Dos gringos en Santiago

We woke up this morning to a cold, foggy day in Santiago. What a change from Egypt! We had breakfast at the hostel, then went wandering around the city. We had our first Chilean coffee, enjoyed while standing up at a real coffee bar with hoochie waitresses like a cocktail lounge. We went to the Plaza de Armas and had a 'Hot-Dog italianos completos' for lunch. Chileans are crazy about hot dogs, and you can get one almost anywhere. And they love hamburgers too. Actually, they just love meat full stop. Walking around, we realized how relaxed & happy we were because were weren't being hassled every 30 seconds to buy something, get a taxi, eat something or go to some guy's cousin's perfume shop. We walked up the Cerro Santa Lucia, a hill in the centre of the city that would normally have great views of the city and the Andes in the distance, but it was too foggy. We then went past the Plaza de la Constitucion and the Palacio de la Moneda where the president used to live.

We returned to the hostel to warm up and relax for a bit before heading out for a few Austral beers at a great little pub. Our hostel is in university territory, so this pub was much to our liking. While sitting happily with our beers, we snacked on some freshly roasted peanuts and some Chilean nut things that we bought from a man wandering around the pub. After one day (and 2 beers), we decided we like Chile.

For dinner we went to a hole in the wall place for a Barros Luco (steak and melted cheese sandwich) and a chacarero (like a hamburger). Still jet-lagged, we headed to bed early.