Today we woke up and spent the morning packing and getting ready to fly down south for our flight.
We then head out around 11 am and went to the Bellavista neighborhood once again. There, we wandered around the artisan shops for about two hours, and went to another restaurant recommended by the Santiago Bizarro book (because Ocean Pacific turned out to be muy deliciouso!). This restaurant, "Como agua para chocolate," was supposed to be very romantic. And, it was! We sat next to a lovely fountain, (although we did have the option of having a bed for a table).
Given that we had seafood yesterday and that we probably will be eating down south, we opted for a delicious cut of beef. It was very tasty, but the presentation was the highlight. Served on a bed of chopped green beans and zucchini, the bacon-wrapped filet had a delicious pepper sauce with spaghetti noodles sticking out of the top for a touch of fun. We decided to get dessert (because how can you not get dessert when chocolate is in the name of the restaurant?). We almost ordered shrimp fondue, but luckily realized last minute that we had made a mistake and managed to get chocolate fondue with frutas (spanish is hard!). Highly recommended.
After lunch our bellies were once again too full, so we spent some time walking around our neighborhood before heading home. When we returned we finished up some organizing and packing, watched the movie "sleepover" in english (but with spanish subtitles), and succeeded in calling our hotel in Puerto Natales after many, many failed attempts. If you thought long distance plans were confusing in the states...
Here are some pictures from lunch:
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/555170599QJdOoD?start=48
Tomorrow morning we set off for Punta Arenas (8:30 am LAN chile flight 283), and from there on to Puerto Natales by bus. The next morning we enter Torres del Paine, where we will be backpacking for a few days. We may be able to update the blog tomorrow in Puerto Natales, but then will not be able to until we are back in civilization.
¡Adios!
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Day 7- Free time
After trips back and forth across the city, trying to meet up with the elementary school teaching group (long story, involving some combination of Saturday Night Fever-style dance floors, cell phones, time zones and plastic conical tubes -- really not worth going into detail here), our free day started around noon.
We hung around the apartment for a while, leisurely eating some breakfast, and waiting while some other people brought over bags to leave for a few days while they went off on adventures. Following the end of the conference, our once tight group bound to Santiago has exploded, sending UCSF students and faculty to various parts of Chile.
Hoping to get to see a bit more of Santiago, we went out to visit El Mercado Central, a little bit north and east of downtown. We covered some new ground on the Metro, and got off at Plaza de Armas, where we'd had coffee 6 days ago. This time, though, we strolled around a little bit more, looking at some of the nice artwork that was for sale, and wondering how we'd be able to get home a nice oil on canvas work (deciding that there weren't really any better options than shipping it, we decided against buying anything).
Arriving at the Market, we were greeted by dingy stalls, smelly cheeses, and knockoff shoe stands. Turns out we were at the wrong market.
Crossing the river and walking a few blocks more, we found the right market. There, things were much nicer, and there were many Chilean fish options. Not too surprisingly, given the coastline, Chile has a lot of seafood. There were some great looking fish that we'd not seen whole before. Corvina, reineta, salmon (aquaculture of which is a very important resource here), congrio (the same that we'd had at Galindo), and the generic 'pescado'. The fish was certainly the focal point of the market, with wholesale being conducted in the outer perimeter, and retail at nice looking restaurants in the interior. Although raw fish doesn't usually stimulate your appetite, we were getting a bit hungry.
We had picked out our dinner restaurant from a book called 'Santiago Bizarro'. Written in spanish, it describes a number of the bizarre places in Santiago. We'd been a bit underwhelmed by the club from the previous night, which was also found in the book, and were doubting our reading comprehension a bit. This place (Ocean Pacific's) blew away any description that can be written.
The whole huge restaurant had various nautical themes. A submarine room, a belly-of-the-whale room, a pirate room, etc. It was hysterical, and really fun. I'm really not sure how best to convey the feeling of this place, so I will refer you to the pictures (uploaded to the Santiago section), saving myself many thousands of words.
