Day 2--Uncontested

 

Take us away!!!

We started this blog back in 2007, when we went to Australia for two weeks.  We flew home from Sydney on LAN, but stopping in Auckland for two hours, and Santiago for 10 hours.  Bill counted that as “being to Chile” and Theresa contested the country count.  Well, officially we’re back on the same page!

Someone is ready!

We kind of like this seat arrangement!

A nice starter!

We had a good flight yesterday, but it wasn’t very remarkable.  As we were deplaning, Theresa was a few people ahead of me and saw a guy standing there with a “Silverseas” sign.  We didn’t have any arrangements with them (until Monday), but she stopped and asked.  He queried “William and Theresa?” just as Bill arrived then told us to come with him.  He proceeded to escort us through the airport processes.  Step 1 show vaccinations, 2 the “swab”, 3 Immigration (where she asked each of us our marital status…while we stood together in front of her)…  By the time we got through all of that, our escort had claimed our three bags and was waiting for us.  So, we were feeling a little spoiled.

Nice view and sitting area.

We decided to stay at the Mandarin Oriental, which is where Silverseas is putting everyone up for the last night.  So, Theresa—being the eternal researcher she is—found if she joined their “club” (called "I'm a Fan" because their logo is a "Chinese fan") and used out AMEX, we would get all sorts of goodies (like pay two nights get the third free, for example).  Even though we got there at 7AM, they managed to get us a room and we got settled, and took a nap.

The view when we got to our room at 7AM.

And after a little nap.

Snow capped Andes...makes me want a mint!!

We got the negative test result back in time to head to lunch.  So, we checked out the nearby mall to see what local options there were, and found what seemed like a sandwich joint, and thought we were getting a beef sandwich.  Not sure what happened, but we ended up with two stiff buns, filled with about a half cup of mayo, three quarter cup of guacamole, and a thin layer of…pork?  It was hard to not wear most of it. 

Assorted truffles, chocolates, and a handwritten card!

Since it’s vacation, we decided to spend the afternoon relaxing in our room watching silly movies.  The doorbell rang, and there were two guys standing there.  uhhhh...  He started talking about welcoming us as members of the "fan club" and handing me a card, then a box, then another box.

The bread choices were "round" or "square".  ??

For dinner, we decided to look for some "local" food.  At the same mall we had lunch, there were several restaurants, many recognizable chains and a few unfamiliar ones.  We tried one called "Tip y Tap".  It was challenging since the menu was only in Spanish, and Google Translate wasn't necessarily helpful.  No idea what "Steak for the Poor" is, but I didn't try it!  This ended up being much like lunch.  We might be done with sandwiches for a bit.

No idea what we're in for, but with a
name like that...  How could we go wrong??

Walking home along "President Kennedy Avenue".

The guessing game about what they had
on tap was getting us nowhere.