la playa, poetry and a little pan

I am sitting here with my host family by the fire while it rains outside. I went for a walk this afternoon, and as I waited for the light at the crosswalk to turn green, I looked around me at the city and I knew. I knew that I am not going to want to leave when December rolls around on the calender. It made me want to do everything and see everything and just try to absorb every little drop.

Some friends and I went again to watch the sunset on Friday evening. I could go every night. It would never get old. It's like watching an artist paint his masterpiece...

Our God is good....




















Saturday, I went with two friends to see the Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda's home here in Valparaíso. He actually had three homes, but we went to his home here, named La Sebastiana. La Sebastiana is actually only about a 20 minute walk from my house. I pass his street when I run in the mornings. His home was really interesting. It's not so spectacular from the outside (we weren't allowed to take pics inside), but the inside is unique to say the least.  He was a collector of interesting antiquities, and he designed most of the house. Every piece of furniture had a history, and as I love antiques and old things, I thought it was pretty cool. It's a house of 4 floors with a breathtaking view of all of Valparaíso and the ocean. As I toured the top floor where he did his writing when he was staying La Sebastiana, I wanted to be poet sitting at his desk.

Kelly, Regina and I in front of Neruda's casa...

Kelly sneeked a pic of me at Neruda's sweet bar...

Ironically, we had tea at Café del Poeta afterward...

You know what makes staying somewhere for longer than a week or two? You find little secrets. On my way to meet some friends at their apartment down the hill a little, I found an art gallery that only opens at night. It has interesting paintings leaning up against the walls and eclectic antique furniture...really cool.

Sunday, I went with Claudio and Rosa to the mercado to go shopping. They go every Sunday to buy all their fresh fruits and vegetables. The mercado is huge and always packed full of people scurrying around to all the stands buying bags of mandarinas, bananas, huge stalks of celary, broccoli the size of small trees, lettuce, kiwi, apples and tomatoes. Anything fresh, it's there. I love fresh vegetables and fruit, so it's my heaven. I bought a kilo of golden raisins (yes, a kilo), and they are like little bits of gold. Yummm, I love 'em.
After the mercado, we walked about a block to a different kind of vendor that only sold cuts of meat, cheeses and bread. It was still pretty crowded, so Claudio and I waited outside and ate mandarinas and raisins while Rosa went inside. A little while later, she came out with a bag of freshly made bread, and told us to wait while she ran down the street to another store. So, Claudio took a roll from the bag and I could see the steam from all the warm little rolls inside. He split it in half, and gave one half to me. I savored the sweet warm freshness of it. Chileans are known for their good bread, and like their wine, they're proud of it. So, Claudio and I just stood on the sidewalk eating citrus, raisins and fresh bread and people watching. Yummm, so sweet.

Heaven...

Well, the rain against my window is making me sleepy. Chao for tonight. Un abrazo.
love,
sophie