What do you want to know about Santiago?! I asked cousin Peggy if I should talk about politics or food and she said she wanted to hear about both. So let me start with a short treatise on politics, then I’ll begin the normal trip report. If you just want to hear about the food and sights, skip the next paragraph. I’ll be blogging about other areas of Chile in subsequent posts.
In the Chilean Presidential election on November 16, 2025, far-right wing candidate José Antonio Kast beat the governing left-wing coalition candidate Jeanette Jara, earning 58% of the vote. Kast is an admirer of Trump, and ran on a vocal anti-immigration platform. I was so interested to talk to locals in Chile to find out how they felt about the election. What I learned surprised me. I really only met one person who openly supported Kast. He was an older gentleman who feels Venezuelan and Colombian immigrants are creating crime and homelessness in Santiago. I spoke with many others who are not pleased with Kast’s win, but who overwhelming gave the answer, “It’s temporary.” One man we met, whose parents fled to Canadian during the Pinochet reign because they were socialists, felt that the Kast presidency would not affect life that much and that they would have a “better election next time.” One young person we met was very aware of US news, and joked that he did not think Kast would try to annex Greenland (he chuckled) as he asked us why Trump doesn’t understand that there are no penguins in the northern hemisphere. I guess I wanted folks to match my terror over fascist regimes. Wouldn’t Chileans, who suffered through atrocious human rights violations under Pinochet, be willing to crash out with me over an incoming leader who might start killing people? I could find no Chilean willing to go there. Over and over again I was amazed by how relaxed, happy, and kind the people were in Chile. Chileans were really Chillaxed. It was such a reprieve from the hostility, violence, and anger in the US. So maybe it’s a state of mind? I decided to let the calm wash over me and go about my visit.
So, Santiago is the 58th largest city in the world and the 14th largest city I have ever visited. (You can check your own city count here.) It does not feel like a city of 7 million. Each small neighborhood has a very distinct feel. We spent our time in Providencia, Lastarria, Centro, Bellavista, Vintacura, Barria Italia, and Franklin. Although the metro is easy to use and navigate, we found it was most convenient to take Ubers. We took 13 Uber rides that cost a total of $90. The door to door service and route finding is worth it for us. I also enjoy chatting with the drivers and hearing their music and radio shows!
So in this post I will cover hotels, restaurants, and sights we enjoyed in Santiago. We were there for 5 nights total, so we enjoyed two hotels, five lunches and five dinners, plus plenty of sightseeing. I will break it down by those categories.
Hotels
We stayed at a small boutique hotel, Hotel Le Reve in the Providencia neighborhood, then a larger swankier hotel The Singular in the Lastarria area. While Lastarria is more convenient for sightseeing, I liked Providencia for its quiet tree-lined streets and repreive from the tourist shuffle. I also liked the service and atmosphere at Le Reve better. The folks at The Singular were lovely, but it seemed like the place was full of entitled gringos, so the staff was hustling. At breakfast, the American couple next to us ordered one triple-single espresso and one double-double espresso each in a large cup with a side of warm whole milk. Imagine watching all the staff in a huddle trying to figure that one out. We had a suite at Le Reve that was spacious and quiet. Our room at The Singular was smaller, dated, and a little dirty for my taste.
Meals
My first step in blogging about our meals is to look at the credit card statement! LOL! We planned most of our meals in advance, but there were a few variables and I wanted to see exactly what I want to share with you by remembering where we ended up. I am going to share info about five meals and two cocktails that we really enjoyed.
Fuente Alemana was our first stop, literally. We got in to the hotel at 10 and our room was not ready so we walked over to this longtime Santiago favorite. We hadread about the lomito and wanted to try it right away! It was delicious and fun to watch the folks working there. The staff ran like a well oiled machine and the sandwich was delicious.
La Mar offerened wonderful ceviche in an upscale setting with good service. We really enjoyed chatting with our waiter, who was from Bogata. We wanted to order more food but we were so full from this ceviche course!
This is a highly recommended wine bar and was John’s top choice for dining. They do have tastings, both food and wine, and their wine list is one of the best in the city. We tried the ceveiche, prawns, bao, and rabbit. I was underwhelmed. The food took a little long and seemed overly ambitious. The Bao were really more like fried sliders than Bao.
