Weeknote 76
Completos, Empanadas, Pastel de choclo
- My first week in Chile has been packed full of sightseeing and eating out. Apologies in advance for any typos but I'm without my laptop on my travels.
- On my Monday we went with friends to have my first completos in Chile at Restaurante Elkika in Providencia. They were enormous and I felt quite full afterwards, if not overwhelmed. One per month is enough!
- Tuesday and Wednesday were spent mostly on the Pacific coast at Valparaíso.
- On arrival we visited Pablo Neruda’s house, La Sebastiana. Each floor and room was a delight to explore with all kinds of furniture, possessions and art beautifully set against the blue sky backdrop/view of the city and ocean below.
- Lunch was down at the harbour in Caleta El Membrillo restaurant. The seafood was amazing and tasted so fresh. I tried a couple of delicious local specialities for the first time including fried reineta fish and razor clams baked with wine, cheese and seasoning.
- We stayed in Valparaíso overnight at Hotel Brighton that’s a characterful old building with amazing views. It’s located directly above the city’s downtown. Here there’s an assortment of old and somewhat shabby but pretty buildings that cling to the steep streets climbing the hills that surround the city.
- I'd the great pleasure of meeting my online Spanish tutor, Camila, in-person for brunch the next day.
- On our way back to Santiago we stopped off for empanadas in Concón. There I tried a couple of beef fillings, both of the fried variety, which I enjoyed but still prefer oven baked empanadas.
- Chile doesn’t have a national network of railways for passenger trains unfortunately, but I did spot the remnants of one that follows the motorway north of Santiago. I love tracing back old railways wherever I travel.
- On Friday we headed to another of Pablo Neruda’s homes in Santiago, La Chascona. Again this was a beautiful place to visit and carefully restored to its original condition.
- I’d a craving for more pastel de choclo, so we headed to a nearby restaurant which served exactly that along with sopaipillas. It’s a new favourite of mine in Chilean cuisine.
- We explored nearby Parque Met funicular and did a round trip on the cable car that affords a good panorama of Santiago and the surrounding Andes.
- Friday evening we enjoyed a slightly Italian influenced Chilean dinner at the characterful restaurant Liguria.
- Sunday, on the first day of winter daylight saving time here, was too hot for much sightseeing so we headed to a bakery across town for fresh oven cooked empanadas. We also enjoyed some divine Chilean sushi including ceviche rolls for evening dinner.
