August in Santiago,
Chile is deepest, darkest winter, and it does feel like it, especially
for someone who had spent the last few weeks in countries warmer than
her natural habitat. Here, it's like England in December - something I'd
hoped I wouldn't have to come into contact with for another few months!
We
were given the chance to warm up at our hotel - French boutique Le
Reve, which had certainly gone all out to present itself as French
including playing French versions of popular songs in the lounge.
Arriving in late, we were in time for the midnight snack, a selection of
biscuits, coffee and orange juice served in the hotel's small kitchen.
My favourite thing about this hotel were the duvet covers - some of the
softest I'd ever slept in. I would've been tempted to buy a set myself
had I had space in my hold luggage. A past guest had gotten me excited
by writing in the guest book how lovely breakfast was, but they must've
had a different selection to us - just standard continental.
We only had a day in Santiago
but planned to make the most of it. In order to do so, we jumped on the
Metro (an easy transport system to navigate and cheaper than taxis) to Plaza de Armas, Santiago's
main square. It's impressive that some of the historical buildings in
this square are still standing given the country's history of large
scale earthquakes and fires. Perhaps most impressive is the Cathedral,
which at the time we arrived had two masses running consecutively.
Clearly this is what Chileans do with their Sunday mornings!
At 10am, we met up with a free walking tour outside the Cathedral we've found online. Running tours at 10 and 3pm
everyday, they're easy enough to spot with their red uniforms. Each
timeslot has two tours running in Spanish and English - ours was with 25
year old student Valentina whose passion for sharing the city's history
shone through throughout the tour.
We
began in the Plaza seeing the Cathedral, City Hall, and Post Office -
all impressive buildings dating back to the colonial period (barring
redevelopment following fires and earthquakes). This was followed by
more impressive buildings in the form of the Pre-Columbine Art Museum -
free to visitors on the first Sunday of each month - and the Old
Congress Building.
The most interesting building, and the only one I remember from previous trips to Santiago,
was the Palacio La Moneda, the huge white presidential palace. The
walking tour planned their timing well as we arrived just before 11am
when they undertake the changing of the guards. This is nothing like
the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace or Horseguards Parade
but much more of a ceremony, and for that reason there were hundreds of
people crowded around outside by the time we arrived. Shortly after, a
fanfare began from down the road, and soldiers on horseback and on foot,
accompanied by a military band progressed up the road and into the
space in front of the Palacio. Lots of military calls later, some more
music, and some strange horse-patting later and the guards were changed.
A pretty cool event.
We continued past the Stock Exchange, New York Street where Santiago's
first skyscraper was built, and the Opera House, which had undergone a
fire, earthquake, fire, earthquake and fire since it opened if I'm not
mistaken. Valentina said now the population was just waiting for another
earthquake to come along to change the record again. Fear not though,
whilst earthquakes are not uncommon in Chile, the buildings in Santiago have been built to withstand Richter scale 10 earthquakes, so you should be okay if you're there when one occurs!
We
passed by the man made Santa Lucia Hill before entering the Lastarria
neighbourhood, an upmarket area of retail and food. At this point, we
were given a half hour break at Mulato restaurant, where Free Tour
guests were given a special discounted menu. We opted for an empanada
pino and a delicious churro basket filled with dulce de leche. A
nutritious lunch I'm sure.
We continued to the Parque Forestal, Santiago's
answer to Central Park which was a lovely place to wander through and
filled with dogs enjoying the slowly emerging sunshine. Valentina
pointed out to us the various fountains and statues which had been
gifted to the city on the 100th anniversary of Chile's independence,
including a spectacular fountain from Germany.
Italy
Square followed, where Chileans gather together to celebrate the wins
of their beloved football team (or mourn their losses) and to protest as
the space in front of the Palacio de Moneda, ironically named Citizen's
Square, has been closed off following a protester setting himself on
fire (don't worry, he jumped in the fountain shortly after and yet
failed to resolve the issue he was fighting for).
We moved into the Bellavista Neighbourhood, the gastronomic and artistic district including
a stop in a large covered square which had just about every type of
cuisine imaginable. Here, Valentina advised us of her 'picas' (Spanish
for recommendations) including a round dish filled with meat and
vegetables and covered with corn, French fries topped with whatever the
establishment felt like, Earthquakes (white wine and pineapple juice -
any more than 2 will have you on the floor - and Chile's favourite
drink, Pisco Sour. Sadly we were only in the city for the day, but had
we had more time I would've been tempted to try some of them.
The
tour ended at Casa Pablo Neruda, the house where the famous poet lived
with his third wife and was designed to resemble a ship to represent his
love of the sea. All in all, the tour lasted 4 hours and technically
costing nothing (although the company does rely completely on tips) this
was an excellent way to spend the day.
Our
end point was just in front of San Cristobal Hill, on the summit of
which resides a sanctuary dedicated to the Immaculate Conception with a
22 metre statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, one of Santiago's
key attractions. Unfortunately, there isn't an easy route to walk up
the hill meaning that you have to take a funicular up which at the time
we visited had a mile long queue. We decided to skip it given a lack of
time, but if you get there earlier you might have a better chance of
missing the crowds.
We
walked back to the hotel along Pio Nono, a busy and bustling street
where everything seemed to be happening - a vast change from wandering
around the streets almost alone earlier that morning. A number of street
sellers lined the sidewalks selling kids toys, jewellery, and most
interestingly, copper roses with copper being one of Chile's most prized
metals. At only 2000 pesos, about $2, each they seemed a steal and
something quite different from your usual souvenir.
It was nice to walk the streets of Santiago
as the sun slowly began to warm us up. It's a clean and modern city
with what looked like very pleasant places to eat, drink and sleep. Not
only that, but Santiago
is a gateway city to other parts of Chile such as the Atacama Desert
which should absolutely be on your list if you visit this part of the
world.
My
recommendations for Chile: based on my short time there, I can't
recommend the free walking tour enough. Sure, you could do it yourself,
but would you learn as much about the city as you would from someone
local? Absolutely not. Plus, you decide how much you want to pay based
on what you think the value of the tour was. A win win situation! Don't
leave the city without sampling some of it's cuisine. Whilst every kind
of international cuisine can be found at your fingertips, Santiago really is a foodie heaven and has some delicious delicacies of its own - anywhere you go is bound to be good.
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blogs like this coming soon, and you can check out my past portfolio elsewhere on the blog! Keep in touch in the comments to let me know where you like to travel, and what traveller's tips I'm missing!
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