Our Internet access has been pretty flakey the last few days - lots of timeouts that make it difficult to do things like upload photos, either to Typepad or to my MobileMe backup - so I haven't been able to provide a more complete picture of Santiago. The other day we spent some time in Las Condes, one of the most upscale neighborhoods in the city, in part to look for information to help us plan a tour of the wine regions. Sitting at our late lunch in a sidewalk cafe, you could have easily thought you were in any post-60s American Sun Belt cityscape: wide avenues, mostly indistinct office and apartment towers, nearly all of it built in the last 30 years. There were even (unfortunately) American restaurant franchise locations, not only McDonald's but TGI Friday's and Ruby Tuesday's. I joked on my Facebook page that it was like Century City, but with people.
Earlier in the day we visited the Mercado Central, the city fish market that looked a lot like the Pike's Place Market in Seattle or Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, including being overrun with restaurants trying to snag the tourist trade. The only difference is that these restaurants were INCREDIBLY aggressive in trying to land your business, sending wave upon wave of greeters at you to chat you up and steer you into a seat.
We're off today to pick up a car rental and begin our wine week, including a weekend near the coast in Valparaiso and Vina Del Mar, where we'll also have a chance to check out the Chilean summer beach scene.
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