Santiago - Around Town

We had a leisurely morning as we don’t have a set schedule, but Bill has done some research and picked out some sightseeing and restaurants for the day. 

We walked to the nearby park, Santa Lucia Hill, and climbed to the top, 629 m, to explore the outside of Castillo Hidalgo. It was a very winding, pretty climb. You had to be careful of the stairs as they were very worn, broken and at different heights. 

The building and statues were very pretty and the view of the city was very good. We were able to see the Immaculate Conception statue off on the distant hill, the San Francisco church that we are heading to next and the Metropolitan Cathedral that we toured yesterday. 

On the way down, we stopped by the mosuleam belonging to Hidalgo and his wife who was responsible for the construction of this area. 

San Francisco church was a bit run down, but it was still very beautiful. The wood ceilings and paintings were very pretty. The walls were very rustic, but the alter and dome above were very ornate. There were two statues of angels that I really enjoyed. They may have been marble with gold wings. 

Walked to the Plaza de Armas and toured the Spanish style building beside the Metropolitan Cathedral, the Natural History Museam or Museo Histórico Nacional. We really enjoyed the displays and artwork selected. We found the artwork more impressive than the fine arts museum that we toured yesterday. We were even able to climb to the fifth floor clock tower and get a great view of the Cathedral. 

We went to Salvador Cafe for lunch. We were served iced tea (maybe hibiscus?) and ordered two dishes off the menu (I think google translate led us a bit astray and our non-English speaking waiter was not able to assist). We ended up with a mystery pork sandwich and a dish that looked like soup, but was cold and could have been sardines or something else entirely. I made an valiant attempt and ate a good portion of my dish, but Bill was not impressed with any of the food and only had one or two bites.

We quickly paid and headed to the PreColumbian Museum or Museo Chileno de Arte PreColombino. The tour began in the basement and although we had technical difficulties with the audio guide app, we later found that it did not add a lot of value because it was simply an audio version of the plaques on the wall. 

The basement was the Chile before Chile gallery. This area has some remarkable works of art and tools from the indigenous peoples of Chile. It was really well done and a great collection.

The 2nd floor was the PreColumbian America area. It was a large display that covered many centuries and all regions of Chile. It had many ceramics, textiles and works of art that were really impressive and very well displayed. Overall we really enjoyed the museum and it was definitely a highlight of our day so far. 

2nd lunch was at Bocanariz Vinobar (beside the Pisco Restaurant). We first had two flights of wine, Undiscovered wines - lesser know grapes that are produced in Chile, 1 white and 2 red, and Signature wines - some limited production wines that are very unique, again 1 white and 2 red. They were all good and it was nice to sample a variety from the region.

For our mid-day meal we had ceviche, crab and avocado salad and short ribs. With this, we shared a red bottle from Tabali - Talud, a Cabernet Sauvignon, that was very good, but I don’t think we would be able to get it in Toronto. Throughout the entire experience our waitress did a great job of providing us with great suggestions and we left feeling very happy with our meal and drink selections. 

We went back to the room and Bill worked on the photos while I had a two hour nap. I rallied and we walked to Casaluz Bar & Cocina, a tapas restaurant. We had a bit of trouble finding the spot as it was a bit in from the intersection where Google was showing it. 

It was worth searching out though. It was really well decorated with a mix of old paintings, photos and nick nacks. There was a very neat glassed in area that divided the restaurant from the bar too. 

We had really good grilled octopus and fried goat cheese starters, and we shared a leg of lamb with beans for our meal. Bill has once again selected a great wine for our meal! 

We capped off the night with a night cap at Bar Opera Cathedral. Bill really enjoyed his drink with gin, basil and sugar, Sambreado, and I enjoyed my Pisco Sour while overlooking the tree tops and the stars!