This was another of John’s top choices because they have a seafood platter that he really wanted to try. They keep a picture of the platter on their website and I think he must of dreamed of that platter for 14 nights. When we arrived and ordered, the waiter said we should really get the half platter because there was no way we could eat the full. I was thankful for that advice! The platter was all we could do and it was insteresting, though everything started tasting the same as we ate our way through it. The wine list was great and the service was excellent.
This was my top choice for dinner, even though it was a little hard to find information about it beforehand. They are a small restaurnat with maybe only 25 covers, and they write their menu on a chalkboard each day so it is hard to plan ahead. We arrived right as the crew was finishing their kitchen meeting, and we were the first seating of the night. We were really impressed with everything we ate here and had many of our most memoriable and favorite dishes of the trip, especially the interpretive version of Pulmay, a hearty strew particularly from the Chiloé Archipelago, featuring layers of seafood (mussels, clams, shrimp), meats (pork, chorizo, chicken), potatoes, vegetables (cabbage, onion, garlic, peppers). Their pulmay came with confit chicken leg that was easily the tastiest thing I had the whole trip. Our other dishes were an amuse bouche with pickled vegetables, oysters with watermelon granache, crab-stuffed zucchini, sea bass in peanut sauce, and local tomato salad.
We had a fun psico sour tasting here! The bartender took a lot of time to describe the differences between the distilling techniques and the variations from Peru to Chile.
A must stop! It’s in a pretty “spicy” area of town near the central market. We watched a man climb the wall of the neighboring subway station to retreive some items he had been storing there. But the history is rich, and the terremoto is strong. We weren’t sure exactly what to do so we smiled a lot and nodded and took what we were served. The terremoto is a strong drink made with special wine and pineapple sorbet.
Sights
National Museum of History: One of our first stops, which was a fun way to get in the mindset of Chilean history and culture.
National Museum of Fine Arts: I enjoyed this museum but the descriptions online were confusing. It seems like it should be two buildings with contemporary in a second spot, but it is all under one roof.
Cerro San Cristobal: Great views and a great way to learn about local religious practices.
Funicular: It’s a short, steep ride with a fun view.
Cable Car: We were the second people on the cars and it was really fun! Spectacular views and a nice ride.
La Chascona: Poet Pablo Neruda’s home was one of my favorite visits! Such a fascinating structure with a wild collection of furniture and art.
Mercado Central: Who doesn’t like a market? All the fish and veggies you could possibly want.
Factoría Franklin: We got here too early to see the action. There is a distillery and restaurants in a hip repurposed building.
Persa Victor Manuel Flea Market: Reviews have compared this market to Chatuchak in Bangkok, and I can see why. Stalls as far as the eye can see. Lots of antiques and art.
Donde Golpea el Monito: If you love hats, go to this hat store! It retains a long history and the staff were so fun and helpful.
La Casa del Ceramista: A small ceramics store with a little display. If you happen to be in Bellavista, stop in.
Centro Cultural Metropolitani Gabriela Mistral: We were confused but happy. There are several art exhibits, but when we tried to enter one the guard said, “You can’t come in here.” There is a great ceramics studio downstairs and a really good bookstore upstairs.
Sky Costanero: We did not go all the way up because it was $26 each. That may seem silly. But $26 each for an elevator ride? It is attached to a mall, which we enjoyed strolling becasue it was interesting.
Here is a gallery of photos from the trip. Click on the photos for captions!
Checking in to Hotel Le Reve. It was a beautiful quiet street in the Providencia neighborhood.
I only took one photo at the flea market becasue everyone kept telling me to hide my phone so no one could steal it.
Comments Off on We Are Going to Chile, For Real This Time
I have always dreamed of going to Chile and we had a trip planned in 2010, but the country was hit with a magnitude 8.8 earthquake that devastated much of Santiago and Valparaiso–our main destinations. We cancelled.
Now we have crafted an even more elaborate trip that includes our orignal goals of visiting Santiago and Valparaiso, with the benfit of hiking in Torres del Paine and white water rafting on Rio Petrohué! We haven’t had a trip with this many movements since we went to Türkiye, Georgia, and Armenia in 2023. I am really looking forward to spending time with my sweetie while exploring a new part of the globe! We have traveled to South America five times–Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. It will be so much fun to see a sixth South American country. Chile will be my 55th country and John’s 49th.
