Valparaiso is a fun city in Chile!! It is the largest port for the country, so it is quite important for commerce. Yet, there is a large “artsy” feel in the city. These steps are painted with the phrase in English “We are not hippies, we are happies.” This clearly summarizes the unique culture of Valparaiso.As we drove from Santiago to Valparaiso, we stopped at a winery for wine tasting!! Chile is world-famous for their superb wines. As we drove, our guide noted that one valley was known for growing grapes for white wines, while the next valley we drove through was warmer and they grew grapes for red wines in that area. I love Chilean wine!!In Valparaiso, we rode up this cable car to get a nice view of the city!!The importance of the port is clearly seen with the number of cranes and ships in the sea.Unique English spelling!Chile, and especially Valparaiso, is quite colorful!!This old building with unique architecture is being refurbished.A beautiful theme of Valparaiso is the art seen everywhere! Murals are unique, creative, colorful, and often tell a story. I loved looking at them!!The shapes and colors are amazing!! These artists are very talented!!I especially liked this mural because it was so lively and colorful!!Every theme imaginable was painted in the murals!!This home is sort of pie shaped!! On this end, the house is quite narrow. A person inside could almost touch both walls at the same time! However, the home widens significantly on the other end of the house. It is 3 stories, so it is actually a large home.This panther seemed to be a favorite of our group!!This yellow building used to be a British finishing school. It has been remodeled and now has rooms available for rent. I should also mention all the wires strung all over Valparaiso. We were told that all the wires are not live. If electricity is needed, the simply hang a new wire. They never bother to trace and remove the old wires. It is odd to see so many wires running between buildings.I liked the colors of this raven!!The building in the distance is a Lutheran church. Although there is a strong Catholic heritage in Chile, this church was built because many foreign workers in the port city wanted access to another church too.This seems to be a typical street in Valparaiso. The streets are often narrow one-lane roads, with modern cars, and murals all along the buildings! It is a very eclectic and arty community.I loved these beautiful sunflowers!!For lunch, we were invited to eat at the home of a family in Valparaiso!! This is the spectacular view of the city and harbor from their balcony!! What a beautiful view!!After lunch, our hosts fixed us an alcoholic dessert that tasted wonderful!! The hosts called it an “earthquake” because after drinking a dessert, you could find yourself wobbly on your legs as if you were in an earthquake!!
Our tour of Santiago first started at this famous church. The roof is unique compared to many churches.“Palabra de Dios” means the word of God. This is an important statement!I liked the simplicity of these candles!Santiago was named after the apostle Santiago ( apostle James).
This curved building was designed after French architecture.This plaque remembers people held and killed because of their political beliefs opposing Pinochet’s dictatorship.These were terrific strawberries and cherries!!I liked this motorized bicycle!!This building is part of the most famous university in Santiago.This building was designed to mimic New York and was built as a triangle.This is the original Chilean stock exchange. Now, most everything in conducted online.This is the Chilean Presidential Palace!! The car seen by the entrance is a 1966 Ford Galaxie gifted to Chile by the Queen Elizabeth of England. In enjoyed these colorful windmills!!I liked the design of this classic building!These horses were guarding the Presidential Palace!I always enjoy seeing the flags of different countries!This shinny “living statue guy” painted in gold created quite crowd in this park. It was fun to watch him move around.I thought this jacaranda was beautiful with its purple flowers!!We rode a “funicular” to the top of a nearby mountain that had a great view of Santiago!! This is an incredible large city of almost 10 million people!!There are buildings in every direction!!On the top of this hill is this statue honoring the virgin Mary and the immaculate conception. The Pope visited here and blessed the area.This photo shows the high Andes mountains that surround Santiago!!We rode these gondolas back down the mountain!I enjoyed the rich colors of these flowers!!I enjoyed looking at the two-toned colors of these flowers!!Bougainvilleas grow very well in Santiago and I loved this rich purple color!!
We have had a wonderful first day visiting Lima, Peru!! Our group is from all across the US. Everyone is celebrating discovering a new country together!I was captivated by all the beautiful flowers! Lima is on the Pacific coast of Peru. Our travel guide made of point of saying that flowers never die, because the climate is perfect for plants to thrive!I enjoyed seeing all the vibrant colors and the delicate designs in the flowers!This is a bit busy, but I really enjoyed seeing so many different colors of bougainvilleas!!Everything seems to grow well in Lima!!I thoroughly enjoyed all the colors of flowers!!This blue flower was one of my favorites!!The details in this flower amazed me!!The cycle of life was an important theme in the “Museo Larco” museum.Christianity was important in the history of Peru!!The value of the cycle of life was emphasized in many ways and important for fertility and prosperous food supply.I loved the delicate detail with the bougainvillea!!This guy must have been important. He was created multiple times and you can see him increase in age as the later sculptures were made!!The range of items in the museum was impressive!!I liked this wooden sculpture!!We saw a large amount of pottery. I was amazed at all the shapes and sizes!!I really enjoyed seeing this piece!! I was impressed with the realistic design.This was my favorite piece in the museum!! It emphasized the amount of gold (and silver) found in Peru!! It is huge!Found is also a highlight of our tour!! The organization makes a point of using the best restaurants and we enjoy many of the classical foods in Peru!! We definitely never go hungry!!
Fiesta on Wheels 