As impressive as the decor was, the food was even better. Although we were some of the only people there (who but a pair of gringos would eat dinner at 6pm?), everything was incredible, and still pretty reasonable. The meal: Ensalada Griega, a greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts mixture of corn, onions, olive oil, olives, tomatoes and feta-like cheese. Crema de Espinica, literally creamed spinach, but in reality more like cheesy goodness with spinach mixed in. Corvina Relleno Austral, a piece of fish with a ham and cheese secured with a leek (clearly better tasted than written). And of course the house white wine was fantastic.
We then went home to see our friends off. Brad, Joy, Megan, Jenny, and Niels were flying to Puerto Montt to embark on a bike trip. Paul, Mark, and Curtis were going to catch a bus toward the Lakes district. Buen viaje!
I must repeat. Check out the pictures of Ocean Pacific's.
http://community.webshots.com/album/555170599QJdOoD?start=36
Ciao!
We hung around the apartment for a while, leisurely eating some breakfast, and waiting while some other people brought over bags to leave for a few days while they went off on adventures. Following the end of the conference, our once tight group bound to Santiago has exploded, sending UCSF students and faculty to various parts of Chile.
Hoping to get to see a bit more of Santiago, we went out to visit El Mercado Central, a little bit north and east of downtown. We covered some new ground on the Metro, and got off at Plaza de Armas, where we'd had coffee 6 days ago. This time, though, we strolled around a little bit more, looking at some of the nice artwork that was for sale, and wondering how we'd be able to get home a nice oil on canvas work (deciding that there weren't really any better options than shipping it, we decided against buying anything).
Arriving at the Market, we were greeted by dingy stalls, smelly cheeses, and knockoff shoe stands. Turns out we were at the wrong market.
Crossing the river and walking a few blocks more, we found the right market. There, things were much nicer, and there were many Chilean fish options. Not too surprisingly, given the coastline, Chile has a lot of seafood. There were some great looking fish that we'd not seen whole before. Corvina, reineta, salmon (aquaculture of which is a very important resource here), congrio (the same that we'd had at Galindo), and the generic 'pescado'. The fish was certainly the focal point of the market, with wholesale being conducted in the outer perimeter, and retail at nice looking restaurants in the interior. Although raw fish doesn't usually stimulate your appetite, we were getting a bit hungry.
We had picked out our dinner restaurant from a book called 'Santiago Bizarro'. Written in spanish, it describes a number of the bizarre places in Santiago. We'd been a bit underwhelmed by the club from the previous night, which was also found in the book, and were doubting our reading comprehension a bit. This place (Ocean Pacific's) blew away any description that can be written.
The whole huge restaurant had various nautical themes. A submarine room, a belly-of-the-whale room, a pirate room, etc. It was hysterical, and really fun. I'm really not sure how best to convey the feeling of this place, so I will refer you to the pictures (uploaded to the Santiago section), saving myself many thousands of words.
As impressive as the decor was, the food was even better. Although we were some of the only people there (who but a pair of gringos would eat dinner at 6pm?), everything was incredible, and still pretty reasonable. The meal: Ensalada Griega, a greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts mixture of corn, onions, olive oil, olives, tomatoes and feta-like cheese. Crema de Espinica, literally creamed spinach, but in reality more like cheesy goodness with spinach mixed in. Corvina Relleno Austral, a piece of fish with a ham and cheese secured with a leek (clearly better tasted than written). And of course the house white wine was fantastic.
We then went home to see our friends off. Brad, Joy, Megan, Jenny, and Niels were flying to Puerto Montt to embark on a bike trip. Paul, Mark, and Curtis were going to catch a bus toward the Lakes district. Buen viaje!
I must repeat. Check out the pictures of Ocean Pacific's.
http://community.webshots.com/album/555170599QJdOoD?start=36
Ciao!
