Monday, June 21, 2010

9:55 AM

mateng

at last plenty of time to play. the whole week spent walking with friends in tow through the streets of santiago, observing the cultures and sub-cultures of the barrios, riding on the metro, the bus, walking some more and stopping for a thirst quencher only when on the verge of fainting. in santiago you walk, i mean really walk, alot, which i love because you see people's faces, you feel the energies of those people, you get to perceive the many different worlds surrounding us. i have always loved walking the streets of santiago. there are still plenty of cobblestone streets and now that it is autumn, the maple trees have begun to shed their leaves and all the avenues are filled with them. sometimes raindropped filled ones. believe me, it's been pretty cold here, lots of rain and tons of snow up in the mountains, but we just dress in layers, wrap scarves around our necks, put gloves on and off we go, no excuses. and how fun to actually use the umbrella, walk in the rain, smell the clean air, get you feet wet in the puddles. walking by day and by night under the antique street lights singing in the rain.

half way through the week i ventured into the meiggs district of santiago, hundreds of importers with anything and everything from kitsch to tacky. ofcourse i fell for the kitsch.

it was right before chile's match in the world cup so the streets were filled with vendors selling flags and whistles, cars honking their horns in expectation.°º¤øº¤ø Chile„¸¸„ø¤º°¨Chile¸„ø¤º°¨ ¨°º¤øº¤øChile „¸¸„ø¤º°¨¨°º¤øº¤øChile„¸¸„ø¤º°¨Chile¸„ø¤º°¨¨°º¤øSiguel a ola!º¤ø„¸¸„ø¤º°°º¤øº¤ø Chile„¸¸„ø¤º°¨Chile¸„ø¤º°¨ ¨°º¤øº¤øChile „¸¸„ø¤º°¨¨°º¤øº¤øChile„¸¸„ø¤º°¨Chile¸„ø¤º°¨¨°º¤øSigue la ola!º¤ø„¸¸„ø¤º°, they call it la OLA, the wave. now you might understand why i love this country so much. there are millions of mini sub-cultures at every turn of the way.
i stopped to take pictures of the carrousel at the central train station.

but the highlight was meeting cecilia

who collects antique french enamelware

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-French-Enamelware-Coffee-Pot-Cherries-/380173960316?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item588422447c

for the first time. we had met through our mutual blogs and realized we were both chileans. after weeks of commenting, we decided it was time to meet. she picked the most darling tea shop near where i live called "mozart" and we ordered double cappuccinos and strudel. outside it poured. so romantic. ofcourse i instantly loved her. natural, spontaneous, and with so much "flo" as chilean youths call joie de vivre. i'm sure she'll be showing off all her finds soon on her blog. she is one of those "aware" souls who was there or appeared when i most needed someone, never asking indiscreet questions, not asking but GIVING, GIVING, GIVING, making me so happy just being there with her ethereal essence. an angel? that's an understatement! Cecilia is the real deal. what i live for, what i look for in life, a transparent, pure, clean, light radiating person. i loved her unconditionally in in instant.

and both being veteran antiquers and searchers of all things vintage, we immediately set an appointment for a full day at the flea market the following sunday. since she's lived here most of her life and i've been away for so long, she was my guide. she knows literally all the best sellers. the flea market is huge, specializing mostly in restored furniture but we managed to find tons and tons of knick knacks. oh how i wish i could just fill up a container and take all that furniture home with me. for now i had to just buy things that won't take up too much space in my suitcases when i go home to cali in july. i did, however, buy a calypso stained chair to keep my environment happy, calypso has always been my favorite color.