie and just hung out. Paul cooked a delicious salmon dinner on the grill with the kiddos helping.

 

A great visit to Chile--thank you Paul and Dawn! And thank you Sarah and Owen for all of your help. And muchas gracias, Miriam! I miss all of you already.Now I'm back home freezing. Brrr!

Vina Tarapaca-4th post

More photos:

 

Typical Huaso (Chilean cowboy)

Drat--I didn't get his neat chaps!

These horses are not your typical stable horse.

Vina Tarapaca-3rd post

More photos of the house and grounds:

There are 1,400 acres of vines planted at this locations. Ninety percent are harvested by hand with scissors!!

 More photos on next post . . .

Vina Tarapaca -2nd post

To continue - -
 After walking around the grounds, we then toured the production facility--or rather, the remains of it--the earthquake heavily damaged it and repairs were being made. Our guide, Diego, told us they lost 60,000 gallons of wine. He said that in the nearby town of Isla de Maipo wine was running in the streets. Some of the wineries have not re-opened. Vina Tarapaca's large steel storage tanks were toppled and some of them were completely destroyed. As you can see from the photos, they are quite large.

One fascinating thing that I learned was that the cork stoppers come from the bark of  Quercus suber, cork oak trees. I believe Diego said that most cork trees are grown in Portugal, but they had several of the trees on their grounds. The bark is shaved by hand, the corks punched out. The bark re-grows on the trees. I will never look at wine corks the same way again.

The cork tree's bark feels like cork even on the outside.

                                                         Close-up of the bark!

Other photos of the house and grounds:

The large palm is the Araucaria araucana palm, the national tree of Chile.

More photos and a recap of my trip on next post . . .

Vina Tarapaca

A short drive from Santiago through the mountains leads to the vineyard Vina Tarapaca. We arrived early for our tour and stopped at the main gate for the guard to get permission for us to enter the grounds. Check out this beautiful bougainvilla!

A narrow road led us five miles up the mountain to the house and winery. Gorgeous vineyards as far as the eye could see.

The original home is now a small hotel. What a wonderful place to stay. The house was built in the 1870s.

                                                          Front of House

Diego met us at the gate and invited us into the parlor for a coffee. Beautiful room!

                                                                    The Parlor

We then walked around the grounds. I definitely would love to visit this place for a few days. There is a wonderful pool, golf course, pond and horseback riding through the vineyards.

                                                                    Atrium

                                                              Back of house

                                                           Criollo Horse

 

Paul getting tips from the chef

More photos on next post . . .


                               

Shopping in Los Dominicos

                                        Exterior View of Los Dominicos

Los Dominicos is a shopping treat! The winding paths are lined with small shops.  I was fascinated again this year by a tree with purple flowers. I'm determined to discover the species this year.

The shops are filled with  many delights-fine shawls, wraps, etc., jewelry, artwork, copper items, wood carved items, and much more.  I shopped until I dropped--purchased a few items but decided to wait to buy more until we had toured other places.

I noted that the Chileans do not decorate to the extent that we do. I didn't see any lights in the neighborhoods and not too much elsewhere.

                                                I was told that these are grape palms and that the fruit is used in ice cream.

My son and his wife bought me a beautiful wrap in one of the shops. I'll be nice and cozy this winter.

                                                    Wonderful selections!

After looking through all the shops that were open, we then drove around Santiago - what a beautiful city! I am so impressed by all the greenery. The boulevards are heavily planted with trees, shrubs and flowers. Plants abound on the balconies of the apartments. There is even one building with grass growing on the outside walls.  I didn't see any litter. Parks  and bike paths seem to be everywhere. What a difference all the trees and flowers make--I never really felt that I was in such a large city--rather, just neighborhoods. The cell phone towers are even covered with fake palm trees which look surprisingly real!

We went to Lido--a grocery store recently purchased by Wal Mart--a shade nicer than our Wal Marts at home. There was an escalator leading to the store-

                                                          A ramp escalator

                                                     The restaurant area

Emporium

                                              One of the few Christmas displays

The store also had clothes, appliances, a pharmacy and most of the other products we have in our Wal Marts. The checkers in this store were also sitting in high backed chairs.

We had a nice drive home. Paul grilled wonderful, tender, tasty prime beef steaks for dinner. We sat on the porch until late enjoying the evening--then off to bed. Until later . . . 

A Very Special Sunday in Chile

What a special day! I was lucky enough to be here for my grandson, Owen's, baptism. He was very impressed and overcome by the occasion. He asked his Mom to read his new bible to him instead of attending Sunday School.

                                                     Paul, Dawn, Sarah and Owen

I am very proud of my family!

After church, we had a quick lunch and then drove to their club, which is just a 5 minute drive up the mountain from their house. What a relaxing afternoon. We sat out by the pools and just read, watched the kiddos play and relaxed. It is a beautiful place--5 outside pools including a wave pool, a warm pool, an inside pool, exercise rooms, trampolines for the children, restaurant, riding stables, etc. Wow! Here are a few photos,but I didn't managed to capture how beautiful  it is.

                                                                   My sweet grandchildren!

Then home, Paul cooked sausage on the grill, we ate out on the porch (wonderful with the mountains in the background!. Early to bed for me. Until later . . .

Christmas in Chile

After all these years, I finally was able to attend the ballet and see the Nutcracker. We went to the theater in downtown Santiago. It was  150 years old and had been restored beautifully! This is one small part of it.

                                                              Wow!
We were lucky enough to be able to sit in one of the balcony boxes. And on top of that, I had VIP treatment. Paul's secretary had called and asked about the walking distance and stairs, and they had us drive right up to the back entrance, whisked me inside with a wheelchair right to our box and then picked me up afterwards! Downtown Santiago is beautiful, with many parks down the main boulevards. Trees are planted everywhere. We stopped by the grocery store on ther way home. Their selection of fruits and vegetables was wonderful. One interesting thing I noticed is that their checkers sit in high backed chairs. Nice!

Yesterday we went to one of their neighbors (and Paul and Dawn's co-workers) for the Feast of the Seven Fishes (an Italian tradition). Wonderful and what a nice group of people. I don't know if I have mentioned that my son is a Foreign Service Officer (the Press Officer at the American Embassy). At every gathering that I have attended, everyone without fail, has welcomed me, sat and talked to me, etc. They are a very gracious group of people. And have had so many interesting experiences! It is always such fun to attend one of their gatherings.

Even though we were stuffed when we left, that night Paul made a homemade Mexican feast (enchiladas, rice, beans, guacamole, etc. I made my second batch of pralines and Dawn and I made kolaches. The kiddos had great fun playing with the scraps of dough.

This morning we had our usual kolaches while opening presents. Paul is making a coconut cake and a pork loin, etc. for Christmas dinner.

I was so impressed by my grandchildren. They insisted that we open one of our presents first. They had lots of loot and were just as pleased with some of the little gifts as the large ones. They have played all day.

                                         Sarah, Owen and Cubby checking out the stockings!

It's time to enjoy the remainder of the day. I am heading out to the porch-beautiful weather-nice and warm!
Until later . . .

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 ...