35 hours in Santiago

On our way from Calama to Puerto Natales we opted for a brief, two-night, stop in Santiago and it was awesome! We stayed in a family room with a private bathroom at Hostel Merced 88 in Barrio Lastarria. How did we choose it? Well, it was priced well, had great reviews on HostelWorld, had some tempting amenities, and I saw a few parks nearby in Google Maps--that was it. As we were due to arrive at 1830 and wanted an easy trip to the city, we booked a transfer through the hostel and it was a breeze! By 1930 we were checked in to our room and headed to dinner!

So what was our first dinner out in Santiago? German food! Bierstube was a three-minute walk from our hostel and we were delighted to have some amazing house beers and tasty German food. We ended the night with some rounds of pool at the hostel. 

Our hostel worked well for us!

After a late wake-up we grabbed some coffee for a walk through Parque Forestal to the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. This awesome (free!) museum features classical and modern art by Chilean artists. I personally loved the sculpture work and the modern exhibit where light strings were woven in traditional ways. It's not a huge museum and you can cover it in around an hour. 

Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes

Right across from the museum is Castillo Forestal, a French restaurant. Of course, our Frenchy girl wanted to go, but the rest of us ended up loving it, too! We dined on the patio, essentially in the park, and the food was fantastic. 

Beautiful food in a beautiful setting! Trent discovered that he really likes Chicken Cordon Bleu.

Next up...WINE! The kids stayed at the hostel to watch the World Cup and play pool while the adults headed to Concha y Toro vineyard for a tour and tasting. We toured the grounds, sampled Sauvignon Blanc, Carmenere, and Cabernet Sauvignon, and got to visit the Casillero del Diablo cellar. It was a nice way to spend a date afternoon!

Adult time and wine!

The Casillero del Diablo cellar was a treat. It's all naturally climate-controlled.

We opted for an easy night back at the hostel, dining and enjoying $6 bottles of wine at the rooftop Restobar before binge-watching shows on our last night of Amazon Prime access. It was a horrible plan as we needed to catch a taxi to the airport at 0500 the next day, but it was fun!

Hostel life was great! And the Restobar food was good and cheap.

We would definitely return to Santiago someday. The brief glimpse we got of the art and food scene was good, and we'd like to see more...and maybe even try Chilean food there. Someday...

~Jo, Nomadic Momma