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Day 6- Who wants to be a billionaire? (me)
Thursday. The last day of the symposium in Santiago.
Today we were at Universidad Catolico for a half-day of cancer talks. Desfortudamente, el primero presentacion fue en espanol. But the rest of the talks were great, and then we again had the chance to stroll around some artisan shops at the base of the Cerro Santa Lucia (which you may remember from day one).
We hopped on the trusty bus from yesterday (no pushing required this time) and headed out to Pablo's house for an afternoon bbq. To be clear, Pablo is the owner of the apartment that we're staying in , the organizer of this trip/conference, and the co-founder of Chiron (cha-ching!).
His house was ridiculous. Nine acres outside of Sanitago, with llamas, baby alpacas, fancy pheasants, peacocks, y mucho, mucho mas. Naturally, he hosted a very nice lunch, with some tremendous cuts of meat (estimated 20 pounds each?) and Chilean wine.
After lunch, it was time for the 2nd annual Norteamercano vs. Sudamericano soccer match. It lasted several hours. Julie was the only girl, and boosted the state of international relations by referring to members of the opposing team as 'la polla' (the classic american chicken taunt) when they refused to challenge her. The game was really fun, and ended up as an everybody-wins tie.
Pablo's daughter rounded out the afternoon by playing us a few numbers from her upcoming album (she is a 'pop-jazz' pianist, now featured on Chilean TV and radio). She has a beautiful rich voice.
Pictures from Pablo's house:
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/555308974scYJKj
After catching the bus home, we made some pizza with Brad, Joy, and Megan at our apartment.
Pictures of us eating pizza:
http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2067288900068603089ArHpDh
We then went out to a discoteca called Tunel with the whole group, and stayed out dancing until 5 am!
http://community.webshots.com/album/555170599QJdOoD?start=24
Pictures from the club:
Today we were at Universidad Catolico for a half-day of cancer talks. Desfortudamente, el primero presentacion fue en espanol. But the rest of the talks were great, and then we again had the chance to stroll around some artisan shops at the base of the Cerro Santa Lucia (which you may remember from day one).
We hopped on the trusty bus from yesterday (no pushing required this time) and headed out to Pablo's house for an afternoon bbq. To be clear, Pablo is the owner of the apartment that we're staying in , the organizer of this trip/conference, and the co-founder of Chiron (cha-ching!).
His house was ridiculous. Nine acres outside of Sanitago, with llamas, baby alpacas, fancy pheasants, peacocks, y mucho, mucho mas. Naturally, he hosted a very nice lunch, with some tremendous cuts of meat (estimated 20 pounds each?) and Chilean wine.
After lunch, it was time for the 2nd annual Norteamercano vs. Sudamericano soccer match. It lasted several hours. Julie was the only girl, and boosted the state of international relations by referring to members of the opposing team as 'la polla' (the classic american chicken taunt) when they refused to challenge her. The game was really fun, and ended up as an everybody-wins tie.
Pablo's daughter rounded out the afternoon by playing us a few numbers from her upcoming album (she is a 'pop-jazz' pianist, now featured on Chilean TV and radio). She has a beautiful rich voice.
Pictures from Pablo's house:
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/555308974scYJKj
After catching the bus home, we made some pizza with Brad, Joy, and Megan at our apartment.
Pictures of us eating pizza:
http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2067288900068603089ArHpDh
We then went out to a discoteca called Tunel with the whole group, and stayed out dancing until 5 am!
http://community.webshots.com/album/555170599QJdOoD?start=24
Pictures from the club:
Day 5- Valpairaso and Vina del Mar
We woke up after a good night sleep and met our private bus to head south to Valpairaso and Vina del Mar. To our surprise, the bus didn't start, and we had to get out and push the bus! Apparently, this was not strange.
