Wake up!

A few months ago, I was planning on having a merry little Christmas, albeit a lonely one, on the west coast. I knew Rigo wouldn’t have enough time off from work to travel to PA or Chile and my brother was making plans to spend Christmas in Pittsburgh. But somehow it worked out that without having to step foot on a plane, we had a very lively and very Chilean Christmas and New Year. Rodrigo’s parents arrived almost three weeks ago and we have been touring the city and braving the cold (it’s summer in Chile, mind you). And then, with just a few days advance notice, we received two more Chilean guests just in time to ring in 2010 in San Francisco.

Not surprisingly, there are still a lot of places in the city that I have not explored, and out-of-country visitors bring the opportunity to see something new. I can now check the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park off my places to go list.

I did nothing to elicit the looks of alarm in these photographs. These are just the responses you get when a squirrel almost jumps on top of your head.

We spent lots of time in restaurants, eating and enjoying good company.

We toured some familiar places as well. (I went to this cathedral over the summer when my parents came to visit.)

And everyone has to experience the beautiful tranquility of Half Moon Bay.

And no visit to San Francisco is complete without the Golden Gate Bridge…and the Chilean flag. Viva Chile!

Happy 2010! May this year be even better than the last.