vegetables – girl, exploring

This funny looking building with the strange roof in front of the river is Tirso de Molina, a “mini” market with a little bit of lots.

Closer to the city centre, I’m sure a lot of people get this far and think they’re at La Vega, not realising that they still have to cross the street to get to “La Vega Chica” and go another block further to even reach the entrance of the enormous “La Vega”.

Tirso de Molina also has a lot of the things that La Vega offers; fruit and vegetables, cheeses and cold meats, dried fruits and nuts, general produce stores, etc; but on a smaller scale, and generally a little more expensive. It’s handy if you just need one or two things and can’t be bothered going the extra distance to La Vega.

Upstairs, it has a range of tacky clothing stalls, and lots of little restaurants, including a pretty decent Mexican and a Thai restaurant that I’ve heard good things about, as well as lots of traditional Chilean food.

It’s a good place for tourists or foreigners to experience “cheap ‘n’ cheerful” traditional food in a possibly more sanitary environment than La Vega proper.

I like Tirso de Molina for the fresh fruit juice stands, where you can pick whichever combination of fresh fruit that you like to be blended up, right before your eyes. Get in quick though to specify “no sugar” before they add half a cup or, worse still, that horrible artificial sweetener.

So, whether as a quick alternative to its bigger neighbour, for a cheap bite to eat, or for a fresh juice, Tirso de Molina is one of the things I love about living in Santiago.

It’s no secret that La Vega is my favourite place to shop in Santiago, so it’s no surprise that it was going to turn up on this list of things that I love about living in Chile.

La Vega was literally my first outing in Santiago when I arrived this time around, now over a year ago, and I continue to frequent the market on a regular basis. The people, who originally beheld me with a level of curiosity, are now a little more open and talkative. I have my regulars from whom I buy certain things, and others that I’m drawn to based on the produce on hand. In addition to fruit and vegetables, I have my favourite “egg man”, and there’s even a stall where I find some pretty decent muesli (granola) that’s not overly processed or sweetened.

There’s a couple of good “deli’s” too, and Quesos Arturito seems to be a favourite with both locals and foreigners in the know, stocking a wide range of produce at a fraction of the price of the popular supermarkets. I’ve been know to buy the exact same brand of cheese in La Vega for one-third of the price on the major supermarkets.

I love watching the seasons change through La Vega and, although you can get a lot of products all year round, you can tell by the price and quality what’s really in season and at it’s best.

In addition to the previously mentioned berries, melons are in abundance right now and are so cheap, and make a good, refreshing juice is you overstock, and there’s lots of great corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchinis, etc.

Although some days I don’t feel like facing the hike to La Vega, I am always glad I did it, and I don’t think I will ever get sick of the colours, variety and faces of La Vega.

Clearly, one of the things I love about living in Chile.