Beattys Overseas

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We left New Zealand and crossed the International Date Line, which, um, caused some confusion. 

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You can never have enough Whoa-that's-a-cool-view-taken-from-inside-the-plane photos.

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We checked into our Crowne Plaza hotel and were told our room wasn't ready.  No worry, there's a lobby bar, isn't there?!?!

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A few hours later, we stepped out for an ATM and a slow stroll around midnight. 

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Outside the ATM vestibule, a sleeping pooch on a mat of cardboard.  This was not an uncommon sight in Santiago; stray dogs roam the City and are quite fearless, barking and running after speeding taxi cabs on a 4-lane Avenue.

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Like we've said before, New York seems to follow us.

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The next morning, we wake to the sounds of a crowd outside the hotel.  Hours later, I learned it was Wrestlemania fans.

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I took this from our hotel room, as the leigons of 13-year olds swamred the place before the Wrestle bus departed the hotel

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The kids ran into the street to chase after the bus.  I was laughing while I took this photo (sorry to any Wrestlemania fans out there, but I just don't get it). 

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Later that evening, we took a tip from a policeman and headed to Provedencia, a hipper/trendier/safer neighborhood of Santiago, nearby the river, where I caught the pink glow of a fading sunset.

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And we watched the rapidly-flowing Mapocho River, which John nicknamed the Willy Wonka River, due to the chocolatey color. 

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We found ourselves upon this shopping center, which looked so much like Salzburg, Austria that the owners wisely decided to remind patrons that we're in Chile. 

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This guy LOVES a good vacationy moment like sitting in a new city on a hot night, drinking something cold with his warm wife.

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A few blocks away, ,we find a place for dinner with live music and open windows.

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The Chilean peso is rather inflated, and we sometimes balked at the $5,000 price for 2 beers and mushroom quesedilla.  But, that's about $11 USD.  Phew.

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Whit ordered la plata del marisco for dinner, which was basically a bunch of fish bits deep fried to look like McNuggets. 

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The entertainment at this place was stellar....  We heard them from the sidewalk and were the reason we came in: PAULO & CARLOS! 

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Whit sang along with the guys most of the night.

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On a break, they came over to talk to the boisterous New Yorkers who were cheering so loudly during their first set...

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Thanks for all the dedications & shout-outs, amigos!  You guys are the BEST!

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The next day - our last - we had a few things to see on our attraction checklist.  The Plaza del Palacio de La Moneda in downtown Santiago

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Near the subway station indicating we're in the Financial District

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The Santiago sidewalks are always bustling with pedestrians, many of whom seem to chat for longer periods of time than the average American would on a workday. 

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Haggling a sale with a streetside vendor.

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John claims that he was taking a photo of these merchant stands on the sidewalk, BUT this pretty Chilean woman with long legs accidentally walked into his otherwise perfectly innocent photo. 

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We took a rickety furncular (cable car) up the San Cristobal hill, a large city park where citizens can gather at it's zoo, public simming pools, Japanese-style tea gardens an an outdoor church. 

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The ride up the steep hill in the furnacular provided some great views.

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At the top of the furnacular, you walk up another 100 steps to get to the peak, where a large statue of the Virgin Mary stands above the open-air church where mass is held each weekend.

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From the landing at the statue of the Virgin, you can see all the way to the Andes! 

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On our way to the airport we saw the Welcome to Santiago sign on the side of the freeway that we should have seen on our way in....

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Santiago airport, from within our plane's cabin

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Once in the air, heading to Buenos Aires, we bid goodye to our brief friendship with Santiago, this bustling city at the foot of the Andes.

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... and we notice that even CHile has its suburban subdivisions.

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Can you see the Andes snow-capped peak sticking out in between the clouds?

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Business Class, sweet Business Class.