He ended his
career where I started it – Paris. He would stroll around Saint Germain with
Picasso. Drink wine (lots of it) out of Portuguese red and green crystal
glasses. Send his flee-market-bargains to Santiago in "valise diplomatique". He seduced girls with messy hair like
me :) For one of them, Matilde, he
built a house. Chascona. A boat in
a house and a house in a boat. Whichever way, it's the coolest diplomat's house
I've ever entered. A mix of popart and carefully collected antiques, all soaked
in nothing but love and cosmopolitism. A trip to Santiago pays off at its
treshold. Inspiration guaranteed.
Pablo & Matilde, united by sea.
Wasn't she there
for work? you might sneer. Oh yes, a lot of work! But thanks to looong summer days, lunch
breaks and a strong tourist push, I managed to peak well beyond the walls of
Santiago's meeting rooms. Better still, work duties opened up some untouristy
jewels for me: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which resembles a fancy
neoclassic gala theatre, lovely and graceful (and totally underrated) park
Quinta Normal, the conference center Riesco glued to the surrounding bare hills and
the unforgettable Club de la Union where one can't help feeling like a princess.
The cosy Plaza de las Armas, the epicenter of Santiago's business and leisure.
Switching meeting
folders with Lonely Planet and a black suit with jeans requires imagination and
a lot of energy. It shows its limits when a young blond dressed-up lady enters
a fish market or studies meeting papers in a loud and drunken Piojera. "Coffee?" the waiter smiled. "Why? Am I the only one not ordering alcohol?" He smiled again. But hey,
knowing the country is a diplomat's ABC and time runs short. Very short.
One of the world's most impressive post offices.
Santiago is
great. Walking its streets, taking its metro, talking to its people, feasting
on its fish ... you feel as if in Japan. All the more so if you come from Buenos
Aires. Compared to it, Santiago is super efficient, impeccably clean and delightfully
uncomplicated. It charms you with its skyline of snow-topped mountains, the bohemian Lastarria and Bellas Artes district, ideal for an after-work glass
of Chilean wine. Mineral whites are a must and so is the red Carmenere.
I'll be back. Soon.
I'll be back. Soon.
Temptation to escape to the mountains.
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