We first went to Valpairaso, which is a very hills city (not unlike San Francisco). We went on a private boat tour of the bay, where we were served Pisco sours and Vinas, and catered snacks. Very nice! We then head out to a very nice restaurant for lunch, that was actually associated with the boat tour. After the lovely lunch, we got back in the bus and drove to Pablo Neruda's (Nobel laureate poet) house. His house had gorgeous views of the city, and was a very interesting house in itself. We were not allowed to take pictures though. He had a sink that did not work in his study, a bird in a bubble over his dining room table, and many little nooks and crannys.
Pictures from Valpairaso:
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/555285440VscYtG
We then got back in the bus and drove down to Vina del Mar. This is basically a resort/beach area. We were allowed to wander around on our own. Nate and I chose to explore all the nice little shops along the boardwalk.
Pictures of Vina del Mar:
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/555286911ujipkE
We then head back and went home to have a relaxing night.
We first went to Valpairaso, which is a very hills city (not unlike San Francisco). We went on a private boat tour of the bay, where we were served Pisco sours and Vinas, and catered snacks. Very nice! We then head out to a very nice restaurant for lunch, that was actually associated with the boat tour. After the lovely lunch, we got back in the bus and drove to Pablo Neruda's (Nobel laureate poet) house. His house had gorgeous views of the city, and was a very interesting house in itself. We were not allowed to take pictures though. He had a sink that did not work in his study, a bird in a bubble over his dining room table, and many little nooks and crannys.
Pictures from Valpairaso:
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/555285440VscYtG
We then got back in the bus and drove down to Vina del Mar. This is basically a resort/beach area. We were allowed to wander around on our own. Nate and I chose to explore all the nice little shops along the boardwalk.
Pictures of Vina del Mar:
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/555286911ujipkE
We then head back and went home to have a relaxing night.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Day 4- Mas biologia
Apologies to the faithful readers out there. Although we spent more time at home last night than any other night, we didn't have a lot to report. Nonetheless...
Yesterday was the second full day of the symposium. So, we got up early to go to more talks. Again, they were all quite impressive.
Before lunch, Nate and I both presented our posters, answering questions for both UCSF and Chilean students and faculty. Following the afternoon session, we all went outside and had some cervezas and pizza.
In an attempt to stamp down the jetlag for once and all, we decided to head home and have a low key evening.
Yesterday was the second full day of the symposium. So, we got up early to go to more talks. Again, they were all quite impressive.
Before lunch, Nate and I both presented our posters, answering questions for both UCSF and Chilean students and faculty. Following the afternoon session, we all went outside and had some cervezas and pizza.
In an attempt to stamp down the jetlag for once and all, we decided to head home and have a low key evening.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Day 3 - Science Time
The conference that we're all here to attend started today. And while the seminars were excellent, and the presentations very informative, the most important lesson that we learned today came during the breaks. And that lesson is that Chilean coffee is not nearly as strong as its norteamericano counterpart.
Not to paint too bleak of a picture, though. The talks were really great, as were the posters. And our Chilean hosts have been fanstastic.
After the conference we returned to the apartment before heading out to a guidbook-recommended dinner at one of Pablo Neruda (Nobel laureate poet de Chile)'s old haunts. Galindo was amazing, and any previous concerns about Chilean food that were brought on by other people's comments were put to rest.
All in all, a great day. Time for a good night's sleep now.
More pictures are up, too.
Not to paint too bleak of a picture, though. The talks were really great, as were the posters. And our Chilean hosts have been fanstastic.
After the conference we returned to the apartment before heading out to a guidbook-recommended dinner at one of Pablo Neruda (Nobel laureate poet de Chile)'s old haunts. Galindo was amazing, and any previous concerns about Chilean food that were brought on by other people's comments were put to rest.
All in all, a great day. Time for a good night's sleep now.
