Santiago Livin'

Cathedral in Plaza de Armas

Up til now, I have really only written about our weekend trips, so I thought this post could be about daily life here in Santiago!  This is as modern a city as any back in the US and has everything you could ever need....just not in the places you would think they would be.


When we 1st moved into our apartment, the one thing we really needed was hangers.  Seems simple enough...except there is no Target down the street.  After going to a couple stores we thought may have them (a department store and a Bed, Bath and Beyond type store), we were told to go to the grocery store.  WHAT?!?!  We thought the clerk misinterpreted our word for hangers, but we thought we would give it a shot anyways.  Sure enough....hangers - at the grocery store!


Even still, every corner reminds us of how global our world really is - from the Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks to the array of fast food restaurants, many things remind us of home!

California Cantina with our traveling friends Wendy and Dusty - for a great read, check out their blog: roamthepla.net 

For St. Patrick's Day, we went to our local gringo hangout (though I was the only gringa in the bar when I walked in for lunch), California Cantina.  This is the ultimate tex-mex, burger, american food joint!  Honestly, I wish they would open one in Brookhaven too :)  Any big "holiday", this is the place to go...Superbowl, St. Patrick's Day, Mardi Gras....they do it all.  And, they had green beer!  We/I sat in the bar, dressed in green, eating quesadillas and drinking Chilean beer with green food coloring - life was good, ahhhh to be Irish :) 

Besides the occasional american meal, we have been trying to emerge ourselves in Chilean culture as much as possible.  It makes it very easy when you have a Chilean friend living down here!  Ian (who I used to work with) and his wonderful family invited us over to his house for an asado last weekend.  An asado is a BBQ, but is much different from your typical American BBQ.  In Chile, they cook 6 or 7 different types of meat.  As soon as it is done, the grill master cuts it up and passes it around for everyone to try...finger foods if you will.  This goes on for hours!  They may have one or 2 side dishes to accompany the meat, but the meat is definitely the focal point of the meal.  Ian's extended family all lives in Santiago as well, so it was a nice way to spend a Saturday with him and his entire family!  And believe you me....we will be bringing the asado idea back with us when we come home...get ready Atlanta!

At Kalafate - BEST restaurant in Providencia!

We also experienced our 1st club outing in Santiago.  For those of you who know me at all, you know I am not much of a dancer (interpretation - I am TERRIBLE), nor do I really like to dance - so this was not #1 on the to-do list :)  Stephen's boss' wife had her bday party at a club down the street from us.  They got there a little early - at 12:30 AM!  We definitely aren't use to that.  As we were walking to the club, we kept thinking that in Atlanta we would be walking home right now!  Despite the dancing, it was a fun time and we got our 1st (and hopefully only) club experience in Chile!

Anyways, that was just a little glimpse into our everyday lives in the city.  We are planning a weekend trip to Valparaiso and Vina del Mar this weekend, so a new blog to follow next week!

Bella Lastarria with Cris and Nadine