Hola!

So here we are in Santiago, Chile where I am torturing my limited Italian into a weird hybrid of Spanish but some how making myself understood...most of the time.

First impressions of Santiago (probably only impressions since we leave tomorrow for the Atacama region up north):

1. It's very clean. Even the subway sparkles.
2. Not too many blonds here but a lot of really good looking guys with dark, curly hair. Actually, all the young people look like Erica and Alex Frenkel.
3. The weather is fabulous...at least in the summer. Blue sky without a hint of a cloud, in the 80's and dry as a bone.
4. It seems very conservative. Just about everyone one is wearing a cross. Not a particularly stylish scene on the street either.

Naturally, our first thought after napping was for food so we headed to the center of town and the Mercado Central for a late lunch. The Mercado, sort of the Reading Terminal of Santiago but with an emphasis on fish, is located in a beautiful cast iron 19th c. building. Along the walls are stalls selling fish, produce, etc. surrounding a cluster of restaurants in the middle. We were immediately accosted by waiter who proudly escorted us to a table under an old black and white photo of Bill Clinton hoisting a beer. We figured this was the "American table" and we seemed to be the only Americans around. We feasted on baby eels in oil and garlic and then split a beautiful steamed king crab which came to our table fresh from the waters off of Patagonia, according to our waiter. Best part of all, we didn't have to do any of the work. Our waiter carefully removed all the meat from the legs and then opened up the body so we could wolf down the sweet meat without bloodying our fingers.

After lunch, we strolled through streets of the central Santiago basking in the warm weather. It's 7:30 now and the sun is still shining. What a treat after all that snow and cold to get a sneak peak of summer!