Weekend in America's Hat

We took a quick trip up north to visit the exotic city of Toronto, Canada. Two days were not nearly enough, but we managed to see a lot of the city. As it turns out, this trip sort of bookended our summer of visiting the extremes of the hemisphere (well, Toronto and Santiago aren't quite at the extremes, but we have to dramatize a little).

"No cars go..." We took a ferry from downtown to the Toronto Islands on lake Ontario. There are no cars on the islands, just pedal-powered rides.

Not a bad first try with chopsticks.

Enjoying a homemade Jamaican ginger beer. Toronto has so many great places to eat, it traumatized us a little to have to choose where to eat. Our last dinner included a lamb burger with bleu cheese and kimchi.

We took a rest stop at Lake Erie somewhere in New York on the way up.

Simone soaring over Lake Ontario.

Valparaíso

We took a spontaneous weekend trip to the coast to stay in one of our favorite cities. One night was not enough, but it was great to get a Valpo fix.

Simone's reaction when she saw the incredible view from Cerro Alegre.

5-Step Program

Simone decided to take her first steps in Chile.

Barrio Brasil (but we're still in Chile).

We took a stroll through Barrio Brasil yesterday. Apparently it used to be a pretty well-to-do neighborhood, but it hit hard times in the 1950s. The architecture is really cool. It's a bit gritty and bohemian, but it probably was quite snazzy back in the day.

"Down with the dictatorship of money!!!" (Looks like this block is getting 'Sugarhoused'.)

This mural was done by a collective that tries to recapture the identities of pueblos. Check out their blog if you're interested in seeing more of their work.

Our current neck of the woods

We're staying in an apartment in downtown Santiago in a historic neighborhood called Lastarria. We like Santiago a lot, but this neighborhood has been our favorite. The next few pictures show some streets just beyond our apartment. This is our street. There are always antique vendors during the day.

This mural was dedicated to the poet Gabriela Mistral. It's right below the hill called Cerro Santa Lucía (more photos of the hill to come).

This is the national library, where I have been spending most of my work time, finding old texts about the scouting movement in Chile. Amorette and Simone go off on adventures while I geek out.

Bubby has learned some new tricks here. She can drink a juice box, say "hola" sometimes, oh yeah, and she just started to walk!!! It must be the yerba mate.

Simone's 1st birthday

simone got a (sort of) tricycle for her first birthday. of course, we had to check out each others' single speed bikes and do a mini critical mass ride.

she's really good at ringing the bell and going backwards. we still need to work on the mount, dismount, riding forward and turning.

chile-bound

parker's been busier than usual preparing for his dissertation proposal and applying for grants and scholarships. we just found out that he was awarded a scholarship to do some research in chile for his dissertation, which means we're headed for santiago this summer. woot woot! we're looking forward to getting together with some friends, enjoying an extra fall this year and eating too many empanadas.

*do you know anyone who wants to rent a sublet house for a couple months in pittsburgh?

(photo by fahrenheit75)

lately...

enjoying some freakishly warm weather last week in the northside.

"the raft"--installation outside the mattress factory by cuban artist armando mariño.

out and about in morningside.