Valparaiso, a last day.

Hill top cemetery

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Fruit market

Today is our last day in Valpo.  We leave for Santiago this afternoon after lunch and then tomorrow head down south.   Valparaiso is a pretty place, the bay curves along the coast, the town creeps up the steep hills, the people are friendly—after all it is a port city and quite cosmopolitan.  It is not large, though, and we’d say that two days is really enough to hit all the high points, ride the trolley busses and eat enough local food.

In general, we’ve found that Chilean food is not particularly interesting   There are good restaurants, many of which we have eaten at, but ordinary food is boring.   A couple of quick lunches in Valpo proved that the often-sold empanadas have crusts like cardboard.   The completo, a huge hotdog, that John had for lunch (the Napolitano, it was called) was probably the worst frank he had ever had.  Slathered with guacamole and mayonnaise while inside the doughy roll was an under-spiced frankfurter, more bland than supermarket bologna.  But neither of these lunches was expensive.  Yoghurt here tends to be runny.

Our restaurant last night purported to be French, was cash only, and didn’t have two of the wines on the list we thought we’d have liked.  We did enjoy a Valdivia reserve sauvignon blanc, nonetheless.   The food was good, but it wasn’t French…no French spices to speak of.  Nonetheless, le Filou de Montpelier (The Swindler of Montpelier) had good food:   with appetizers like lox served with blood sausage (!) and a salad for Ben and serrano ham with salad for John, which were very good.   The amuse-bouche of homemade pâté de foie was fun.  And the mains were very nice, though not quite French.  John’s ostrich steak could have used a great deal more black pepper if it had had any on it to begin with, while Ben’s filet de reinata, the local white fish, was excellent, but much more Chilean in style than French. Both came with braised sweet onions.  The baked potatoes in foil were a mid-century touch!  Always potatoes.

A highlight of the day was visiting the Museo des Belles Artes housed in a restored art deco mansion.  Most of the art was 20th century Chilean.  We particularly enjoyed the portraiture and some of the contemporary sculpture.

We did a lot of walking yesterday, hence a collection of pictures from all over the city.  The backs of our calves told us last night that we had climbed many a hill.   All in all a very pleasant three days.  

Kids on rented trikes at Plaza 

Plaza Bolìvar

Belles Artes Sculpture

Calf-threatening walkway

Wild dogs everywhere, but not in the midday sun