Party For One

I woke up on Sunday and was ecstatic that it was not raining, so I decided to make my first trek to the mall. The mall is a big outing for me since I don't have a car. I put on my sneakers, bundled up in comfy clothes, and took off to the metro. The metro is a 15 minute walk from my house and the walk from the nearest stop to the mall is about another 15 minutes. The city was dead because A) almost everything is closed on Sunday (except the mall) and B) it was Father's Day. 

On my walk from the metro stop to the mall, I made a few stops which you will see in the photos. The first was the Military School where all the Chilean military are required to go. A side note - Chile is about 2,600 miles long (only an average of 100 miles wide) and the entire border is lined with soldiers. My second stop was the Hyatt. Everyone has told me it's the nicest hotel in the city; "the most American." Therefore, I stopped in to check it out.  There really aren't that many big hotel chains here - there's a Ritz but it's small and a Marriott - and that's about it.

I spent about 4 hours at the mall - I know you're not surprised - but you WILL be surprised that I only bought one small thing...which I now want to return. Ha! These 4 hours included lunch at a little Italian restaurant called Vendetta. When I asked the woman for the window table she asked if there were others in my party. I wish there were..."No, estoy sola." I had a really tasty lunch, and enjoyed staring out the window into a wide open outdoor area filled with people and lined with restaurants and a movie theater. It was a cross between Hollywood & Highland and The Grove.

Things are moving on the job front. Tuesday morning, I went downtown to meet with Liz Casky Culinary & Wine Experience for a potential position. I was introduced to Liz by an old client. She and her husband own the boutique tourism company and plan custom trips to Chile, Uruguay and Argentina. Liz is from PA, went to school there, and then worked in finance in NY. She had studied abroad in Chile in college, fell in love with Latin culture, and was determined to get back.  In 2001 she relocated for a finance position. Growing tired of the corporate world, she decided to pursue her passion of cooking. She went to culinary school here and started a catering company. In 2004, she started her current tourism company with her Chilean husband Francisco. They were both incredibly nice and down-to-earth. We had a great conversation about food, wine, and traveling in South America. Needless to say, she has the inside scoop on all the best restaurants and wine! I left with a great list of restaurants, and ventured down to the the giant fish market, Mercado Central, to try her first recommendation.

I was dying for warm, Chilean seafood for lunch. Mercado Central is 4 blocks from Liz's house, right near the port, where Liz and many other locals and restaurants go to get the freshest fish possible. There are rows and rows of "mongers" showcasing their latest catch and beckoning you to buy from them. The fish market was huge with multiple rooms. The pictures don't nearly capture the energy, smell, and mass of people who were there. There are also little eateries sprinkled throughout the market. Liz told me to forget the big tourist trap "Donde Augusto" and instead, eat at "Richard - El Rey del Mariscal." It's much better and a 1/4 of the cost. After wandering from room to room, I finally arrived to the big dining room where I found Richard's tucked away in the corner. There was a little man standing out front. He asked if I needed help. I said I was looking for Richard's. He pointed to his name tag and said, "That's me." :) Perfect. Once again, party for one please. He flagged someone over to quickly take me upstairs. I orderd the Paila Marina Real (a seafood soup) which was amazing. It was exactly what I was looking for, and only $10. I can't wait to return to Mercado Central. Liz gave me the name of her monger, so I'm going to seek him out next time I go and buy some fish to bring home.