Day 2: I slept in until noon today…it-was-great! Mara was already awake and after lounging around and deciding on “orange nectar” (verry different form orange juice) for breakfast we walked south to the main part of town.  (I am still waiting for a little Chilean madre to come make me food like my Spanish mom did in Spain, until then, I haven’t quite figured out what and how I am going to be eating everyday) As we walked along palm trees we passed many beautiful churches until we got to the main Squire. The main part of Viña is still pretty small, but surrounded by shops, department stores, fountains, street carriages and TONS of stray cats and dogs. The dogs just sleep in the shade anywhere in town: under trees, under buildings and just follow people and cars around. They look they are all dead, and some of them might be. It’s pretty sad, but someone told me everyone feeds them and they become sort of “community pets”.  Near the main square, there is a huge palace and public park with different trees imported from around the world. We strolled through the park and took some pictures (photos to come when I am awake enough to figure out how to make a slideshow for blogger) It was Beautiful! It reminded me a lot of Plaza España in Sevilla. We tried to do a little shopping but ended up getting a little overwhelmed (again) and decided to call it a day. So I bought hairspray and a water and we walked home. It is about a 30 minute stroll from our house to the center, which is where our language school is. There are also “micro buses” that are less than $1.00 and take you all over town if you don’t want to walk. Mara and I went to the beach and lied out and read for about an hour. During summer it is said that Viña del Mar and Valparaíso triple to quadruple in size from everyone in surrounding countries staying for vacation. The beach was literally swarming with people and everyone has umbrellas, the beach looks like a sea of people and colored daiquiri umbrellas. You have to search for a place to lie down where you will have, at max, 3 ft. of personal space around you. After reading a while, we went back to the house and took a little nap. With that time, my sunburn was able to kick in. Mainly caused by just walking around all day, but still, I guesss I will follow mothers’ orders and wear some sunblock next time…touché mother. Nick, (the other roomie) his girlfriend Ana, Mara and I went out for some dinner around 10:45pm. We walked toward the beach and then South to a place called “Tip y Tap” which had a logo of a fat guy with a beer….aka…safe bet. I had a pisco sour, which is a traditional Chilean drink (actually Chile and Peru have an unspoken battle about which country is the real ‘inventor’ of pisco)- Pisco is a brandy-like alcohol made from distilled grape spirits and is usually served with a lemon, lime, sugar. For dinner I ate a sandwich version of a  Churrasco Completo. Churrasco is meat that’s prepared similar to that in a philly cheese stake and when you order anything “completo”, it comes with tomato, avocado, mayonnaise, sauerkraut, and lettuce…so basically the most amazing condiments anyone could ask for.  After our late night roomie dinner we just walked home. I have to get up early and am headed to the language school to take a placement exam for classes I and then head to the winery. Maybe I’ll have some good wine reviews by tomorrow afternoon!