Santiago
Lara and I have friends in Santiago who were nice enough to let us stay with them. This meant that I got to experience Santiago both as a tourist and as local (or at least accompanying locals in their day to day lives). At the beginning and end of our trip, we stayed in the El Golf neighborhood with Tomás and Emily. Otherwise, we stayed in the Providencia neighborhood with Josefina and Federico. We went shopping at grocery stores and farmer's markets, where I learned that you need to weigh all unpackaged items, and that residents provide their ruta - an identification similar to a social security number - when they pay. We were treated to all sorts of homemade meals: bagels with poached eggs, peach french toast, raspberry muffins made from scratch, avocado toast. Lucky us, our hosts were amazing chefs! We also accompanied Josefina at her mother's house for a goodbye party for her sister, and later joined Tomás at his parents' house to celebrate his birthday. Despite my limited Spanish capabilities, everyone was incredibly welcoming and friendly, and encouraging about my attempts to speak. Many thanks to all our hosts!
Downtown Santiago
On our first day in Santiago, Tomás and Lara gave me a tour through downtown Santiago. It is stunning. We went to to the Plaza de Armas, the town square, where there's a park filled with art and surrounded by historic buildings. Unfortunately, we didn't go inside any of these, but appreciated them from the outside nonetheless. The Museo Postal, the post office, is Santiago's oldest building, originally built in 1541 as a residence for Pedro de Valdivia, the conquistador who claimed Chile for Spain. The Cathedral Metropolitana de Santiago was built in the 1700s, but parts are often destroyed by earthquakes, which are common in Santiago. After admiring the architecture in Plaza de Armas, we stopped at a fish market, then then got some mint lemonade in the Recoleta district, a cute neighborhood with clothing shops and trendy cafés. We happened to be in town during the Formula E electronic car race, so our walk was occasionally stopped by a road that was blocked off for them to practice.
Palacio de la Moneda
One of the main attractions in downtown Santiago is the
Palacia de la Moneda, which serves as the seat (but not residence) of the Chilean president, as well the headquarters for
several government functions. It also presides over la Plaza de Ciudadania, pictured above. Built in 1805, La Moneda served as a coin mint until 1820. In 1845,
the president began conducting his affairs there. Like many structures in Chile, La
Moneda is most famous in its relation to the the coup d'état in 1973,
when Augusto Pinochet, then the Commander in Chief of
the Army, ordered the military to overthrow the president, Salvador Allende. To do so, Pinochet's army laid siege to La
Moneda, where Allende was unable to escape and died, likely by suicide. Afterwards,
Pinochet assumed power, and added a bunker to La Moneda so that he would be able to escape in case the building was bombarded
again. Since Pinochet stepped down in 1990, La Moneda has become more accessible to tourists. In the early 2000s, the
inner courtyards were opened to the public. Today, La Moneda offers pre-booked tours, and has a café and a cultural center
open to tourists and residents.
The coup in 1973 and subsequent actions of Pinochet are an enormous part of Chilean history and still permeate many
parts of daily Chilean life.
El Rapido
While wandering around downtown, we stopped at El Rapido for lunch, where they're known for quickly serving food. We had our empanadas in hand no more than 30 seconds after ordering them! They were tasty.
Bierfest Santiago
We joined some of Lara's friends at the annual Santiago beerfest in Padre Hurtado Park. There were about 30 microbreweries with 150 beers to try, and a lot of good festival food. We sat and enjoyed the sunshine while taking in the view of the Andes. This was one of my favorite activities during the trip, not only because of the beer, but because Lara's friends were all so welcoming. They all spoke English very well, and learned it partially from watching TV. This was incredibly impressive and inspiring to me, as someone who has not yet managed to become fluent in any language but English.
La Diana
La Diana has amazing food but what really makes it stand out is its decor. There are dinosaurs painted on the walls in the seating areas, and plants dispersed throughout the two levels of the restaurant. There are staircases inside of greenhouses and chandeliers made of beer bottles. There are unicorns, arcade games, and Zoltar-esque clown machines. It was a really fun place to be and to explore. The food was also very good - we had pork jowl, ceviche, and cheese in a bread bowl.
Cerro San Cristóbal
Cerro San Cristóbal, famous for its 14-meter tall statue of the virgin Mary, can be accessed by either walking up the hill through Metropolitan Park, or by taking a cable car. Lara, Josefina, and I chose to walk and enjoyed the views along the way. The top has the statue of Mary, as promised, but also a church, nativity, and area for burning candles and saying prayers. It also has a spectacular view of the entire city. We tried some mote con huesillo before heading back down through the park.
Cerro St. Lucía
Cerro St. Lucía is a beautiful park filled with forts and fountains built in the early 1800s. It was a lot of climbing - uphill then stairs then more uphill then more stairs - but the path was lined with all sorts of interesting plants and the top allowed us to see the whole city, as well as Cerro San Cristóbal in the distance. Afterwards, we met some of Lara's friends and went to a nearby Emporio La Rosa to try the rose-flavored ice cream, which was delicious.
Estadio Nacional
The Estadio Nacional is a football (soccer) stadium, but its recent history is dark. Lara's friend Rosario walked us around the stadium, explaining its use in the 1970s as a detention center, where Pinochet's political dissidents were rounded up, held, tortured, and shot. There were 40,000 prisoners held in the compound during the regime, and the terror spread beyond its walls. Rosario's mother was a teenager living nearby the stadium at the time, and she lived in fear for her friends, family, and neighbors who were taken, and for herself and others that they would be taken next. They also had to live on rations at this time. The stadium acknowledges the terror: they have signs memorializing it, and have set aside a section of bleachers in memory of those who were imprisoned there.
Dominó
In Chile, there are two main style of hot dogs: italiano and completo. The italiano style is not named because its toppings are traditionally Italian, but because with tomatoes, avocado spread, and mayo toppings, it looks like the Italian flag. A completo hot dog is a "loaded" hot dog and includes tomatoes and mayo, as well as other toppings like onions, relish, avocado spread, sauerkraut, mustard, and salsa. Dominó is supposed to have the best hot dogs in Santiago, and that may well be the case, but I couldn't stomach either one of these.
Mistura del Peru
For Tomás's birthday, we went to Mistura del Peru, a Peruvian restaurant in Santiago. Peruvian food is fairly common in Chile, both because of the geography and the quality. The food and wine were spectacular.
Pueblito los Dominicos
The Pueblito los Dominicos is a crafts market and park in Santiago. When we entered, we were greeted by chickens, ducklings, and puppies. As you walk through the park, there are brick and mortar shops, as well as pop up stands, selling all sorts of arts and crafts: jewelry, magnets, hats, slippers, paintings. It's a beautiful place to explore, even if you don't end up buying anything.