A good friend recently asked me how we divide the planning. In general, John loves to research and I love to correspond and organize. So John does research like the pro he is–he reads blog posts, watches trip reports, reads reviews, and gathers ideas. Then I organize them and I make the bookings because I like to email with the locals.
We will be in Santiago for four nights at the front of the trip. We each prioritized the places we want to see. I tend to be more museum forward while John loves the markets. We both like each, so we will have an amazing time visiting. And of course we love to eat! So we have reservations at several restaurants.
For our first leg in Santiago we chose Hotel Le Reve which has a cozy boutique feel and is close to a lot of the places we wish to visit. We also are going to do a day trip to Valparaiso, Vina del Mar, and Casablanca for some wine tasting.
Hotel Le Reve
Next we will fly down to Patagonia. I have always really wanted to hike the W there, a route with five days of trekking and stays at camps and refuges. But I have a bad meniscus tear of my right knee and will not be able to complete the journey. Instead we booked a room at Hotel Rio Serrano and rented a car so we can drive into the park for exploring. John is prepared to do some trail running, and I will hike as much as my knee allows.
Hotel Rio Serrano
Next we fly to Lake Country, where we are staying in Puerto Varas on Chile’s second largest lake, Lake Llanquihue. We will also have a car here, so we can drive around for adventuring. We are doing a white water rafting trip on the beautiful tourquoise River Petrohué. We will be staying at Hotel Cabana del Largo.
Hotel Cabana del Largo
Then we return to Santiago for one more night before we fly home, and as we like to do, we chose a fabulous splurge hotel for that last evening. We will stay at The Singular Santiago before catching a flight back to Miami.
The Singular Santiago
I am really looking forward to two meals especially that we have reserved: CORA Bistro and La Calma. I’m sure we will have many, many wonderful meals.
Rellenas con jaiba marmola, jengibre, tomate, ajo, zeste de limón, menta, tomillo, eneldo y vino blanco.
La recolección de productos de mar en su mejor estado, moluscos a veces crustáceos, mariscos, cortes de pescados, algas.
Have you been to Chile? We would love any recommendations and tips!
Each year I have the goal of cooking 100 recipes, listening to 100 newly recorded songs, reading 100 books, and watching 100 movies/shows. Here is my recap of 2025! It was a great year and I mostly met my goals.
Cooking
I use an app called Recipe Keeper to keep track of what I cook. It quickly imports recipes from URLs, photos, or text. You can then edit the ingredients and instructions based on your habits. The app stays open on your device as you cook, and you can click off the ingredients as you prep them. You can create Courses, Categories, and Collections easily. I cooked 113 recipes (I did include those where John was Executive Chef and I was Sous). I have so many favorites! One that really surprised me was Ravioli Lasagna. I love making lasagna, but I had a bunch of ravioli on hand that I needed to use and it turns out you can replace the noodle/ricotta layers with frozen ravioli for an easy baked dish. Another favorite was Jalepeno Peach Chicken made with local peaches. Let me know if you want any more recommendations! You can view all of the recipes here.
Music
To collect music I use Apple Music. They make a new playlist for me every Friday, and they also have a category with Newly Released albums and songs. I collected 132 songs by individual artists that were recorded in 2025. You can listen to the playlist here. Some of my favorite songs were “Metal” by The Beths and “Bottom of a Bottle” by Julien Baker & TORRES.
Books
I use Goodreads to track my books and reading. I had so much fun reading in 2025! I read 98 books and it’s really hard to say my favorites because there are so many! You can view all 98 here (though I think you need a Goodreads account). I got a whole lot of enjoyment from cerebral powerhouses like Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman and Timefulness by Marcia Bjornerud.
Movies/Shows
I use IMDB to track my viewing habits. I hit an even 100 with viewing movies and shows in 2025! You can see the whole list here. Adolescence was a hard watch but so impactful. Paradise surprised me because I normally don’t like to suspend reality but this show made it worth it. I LOVED the Devo documentary.
