What do you do when you get booted off of a flight to Buenos Aires just before takeoff?
Those of you who caught this post already know. You get on the next flight out… which happened to be Santiago, Chile!
We landed in the morning feeling a little tired, but excited. The first order of business was to find coffee and wi-fi so we could locate a hotel and form a plan.
Thanks to the Internet and a very nice Chilean man in the airport restaurant we booked a hotel in a nice neighborhood called Providencia and were on our way in just a couple of hours.
The first order of business was lunch. Naturally we ended up at a French cafe. I was craving greens and enjoyed a massive salad topped with egg, asparagus, broccoli, avocado, and olives. We also enjoyed a glass of wine to mark the first of many beginning of vacation.
We sampled an empananda. This is once of the most famous South American foods, and one of the most tasty. It’s basically a pocket of dough filled with cheese and other items (often ham) that is either fried or baked.
More exploring/getting lost ensured before we found these gorgeous fountains.
And then we found wine.
And then we found dinner in a cute plaza called Patio Bellavista. It was a Peruvian restaurant called Barandiaran. Go figure.
The dinner was quite good. That highlight was a shared ceviche dish that was wonderful. I NEVER thought I’d eat seafood, let alone ceviche; however, I loved the sea bass! Shrimp is still a bit much for me.
The next day we found parks! A really cool sculpture park called Parque Las Esculturas:
Followed by an even better park that was filled with exercise equipment! I busted my ass a move on the elliptical.
I should mention that these were all found on a walk that must have been close to 10 miles. By the time we reached our original lunch destination in the Bellavista neighborhood we were starving. Annnnnd… we discovered the restaurant no longer existed. We did the only thing left to do: ate a greasy lunch at a trashy college dive.
Sometimes you need to be local. However, when you order guacamole and it’s served with Doritos, you wish you were a little less local.
That was followed up with a “traditional” dish of fries topped with onions, sausage, and fried eggs. I can’t lie… I didn’t hate it.
Doesn’t that first yolk look like a heart?
Post-lunch we really needed to walk more. There is a giant mountain/hill called Cerro San Cristobal that holds one of the most popular tourist destinations in Santiago: the sanctuary of the Virgen de la Inmaculada Concepción. It contains a 14 meter statue of Mary. We hopped a funicular (a train built in 1925) to get to the top and visit Mary.
View of Santiago from the funicular
The view from Mary, looking down on the outdoor sanctuary and Santiago
The traveling trio with the Andes in the background
Random sight of the day: dude wearing a UGA sweatshirt. He wasn’t American.
Come se dice “Go Dawgs” en espanol?
Santiago was an interesting experience; however, we were ready to move on after 2 days. I hate to say it… but it’s a pretty dirty, crowded (7.5 million people) city.
One odd food note – when we sought out traditional “Chiliean” food, we were often directed to other cuisines such as French and Peruvian. It seems like Chile is sort of like America in that they take foods from other cultures and modify. It was good, but a shock having travelled more extensively in Europe.
Sadly, there are no workouts to recap this Monday. Instead I’ll recap my recovery from the trip:
Step 1: Green smoothie bowl
Step 2: Mani/Pedi
Step 3: Arden’s Garden “Love Your Liver” 3-day juice cleanse (this was amazing – no joke)
Icing on the cake: A special delivery of Greek yogurt from Chobani! Nothing but goodness. Thank you, Chobani. I love you much.
My concierge now loves Chobani, too. I tipped him with a yogurt, and he’s a convert. 🙂
***
Check back tomorrow for some excellent wine and a run in with US Navy officers.
Have you ever been to South America? Was it what you expected?
Doritos with guacamole… any thoughts?
I’m not going to lie, Doritios with guacamole sounds pretty awesome to me!
Haha – it really wasn’t terrible, just shocking!
yay for vacation mani pedi!
I’ve always wanted to go to Argentina, and the fact that there’s a place there where I can get guacamole served with Doritos… well that just seals the deal for me. (Nacho cheese flavor, I hope?)
Well, this was Chile… but I want to get to Argentine eventually too!
The Doritos with the guacamole is too funny. I’m with Lee, it does sound goo though (Love me some Doritos, hanging head in shame).
I didn’t realize you non-reved there. What a sweet deal! You’re definitley cut out for that type of travel. Latin American flights are notoriously dfficult to non-rev on since they’re heavy cargo routes. You had no problem rolling with it. How fun!
It was a sweet deal! I can never fly overseas in the back again. 🙂
Whoa for a restaurant, that salad looks great. Its not just lettuce which is the usual culprit. the trip looks fun!
