Wine, Tango and Who really has the beef!
 

I was given the opportunity, by Trafalgar Tours and my office, to travel to Santiago, Chile, and Buenos Aires, Argentina, in late April 2004.The trip was a short one, only 1 week. I travelled with a group of travel agents from Vancouver Island to P.E.I., via Toronto. A total of 28 men and women eager to learn about this exciting destination.

South America has been on my life's list of places, that have to be visited before I depart this world, and there is still so much more to see.  These two cities have just wetted my appetite for South America. 

I left Victoria at 11.00 am and arrived in Santiago,Chile (via Vancouver & Toronto) at 9.15 am, their time (6.15 am my time) the next day.  After paying the local receprocity fee of $55.00 US we were met by Ricardo of  SAT de Chile, the inbound tour operator used by Trafalgar Tours.  The first item on our itinerary was to do a morning walking tour of Santiago, have lunch then go to our hotel.  Unfortunately the weather did not co-operate, the skies opened and it poured with rain. (Ater all it was fall in South America) So we did a city tour by bus.  There was an advantage to the rain as none of us really had the energy to walk any distance, after travelling over 24 hours, and it cleared up the smog that was lingering over the city, giving us a good view of the city and the Andes Mountains, which act as a backdrop for Santiago. Fortunately for us it was the only rainy day we had on the entire trip. Every day after that was sunny with moderate temperatures perfect for touring.  We had lunch at a wonderful restaurant, Camino Real, and ended up at our hotel, Santiago Sheraton,  just after 3.00PM. Santiago is a clean, beautiful, cosmopolitan, city. A good number of the group, including myself, walked into town for dinner where we were lured into a restaurant with a promise of a free drink.  We were introduced to a local drink called "Pesco Sour" (similar to a marguerita)and back to bed at a reasonable hour.  Meal and bar prices were relatively reasonable considering it was a large metropolitan city.  Out on the town the next morning for hotel inspections. First stop was the Radisson Ciudad Empresarial then it was over to the, new, beautiful five star Ritz Carlton Santiago.  After lunch we inspected the Hotel Plaza Santiago and the Santiago Hyatt.  All hotels visited were of excellent quality, clean and were in the 4 to 5 star range.  Off for dinner to (?)
a seafood restaurant, a short, inexpensive cab ride from the hotel. I had a swordfish steak others were having oysters and one brave soul tried the sea urchin and had enough left over for few others to try.  We all agreed it was an acquired taste. The next day we travelled out into the countryside to visit two remarkable Chilean Vineyards, Concha Y Toro and Vina Unduragga.  stopping for a local treat of hot Empanadas enroute. At the vineyards we toured the vines, the cellars and sampled and purchased some wonderful wines.  A quiet evening was in store as the hectic pace managed to wear most of us out.  Our last day in Chile was a trip to the coast to visit the Port City of Val Paraiso and the beach area of Vina Del Mar.  We stopped at a view point overlooking this important port and vast city. It was also an opportunity to satisfy the shoppers in our group as there were stalls of local handicrafts, Alpaca sweaters and scarves seemed to be the deal of the day. The bus dropped us off in the middle of town square and we did a wakling tour, which involved a short ride on a rickety old tram. Then back on the bus and over to Vina Del Mar where we had lunch at and inspected the beautiful five star Hotel Del Mar overlooking the sandy beaches of Vina Del Mar. Back to our hotel to get ready for our last night in Santiago. We finished our stay with a Folklorico show of native music and dance. A great way to end our 4 days in Chile.  The next day we were off to Buenos Aires, Argentina.  We were delayed by a couple of hours due to a flight cancellation.  We were met in Buenos Aires by our guide Mercedes and taken to our hotel the Park Chateau Kempinski.  Very much a European Boutique Hotel, replete with ornate furnishings and paintings and a small elevator.  Upon arrival we were given light refreshments.  The balance of the afternoon was free and the shoppers in the group headed out for Florida Street the premier shopping area in Buenos Aires. The group gathered together at a wonderful restaurant called
Cabana Las Lilas, at the Galleria.  Las Lilas has the true flavour of Argentina.  One
of South America's Great Steakhouses.  My meal with 2 glasses of wine came to
$34.00 US, so not only great food, great prices. http://www.fodors.com/rants/rrread.cfm?destination=buenos_aires%4038&class=Restaurants%4020002&property=Caba%26ntilde%3Ba+las+Lilas%40174281&entity_id=40466








You can view my photos at
http://share.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeAOWrhuxas2ziw