What were your favorite recipes, songs, books, and movies of 2025?
Our original goal for this Europe trip was to make it a true tour of the countries on the Baltic sea, and we wanted to go to St. Petersburg. However, I tried many ways to secure a Russian visa, and time ran out. You can visit St. Petersburg without a visa if you’re with a tour on a ship, but we wanted to stay on the ground. So we decided to switch gears. John read an article about 30 unique things to do in Kiev, and flights were readily available, so we decided to book three nights there.
We took the recommendation of UK’s Independent and booked a room at 11 Mirrors. We did this through Expedia, where we have Gold Status, and because of that we were upgraded to a stunning room with a gorgeous view. It turned out to be a great choice, and we were in walking distance to most major sights. We did take Uber frequently to other parts of the city. Kiev is one of the largest cities in Europe, with a population of about 2.9 million. This is about the size of Seoul, which interested me very much since the city limits felt very much more Asian than European–with blocks of high rises that look identical in every way.
Our first order of business was to get some Georgian food, since we had read so much about it. Our first choice was all booked up, so we wandered over to Shoti and oh my am I glad we did. This was one of my favorite meals (though not my most nutritious).
The next day was The Day of Sightseeing and boy did we pack in a lot. We went to a unique and fascinating monastery and toured the crypts, then we toured around the Motherland Museum. We saw exactly ten thousand cathedrals. We saw lots of interesting street art and many beautiful parks. We saw markets, brew pubs, and even a little Ukrainian Vizsla who was trotting though the city off-leash. All in all we had a great time in Kiev.
Day 3 of our trip to Tallinn Started with a stroll through Old Town and down to the water. We started down at the harbor where there was a fascinating collection of ships, including a Norwegian Ice Breaker. Of course they need an ice breaker, but who thinks of an ice breaker until you need one? We enjoyed the fresh air and ocean sea breeze. Next we stopped at the Tallin Cultural Hub called Kultuuri Katel, which is housed in an old factory. It included an exhibit that I found fascinating, but that John found too high concept. It studied the relationship between work and rest though visual imagery.
We started to get hungry, so we wandered to the Rotermann Quarter, which is between the Old Town and the city centre, in the historical Rotermanni Disctrict. I chose a restaurant called Kaks Kokka, and I really enjoyed my dish though John felt his to be a little one note. Perhaps everything this day before our big meal would be a disappointment to him?
We have tried many Michelin starred restaurants, so we were very thrilled to be able to try NOA Chef’s Hall. We had done a lot of research on the place, and truly enjoyed this YouTube video about chef Orm Oja. We sat at the Chef’s Table so we could see Orm and his team work their magic. We had such delicious courses and really enjoyed the service too. At sunset, all the restaurant patrons went out to the lawn to watch the sun set over the water.
The next day, I was able to buy a beautiful print by an Estonian artist that looks very much like that sunset! I even got to meet her. Our experience in Estonia was everything we hoped for and more. I kept trying to think of a way I could live there!
One reason I REALLY wanted to visit Tallinn was because I teach the essay Estonia, The Digital Republic, in my travel writing class. I was fascinated by the descriptions of the country and upon more research we found that many travel writers are calling the Baltic States the Next Scandinavia, for their focus on art, design, and cuisine. Say no more!
We arrived by ferry to a small port and decided to simply walk the short distance to our AirBnb. I normally prefer booking at hotels, but we chose an AirBnb in Tallinn because it was so much cheaper and there was so much more space. I found a gorgeous apartment in the middle of Old Town. Which would have been perfect, if the owner had been ready. We ended up lugging our luggage around for three hours during which we could not get in contact with the owner. I don’t ever want to do that again. He ended up feeling so bad about it he took us for coffee later and we had an interesting chat. We asked him about the rise of the right-wing populists in Eastern Europe and he confirmed our fears, that there are factions who are xenophobic, racist, and Islamophobic. But I’ll return to that topic later.
We spent our Day 1 exploring the new arts district, Telliskivi Loomelinnak, which is a former industrial area that is now full of colorful murals, shops, and restaurants. We would return here several times during our stay for shopping, sips, and bites. We also enjoyed the nearby market, Balti Jaam Market, that had gorgeous fresh produce and some interesting local items.
