Rain in the city.

Dh can't get over the similarities that this city has to New York. I guess it is, I've only been there on two occasions. Today it rained. And rained all day and into the night. The many passers by my window down in the street carried umbrellas and scurried along to their destinations. Fewer people seemed to line the sidewalks than usual. I didn't even know that it rained here. Of course I did all of my home work on a city that we will never live in, Iquique. We are happy today. We found out that for certain, we will get to stay here. We've gotten the approval to start searching for our home. Oh what a daunting task at hand.

Because of the rain, I stayed in this afternoon while dh went to work. Or some kind of work related thing. He came back to the room at 4:30pm and we left to hunt for food. It rained all evening too. The streets were puddle filled and many of those people who had stayed in as I did during the day, had ventured out and about. Most carried umbrellas, and us coming from the land of dry to the bone Tucson did not even own one. Silly us. Luckily, we are staying in a pretty ritzy place and our door man handed one to us upon our departure. We bundled up the kiddos in their fluffy little fleece hats, and then put on jackets and grabbed a blanket and tucked it in around Alexa in her stroller. So Eddie, dh and myself had to share an umbrella. The rain was steady, but it was not a pouring rain.

We walked along in search of something that could feed us all happily. If you have a child or two, I'm certain that you understand the meaning in that sentence all too well. There were crowded bistros along side streets. As we walked by I had peeked through the windows and wondered how we could even get in, never mind parking my stroller. We walked on. Cars zoomed by and nearly drove over our ankles as we navigated the brick lined walks. The puddles were too numerous and enticing for Eddie as we went, and he stomped a few or more enjoying it more and more each time his feet would get wet. I'm quite certain that this did not please the other people who shared our sidewalks.

We spied a familiar restaurant, zeroed in and headed straight for Ruby Tuesdays. It felt wrong to go there. But right for the kids. And also nice to get out of the rain. There was a ramp that had a very steep incline. I actually thought I might fall. I wondered how another human being would be able to push an actual wheel chair if the need presented itself. Pushing Alexa up that incline made me dig my feet in for better grasp. Gee, that was an outstanding design.

We ate a pretty average dinner. The kids asked for chicken. What a surprise there. We gave them some pasta to go with it. The menu, even though it was in Spanish, said that I was supposed to get steamed vegetables and mashed potatoes. I got neither one. Just a heaping portion of pasta and chicken with marinara sauce. Again, average American food. In Chile. Go figure. I know my mother is waiting to hear about our outstanding seafood, but I have failed to take into account that at the same time, we need to feed our little ones. If I recall correctly, I was the pickiest eater of all 3 of her children. So, she will have to be patient on that one.

We've lost another item. Alexa's pink sippy cup. Bravisimo! Now she is without. And I know she will be mad once she realizes that Eddie has his, but hers is now gone. We called the restaurant and asked, but they said it wasn't there. I don't believe them. I don't think that they really looked. I bet you it's still on the floor under or around our table where we sat. And I'm thinking that I am going to make dh call again to find out.

After our dinner, we had to head over to the grocery store for some boxed milk. Yum. Doesn't that sound appetizing? But the kiddos love to drink it, so far be it from me to stop them. We were also low on water, yogurt, bananas and well everything it seems. But if you live in the city and have ever had to shop at a store and lug it all home, then you know that you can't buy much at a time.

The grocery store near our hotel isn't as nice as the super one we saw yesterday, but it serves it's purpose. What I don't understand is why American's (as lazy as we can be) haven't caught on to the whole "SIT DOWN CASHIER" thing. All of the cashiers here have chairs. Now that's a novel idea. Anyone care to explain? And why is the bread so darn hard? Can't they get fresh bread here? It all seems to be very tough. Not soft at all. I guess I'm spoiled that way.

After our quick zip through the store, we left with bags in hand, stuffed under the stroller and hanging from the handles as well. I felt like I was an old pro. Many walkers left with bags up and down their arms too. All of the people were dressed in coats of varying shades of greys and browns. It was cold outside. And I was thankful that I had bought that hat for Eddie for 99 cents, because it covered his ears. I now understood why they dressed that way. In my many years in Florida, I had never had the need for a heavy coat. In fact I never owned one up until recently. Of course that coat is with our household items. I still don't know when we will see them again.

Even if they get here pretty soon, we still have to go through the process of finding our home. And from what I am told, it's a lengthy process. So, in the meantime, we will walk about and hope it doesn't get much colder than this. I have layers, so I can bundle.

Wish us luck in our house hunt! I feel like things could get aggravating.