Local Expert
EdwardS
Born and raised in Texas. Howdy! Growing up with the flavors of the Tex-Mex culture has greatly inspired me to travel through Latin America. So far I have traveled to Costa Rica,…
Born and raised in Texas. Howdy! Growing up with the flavors of the Tex-Mex culture has greatly inspired me to travel through Latin America. So far I have traveled to Costa Rica, Mexico, and now Chile. It is through my travels that I have come to the conclusion that there is nothing worse than traveling to a foreign city and ending up in a restaurant where everyone else is carrying the same guidebook as you. In fact, many of the best places in Santiago are barely mentioned in guidebooks. I will give you the insight to the cleanest and safest city in America del Sur. Happy trails.
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One of the best parts of most cities are the little out of the way shops. These could be anything from hole in the wall restaurants to unique stores. Just like most other cities, Santiago has its fair share of these types of treasures. One such shop is found in Barrio Patronato and it sells custom frames and religious art. But it is not the merchandise that makes this shop worth a visit, but instead it is the colorful owner, Hernán Fierro, who will warmly welcome you into his shop and proceed to talk your ear off. Hernán spent sometime in Chicago, and so he speaks a little English. So if you can speak a little Spanish, you can certainly communicate with him. In addition to the friendly conversation there are wonderful religious paintings to admire and purchase, and if you have any questions just ask Hernán as he will answer them all. Also feel free to ask about Hernán's own paintings, which he will gladly show you and sell to you. He is also very proud of how long each one took him to paint, so be sure to ask if he doesn't tell you. You can easily spend a couple of hours speaking with Hernán about everything from the art in his store to what's new in the United States.
As previously mentioned, Chileans have a very large sweet tooth and no shortage of options to ruin their teeth, but the overwhelming favorite is ice cream. If you are the type of person who likes to stay away from chain restaurants, then there is just the place for you when it comes to ice cream. Tucked away in Patio Bellavista is Il Maestrale. While this shop has less selection than a larger chain, the quality is not lacking. So don't be shy about asking for a sample if you are unsure as to what flavor you want. But the inside scoop here is that they are all wonderful and you can't go wrong with any flavor of ice cream being offered. It is hard to give you a heads up here, because the flavors are always changing. The one thing I can tell you is that there will surely be a flavor there that you have never heard of and if you get a scoop of it you will not be disappointed.
When you need your fix of an American style shopping experience head over to Mall Arauco. If you were just dropped off in the center of this mall and not told where you were you would probably think you were in an outdoor mall in California. This mall is new and has everything you could want from a one stop shopping center. The mall is composed of a outdoor and indoor sections. In the outdoor sections you will find many restaurants to eat and have a drink, as well as some shopping choices. However, inside is where you will find most of the shopping. The inside is huge and it feels like you could spend a day inside and not see everything. Put on your walking shoes, grab your credit card, and get ready to do some shopping.
Chileans like to us mass demonstrations to get their voices heard. It seems every week there is a new protest somewhere in Santiago, and for the most part the government just stays out of it and lets the people vent. While I would not recommend getting involved in the protest, it is interesting to such a mass use of this type of free speech. For example, just a week or two ago a group of school children barricaded themselves into their school demanding reforms to the education system. During the protests the students lived in the school which prevented the teachers from entering the school. While the students were living in the school they were dependent on the kindness of others to support them. What this meant was that the children needed food to be delivered by people on the outside, and for money to be donated so that they could buy food and other supplies to keep the protest alive. It was interesting to see the kindness of others supporting their cause, giving donations through the school's fence. It is hard to imagine anything like this happening in North America especially given the logistics of keeping many students feed over many days. Most of the protests do not escalate into violence, but you will see a strong police presence to make sure that things do not get out of hand. Of course, Chileans liberal use of protests could be a result of many years under Pinochet's rule. But whatever the motive, it is very interesting to see free speech so wildly used and embraced by the Chileans.
When you need to get out of Santiago for a day than there is no better place to visit than Valparaíso. Only a short 45 minute trip by bus, Valparaíso sits on Chile's Pacific coastline. However, the city looks like no other city on the planet. Some have compared it to San Francisco, but for those who have visited both San Fransisco and Valparaíso the differences are many and in the end there will be no mistaking the uniqueness of this city. Like San Fransisco, the homes of Valparaíso are built right up the sides of hills, and looking at the homes from the bay it looks as if the homes are built right on top of each other. Despite the chaotic look of the homes there is order and reason present in the Valparaíso. While Valparaíso is not as flashy and tourist minded as Vina del Mar, Valparaíso offers up the look and feel of old Chile and is a great city to walk around in and get lost. Part of Valparaíso's rich history is linked with the Chilean Navy. In fact, the Naval Academy is located in Valparaíso as well as the Naval Museum. Walking through the old cobble stoned streets of Valparaíso one can only imagine that not much has changed since the early days of this city. However, there has been a recent push to clean up Valparaíso to attract more tourist, but part of Valparaíso's charm is it dirty sea faring facade. But the best part of Valparaíso is that when you are done walking around admiring the architecture you can hope back on a bus and be back in Santiago in time for dinner.
On one of the few days when the smog lets up in Santiago one of the best places to see the beauty of the city is in Parque Arauco. The park is located in the posh neighborhood of Las Condes and offers up a large open green space right in the middle of the city. In addition to all of the greenery you can see the snowcapped Andes from two directions. One of the best ways to experience the park is to walk through the large rose gardens and take a seat on one of the many benches in the gardens. Cool breezes and many shade trees make finding a spot to sit a relax easy to find. There is also lots of flat open grassy areas for picnics and for kicking a soccer ball around. One of the best features of the park is the fact that you can get away from the noise of the city and after being in Santiago for any amount of time you will enjoy the quiet spaces in the city. With the fragrant smells of the rose gardens, the views of the Andes, and the quietness of the park there are not many better places in Santiago to spend a lazy afternoon. So enjoy your trip to the park and be ready for a nice relaxing time.