I found this cool song by Heather Dale called The Road to Santiago while starting this blog, check it out here :)
I fell in love with Santiago the moment I met Santiago.
The first aspects that hooked me were the immense wall of Andes mountains surrounding the city and the beautiful, art-filled, and clean downtown Santiago. But what made me truly enamored with the city was the wonderfully sweet and charming people, consistently excellent food and drinks, and depth of expression of culture (impromptu opera in the main plaza and the wealth of free and immensely creative art museums, galleries, and markets only scratch the surface). I was consistently surprised by Santiago, as I feel like I've gotten to the point where going to new places just reminds me of places I have already been. Santiago was an amalgamation of it's own culture and that of others I had never encountered before, which was ineffably refreshing.
Santiago is a city of many cultures through which the Chilean culture still finds room to shine brightly; it is a city of people who have immense strength from having endured a dictatorship and torture while still being among the warmest and welcoming I have ever met.
On top of all of this, I felt very at home here as a Coloradan, with the mountains close to the city, the chilly fall air, and people dressed in sporty outfits, looking ready take a stroll in the mountains at any time.
I only spent 1 week in Santiago, but I immediately ranked it near the top of places I want to live someday.
Here are my photos from the week in Santiago and its surrounding areas, just so you can see how beautiful Santiago is:
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| The beautiful, forested walkway - Parque Forestal - next to the river. It was fall :) |
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| The river Mapocho running through Santiago |
