these are a few more pictures of the casino de vina del mar.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
The Casino de Vina del Mar
This is the Casino de Vina del Mar. We couldn't enter the "serious" gambling rooms because we weren't dressed appropriately. There were some "lower" gambling rooms that we could have visited. The hallways are used as art galleries and they were featuring a modern artist's paintings. Rather strange for my taste.My son-in-law's name is Reggie and we found his place in Vina del Mar. See the last two photos in this post.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Pontevedra Building Entrance
Even Viña del Mar has its own Starbucks - wifi and all. There is Reggie, Sherri, and Aubri with her blue hat. We had hot chocolate for $4 a cup. Wow!
On a side note, my cousin´s apartment building is always locked and the access is only granted by the 24-hour security guard. It reminded me of UB2 (one of the INL buildings where I need to be escorted . . .).
This is another one of my cousin´s favorite "picadas." I ordered lobster bisque, Reggie had steak and french fries, Sherri had fried "reineta" - a boneless fish - and we all shared a bunch of seafood empanadas that were to die for. Julio also ordered for appetizer a plate with several kinds of seafood, shellfish, and a yummy onion, cilantro, and other veggies sampler plate. At this restaurant that houses about 100 people and is ALWAYS at full capacity, there are two men who come every couple of hours to sing typical, old-time Chilean songs. They bring their guitars and play and sing, and then they go from table to table for diner´s tips. I tipped thyem well. They have amazing voices and they brought back some rich memories from my childhood when I would sing all these songs with my mom and sisters as we travelled to and from family vacation trips. 
A view of some shops by the ocean with "made in Chile" products. Aubri bought a blue hat knitted by Chilean people with Chilean wool in the style of the Chilean natives in the Northern part of the country. I bought one for Nathan so he can take snowboarding. He likes orange so that´s what he we bought.
On the Way to the Beach
My cousin Julio owns an apartment in Viña del Mar. We went to his apartment immediately after arriving in Santiago. We stopped for snack and lunch at a couple of places that day. He loves to eat (it runs in the family), so he knows some "picadas," so we ate some good things that day. This was Saturday, Sept. 12.
This is a rustic place where we stopped for Chilean empanadas. Yummy!
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