Raul has such a great family and I am so grateful that we got to know them during our stay in Chile! (Raul, Aubrey, Raul's Mother Yessenia, Raul's youngest sister Laura, Father Manuel, younger brother Isaiah, and younger sister Sarah.

Our first night in Chile we had dinner over at Raul's grandma's house, and the food was really good (of course)! Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the grandma's house we were at (Raul's mother's mother) because she was busy in the kitchen, but she was the one selling her goods at the outdoor market. The grandmother pictured above is Raul's father's mother, along with Raul's father, brother, and sister.

I hurried and snapped this picture when Raul's mother stepped out of the kitchen for a minute.

Raul's grandmother made all of Raul's favorite foods including a type of corn chowder (delicious!) and Chilean's version of Flan for dessert.

And of course Empanadas! Some were made with meat and onions, and others stuffed with ham & cheese (Aubrey friendly).

Also at dinner that night was Raul's uncle (not pictured), other sister Sarah, Sarah's boyfriend Bastian, and cousin Anthony.

The icing on the cake of the whole night was listening to Bastian (the musical prodigy) play his violin! It was so beautiful that Aubrey and I just bawled like babies! (I can blame it on jet lag but I'd be lying...he was that good!)

A few days later we got invited over to Raul's family's house for dinner with Jake. We had a wonderful meal and it was good to get to know Raul's family a little better!

One of Raul's favorite things is playing chess with his father.

Raul looking up chess strategies on his phone.

For dinner we ordered in and had a popular Chilean dish that consists of Fries loaded with meat, caramelized onions and eggs on top. Ours (Aubrey friendly) had mushrooms, corn, avocados, tomatoes and olives.

After Aubrey and Raul's wedding in the Concepcion Temple we stopped for dinner at a casino in Concepcion with Raul's family. Most people ordered the Chilean loaded fries but Aubrey, Raul and I went for more of an American dish that included beef, chicken, and pork kabobs and mashed potatoes (so good!). This isn't a very good picture but I should have tried what Sarah and Bastian ordered...waffles and ice cream, Yum!

Speaking of sweets, my favorite dessert in Chile is a cake called Torta de Mil Hojas or Thousand Layer Cake. It's made of layers of thin crispy pastry that's filled with Dulce de Leche and walnuts. There's another version that is filled with whipped cream and jelly in addition to the Dulce de Leche and nuts. Raul's family was so kind to stop at a bakery one night and get me both kinds to try. The cakes were a little tricky to eat, but the flavor was amazing!

Our last day in Chile Raul's family was so kind to take us to their favorite beach place called Coliumo. The beach was so beautiful, and such a fun place to climb and explore. Even though it was a little chilly, at least it wasn't pouring!

The farmland on the way to the beach was so beautiful, apparently a few years back there was a big earthquake that spurred a huge tsunami and all of the farmland ended up underwater. When the water finally receded, huge fishing boats were stranded all over the farmland.

Beautiful lavender-colored shells

Brad thinking he's pretty cool on top of the rocks!

Asking permission to climb higher but his mommy (me) said "no" (it's his cervical spine fusion I was a little concerned about)

Laura found a little friend!

Yes! I'm definitely at my happy place!

Coliumo fishing village was so quaint!

Pelicans and seagulls enjoying some scraps from the fishing boat!

We topped our wonderful day at the beach with a wonderful meal of fresh seafood at Hornitos de Coliumo!

Our appetizers

Brad's fish everything soup

Raul eating loaded fries again, only this time with shrimp and fish

And Aubrey enjoying her salmon and fries. I too enjoyed my fish and mashed potatoes (I usually ordered mashed potatoes as my side because they were always so delicious!). We had so much fun with Raul's family and such a great time in Chile, but next time we go back, it will definitely be in the Summer (our winter)!