More pictures are up, too.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Second day in Santiago
Fighting the jetlag/pisco induced urge to sleep past 10:30, we got up to a beautiful sunny day. Opening the blinds, we were treated to a postcard-perfect view of the Andes to the east of Santiago. Very, very impressive. Not unlike the days when Mt. Rainier is visible over Seattle, the Andes towered over the eastern skyline of Santiago.
A little over-breakfast planning, and we were off to enjoy the beautiful weather by taking advantage of more of the views that were to be had. With Brad and Joy, we again hopped on the Metro, taking advantage of its even-on-Sunday timeliness, and headed a few kilometers west.
We then walked through the Bellavista neighborhood, which has many restaurantes, street craft vendors, and cafes to the base of the Cerro San Cristobal. There, we conducted our most successful transaction en Espanol to date, buying roundtrip tickets up the Funicular, including zoo admission at the midway point. The Funicular is essentially a SF cable car, differing by the above-ground cable, but sharing the goal of pulling passengers up a very steep incline.
We got off about a third of the way up the hill (hardly a hill, topping off at close to 900 meters), to visit the zoo. While I'm not sure that I really know, the zoo reminded me of what zoos were like 30-50 years ago. It was a bit sad, but still very entertaining, and given the weather, a great time out. The cages were a bit sparse, but the animals were great as always. And there was the added educational bonus of reading the animal names and plaques and attempting to translate them from Spanish.
After a couple hours of lobos marinos, jirafos and osos, we got back on the funicular to ride to the top of the hill. As luck would have it, we ended up in the car that propelled Pope John Paul II up to the top on April 1st, 1987 (or so the plaque said, we think). Atop the hill, there is a beautiful terrace again overlooking the city. Yes, city views seem to be a bit of a theme so far.
We also had the opportunity to sample a few more traditional Chilean treats. An empanada con carne, and mote con huesillo. The former being a fried pastry with meat, olives, onions, and egg. The latter being something that looked awfully scary looking, but tasting quite good (apricot in tea, essentially).
The rest of the day was spent milling about artisan booths, drinking cafe, and later a fantastic dinner at Sebastian's house.
Okay. Tomorrow, the conference begins...
Also: More pictures are up on the same site as yesterday's.
A little over-breakfast planning, and we were off to enjoy the beautiful weather by taking advantage of more of the views that were to be had. With Brad and Joy, we again hopped on the Metro, taking advantage of its even-on-Sunday timeliness, and headed a few kilometers west.
We then walked through the Bellavista neighborhood, which has many restaurantes, street craft vendors, and cafes to the base of the Cerro San Cristobal. There, we conducted our most successful transaction en Espanol to date, buying roundtrip tickets up the Funicular, including zoo admission at the midway point. The Funicular is essentially a SF cable car, differing by the above-ground cable, but sharing the goal of pulling passengers up a very steep incline.
We got off about a third of the way up the hill (hardly a hill, topping off at close to 900 meters), to visit the zoo. While I'm not sure that I really know, the zoo reminded me of what zoos were like 30-50 years ago. It was a bit sad, but still very entertaining, and given the weather, a great time out. The cages were a bit sparse, but the animals were great as always. And there was the added educational bonus of reading the animal names and plaques and attempting to translate them from Spanish.
After a couple hours of lobos marinos, jirafos and osos, we got back on the funicular to ride to the top of the hill. As luck would have it, we ended up in the car that propelled Pope John Paul II up to the top on April 1st, 1987 (or so the plaque said, we think). Atop the hill, there is a beautiful terrace again overlooking the city. Yes, city views seem to be a bit of a theme so far.
We also had the opportunity to sample a few more traditional Chilean treats. An empanada con carne, and mote con huesillo. The former being a fried pastry with meat, olives, onions, and egg. The latter being something that looked awfully scary looking, but tasting quite good (apricot in tea, essentially).
The rest of the day was spent milling about artisan booths, drinking cafe, and later a fantastic dinner at Sebastian's house.
Okay. Tomorrow, the conference begins...
Also: More pictures are up on the same site as yesterday's.
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