Donde El Guaton (Where is the fat man?)

We have settled into the Spanish routine remarkably quickly - a leisurely lunch, back for a snooze and thin soup for dinner.  Helps the jetlag no end

Kin Mun researched a restaurant for lunch, Donde el Guaton.  After a walk, via various shops, we found it.

And walked in.

There was a big grill at the front of the restaurant

but it seemed to be only for the bread.

We ordered.

We had two traditional Chilean dishes.  I had Choclo, and the description of corn, onions, minced meat, chicken did nothing to prepare me for what came! It is the Chilean version of shepherd's pie, with corn instead of mashed potato and topped with sugar which melts into the corn.  Quiet sweet - but actually very nice.

Kin Mun had the house specialty - a huge piece of tender beef, salad and rice.

And postre (dessert).

And a glass of red wine - Chilean of course.  Limon juice  (which is actually lime), and coffee, all for AU25 each. 

You can see that the restaurant is not over-heated - nor is anywhere else. 

Bits and pieces

A La Serena Fabric shop. It sold everything from dress and suit cloths, to home furnishings, fleece etc.  They were stored behind the counter and there were shop assistants everywhere.

Cracks in buildings.  A fairly typical street scene.  There are few, if any, high-rise buildings.

Visually impaired people were out selling the items du jour - in this case, eclipse viewing glasses.  The irony or black humour was not lost on us.....

A nation's number plates take my attention...

Churches in La Serena

We went for a walk this morning.

This is our hotel.

There are several churches in the main city.
This is Santo Domingo.

And it has a bell-tower.  We could make out one bell, hung for chiming.

This is the cathedral.

It is as old as our own Christ Church St Laurence.

This is the organ, behind the altar

There are plenty of statues.  This one reminded me of our trip to Andalucia just before easter.

And the Spanish do not shy away from the gory details.

These are also an infection-control-nightmare as people would look, kiss the feet and touch the knees.

There was a steady stream of worshippers.  The church did not seem to be in decline. 

Santiago and La Serena

We had a good flight to Santiago.  I have never flown so far south before!  We were down to the 65th parallel.

We saw NOTHING for 11 hours.  Having 4 engines on our trusty 747 was reassuring!  Then an hour or so before landing, we saw this - South America!

There were mountains to the right and to the left of us as we flew up the coastline towards Santiago.  The ones out the right (to the east) were snow covered  A spectacular sight.

The pilot had to fly around the mountain before he saw the runway.  He certainly didn't train for that in Longreach.

La Serena airport was small.  There were notices about the upcoming eclipse.  This small town will have its time in the sun (or should I say shadow).

There was a map showing where the good viewing points are.

People have been very friendly and helpful.  Two local ladies helped us with the ATM.  I think they also wanted to give us a lift into town - but years of training have made us cautious.  For once, "I speaka no Spanish" came in useful!

Our hotel is basic - but solid, clean, and everything works.  Wifi is also good - I haven't had to resize the pics to post them, so you may be deluged.  Our Camino Spanish is being brushed off and getting a work-out. Had ensalada mixta con atun (mixed salad with tuna) once again!

Hanging Rock

Since our flight to King Island disappeared, Michael took us for a drive outside Melbourne.  We went to Hanging Rock, hoping that nothing else would disappear.

We had known about HR from the movie.  The rocks are the result of volcanic lava that has formed a plug.  Over the years the soil has been eroded and the plug rises above the landscape.  The altitude is about 800m.  We could feel our eats pop, and my waterbottle had compressed as we drove home.


WARNING - LOTS OF ROCKS AHEAD; SCROLL DOWN FOR SELFIE etc

Walking up to the top of the pinnacles

Michael

and this is what he was looking up at.

At the top.

St Patricks Cathederal

St Patrick's Cathedral has been in the news lately so we went to have a look at it.  There was a wedding on, so we had to wait for it to finish before we could go inside.  We did hear the bells, and so we waited to talk to the ringers afterwards.  With the usual bell-ringing camaraderie, we were invited to Sunday's service ring, but unfortunately we are busy.  This is the church where the bells are arranged anti-clockwise but the ringers assured us that they rang with the usual arrangements, so surely we could ring theirs!

It is a grand church and with a good aspect over the city..  

Some pics outside.  The ribbons on the fence are in support of those who suffered abuse at the hands of the priests - or an archbishop.

And the bride....

Melbourne

We were looking forward to this trip to Melbourne, mainly for a nostalgic joyride to King Island on a vintage DC3 plane.  We were not counting on a very eventful trip. First there was a two hour delay leaving Sydney because of a threatening electrical storm. Then, DISAPPOINTMENT, the company that operates the flight went into receivership. Of course we could still enjoy Melbourne, and meet up with Kay's nephew Michael.

Michael brought us to the interesting Danish Hereford Beefstouw for a lovely meal of steak and ribs.

Outside Danish Herefor Beefstous

A walked a lot around Melbourne, the narrow laneways of cafes and shops and wide streets that reminded us of Vienna.

Cafes and shops

The Block Arcade

Kay admiring a pastry shop

Melbourne has metro and trams

Across the street from Spencer Street Station

Many parts of Melbourne are very European, with its Italian and Greek restaurants and cafes, and yet few streets away there would be a concentration of Asians, a totally different feel.

Pho for lunch

Chinatown

Association for people originating from KM's grandfather's village county

DC3 can wait until the next time. Meanwhile we are enjoying Melbourne.