Cerro St Lucia – These baroque gardens make up the hill where the city was founded in 1540 and named because the these settlers happened to set up camp on this site on the day of the Saint Lucia. Darwin later spent a week in Santiago in 1834, climbing this “Llittle hillcock of a rock” and noted the impressive view of the andes and surrounding mountaintops. We could only imagine the snow-capped peaks since today it was a smoggy day.
With our apartment being smack in the middle of the city, we couldn't help but hear the full brunt of bustling noise. Our modern apartment is practically on top of Plaza d'Italia which is the main intersection of the city's principle highways. From the minute you open the front door, it seemed that every day a rumbling bus would be turning right in your face – making it easy to forget the two-street towns of New Zealand.
The sound I first woke up to in Chile however were the howls of our many neighbors, the Santiago street dogs in the ally nine floors down. Later that day I saw that street dogs are indeed everywhere, crossing at crosswalks after waiting patiently for the pedestrian light to turn green. Their street smarts must be vital to survive. I wanted to know how Chileans feel about there four legged friends on every block.
We only found out on arrival that Chile is celebrating 200 years of Independence from Spain.
Steph was more concerned with the effets of air pollution from the gigantic smog cloud that blankets the city, due to it's enclosure from surrounding mountains. She had a cough and so did several of her classmates. Yes smog is everywhere, but Santiago was soon to surprise us. Even though there is the same grittiness that you see in Mediterranean countires like Italy or Spain, this is not a dirty city. I've heard that on early mornings men on step ladders can actually be seen cleaning the traffic lights.
A Sunday walk in a Parisian park. This was the first exposure of Europe in South America.
More importantly I was struck by the politeness in the air. Well put together, the Chileans exude a cosmopolitan courtesy that you and I couldn't help but see as old-fashioned. They do seem to be a rather short population that don't walk with great haste in the streets like their stressed European counterparts. Our speed walking Hong Kong friend Michael Smith would not like walking here. As Steph has explained, the Santiagans also have an incredible amount of patience. Cars generally brake for pedestrians, you learn to walk with the flow, and nobody lets a language barrier or their own busy city life get in the way of spending the time needed to help you.
So out we went on to the busy streets, past the plaza and into our local neighborhood of Lastarria. When we first walked by the Museo de Bellas Artes, Steph and I had a funny sense of deja vu. We then walked into the adjoining Parque Forrestal, designed by a Parisian urban planner. We soon realized that obviously much of Santiago's grandeur was built or designed by Europeans. Garnier approved the (smaller) Santiago opera house. The Mercado Central and it's intricate ironwork ceiling was actually built in England. We later read that the museum across the park was designed by Jequer as an approximate copy of his Petit Palais exhibition hall in Paris. 
My favorite thing about the streets of Santiago has to be the neighborhood family restaurant on each block. It's nothing fancy, just simple diner food. Our absolute favorite local was a place called the Fuente Alemana. Taking it's name from the nearby fountain in the Parque Forrestal, this rustic diner is always packed. The men keep the beer flowing while the women surround the meat on the grill. Suits mix with students and construction workers, yet almost everybody orders the massive “lomito” pork sandwiches with a cold 'schop' mug of beer. Their is a clear German atmosphere here. Even the beer tastes like pure pilsner. It turns out that the nearby fountain of the same name was a gift from Germany to mark the first centenary of independence (100 years ago) to celebrate Chile's prosperity from natural resources. I think I've found a good one here.
The Fuente Alemana - What would become our local and probably favorite restaurant in all of Santiago. I think our friends were sick of hearing about it. We ate their on our first and last nights in Chile. It was a lucky find – just below in our building – and turned out to be quite famous according to Jose. A schop is 1200 pesos, Pork Sandwich 2000-3000 pesos, depending on your toppings like the guacamole and cheese seen here.
Fuente Alemana
Open Mon-Sat until 11pm.
Av Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins 58
Santiago, Chile
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