Santiago - Sights and Food

Today was our first full day in Santiago. We left the hotel early, and encountered deserted streets. Apparently the Santiaguenos are not a morning people, which is not too surprising as the streets were teaming with people at midnight when we were strolling last night.

We spent much of the day on a walking tour, taking in the sights and sounds, and learning a bit about the history of Chile. Of course, no stop in the Chilean history tour is complete without a discussion of Allende and Pinochet. On our walking tour, we actually met a woman who had recently returned to Chile after living in Canada for over 40 years — seems that she was a big supporter of Allende and had to flee the country after his “suicide.” (Today there is much debate in Chile about whether Allende actually killed himself or was murdered.). From talking to her, and listening to our guide, we learned that in the last 5 years many Chileans who fled the country are returning as they “retire,” but their adult children who were raised abroad are not particularly interested in coming “home.” We also met an interesting guy who is on a program called “Remote Year,” which facilitates people working remotely in 12 different cities over the course of a year. Hmmm. . . I wonder if I could make that work while still practicing law????

In the afternoon we went on a food tour with the lovely Carolina from Foody Chile. (Sadly, I forgot to take her photo.). The food was fine, but she was just delightful and graciously told us all about her life in Santiago. (Honestly, meeting interesting people is one of the best parts of a food tour.). We learned that Chile is also struggling with the integration of immigrants (mostly from Venezuela and Haiti). The country is also experiencing rising real estate prices (housing costs have nearly doubled in the last 10 years) and there is an enormous wealth gap in the country. And, we learned that Chileans are more reserved than some of the South American counterparts. And, of course, we tasted some yummy food, and marked the end of the tour with a Pisco Tasting. It turns out the Pisco is quite varied, going from floral to herbaceous to aged. What a great way to start our sabbatical.Read more