2nd to 4th Nov - Santiago

We arrive in Santiago at an ungodly hour, the travel agent was supposed to get us flights at decent times but failed miserably. the hostel is in a really old building with high ceiling and polished wooden floors. We are smack bang in the middle of a Uni area with lots of students milling around. All the bars are full and there are lots of bars - maybe I'll come back and go to Uni here. We head up to Barrio Brazil for dinner, more student bars all full, but not much food going on unless you like huge chunks of meat. Eventually we go into a restaurant and I order a veggie ommlete, using my best Spanish to say no meat. When it arrives with chorizio in it, I point this out to the waiter and he says - not meat, chorizio - and walks away. Well that was me told - not sure what meat is then!

The next day we wander round the city to the usual Plaza de Armas and the Cathedral, all made very easy with the tube system they have, which is really cheap, fast and reliable. The Cathedral is unlike others in South America i.e. it's not garish and covered in gold, it's actually quite nice and understated.

Dinner that night was in Bellavista where there were lots more studenty pub but again not much in the way of veggie food. this area would be great for a pub crawl, maybe I'll come back and learn Spanish.
The next day we wandered further into the city and do what Santiago does best - have some cake and ice cream. The portions are so large and the stuff so good we eat till we feel sick.

We found an Irish bar, in Providenia area, that sold food and not just big chunks of meat - thank god for the Irish bars, you can always rely on them, so finally we are happy with dinner. This area is a bit more upmarket - a bit like Mairi and I.