A real mummy!
Real shrunken heads!(I figure the kids will like these.)
The handsome young guards at the Palacio.The old lady with " .
An indigenous statue in Plaza de Armas.
An indigenous statue in Plaza de Armas.
It is not his dog, just a stray.
This dog is not ded, just taking a snooze in Plaza de Armas.
Everyone is happy because Marilyn got her new memory card!
The water canon truck is ready for demonstrators.
Inside the National Library.
The walk up Santa Lucia hill.
View from the hill.
Inside Bellas Artes.
Two contrasting statues - horror & contentment.
Our little, but lovely hotel. The red building.
Dancers outside of the Marco Polo retaurant.
This dog is not ded, just taking a snooze in Plaza de Armas.
Everyone is happy because Marilyn got her new memory card!
The water canon truck is ready for demonstrators.
Inside the National Library.
The walk up Santa Lucia hill.
View from the hill.
Inside Bellas Artes.Two contrasting statues - horror & contentment.
Our little, but lovely hotel. The red building.
Dancers outside of the Marco Polo retaurant.
Friday, Nov. 12.
We are off to Vina del Mar (and maybe Valparaiso). The subway, with only one change, gets us to the bus terminal, tickets are easy, and we are on our way. It is a one and one-half our journey to Vina del Mar. As you have to go through the mountains to the coast, there are a couple of interesting tunnels. The first is quite long and we feel like we are descending all the way. When we exit the second tunnel, the fog becomes evident. By the time we get to town, it is downright cold! I’m glad I have my long pants and jacket, but wish I had a sweater and socks.
We visit the information booth and get a map of the city. It is much bigger than we were expecting. We walk down the street from the station towards the ocean and stop for coffee. Deciding where to go is always a problem. There is a museum I have read about, so we head there first. It is in an area of town which is still upscale, but must have been wonderful fifty years ago. The Francisco Fonck museum is a little gem. It is situated in an old mansion, but I think has been moved from the larger building next door which has been “earthquake” damaged and is in the process of repair. The guide book said that 45 minutes is needed for a visit. Well, Peter and I were there for at least an hour and a half. The Easter Island artefacts are well laid-out with long explanations in Spanish and shorter ones in English. From the archaeological display, I will attempt to post the shrunken-heads and the mummy! Quite fascinating in a small exhibit.
From here we walk up to the Palacio Riojo - an opulent family home from the early 20th century- but it is closed for renovations.
Finally, we get to the ocean. The waves are much like in San Jose! I love the smell of the ocean. There are high-rise condominium apartments all along the beach road. It appears that many are being renovated or cleaned ready for the summer season which will soon begin.
We discover that my memory card in my camera is full! We try to replace it, but can not find a store with a compatible card. Peter is getting tired, so we do not take the “Merval”- a subway/tram to Valparaiso - but walk back to the terminal to return to Santiago. As it is, it is after five before we get back to our hotel and we are both weary. Tonight will be pizza in the shopping mall food court downtown - with all the locals, not a tourist in sight. My, but we do fit in!
Saturday, Nov. 13.
Nothing planned for today, so we have a 10 o’clock start in search for a memory card for my camera. We try a few places and end up at the large department store, Johnson. They sell Olympia cameras, but the young guy explains, they don’t have the compatible memory cards. We ask where we might try. He gives us instruction - you have to realize, all this is in Spanish! - to a place a block up and just on the left - Koniko - they can make a copy on a disc of my pictures. When we get there, not only can they copy my pictures onto a DVD - in ½ an hour - but they have my memory card! I am so happy I blew the guy a kiss. I buy a card and we put it in the camera. We are now all set to travel.
This will go in my travel hints booklet - always have a spare memory card - even if yours is really big. I find with the older architecture, I must use the higher definition setting on the camera to get enough light to take the picture. This takes up way more space on the memory card.
We wander around the main areas, visiting the plaza with the Government House, very understated, handsome young guards on horse-back in front. There is a demonstration - Don’t exterminate our dogs - a few blocks away. The large police presence keeps the fifty or so demonstrators moving in the direction which is acceptable.
Two asides:
1. For a city that is alive with dogs, many of which are sleeping in the damnedest places, there is no evidence of dog poop. It is quite intriguing. There is one mangy old guy who sleeps by the kiosk on the next corner and does not seem to move, but there was half a hot dog bun beside him one day.
2. Smooching in public, almost to the point of ludity, seems perfectly acceptable. Henry mentioned the young lovers on the park benches in Mendoza, but it is everywhere. And it is not always young people! There was one couple in the park across from us, by the river, which even a local group passing by seemed to feel had gone too far. The man was fully on top of the woman!
We view an interesting display of maps of the new world over the centuries at the National Library. We wander up - like more climbing - Cerro Santa Lucia - an area which was once for the rich of Santiago, We continue back to our hotel along the park by Rio Mapocho, which runs just across from our hotel.
Today for lunch we finally try a hot dog - I’m not sure what they call them here, but they are panchos in Mendoza - but they rival Jose’s famous dogs in San Jose and that is going some! They come in three sizes and we choose the medium - about 9 inches. The bun is also long and you get a multitude of toppings. Peter gets to eat mine as his is smothered in avocado - which is palta here. For dinner, as most places are closed, we end up on Plaza de Armas at Marco Polo, which seems a popular local place, and I have soup and a “palta” salad (1 ½ avocadoes) while Peter has ½ roasted chicken - bone removed but skin on with papas fritos - just as greasy as those famous Montreal fries - and just as good.
