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If you happen to be traveling to Chile soon and enjoy ice cream as much as I do, then you are reading the right journal entry. I lived in Vina del Mar for six months while studying abroad and, luckily, got to experience the wonder that is Bravissimo ice cream. Like I said, I lived there for six months, and I probably went to this ice cream shop at least 4-5 times a week. You are probably wondering how in the world I had enough money to pay for so much ice cream - well, not only is it the best ice cream, but it is the cheapest ice cream too. You can buy two scoops in a cone for around $1.50(U.S.), depending on the exchange rate. They also have cakes, cookies, banana splits, and all other kinds of desserts, but if you do come here then you simply must get ice cream here. I would recommend flavors, but they are all amazing, so sample them all.

Okay, fine, I will recommend flavors: coconut, mouse de manjar, or anything else with manjar, anything with coffee, and the strawberry were all some of my favorites. There are two stores in Vina del Mar (by the beach and in the mall, the one in the mall is on the third floor). It is a very casual place, just like any local ice cream shop where you can walk in and order it to go. The best is to go around sunset, grab some ice cream, walk about a block to the beach, find a seat on the rocky shoreline facing the ocean, and enjoy ice cream and sunsets. They also have a restaurant but I never ate there so I cannot vouch for the food, but I'm sure it is good. We would always chose the sunsets and ice cream combo. I believe there is also a Bravissimo shop in Santiago as well. Enjoy!

We went often enough that they got to know us, and they were always extremely hospitable. The prices could be expensive sometimes, similar to the United States, depending on the drink, but happy hour always had reasonable prices. You can expect to pay around $3-6 for mixed drinks and $2-4 for a beer. During Happy Hour the drink prices drop to around $2-5 for everything (and Happy Hour lasts till about 11 in Chile since everything gets started so much later). They do have wide variety of beer and mixed drinks. The atmosphere was more relaxed than most bars. They even have a side room with couches if you get there early enough to claim them.

The real catch was the live music on Friday nights that started around 10-11, but that was chilean time and sometimes they just run on their own time so it could be later. Every Friday night they had a couple guys playing acoustic music. Since Chile is somewhat obsessed with classic rock music, they played a lot of Led Zeppelin, etc., which was nice. A typical night for us consisted of arriving at around 9-10 at night, early enough to claim our usual side room with the couches and candles. We would play cards or chat about the week's adventures for awhile and then the real fun began. We loved the acoustic music (one of the musicians was actually my host brother while I studied abroad). We would sit and listen for hours waiting to hear that one classic rock oldie that had been running through our head for the past week. By the end of the acoustical show, it was around 1 AM and things were just about to get rolling in the rest of Vina and Valparaiso so we would be on our way. Barrilete is a good bar for anyone looking for a fun night out, college-age to married couples. So if you are looking for a hang-out spot that is relaxing and has decent prices, an awesome atmosphere, and amazing music, you should definitely check it out.

When telling people about my adventures in Chile, they are always asking about the transportation, so I thought it would be helpful to tell a little about the insanity of transportation. It is probably not like most transportation you experience where you live. Most of the time, you will be able to walk wherever you need to go, but in the case that you do need transportation, there are three basic kinds: 1) taxi, 2) collectivo, and 3) micro.

Taxis are the same in Chile as they are wherever you are from. They are the most expensive (which still isn't very much) but are nice if you want privacy or need to get somewhere really fast. Collectivos are mini-taxis that will collect up to about four people and travel to and from a general area. They are less expensive than taxis but still get you where you want to go in a hasty manner. The cheapest and most interesting way would be the micros. They are mini-buses that drive insanely fast and make for quite the adrenaline rush if you are in need of one. I realized their hastiness of getting from point A to point B when one day the driver pulled the emergency brake going around a curve so he could keep maximum speed around the tight turn...and oh was that necessary. Needless to say, the micros are a fine choice of transportation and I encourage you to use this option.

The micros are what I used to get around and they cost around 20 cents (U.S.) a trip. The micros are generally slower, although it doesn't feel that way because of the way they drive, but they can get crowded and they make more stops. I would suggest riding the micros because it will give you a better experience of the Chilean culture. However, I should warn you that the micro system might be a little confusing if you don't know where you are going or which micro to take, but all you need to do is ask someone, and they will be happy to help.