After a lot of walking, we made room for dinner at F-hoone. And am I ever glad we did. This place was so inexpensive, had a super hip vibe, and served me some of the best dumplings of my life. I consider it a must visit.
One difference in hotel vs AirBnb is that we usually get our breakfast included at a hotel. Since we had not shopped for groceries, and the coffee service at the property was a rickety and not nice French Press that I failed to master, we would need to procure some coffee and sustenance stat! Luckily John used his research skills to get us to Rost, which was an epic win. We could smell the shop well before we saw it. Tucked into an area that is being revived for young professionals, this bakery served me the best cinnamon roll I’ve ever had.
Next, we had such a lovely visit to Kumu Art Museum. It confirmed the reports that contemporary artists are thriving in Estonia, since the exhibition on fashion was one of the most interesting I’ve seen in ages. But I also really enjoyed the organization of the design of the space. The exhibitions on 18th and 19th century art taught us as much about history of the region as they did about artistry. And there was a room full of only busts, with a soundtrack of voices piped in, that afforded an ethereal and magical experience.
We also loved the exhibit on Eastern Fashion. For her project, the artist Marit Ilison scoured the archives of the Narva Museum, digitized the art and made it into print fabric, which she sewed into identical versions of the well-known historic garment, the chintz smock. The display included 77 dresses all of the same shape but each with a different print (based on the museum archives). It was one of the most fun, whimsical, yet historically impactful exhibits I saw on our trip.
Now let’s talk about lunch at Restoran Mon Repos. We literally grabbed this off TripAdvisor after leaving the art museum so hungry. It is walkable and beautiful and the meal was one of the best of our trip.
Helsinki is always a treat–though I have only been there in summer. This trip we arrived on May 4 and it was snowing and chilly. So I can only imagine what it must be like in really bad weather. Helsinki proper has a population of about 650,000 people, which is about the size of Portland, OR, and I would argue that there are some similarities. There is a nice laid back vibe. People eat well. People make art. People speak very good English.
We only had two nights in town this time so we made the best of it! Our dinner at Juuri was delicious and so much fun! What a great way to start the trip of a million calories. Europe called–there’s no more food left!
We also enjoyed buying art at The Association of Finnish Printmakers. We spent about two hours studying all of the artists! Such wonderful work being done. We also enjoyed dips in and out of the sea/sauna at Allas Sea Pool. The Finnish sauna is a must do!
Helsinki greeted us with a snowstorm!
It’s a lovely spot.
We made reservations for Juuri months ahead.
Cute art across from the restaurant.
This is a Cucumber concoction and a Good ole Helsinki Gin and Tonic.
Finn cattle milk with yellow beet
Pork with Kohlrabi
Herring with egg
Oh my goodness this bread and butter.
Parsley root with parsley
Picke perch with horseradish.
Baltic herring with fennel and tomato.
Chicken liver with carrot.
Herring with potato and sour cream
Lamb with broad bean.
The walk home was quiet, chilly, and dark.
Breakfast at our hotel was simple and good.
Choices!
Sightseeing.
Sightseeing.
Sightseeing.
Sightseeing.
Sightseeing.
Sightseeing.
Art shopping!
We really loved this print but it was too big to fly home.
So we got this beautiful print!
A walk to the harbor.
At the market.
Oooooo.
Loyly sauna was booked.
So we went to Allas Sea Pool.
It was a perfect day for it though a touch chilly.
Comments Off on The Baltics (and Ukraine) Four Days to Go
How is your 2019 going? Ours got away from us a little, mostly due to so much working, but also so many good times with friends, dogs, (and doctors!). John and I are thrilled to have an upcoming trip to “The Baltics, Plus Ukraine.”
We started planning in January when we got flights round trip for $550 per person. Our intention was to go to Finland, then take the train to St. Petersburg, but we had trouble getting Russian Visas so we decided to sub out Kiev after reading some really wonderful articles about travel to Ukraine.
So now our trip covers five countries: Finland, Estonia, Ukraine, Lithuania, and Latvia. We identified activities in each city, lots of great restaurants, and three hotels and two AirBNB’s that will be lovely and super comfortable. We’re almost all packed and can’t wait to share our adventures!
