Santiago, Chile
July 14, 2013 – Greetings from Santiago.
Today we had a rough start. Here in Chile, it is still dark at 7 am and we wanted to get out of Vina del Mar early….with the wine tour yesterday coupled with the fact that neither of us adore getting up in the morning…well it was tough. BUT it ended up being an amazing day.
We drove into the city of Santiago and found our bed and breakfast called the Abracadabra. Our host was very kind and let us check in early to stow our things and park the rental car. At 10 AM sharp, Mauricio was here to pick us up for today’s tour. His driver drove us around Santiago while Mauricio gave us the history of Chile and showed us the different areas. We were driven high upon the foothills to get an overlook of the city with the Andes in the backdrop. What a view! He also took us to a factory where Lapis jewelry is made and I bought some treasures. We also discovered that Mauricio enjoys a good Cuban cigar, so we made a stop at his favorite smoke shop.
Next, we travelled on to the Maipo Valley to the Santa Rita Winery. The wines we have tasted on this trip have all been AMAZING …not at all like Temecula. They are very reasonably priced with a high end Cabernet going for $30.00. We bought 2 bottles there and tasted on the patio and we all chatted about life, family, politics and our values. The Santa Rita winery was built in the mid 1800’s and is a beautiful colonial building. In the Chilean war against the Spanish, it housed many Chilean soldiers who were in hiding in the area.
By this time we had all worked up an appetite so Maurice took us to his friend Patricia’s restaurant. We told him that we wanted to experience a typical Chilean meal. Patricia was a generous hostess and served us up a delicious meal. She started with homemade rolls that were so good. We topped the rolls with a chopped tomato mixture which was sort of like a salsa/pico de gallo dish. Dinner consisted of beef, chicken, blood sausage, smoked sausage, pork ribs and potato in the most delicious brown sauce…yum. It was fabulous. There was also a salad on the side but we were much more interested in the main course. Dessert was a tira misu type of dish and a flan type custard with orange. Both very different and delicious.
After dinner, we headed back to Santiago and Mauricio and his driver dropped us off at our hotel. As I type this there are dogs barking outside again….what’s up with all of the dogs….
The bed and breakfast we are staying at is a cute place…not at all a luxury of the trip….our room is just that. A room, but its clean. The bathrooms (2) are at the end of the hall. This morning as I was coming out of the shower a cute young thing was waiting to get in…she was standing in the hallway in just a little skimpy towel. Haha. Oh to be young…
Comments
Patty on July 16, 2013
Holy smokes, look at the size of that Nutella jar! Thanks for the updates, enjoying them all!!
grace on July 16, 2013
Patty, I was thinking the same thing on the giant jar of nutella!
Looks like you’re having an Amazing time, thanks for sharing
your experience!!!
Love & Hugs,
grace
The Stockbridge on July 16, 2013
I am utterly disgusted that scantily clad, young, attractive women are allowed to share shower facilities in the B&Bs with me. This alone is enough for me to consider not visiting Santiago. (Wayne, is this what you wanted me to say in your texted request?).
Also, this Mauricio fellow likes cigars, drinking, great meat foods and shooting wild dogs. I think that I am beginning to sense a kinship with the Chileans.
Except, of course for the the hot, female shower crashers. That’s really uncalled for. (Wayne: Good?)
LaVelle on July 16, 2013
Oh my, does it look beautiful there and sounds like you are having a great time. Remember, ole mom, wants a granny flat wherever you decide to land. Hey is Mauricio married–ha–he’s cute. Enjoy kids as you only live once.