Looks like a great beginning to the trip. The elliptical pic is classic.
Doritos with guacamole?? Haven’t been there and not planning on doing so.
Hope you had a good weekend my friend!
Glutton! I am disappointed that you wouldn’t do the guac and Doritos!
Don’t hold it against me. I was sober when I wrote that. I’ll get back to you with my true feelings in a few hours.
I love your trip pics! You look like you had a lot of fun! My friend lived on a farm in Chile last year and loved it. And Arden’s Garden is just amazing. I love that they are offered in groceries around Atlanta as well, sadly not in Florida 🙁
A farm in Chile would have been so cool!
that’s too bad you can’t get Arden’s in FL… you can order online, but I know that gets pricey.
I saw the doritos and gauc on Twitter and thought that was definitely a weird combination. Can’t say that I’ve ever been kicked off a plane and then dumped into a new town…looks like you all made the most of it.
I see you didn’t rock the boat and stayed true to your love of black while on vacation. 🙂
Glad that you all are back and that you can post and share the experience with us (who live vicariously and jealously).
You’re going to be so impressed… one day I wore red! 🙂
This sounds and looks like an amazing trip filled with way too yummy food/wine. I have to go now. I love intense Argentinian wine.
This was Chile… but I do love some Argentinian wine too!
Leave it to me to read that backwards! lol
One of my favorite blogs of yours! The adventure looks like SO MUCH FUN! And, love all the pics!
Thank you sooo much Kat! It certainly was an adventure. 🙂
I love how you guys so quickly and easily changed up your plans. I’m sure if I was in the same scenario I would too, but I think it would first start with a mini meltdown and type-a WHAT’S THE PLAN moments. 😉
Wow, your trip looks amazing! I have been dying to go to Chile. My sister actually lives there and I have yet to visit her. Now when I go, I’ll know of all the good eats 🙂
Love that they had outdoor gym equipment there. There’s a park close to me where you can see more adults exercising on the playground equipment than children on any given day. What a good idea to just make an outdoor public gym!
That’s so cool! Where does she live?
oooo…write more about the 3 day detox!
There isn’t too much to tell, but I’ll add it in just for you! 🙂
Como se dice “To hell with Georgia!!” en espanol? 🙂
EXACTLY!!! Go Jackets!
Sounds like you had fun! Sometimes the best trips are the ones that get a little messed up and you have to just go with it! I don’t know about the doritos thing, though, never were big fans of the chip. We’ve always been sunchips girls ourselves:)
I can’t wait to hear the rest of your stories! I’m shocked there wasn’t more local cuisine available! Weird… Welcome back to the states! I missed you! Let me know when you want to go running again.
Thanks, Carol! I need to test out the running again – my knee started hurting worse in Chile. Too much walking, maybe? Arepas need to happen again soon too!
What an awesome trip!!! I’ve never been to South America, but I’d love to go. I love that they served you Doritoes with guac. That cracks me up. I can’t help but compare things with my experiences in the Dominican Republic — and that’s totally something that would happen there.
Your experiences and vacation sound fun, full of friends and full of amazing food 😀
Loved reading about it!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Flexibility is definitely important to enjoying travel–I am oohing and aahing over that empanada!
Everything looks so beautifulf and delicious! Looks like you made the best of what could have been a totally frustrating situation!
I LOVE adventures! I miss traveling so badly! I would have to pass on the Doritos and guac, but my boys all of them would have been all over that dish! I’m not a fry lover, but I can see how that dish would work. I love potatoes with eggs, onions and other good stuff. I’m so glad you got to enjoy the adventure Laura! Looks like fun!
Yeah, I would never have eaten it back home… but when in Rome… 😉
Oh my goodness! YES YES YES! Sometimes you just need to eat local! I had one of the best meals in Barbados at a local restaurant 🙂 Mmmm
i am dreaming of making a GF empanada. Hmmm, maybe i can do it, yes?
For sure! Just use GF flour. Let me know if you try it!
A friend sent me you site knowing how I love to cook. The recipes sound most interesting! I had a friend from Chile who used to take us to a Chilean restaurant near Uninversal Studios in LA where we worked. Great food!! I will definitely try some of your recipes.
Fun site, sounds like you girls had a really great time! How did you manage the tour of the ship?
Thanks for stopping by and commenting! We did luck out with the boat tour in Chile. the officers were really sweet to do that.
Check out today’s post for a recipe using my favorite Chilean find. 🙂