McDaniel Family Visit: Valparaiso and Casas del Bosque

This post will be mostly second hand, as on Sunday, Drew took Mom, Leah, and Osman to Valparaiso to check out the street art. I stayed back in Santiago with the boys for several reasons. One, the boys had been to Valpo before, and they move too fast past the art for it to be enjoyed properly with them in tow. Two, the boys had a rugby tournament that day that they really wanted to attend. Three, after Valpo, the family went to tour a winery and have a nice dinner, which was also not the boys' scene.  Four, I had gotten to play tour guide all week while Drew was on kid duty non-stop, so we decided it was only fair to switch it up. Five, Drew is the only proficient manual driver out of the two of us. 

The boys had a great time at rugby. It was a tournament with a dozen teams there in their age group. They played 15 minute games for an hour and a half straight, so they played 6 other teams. Avery, who is the youngest and smallest player on the team (he's the only Kinder kid just trying it out to see if he likes it for next year. Most of the other players are 1st or 2nd graders) was awarded the Best Tackle of the Day, so he got to lead the goodbye cheer at the end of the day. Avery likes to hang back on defense until there is a break away, and then he runs at them like a bat out of hell and tackles them, which he knows how to do because its kinda similar to the take downs they've been practicing in wrestling. He managed to tackle some much bigger kids than him. Pretty determined little guy. Long term, I don't think rugby is a sport we will push, due to the same head trauma concerns as American Football. But for now, while the boys are little, they aren't going too hard or too fast to cause much damage, and they love playing on a team with their friends from school. 

So, on to Valpo. Sounds like the Fam had a lovely day. First stop, street art. 

When we went to Valpo the first time, we saw an artist just beginning to work on a piece. Now it's finished!

Before:

After!

View of the harbor from lunch.

They toured the Chilean Maritime History Museum, which, aside from being interesting considering how much coastline Chile has, apparently had the best view in the city. Good to know!

After Valpo, the family went to a vineyard called Casas del Bosque, which means Houses in the Forest. Sounds like it was a very lovely vineyard, very Napa-esque. The Fam went on a tour and then a tasting, of course. They were nice enough to bring us back a couple bottles of their favorite stuff, which I'm very excited to try.  

They then had dinner at the vineyard, at a restaurant called Botanico. Yummy looking desserts!

On Monday, Leah and I hiked up Manquehue. Two bad asses hiking with no mans. Drew has done this hike numerous times, and Osman was having some foot pain, so off we went. Manquehue is a squirrelly one, but we got 'er done with no issues. 

Monday night, everyone flew out. Nana left a parting gift, two alpaca stuffies made with the fur of alpacas, so they're outrageously fluffy. IT'S SOOOO FLUFFYYYYYY!!!!! Instant hit. 

Thanks Family for making this journey around the world to visit us here in Santiago. It meant so much that you came to see us, and we loved every minute of it. Being away from family is definitely the biggest con to this whole living abroad experience, so getting to see you guys and show you our lives here makes the two realms feel more connected, even if only for a little while. Love you guys.