We will be back in Santiago on November 22. There is still much to see, but we have decided that walking the streets and inhaling the smells, consuming the tastes, watching the people - this is our joy in traveling. We are not great tourists, but, I think, we are good travelers.
Tomorrow we are off to the Lake Country beginning in Tecumo. We get to stay in a “real” hotel for two night. Every now and then we need the familiar.
We are off to Vina del Mar (and maybe Valparaiso). The subway, with only one change, gets us to the bus terminal, tickets are easy, and we are on our way. It is a one and one-half our journey to Vina del Mar. As you have to go through the mountains to the coast, there are a couple of interesting tunnels. The first is quite long and we feel like we are descending all the way. When we exit the second tunnel, the fog becomes evident. By the time we get to town, it is downright cold! I’m glad I have my long pants and jacket, but wish I had a sweater and socks.
We visit the information booth and get a map of the city. It is much bigger than we were expecting. We walk down the street from the station towards the ocean and stop for coffee. Deciding where to go is always a problem. There is a museum I have read about, so we head there first. It is in an area of town which is still upscale, but must have been wonderful fifty years ago. The Francisco Fonck museum is a little gem. It is situated in an old mansion, but I think has been moved from the larger building next door which has been “earthquake” damaged and is in the process of repair. The guide book said that 45 minutes is needed for a visit. Well, Peter and I were there for at least an hour and a half. The Easter Island artefacts are well laid-out with long explanations in Spanish and shorter ones in English. From the archaeological display, I will attempt to post the shrunken-heads and the mummy! Quite fascinating in a small exhibit.
From here we walk up to the Palacio Riojo - an opulent family home from the early 20th century- but it is closed for renovations.
Finally, we get to the ocean. The waves are much like in San Jose! I love the smell of the ocean. There are high-rise condominium apartments all along the beach road. It appears that many are being renovated or cleaned ready for the summer season which will soon begin.
We discover that my memory card in my camera is full! We try to replace it, but can not find a store with a compatible card. Peter is getting tired, so we do not take the “Merval”- a subway/tram to Valparaiso - but walk back to the terminal to return to Santiago. As it is, it is after five before we get back to our hotel and we are both weary. Tonight will be pizza in the shopping mall food court downtown - with all the locals, not a tourist in sight. My, but we do fit in!
Saturday, Nov. 13.
Nothing planned for today, so we have a 10 o’clock start in search for a memory card for my camera. We try a few places and end up at the large department store, Johnson. They sell Olympia cameras, but the young guy explains, they don’t have the compatible memory cards. We ask where we might try. He gives us instruction - you have to realize, all this is in Spanish! - to a place a block up and just on the left - Koniko - they can make a copy on a disc of my pictures. When we get there, not only can they copy my pictures onto a DVD - in ½ an hour - but they have my memory card! I am so happy I blew the guy a kiss. I buy a card and we put it in the camera. We are now all set to travel.
This will go in my travel hints booklet - always have a spare memory card - even if yours is really big. I find with the older architecture, I must use the higher definition setting on the camera to get enough light to take the picture. This takes up way more space on the memory card.
We wander around the main areas, visiting the plaza with the Government House, very understated, handsome young guards on horse-back in front. There is a demonstration - Don’t exterminate our dogs - a few blocks away. The large police presence keeps the fifty or so demonstrators moving in the direction which is acceptable.
Two asides:
1. For a city that is alive with dogs, many of which are sleeping in the damnedest places, there is no evidence of dog poop. It is quite intriguing. There is one mangy old guy who sleeps by the kiosk on the next corner and does not seem to move, but there was half a hot dog bun beside him one day.
2. Smooching in public, almost to the point of ludity, seems perfectly acceptable. Henry mentioned the young lovers on the park benches in Mendoza, but it is everywhere. And it is not always young people! There was one couple in the park across from us, by the river, which even a local group passing by seemed to feel had gone too far. The man was fully on top of the woman!
We view an interesting display of maps of the new world over the centuries at the National Library. We wander up - like more climbing - Cerro Santa Lucia - an area which was once for the rich of Santiago, We continue back to our hotel along the park by Rio Mapocho, which runs just across from our hotel.
Today for lunch we finally try a hot dog - I’m not sure what they call them here, but they are panchos in Mendoza - but they rival Jose’s famous dogs in San Jose and that is going some! They come in three sizes and we choose the medium - about 9 inches. The bun is also long and you get a multitude of toppings. Peter gets to eat mine as his is smothered in avocado - which is palta here. For dinner, as most places are closed, we end up on Plaza de Armas at Marco Polo, which seems a popular local place, and I have soup and a “palta” salad (1 ½ avocadoes) while Peter has ½ roasted chicken - bone removed but skin on with papas fritos - just as greasy as those famous Montreal fries - and just as good.
We will be back in Santiago on November 22. There is still much to see, but we have decided that walking the streets and inhaling the smells, consuming the tastes, watching the people - this is our joy in traveling. We are not great tourists, but, I think, we are good travelers.
Tomorrow we are off to the Lake Country beginning in Tecumo. We get to stay in a “real” hotel for two night. Every now and then we need the familiar.
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