14/02: Bites and Sights
Category: General
Posted by: The Agnew Family
Today is our first full day in Santiago and on the advice from someone who also loves to travel we booked a food walking tour --- the Bites and Sights Tour with Urban Adventurer. At the assigned meeting place we met Cheryl, from Australia and Juan Pedro our guide, yup just 3 of us on the tour. Juan has a degree in history which made him very knowledgeable on a lot of subjects. If he didn’t know the answer he said he didn’t know instead of making something up --- I liked that. During our 4 hour tour (which turned into almost 6 hours) we had 3 “bite” stops.
The first one was at a little café where we enjoyed an updated Chilean breakfast, wonderful fresh bread with mashed avocado and a prosciutto like meat. It was served with a hot pepper and some pickled onions. The 2nd bite was at a restaurant at the Fish Market --- a seafood empanada served with a Pisco Sour. The 3rd bite was at the larger meat and produce market where we enjoyed espresso for Ed and a latte for me from a food truck.
My first question to Juan was regarding the dogs we had seen on the streets. He informed us the “strays” were Santiago’s dogs. The dogs seemed quite happy, friendly and well fed. In fact a few of the dogs could stand to lose a couple of pounds. Juan told us that some people brought dog food to parks or other places where the dogs hang out. In the winter people will even bring the dogs scarfs and coats. No one abuses the dogs, or chases them away even in outdoor patios of restaurants. If you are a stray dog Santiago is the place to be.
The building that houses the office of the president. Do you see the dark speck at the base of the 2nd set of pillars to the left of the arched door --- that's one of the stray dogs.
Santiago experiences earthquakes. When an older building is damaged, it is removed and a new building put in it's place giving the city an interesting mix of old and new buildings. In a few cases two walls of the original building are saved and a new building is built behind it. A space is left between the old walls and new walls where vendors can set up and sell their wares.
After walking around the downtown area, we headed to the markets. First stop is the fish market. The fish market is home to several restaurants and many fish stands. Juan said the fish market is easy to find you just have to follow your nose!
The next market we stopped at was the flower market --- and they were really busy today. This building had a much nice aroma.
The last market we went too was very large. Here you could buy meat, poultry, miscellaneous household items, spices, dried fruits, nuts, fruits, vegetables and probably a number of items I didn't notice. This is the biggest ear of corn I've ever seen. This type of corn is ground probably to make flour.
I've talked about seeing a lot of stray dogs. Until we got to the market we did not see any cats. Here the cats are king. This black and white guy can be found guarding the potatoes every day.
We stopped to chat to this vendor --- Juan is on the left. The vendor is at the market at 5am to receive the delivery from his suppliers. Restaurant owners are the first customers of the day followed by the general public. The market is open till 7pm everyday of the year except for a few public holidays.
Yesterday Ed and I walked up the Santa Lucia Hill, today we took the funicular railway up the Cerro San Cristóbal, a much higher hill. According to Wikipedia "A funicular railway employs a pair of passenger vehicles which are pulled on a slope by the same cable which loops over a pulley wheel at the upper end of a track. ... For example, a funicular is distinguished from an inclined elevator by the presence of two vehicles which counterbalance each other."
The track of the funicular railway is quite steep. At the top of the hill is the statue of the Immaculate Conception which measures 14 meters tall and weighs 36,610 kilograms.
A view of the city.
Near the statue is a small chapel. I was amazed by the interior.
Along a pathway are a number of crosses. In this photo you can see two of the crosses, the tallest building in Santiago, snow on the Andes Mountains and smog hanging over the city.
Ed and I had another amazing dinner tonight. The restaurant gave each woman a red rose. The street was crowded with vendors.
By the way it reached a high of 36C (96.8F) today. It was lovely in the shade and a little warm in the sun
The first one was at a little café where we enjoyed an updated Chilean breakfast, wonderful fresh bread with mashed avocado and a prosciutto like meat. It was served with a hot pepper and some pickled onions. The 2nd bite was at a restaurant at the Fish Market --- a seafood empanada served with a Pisco Sour. The 3rd bite was at the larger meat and produce market where we enjoyed espresso for Ed and a latte for me from a food truck.
My first question to Juan was regarding the dogs we had seen on the streets. He informed us the “strays” were Santiago’s dogs. The dogs seemed quite happy, friendly and well fed. In fact a few of the dogs could stand to lose a couple of pounds. Juan told us that some people brought dog food to parks or other places where the dogs hang out. In the winter people will even bring the dogs scarfs and coats. No one abuses the dogs, or chases them away even in outdoor patios of restaurants. If you are a stray dog Santiago is the place to be.
The building that houses the office of the president. Do you see the dark speck at the base of the 2nd set of pillars to the left of the arched door --- that's one of the stray dogs.
Santiago experiences earthquakes. When an older building is damaged, it is removed and a new building put in it's place giving the city an interesting mix of old and new buildings. In a few cases two walls of the original building are saved and a new building is built behind it. A space is left between the old walls and new walls where vendors can set up and sell their wares.
After walking around the downtown area, we headed to the markets. First stop is the fish market. The fish market is home to several restaurants and many fish stands. Juan said the fish market is easy to find you just have to follow your nose!
The next market we stopped at was the flower market --- and they were really busy today. This building had a much nice aroma.
The last market we went too was very large. Here you could buy meat, poultry, miscellaneous household items, spices, dried fruits, nuts, fruits, vegetables and probably a number of items I didn't notice. This is the biggest ear of corn I've ever seen. This type of corn is ground probably to make flour.
I've talked about seeing a lot of stray dogs. Until we got to the market we did not see any cats. Here the cats are king. This black and white guy can be found guarding the potatoes every day.
We stopped to chat to this vendor --- Juan is on the left. The vendor is at the market at 5am to receive the delivery from his suppliers. Restaurant owners are the first customers of the day followed by the general public. The market is open till 7pm everyday of the year except for a few public holidays.
Yesterday Ed and I walked up the Santa Lucia Hill, today we took the funicular railway up the Cerro San Cristóbal, a much higher hill. According to Wikipedia "A funicular railway employs a pair of passenger vehicles which are pulled on a slope by the same cable which loops over a pulley wheel at the upper end of a track. ... For example, a funicular is distinguished from an inclined elevator by the presence of two vehicles which counterbalance each other."
The track of the funicular railway is quite steep. At the top of the hill is the statue of the Immaculate Conception which measures 14 meters tall and weighs 36,610 kilograms.
A view of the city.
Near the statue is a small chapel. I was amazed by the interior.
Along a pathway are a number of crosses. In this photo you can see two of the crosses, the tallest building in Santiago, snow on the Andes Mountains and smog hanging over the city.
Ed and I had another amazing dinner tonight. The restaurant gave each woman a red rose. The street was crowded with vendors.
By the way it reached a high of 36C (96.8F) today. It was lovely in the shade and a little warm in the sun