Our daughter spent over 10 months as an exchange student in the charming city of Talca, Chile, which is located approximately three hours south of Santiago. After we arrived in Santiago and spent a day exploring the sights, we headed to Talca via a comfortable motorcoach (we watched the 2004 romantic comedy 50 First Dates dubbed in Spanish along the way!). Once we arrived in Talca, we checked in at the Eco Hotel (highly recommended, by the way!), which overlooks the beautiful Alameda street park and provides an ideal base for exploring the city. We strolled along the Alameda in the morning and headed to the Plaza de Armas. We also visited the Cerro de la Virgen, a spectacular hill overlooking the city that features a huge statue of the Virgin Mary along with panoramic views of Talca and the distant Andes Mountains. In addition, we took a brief tour of the beautiful Casa Donoso Winery and sampled Chilean cuisine such as the delicious Completos – hotdogs piled high with chopped tomatoes, avocados and mayonnaise. All and all, we had a great time in Talca and hope to be back one day!