Savory Icecream is always fun with a Funicular

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After Melbourne, and Sydney Airport (with plane delay but free food vouchers), and Auckland Airport (we walked off the plane up a long corridor, through a security check, and up some steps, only to turn around, go down an escalator, and walk back to where we came in), we finally arrived in Santiago. Having met 4 other Aussies during our sojourn in New Zealand (3 were from Perth. They didn´t seem to have any sock-puppets, but one has a sock-wallet), we decided to all rock up at the same hostel (Sally had already booked it anyway, as had someone else).

Yesterday Sally and I walked into the city centre to look at things. There are lots of cool old buildings and fountains, and also some plazas and malls and markets. We went to a couple of museums, the contemporary art museum was interesting, and the Santiago museum less so (although there were some cool diaramas). We then walked up and down a hill in the middle of the city, which had something resembling an old fort/palace/plazawithfountainandgardens on top, and then walked up and down it a few more times as Sally kept choosing the stairs leading to locked gates. There was a good view from the top though, and lots of stalls selling Savory Icecream - it´s like the Eastern States Peters Icecream (made by Nestle - the ones with the naming rights to Drumsticks). I don´t think I´ll be trying any in the near future, but Sally might.

For sunset those of us from the plane headed up to an even bigger hill just next to the city, and decided to investigate the funicular. It turns out it´s a cable car, which takes you to the top of the hill, where there´s a giant statue of Mary. There wasn´t much of a sunset, but the statue was cool. I think Sally´s been taking too many photos though, or at least not enough with me in them.

Today we went on an expedition to investigate a park near the hostel, but what we came upon first was ´Club Hipico.´ Bearing little resemblence to a similarly named establishment in Leederville (although there were a lot of middle-aged men around), Club Hipico is Santiago´s horse-racing track. Unsure if we had to pay, we loitered near the gate until someone came and gave us stickers saying ´Óld Boy´ and shooed us inside. There was a really old (but well-kept) grandstand, with nice gardens and an area out the back with arched stalls for the horses and a cooling down circuit (and yet another fountain). We got to take photos with the horses (which will eventually get put up here), and then headed to the side of the track for the next race. We only stayed for about half an hour, long enough for more photos, then an empanada for lunch, before heading off in search of the park.

We eventually made it to Parque O´Higgins, and it was quite a nice park, with a rollerskating ring, soccer fields, tennis courts, a strange domed building under construction, something Sally decided was a drag racing track but is more likely a carpark or parade ground(?), an elusice museum (we couldn´t find it) and an amusement park(we didn´t go in as it was almost closing time). There was also a guy practising tight-rope (although it was quite loose) walking between two trees.

Anyway, that´s a brief summary of Santiago, we´re heading off to Buenos Aires tomorrow morning (getting an airport pickup at 4:45am - way too early to be an acceptable time, but it´s Good Friday so they´re going infrequentiy).

Sehrusaan

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Photos

Sehrusaan in Front of the Bottleria
It sells Savory Ice-cream too.

Comments

[Louise]

Savory Icecream
Hi Sehrusaan To be honest, I don't really know you and have never met you, but I'm glad you're going to be accompanying Sally on her travels around the world. A sock puppet is exactly what a traveller should never be without. Good luck in Buenos Aires - and don't run off with any strange sock puppets, you never know what could happen to an innocent like yourself. Please say hello to Sally. Louise

[hello]

how are you
I can't believe your not hear having ice cream with me....I want Ice Cream