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Published: January 2nd 2007
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New Years Eve 31st December 2006
So we booked the poshest restaurant in Valparaiso for tonight's festivities. We were walking along yesterday admiring the views when we stumbled across this beautiful looking restaurant with panoramic views of the bay. We popped in to have a look around and couldn´t help but book ourselves table for our most expensive dinner ever!
We´re told to get there for 6.30pm for the aperitifs. At 6pm Kate is worrying as she wants to get there early enough to sample the atmosphere, but of course we´re running slightly late because we had to have an afternoon nap. We´ve been for a wander earlier in the day and lots of people have set up tents all along the beach in preparation for tonight. The guide book says that hundreds of thousands of people attend. We take the Turri ascensor up the hill - its hidden in a small passage and takes us up to Cerro Concepcion, which is dotted with beautiful houses. The ascensor is actually quite rickety but good fun. We finally arrive at the restaurant at 6.30pm on the dot to find that they are still closed and are told to come back
in an hour. Typical! This is Chilean time I believe!
In the meantime we´ve managed to forget the camera and Kate has left her inhaler behind (she is not called the Wheesus for nothing!). So we have a mad dash back to the B&B. Trying to explain to the taxi driver to wait for us and return with us is fun! In the end its works out well for us as the taxi driver takes us back a different way with amazing views of the city and we´ve got to sample some of the atmosphere.
We arrive at 7.45pm and we´re still one of the first lots of people here! We get a guided tour of the restaurant and sit outside on the terrace supping a glass of champagne or three. We head back to our table for the aperitifs feeling slightly squiffy already! We´re given crab vol au vents (which I don´t have in case I have an allergic reaction to them!) and other nice delicacies with prawns and pastries! Then we´re given a glass of chardonnay as well!!
We´re watching the sunset from the balcony when we´re called back to our table for the starter.
I can´t believe the size of it. There are king prawns (already peeled of course), whole lobster tale cooked to perfection (already peeled of course), slices of abalone, sea snails (yuk!) and clams in garlic. Its fantastic!
The next course is sorbet to cleanse our palates! Followed by a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon!
We´re expecting to choose from two dishes for our main course. But oh no we got that wrong, we´re given both! Thank god I didn´t eat that second bread roll. The first dish is a delicious white fish with a shitake mushroom risotto - absolutely divine. Then we´re given another course which is a strange mixture of a fillet Mignon in a chocolate like sauce, with a crab roll (except this time I take a mouthful before I realise my error - I have to run to the bathroom and spit it out before I go into anaphylactic shock!), and a parcel of fruits (like a dim sum!). A very strange concoction but still delicious.
The sun has set by now and we sit watching the twinkling lights all the way along the bay of Valparaiso round to Viña del Mar. The candle on
Fish from the Nile .... so what the hell is it doing in Chile
Thias was Kate´s favourite dish. The fish was sweet & both it & the shitake rissotto were absolutely gorgeous! our table has been lit and we´re having a wonderful evening.
Bizarrely enough some of the tables around us are still empty and people are arriving very late. We´re told this is a Chilean thing (like the restaurant opening late). These people must be very rich as you have to pay for the restaurant in advance.
All the time copious amounts of alcohol have been flowing - we´ve always got 2 glasses on the go, champers and some wine!!
Desert is another gastronomic affair - creme brulee, a divine chocolate truffle that melts in your mouth and another chocolate thing!!! My trousers are tight by now and I can´t actually believe I can eat anymore, but then the cheese course arrives. Oh my god! We actually stuff some in but that's the lot for us apart from the whisky and coffee and more champagne and more red wine!!
We´re given a load of party goodies with a silly hat, a whistle, squeaky horns things and baby rattles. Oh what fun!
Its nearly midnight by now so we grab our champagne glasses (and the bottle because we´re chavs and won´t let it go even though its
a free bar all night!) and go and occupy a spot on the stairs overlooking the terrace and bay. Its a mad party atmosphere outside with the streets heaving with thousands of people. Everyone is having a good time and its not like home where people are drunk and abusive but a fun time with lots of families everywhere.
We count in the New Year and Kate and I are the only ones to sing Auld Lang Syne - which is difficult for me as I only know a few words!!! Still we got the gist of it right.
Soon after the firework display kicks in. Make sure you watch the videos to get a feel for this! The fireworks are incredible, the best we´ve ever seen. From our view point we can see the bay stretching to Viña del Mar (11 kms away) and there are 11 points along the bay setting off fireworks. They are co-ordinated to explode at the same time. They go on for 20 minutes and put the crowd into a frenzy! The sky is lit up a multitude of colours and the reflections in the water are stunning.
We´re now in
a real party mood. When the fireworks finish the band struck up and we hit the dance floor shaking our maracas and laughing like lunatics! We dance until the early hours of the morning then staggered out to get a taxi home!!
We´ve had the best new year ever and wish everyone out there a very Happy New Year
Love A&K xxxxx
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lucas
non-member comment
feliz año nuevo
great entry guys. i felt like i was there stuffing myself silly with you both. there was a month between this new year's entry and the previous one from peru. ¿what happened in between?