It was another very hot day, so we went out earlier (10am) and went to climb San Lucia Hill – a remnant of a 15 million-year-old volcano, and it is also a famous tourist destination in Santiago. The hill’s present form was designed by the city’s mayor in the late 19th century, who, inspired by French landscaping, decided to transform the volcanic rock into an elegant park with gardens, fountains, terraces, gazebos, many trees and intricate trails and steps.
圣路济亚山公园的入口处，离我俩的民宿步行不到5分钟 – At the entrance of St. Lucia Hill Park – less than a 5 minutes walk from our apartment.没想到进公园还需要登记姓名和地址，用谷歌翻译，大概的意思是要进行访问登记控制，我俩的猜测是怕抗议游行者在这里破坏掉古建筑吧 – We were surprise to find that we need to register our name and phone number to enter the park. Using Google Translation, the guard informed us that access registration control is required. Our guess was that they are afraid that protesters might deface the ancient buildings here.上山 – Hiking up the hill.上面可以看到南美洲最高的建筑，大圣地亚哥塔, 总高度300米，世界高度排名第195, 背后的安地斯山脉依稀可见 – You can see the tallest building in South America, the Gran Torre Santiago, with a total height of 300 meters and the world’s 195th tallest building. The Andes behind it can be seen faintly through the haze.山上景色 – The view from the top of the Hill海王星喷泉 ，献给罗马海神海王星，建于 1897 年至 1903 年之间，作为圣路济亚山入口的主要装饰 – The Fountain of Neptune, dedicated to the Roman god of the sea, Neptune. It was built between 1897 and 1903 as the main decoration for the entrance to Mount St Lucia.让我俩想起了在马赛隆尚宫 Marseilles. – It reminded us of the fountain we saw in Marseilles.
We decided to walk the 30 minutes to Barrio Italia district of Santiago. We originally had booked a hotel in this district, but later changed to the district where we are now. Founded in the 19th century by Italian immigrants, the Barrio Italia has become a more upscale neighborhood, with bohemian bars, restaurants and a hangout for Chilean designers. The streets are lined with postcard-like handicraft shops of all kinds. We saw many more foreign tourists here, and many waiters spoke English. The Lastarria area where our apartment is located seems to be more down-to-earth and the truer Santiago. We are glad we changed.
路上看到一个街头艺人，他在车辆等红灯的时候进行表演，这里的街头表演者怎么都这么有创意？- We saw this street performer on the road, and he was performing while the vehicle was waiting for the red light. Why are the street performers here so creative?这个就是我俩原本要住的酒店 – This is the hotel where we were going to stay.意大利区的街边小店 – Shops in the Barrio Italia district.午餐随便找个一家餐厅 – We found this restaurant for lunch.点了一个披萨和一个烤馅饼，味道都很一般 – Ordered a pizza and an empenada, both tasted mediocre.
After dinner, we took an Uber to the Gran Torre Santiago Tower, the tallest building in South America. Uber is relatively cheap here. It took about 20 minutes by car and the cost was about 5,000 Chilean pesos (5 bucks). From the Tower, you can overlook the entire city. Unfortunately, the Andes Mountains cannot be seen clearly in the smoggy weather.
每人每张票是16,000智利比索 – 16,000 Chilean pesos per person per ticket ($16 bucks)!!那个山坡就是昨天去的圣特里斯托瓦尔山 – That hillside is San Cristobal Hill where we went to yesterday.上面可以看到很多大楼顶都是直升机的降落平台 – You can see the landing platforms of helicopters on the top of many buildings.坐Uber回民宿的路上，看到很多很多的支持🌈游行的人（不能用某个词，怕被某些地方屏蔽了）- On the way back to the apartment by Uber, we saw many people who supported the 🌈 parade (cannot use a certain word, for fear of being blocked)去饭店吃晚饭的路上，看到一群人在围观什么- On the way to the restaurant for dinner, we saw a group of people watching something…挤进来一看，是这个人在做签售，不知道他是谁，后来问了饭店的一个服务员，他也不知道 – I squeezed in and saw that this person was signing books, but we didn’t know who he was. Later, I asked a waiter in the restaurant, and he didn’t know either. Lol.晚餐的饭店，离我俩的民宿很近，叫Liguria, 一共三层楼 – The restaurant for dinner is very close to our apartment, called Liguria, with three floors and a terrace.一楼的露台有很大的墙， 最左边的那个男性头像是维克多·哈拉（Víctor Lidio Jara Martínez），Wiki上看到的，他是智利的一位教师、戏剧导演、诗人、歌手、政治活动家，他在智利1973年政变中被逮捕，在饱受酷刑后被44颗子弹射杀。他成为拉丁美洲一个争取人权事业的象征。- The terrace on the first floor has a large mural. The male head on the far left is Víctor Lidio Jara Martínez, as seen on Wiki, he is a teacher, theater director, poet, and singer in Chile , political activist, who was arrested in Chile’s 1973 coup and shot dead by 44 bullets after being tortured. He became a symbol of the human rights cause in Latin America.我俩坐在一个角落 – We sat in the corner table.一个虾的前菜，这个很好吃，非常辣 – A shrimp appetizer, this was delicious, very spicy – a promising start!芝士扇贝，味道一般，菜拿上来已经凉了 – The 2nd appetizer, Cheesy scallops, the taste was average, and the dish is already cold. Strike one.我点了一个炸鳗鱼菜，想象的是经常吃的日本菜的鳗鱼，结果这个上来之后，给我惊到了，这么大的鱼吗？然后网上一查，这种鳗鱼叫海鳗，或者康吉鳗，是最大的鳗鱼类型，有的长度可达 2 米。鱼本身的肉质很像鲈鱼，但是更结实一些，但是这道菜的味道也很一般，有些小失望 – I ordered a fried eel dish. I imagined the eel that I often eat in Japanese restaurants. When this dish came, I was surprised. Is it such a big fish? Then I checked online and found that this kind of eel is called moray eel, or conger eel, which is the largest type of eel, and some can reach 2 meters in length. The meat of the fish itself is very similar to sea bass, but firmer, but the taste of this dish is also very average, a little disappointing. Strike two.PJG点的一个牛肉菜，是服务员推荐的，味道也比较失望 – A beef dish ordered by PJG was recommended by the waiter, but again the taste was rather disappointing. Strike three.
Personal safety in Santiago has become a bit bad in recent years. The waiters in the restaurants we have been to will remind us to keep our bags and mobile phones safe from snatchers. This afternoon, we were planning to have a beer on the street and finish yesterday’s blog, but as soon as we took out the laptop the waiter quickly told us that it was better not to use it, as it was dangerous unless we sat inside. When chatting with local people in the past few days, they also expressed the changes to safety in the past few years. So far, our experience has been good for both of us, but we are on constant alert.
Your climb up SanLucia hill to see the volcanic rock garden looked interesting.
I think staying in Barrio district would have made your trip easier for me unless I was with you adventurous travelers! I didn’t realize Santiago was such a huge city. Too bad you had a disappointing dinner. And keep a tight hold of your things.
看来墙绘挺多，好看。
这里的建筑物上的小细节也挺美。
一定注意安全。
Your climb up SanLucia hill to see the volcanic rock garden looked interesting.
I think staying in Barrio district would have made your trip easier for me unless I was with you adventurous travelers! I didn’t realize Santiago was such a huge city. Too bad you had a disappointing dinner. And keep a tight hold of your things.
Yes we are being very careful. Barrio Italia would be easier