Hola to all Forum Members.
We arrived home yesterday after our 3 1/2 week South American adventure.  I read several posts and blogs while we away but only commented on a couple.  There have been some wonderful blogs though - loved the one about fashion orphans today - and some fascinating forum posts too.

A few comments sorted into categories.

Travelling
We had ten days in La Serena, a northern city in Chile, based in a family home.  It was a coastal climate with highlights being the wonderful fresh produce, the wine, the desert, the historic city centre, and getting a feel for this friendly country.  We then had a week in Buenos Aires, where we were in an inner city hotel.  New Years was not the ideal time for the visit as many things were closed (and the rubbish collectors had a day or two off as well) but we loved the faded gradeur, the majestic plazas, the tango show, a visit to an estancia to see rural Argentina, the city buzz of markets and a real blend of cultures.  We then came back and had five days in Santiago where we visited the historic city of Valparaiso and had a taste of a modern thriving city.

We were with family so between 6-9 in the party, with the youngest being 7 years of age.  This impacted on some of our sightseeing, and perhaps restaurant choices.  We did have a taste of nightlife.

Chile is an easy safe place to visit - we loved having a taste of South America, learning some Spanish, and staying with family who had been living there always makes it easier to get to understand a new place.  Buenos Aires is a fascinating city, it has a rough edge, but is so busy and buzzy and exciting.  I would recommend both.  Our sons both loved it too and we felt it was good for them to visit a non- English speaking country for the first time, and for them to see how people live.  There is extreme poverty in both places, and pollution/rubbish issues in parts.  It made me appreciate my own good fortune, but at times can be uncomfortable when you are a tourist.

Fashion in Chile and Argentina

I did not do a lot of shopping - two pairs of shoes for me.  One pair of walking Merrell sandals and a pair of stunning green tango shoes (which I will show to the forum later).  We saw some beautifully dressed women in Buenos Aires in classically elegant clothes and loafers, and the business women in Santiago also had a flair I liked very much.  In the most part clothes were more fitting and glitzy than in NZ, lots of body con tops, shorts and trousers.  Lots of cut off denim shorts, lots of flat form shoes with a lug sole, lots of tights/leggings worn as pants.  I did like many of the patterned casual loose trousers that I saw.  Colours were bright and clear, or light neutrals.

The men's fashion was very much to my taste though.  The men tended to be very crisp and tidy, lots of smart chino trousers, fitted business shirts and polo shirts in great colours.  The men had great hair too.  It was a touch smarter than what NZers tend to wear.

My travel wardrobe.

I was happy with my selection.  I wore every piece I took except one necklace.  I did wear my great Secret Santa pendant several times thanks to Sarah the White :).  I could have left behind one black shirt, my white jacket, and one casual tee easily.  While they were all worn the black shirt and white jacket were only worn once.  It was very warm and on the only cool nights we were dining in at the house.  DH's family are very casual so I was the most dressed up.  I wore my hat constantly.  I was also pleased to have a variety of shoes (started with 5 and ended with 7).  Even the most comfortable sandals struggle in a humid heat.  I liked to have three walking shoe options to rotate and then with the Merrell purchase I ended with four.  I did no take heels and did not need them.  I wore my two dresses - the maxi four times and the knee length one two times.  I did wear a lot of black and white and neutrals.  

I did have a couple of fashion related thoughts though.  If I love an item I will happily wear it constantly and feel good.  My black and white patterned pants were super useful as they were smart, comfortable and versatile.  I wore them whenever they were clean.

My nephew aged 20 did post two pics on his facebook page which I disliked intensely.  Of the women (3) I am by far the tallest, and also the curviest.  In the pics it becomes very obvious.  I do know it is partly the outfit that day (I will not wear that tee with those bermuda's again) and partly the angle and perspective.  I was cross with myself for letting it bother me.  Knee length shorts are not flattering on me...but they were useful for the type of holiday we had.  I will rethink whether I continue wearing them or work out some different combinations to make them work better.

Food and exercise
We had some delicious produce in La Serena - the cherries, apricots, basil and tomatoes were memorable.  We had great steak in Argentina.  Red wine was very reasonable and delicious.  Lots of things were very sweet - even my son commented the pasta sauce was sweet.  We had a stunning BBQ on the ranch, and a memorable vegetarian meal in Santiago.  

We did lots of walking, we went to the gym four mornings in Argentina, and I went for five runs.  We did some active travelling on bikes a couple of days.  But we did do a lot of wine drinking, and while I usually turned down dessert or helado (icecream) I did parkake a few times.  I did long for some simple meals yesterday after dining out so much.

Photos.
I will attach a few iphone pics immediately I finish this post.  

It is nice to be home, it is my son's 10th birthday today and the sun is shining

This post has 9 photos. Photos uploaded by this member are only visible to other logged in members.

If you aren't a member, but would like to participate, please consider signing up. It only takes a minute and we'd love to have you.