santiago

an arb home in the brazil area ----------- seb at the concho y toro fountain

some street art along the way to the metro



las vacas gordas (the fat cows...which are eaten) restaurant --- an abandoned home


the cerro san cristobal ----------------- and the view

we didn't really know what to expect of santiago, and what we encountered was great. capital cities can sometimes be rather disappointing but this one was positive. we arrived midday-ish on the 1st day of 2009 with hardly a soul in the hectically littered streets. it was pretty clear that quite a party was had in this town!

we opted to stay in the brazil quarter which was recommended in the guide books, and seeing that those are like the bible to us, we followed it's advice. having not too much time to waste, we walked the city flat (taking advantage of it's calmness whilst everyone else was recovering) to the cerro san cristobal, which offers a lovely viewpoint over the entire city and surrounding areas.

the second day we visited the concho y toro wine estate which was magnificant...for the price, one would expect so. it is really quite a business with an introductory video of the estate and the wine making process, followed by a tour to the once-home of the melchor family, nearby vines and to the cellar, where we were told a story behind one of their most famous wines - casillero del diablo. i can't forget the wine tasting which took place in two different locations on site; on a shaded balcony for the chardonnay and in the chilly cellar for the cabernet savignon. ot too kak, at all. in the evenings we apéro-ed and dined on the plaza brasil which was lovely.

just as soon as we arrived, we decided to take a little trip (of 20 hours) to buenos aires. why not, right!

************************************************************************
Un petit séjour par Santiago afin de régler les pbs de carte de séjour de Karis nous permet de découvrir cette ville sympatique malgré sa réputation. La ville a beau etre polluée, les rues sont larges et les belles batisses coloniales lui donnent un certain charme. On a l'occasion d'aller sur le cerro san christobal d'ou le pape a béni la ville alors que la ville était en protestation contre le régime politique. De la haut, on apercoit qu'effectivement, on peut apercevoir la cordillère des andes et ses cimes enneigées.

On visite également le domaine viticole de Concha et Toro, une superbe propriété aux alentours de Santiago et des hectares et des hectares de vignes. C'est ici que se fabrique le fameux casillera del diablo, ce vin chilien qu'on trouve partout dans le monde.

Enfin, on profite de la ville pour retrouver qq bons restaurants (notament pour moi le fameux restaurant "la grosse vache" ou les steaks sont délicieux) et qq apéros dans des cafés sympas.

On se motive aussi pour une dernière folie: une escapade de 3 jours à Buenos Aires (20h de bus) ou l'on va retrouver nos amis belges rencontrés au salar d'uyuni en Bolivie, Morgan et Natarcia...