La La La La Serena!

First stop on THE JOURNEY: Santiago. I finally got the yellow fever vaccination that took me six days to track down and obtain. Ughhhhhhhh.

Second stop on THE JOURNEY: La Serena.....

Last time I visited La Serena I fell ill with the flu. That certainly colored my view of this little town. I remembered La Serena as a dreary little place with a moderately cheesy downtown and not much going on. As you can imagine, I wasn't very excited to go back, but it seemed to be the only logical stop on my way to San Pedro de Atacama...

Luckily, the lovely Allison and Ryan found my blog and invited me to stay with them for a few nights. They are a couple of American Astronomers that work at an American observatory in the area. The Elqui Valley, a stones throw from La Serena, is known around the world for it's incredibly clear skies.

It's been really interesting to hear about their expat experiences and to learn about all the wonderful cooking adventures they've undertaken with the limited supply of ingredients available in Chile. These people are hardcore. They often make their own bread, and it's GOOD. They make yogurt and they even strain it through cheese cloth like cotton (which they painstakingly sought out!) to make it thick and lovely like the yogurt we all know and love. They make amazing curry too, and attempt things like a new nan recipe on a weeknight. Did I mention that Allison made her own wedding cakes??? I love these people.

Anyway, back to La Serena. It's simply a lovely town! No, there's not much to do, but as the Lonely Planet says "La Serena boasts an architectural harmony and beauty noticeably lacking in most Chilean cities."

Also, there is a cafe of the Plaza de Armas right across the street from La Iglesia Catedral (the main church) called Cafe Centenario. Go there. It's the cutest cafe I've been to in Chile. It's like Paris. It's like Buenos Aires. It's such a lovely surprise. They even have cafe cortado submarinos!!!- A little latte with a piece of chocolate dropped in that when stirred turns into melty coffee chocolate milky goodness. Best mocha ever, or maybe the atmosphere just made me woozy with bliss....

Bliss!

And the antique shop down the street? Ahh! It's just as all antique shops should be, labyrinthine and creepy. It's full of chandeliers, broken dolls, religious icons, dainty tea cups, and display cases of jewelry that they had lost the keys for. (They could tell me the prices but I couldn't buy anything because they couldn't get inside until they got someone to come with bolt cutters and cut off the locks!) The old man who owned the place was friendly and confused looking, he rambled, paced with a limp, and was whittling a little tiny chair out of an avocado pit. It made me feel warm inside, like I'd just taken a shot of whiskey. It made me feel surrounded by mysterious, yet important historical relics, as I'd just walked into the New York City Natural History Museum and had seen the tyrannosaurus rex looming precariously over my head. It was what every good antique shop should be.

Bliss...

The day only got better, but I'll stop there. The only unfortunate occurrence is that I don't have the cord for my camera nor can I find a memory card reader so I cannot bless you with the sight of creepy dolls, an art deco cafe, and the sunny skies of a lovely coastal town. Soon, my friends, soon.....

Besos,
Allie