architecture

Santiago possesses a large variety of interesting and beautiful architecture, as indeed, do other parts of Chile and South America. Big and beautiful, European influenced buildings that are a rarity in Australia.

In fact, there’s so many examples of beautiful old homes and buildings in Santiago, that many are left in ruin, from either earthquake damage or just old age and neglect, with owners who can’t afford their upkeep, let alone their restoration.

Many are fenced off for the safety of the general public, lest some homeless person taking shelter should be injured by collapsing walls or ceilings.

Barrios Yungay and Brazil, and the little sub-barrio of Concha y Toro, house some of the best examples of these aging beauties that have seen their hey-day and, like yesteryear’s Hollywood starlets, are now in decline.

Others have been restored and maintained, often converted into boutique hotels or businesses. It would be a dream to own one of these beauties and restore it to its former glory, but it would take a LOT of money, patience and dedication.

The historic downtown areas of Lastarria and Parque Forestal, and Bella Vista and its surrounds, provide many examples of the extremes between the renovated and the derelict.

And it’s not just the inner city. You’ll find many fine examples in other neighbourhoods including, but not limited to, parts of Providencia and Ñuñoa.

In addition to old dwellings, Santiago has many beautiful commercial and public buildings (including churches, of course!), such as Estación Mapocho, Museo de Bellas Artes, “La Moneda” governmental palace, and many, many others.

It’s a pity that modern design and architecture is so often focused on speed-to-market and cost, and not on form and beauty.

These old gems make it a joy just to walk around and take in the impressive man-made beauty of the past. Another thing I love about living in Chile.

Do you have a favourite building in Santiago?

helado, helado, helado…

So goes the cry of the ice cream salesmen who walk through the streets, parks, and sporting venues, selling their wares.

And Chileans love their ice cream, in any form (even shoes?). I mean, who doesn’t? But, even in the heart of winter, you can often see people walking down the street with some form of ice cream.

I am fortunate (or unfortunate, depending from which perspective you look at it), to have three very good “heladerias” or ice cream parlours within a couple of blocks of my house.

The most famous is Emporio La Rosa, which boasts being voted in the World’s Top 25 ice cream parlours. Their original, corner location is opposite Parque Forestal, offering the perfect place to find a shady spot to enjoy your ice cream, or take a seat in their nice outdoor seating area.

There are now several locations around Santiago, and they offer some interesting flavours. My favourite for a refreshing lift on a hot day is “lemon, basil and mint”, or for a bigger flavour punch, “raspberry and mint”.

Just around the block is Café del Opera, also a popular spot with a good following. I haven’t tried it personally, but I’m told it’s faithful to its Italian heritage, with delicious gelato flavours in both traditional and localised flavours.

Another favourite is Mo, close by on the corner of Mosqueto and Monjitas, a good place to head when the line at Emporio La Rosa is too long (most hot weekends) or just for a change. My favourite flavour here is the “Passionfruit Pie”, for when I’m really looking to treat myself!

Yes, that’s a small size!

So, especially at this time of year, ice cream definitely makes my list of things to love about living in Chile.

South America

Or “location, location, location!”

Let’s face it, I’m not just living in a new country, but also a new continent, which brings with it a variety of different places, people and culture, and fantastic opportunities to explore.

It’s not like I’m on the move all the time like last time I visited South America and covered 7 countries in five months. I work and have some form of daily/weekly routine that keeps me in Santiago most of the time.

But living here allows me to get out from time to time, and get to know places that would be s o f a r away if I was still in Australia.

I have managed to see a little more of Chile, flying up to San Pedro de Atacama when a friend visited, taking a road trip up the coast and into Valle de Elqui with another visiting friend, and another road trip south as far as Valle de Maule with another friend. These latter two trips obviously incorporated some wine and, indeed, my interest in that field has also led me to explore, in depth, many of the wine regions around Santiago.

I saw a lot of the rest of Chile when I was here last time, but I’m sure the opportunity will come up at some stage to revisit more of this beautiful country.

But there is, of course, also opportunity to get out to see a little more of the continent.

Last August, I took a truly-foodie trip to Lima with fellow-foodie-friend Fernando and, in addition to seeing some of the city’s sites, experienced the great range of Peruvian food, from the street, to China Town, to the city’s top two restaurants. Although I would have liked to have seen the sun sometimes (Lima is notoriously cloudy), the trip was delicious, fun, and worth the extra 5 kilos!

Over New Year, it was great to be able to take a friend up on a very kind invitation to spend some time on his country property in Uruguay. After finding some reasonably priced flights, a group of four friends enjoyed a relaxing time together, sharing home cooked meals and exploring the coastline and surrounding areas. Those of us who were visiting, albeit for a second or third time, got to know a different part of country and enjoy seeing it through the eyes of someone that had lived there for 10 years and knows it very well.

When a Buenos Aires-based friend managed to get a free apartment for a week in Mendoza, I was able to find a very reasonable flight (US$140 return – cheaper and quicker than the bus) and join her and another friend for a girly week of wineries and restaurants. With the exchange rate very much in our favour, it turned out to be an indulgent week with a relatively cheap price tag.

So, I’ve managed to get to know some places a little better and it’s great to be able to jump at these opportunities, which would be so far from reality back home, when they arise.

This year, I plan to see some places that I’ve never been before, both of Chile (e.g. Easter Island), and abroad, like Colombia.

Although flights here are not cheap compared to Europe or the US, where competition is more intense, good offers come around and I will be keeping my eye on them to see what other opportunities present themselves.

So, I don’t just love living in Chile, I love living and experiencing all that a whole new continent has to offer!

living in Chile

Well, January marked my 12 months of living in Chile. Doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun?

When I left Australia, I didn’t know I would end up living in Chile, I just knew that I wanted to experience living in another country and culture for a while. South America was a logical choice because I had a little head-start with the language, and I had loved the things I saw when I passed through 5 years ago.

After my first two months in Argentina, meeting some wonderful people in Buenos Aires and enjoying the food scene, I really thought I would end up back there. I already had one month booked in Santiago and, when I arrived in January last year, it was SO quiet. Anyone who lives here knows that half of Santiago evacuates for vacation during January or February, leaving the city half of its usual bustling self.

Initially, I thought it was too quiet, and that I would definitely be returning to BA but, after one month, I had also met some wonderful people here and made friends from many different parts of the world. On top of that, I was really starting to get to know the city a lot better, and was actually enjoying the improved safety, cleanliness, public transport (OK, well, metro at least) and just general ease of living here versus BA. I was also able to work legally here, getting a contract to teach English part-time, which gives me a little (very little) pocket money, and enabled me to get my temporary visa. It’s much more difficult to do that in Argentina as so much is done “under the table” and I would have had to commit myself to a life of popping over the border every three months to extend my tourist visa.

That is a very long way to say that, I decided to stay in beautiful Santiago. I didn’t know at the time that it would be for a year, and I can’t say now how long I’ll be here, but I can say that I enjoy my life here.

So, in order to commemorate my year here, and to get me back into the habit of writing more often, I decided to start a new challenge for the month of February.

Every day, for 28 days, I will post something that I like about living in Chile, with photos of course. They will be in no particular order and, by no means, a conclusive list. Some will have more description than others, but my goal is to at least post something every day. I hope you enjoy reading them.

Here’s the first post!

girl, exploring

Tag Archives: south america

architecture

helado, helado, helado…

South America

living in Chile