Ahhhhh Santiago

Chile ranks at the top of the summer stops so far. That would probably be true after our first two days, but the next two solidified that. Wednesday morning we left for Santiago, where Wade’s friend Eric, who he met in grad school in Belgium, lives. This Michigan boy has married a Chilean and has called Santiago home for a couple of years now; what great news for us. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in the Las Condes district using points (read: for free!). It’s located near the British and US Embassies. I suppose Wade figured this was a good idea in case we lost a passport! I’m guessing he was a little less sure about this decision when a bomb exploded at the British Embassy two days before we were scheduled to arrive. Anyway, we dropped our bags there just before eleven and headed out to explore the area. It didn’t take us long to stop at a cafe, where Wade had coffee and Emma and I enjoyed some hot chocolate and cookies. We took a cab to Eric’s workplace and visited his office with the INCREDIBLE view of the snow capped Andes. For lunch we met Eric’s wife, Loretto, at the Officina de Correro (post office). She’s the Director of Communications for Chile’s National Post. As such she was able to give Emma a tour of the postal museum, which was very cool. Emma enjoyed being able to walk right past areas marked “No Passar”. When Eric and Loretto returned to their respective places of work, we walked back to the Plaza de Armas and toured the Iglesia de San Fransisco, Santiago’s oldest surviving colonial building. The church contains some beautiful stained glass and many statues, and the main altar houses a carving that Pedro de Valdivia took to Chile on his 1540 conquistador mission to protect him from attacks. When we exited the church we walked through an area where several artists were displaying their works. We watched one artist working on a painting of Valparaiso that we all loved. Wade asked me what I’d pay for it. We’ve done a pretty good job with spending on this trip so far. This was our first night off ship and often times in port we’ve gone back to the ship to eat at “home” rather than paying to eat out. Thus, I told him I didn’t think we should spend more than $300. We’ve seen similar paintings on our travels sell for that and much more. I walked around with Emma so Wade could begin negotiating. He came to me, almost in tears, shaking his head. The artist told Wade he’d normally sell it for $50, but since we were both teachers he’d take $45. We paid him $60 and felt like we were robbing him. He teared up when we told him we didn’t need change. We exchanged emails, phone numbers, etc. This painting is going to look fantastic in our living room. Know anyone interested in buying a G. Harvey? We’ve got to free up some space!