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This past weekend 9 others and I traveled to the capital of Chile, Santiago.This is a gorgeous city filled with gourmet restaurants, a buzzing nightlife and six million people.It's about a six to seven hour bus ride from Concepcion, which costs about 16 dollars one way.My friend Jessa and I left at 8:30 a.m. and arrived in Santiago at around 2:45, a couple hours before the others.We had a full bus and three bus drivers, which stopped the bus on the side of the freeway for the simple reason to take a picture with us.Funnyyyyy.When we arrived in Santiago we hopped the subway to our hostel, which was located in the Barrio Providencia.It's a nice, safe district with amazing architecture and a lot to offer.That night our hostel had a BBQ and then we headed out to a bar.
Saturday we woke up at around 10 and started touring the city. We took "touristy" pictures as we walked to find an authentic Chilean restaurant.We then proceeded to "El Centro" of Santiago to visit the Cerro Santa Lucia.In the nineteenth-century the past mayor, Benjamin Vicuna Mackenna helped to transform this rocky hill into a beautiful landscaped park.There are footpaths and fountains on the way up the hill and upon reaching the very top you are able to see an AMAZING panoramic view of the city of Santiago and the Andes Mountains.Mackenna is buried in a chapel at the bottom of the hill.The pictures I took of this hill doesn't do it justice, it's much more beautiful in real life.In the evening we went to a Salsa club to try out our Latin moves.It was an early night for us, arriving back at the hostel at about 3 am. J
After eating a breakfast of frosted flakes and toast at our hostel, Jessa, Christina and I checked out and continued on our Santiago exploration.Our first stop was visiting the Cerro San Cristobal (Parque Metropolitano), which is a 1,803 acre park and recreation area with swimming pools, walking trails, a garden, a zoo, restaurants, etc.Perched a top this hill sits the 72 foot high statue of the Virgin of the Immaculate Concepcion.Unfortunately after we reached the top of the hill, via a 1925 funicular (scary), the smog covered most of the city view and Andes mountains.But seeing the statue made the trip to the top worth it. This was a little time consuming, which affected our other time for exploration.We did although have time to visit the Plaza de Armas.This plaza was founded by Pedro de Valdivia, who conquered Chile for the Spanish crown.It is surrounded by breathtaking buildings of: The Natural History Museum, The Post Office, The Metropolitan Cathedral and a few lucky home owners. It's a common place in Santiago that has many venders, entertainers and couples making out.HaHa.By this hour the time was ticking away and we decided to get back to our homes in Concepcion.We arrived back in Conce at 12:30, just in time for a few hours of sleep and school the next morning.
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVED Santiago and if any of you ever think about visiting Chile, this would be a recommendationJ.It's super easy with transportation and more people speak English than here in Concepcion.I can't wait to return to Santiago on October 1 and see what more trouble we can get ourselves into. (just kidding).
Love youuuuuuuuuuuu.
Chau.
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