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Published: June 13th 2017
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Our traveling tribe
Upper level of double decker bus -- open windows and covered "lid" Geo: -33.4691, -70.642
Day 3 ~ October 24
I love it when a plan comes together.
After much discussion and many options, our plan for the day came together over breakfast. We took a 9:30 excursion on Turistik, a hop-on hop-off tour of Santiago ($34). We strolled along a parkway with many wonderful contemporary sculptures and hopped on a double decker bus for a supposedly 2-hour tour of Santiago. OK, so it lasted 3 hours due to noon-time traffic, but who's counting?
We drove along wide thoroughfares and passed places like:
• “Sanhattan”, a section of SANtiago that resembles ManHATTAN
• Hotel Intercontinental and its living wall (exterior is a texture of live plants) … a technique used abundantly here
• Parque Arauco, one of Latin America's most important malls
• Beautifully landscaped sides streets, university campuses and sculpture parks
We were probably most fascinated by Patio Bellavista, a barrio full of restaurants, cafes and retail shops. You could imagine how HOPPIN' this place is at night. Our plan was to return here after we had completed the two-hour loop but that fell by the wayside when we encountered the horrendous noon traffic near the end of our tour. Another three hours of looping was not in the
Sanhattan
Combination of Santiago and Manhattan plan. We wished we had “hopped off” at Bellavista when we passed, then reboarded for the remainder of the trip.
Nearby is the Bellavista neighborhood, a cultural center known for its zoo, the funicular and hand-crafted items of lapis lazuli. The Metropolitan Park, the National Fine Arts Museum, Santa Lucia Hill and more were all on our route.
Next up was Stop 1 (we started in the middle, near the Ritz), the Plaza de Armas, the real heart of Santiago. We actually tour there with Tauck tomorrow. Nearby are the Metropolitan Cathedral, City Hall, the Historic Museum and Central Market. Then Constitution Square and other government buildings … including the Moneda Palace, seat of the presidency.
We returned to the hotel, chatted with the concierge and plotted our afternoon. We dined outdoors at the Ritz -- lovely setting, delicious food.
Then we headed into the subway to travel to Centro Artesenal Los Dominicos, a market well known for its Chilean handicrafts. It is a lovely maze of covered walkways (pergolas?) and artisan shops. Fun to shop, lovely to look at. We bought only a few things (sunhats, earrings) and headed back in rush hour. Steamy. Glad we weren't in business suits.
Our official Tauck tour
began in a private room with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. Name badges were in order, so we could meet our new traveling companions and with any luck, remember some of their names.
Murray Rose is our Tauck Tour Director. He prepped us for tomorrow and covered some other essentials about currency, safety, etc.
He then escorted us to Tierra Noble for dinner. We dined with Candace and Marti, and two couples from Sydney: Ernie & Maureen Eves and Klaus & Margaret Koeninger. Love the folks who travel with Tauck – it's half the fun.
Dinner was adequate but nothing to write home about. The appetizers were an unusual concoction of local specialties. Entrees included a choice of salmon (overcooked and somewhat Plain Jane), beef (maybe he should have waited until Argentina to order this?) and a vegetarian selection. A+ for company, C for food.
The temperature was perfect, so the doors were open with a lovely view of the sculpture parkway. And a beautiful night to stroll back to our Santiago home.
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Suzanne
non-member comment
I'm picturing a little man on a little riding mower going up and down between the lines or perhaps a giant blade that swings across or down in one bold swipe to keep the vegetation under control. How do they keep it trimmed?