First of all it is time for the Northern Hemisphere folks to start gloating back at me about the beautiful spring weather. Fall has finally arrived complete with rain in the forecast and with no brilliant maple trees. It was too good to last!
On my Dad's last full day here we went exploring some older Santiago neighborhoods on the near west side. When my sister and family were here in December they walked around one of the neighborhoods and suggested that we do it. The tourist maps have 10 different walking tours and this was the only one that I hadn't really walked through. In fact, after walking it, and seeing only one other set of tourists (we are all pretty obvious) I'd say that most tourists and probably most Santiguinos haven't walked around these neighborhoods. That said, the neighborhoods,
Yungay,
Brasil,
Concho y Toro (like the wine), and Quinta Normal (where the large park and museums are located) were interesting, safe, and just a bit off the beaten path. We quickly strolled through the
Museum of the Memory and Human Rights where I had been before and this time it wasn't just American tourists but also school groups in the museum. They also had a temporary exhibit of
Fernando Botero paintings "inspired" by the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib. The security guard gave us a handout in English explaining what happened in Abu Ghraib perhaps because he thought we didn't know? No nation is without blemishes in its history!
I visited Quinta Normal our first month here and gave myself the challenge of being able to read the street graffiti before we left. I am better but not quite there.
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| Got this one - another sign that it is time to go? |
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| This has a nice rhythm to it in Spanish. |
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| A typical street in Concho y Toro |
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| A restaurant in Barrio Brasil - ironic. |
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