Our second day in Santiago. Hotel breakfast on the 17th floor. Magnificent view from the top. Coffee is not really enjoyable because of the strong chlorine taste. Otherwise nothing to complain. Into town centre we take the Metro, 5 Minute walk to the station, about 1€ for a single one way ticket. Very convenient.
Santiago town centre
Getting off in “La Moneda” Station we find the President Palast La Moneda which was formerly the colonial mint of Chile in the nineteenth and early twentieth century (Moneda (span.) = coin). Further down the boulevard Bernardo O´Higgins up to the Universidad de Chile Station, there is the begin of Santiago´s shopping mile leading to Plaza de Armas, the heart and soul of Santiago. Like many European city centres Santiago has a mixture of neo-baroque buildings and modern functional palaces of steel and glas.
Plaza de Armas
From Plaza de Armas walking further up the North we arrive in Mercado central, the roofed central market around 2pm. Time for lunch, we think. Half of the market space is filled by Donde Ausgusto´s seafood restaurant, the other half is taken by other smaller seafood Restaurants. They all offer, you guess, lunch in a variety of seafood creations.
Museo historico nacional.
Formerly Palacio de la Real Audiencia de Santiago
The atmosphere is weird: People getting in and out from different entrances, noise at a high level, waiters rushing around, wandering musicians and toy vendors (flashing plastic fishes). We decide to try it out, partly because our legs are striking and our stomach longing for input. And so we find ourselves in the middle of this strange and overpriced happening.
Correo central / Central Post Office