Hi Val here, well we have had a very busy day as we only have one full day in Santiago we thought we had better see as much as possible. We walked from our hotel into the centre which took about 45 minutes. We were accompanied by a black dog who stayed close by our sides stopped when we stopped sat down when we sat down etc. We eventually escaped from our new friend when we got into the centre, by this time it was starting to rain and it looked quite overcast. I was wearing a thin cotton blouse and stareted feeling quite chilly. Evidently this weather was totally unexpected and even took the locals by surprise. To cut a long story short, we looked around the cathedral which was quite light, bright and airy compared to many. We had a good tour of the Museum of Pre Columbian Art which was interesting. Then we visited the Mercado Central. We were accosted before we even got inside by people trying to guide us to their restaurants in the centre of the building. We weren´t particularly hungry at that point and didnt like being put under pressure. So we escaped and, after some deliberation, decided to find our way up to Las Condes where I had read there was an area called Pueblito de Los Dominicos where there were a collection of shops selling artisanea, locally produced crafts. We got a taxi there from the centre, by this time I really felt cold as there were intermittent showers. We asked if there was a restaurant there and one of the shop owners told us which he preferred. We had super empanadas ( Jim and Donna if you are reading this they reminded me of our visits to El Gaucho on Simon Bolivar....yummy) we also had salads and drinks it was reasonably priced and delicious. After we explored all the craft shops and would have bought loads if we could think how we might carry home bulky things like pottery, musical instruments and woolly jumpers! We managed to get a bus back and ended up not paying. We found a bus that came this way but when we got on it, the driver wanted to see our pass. We didnt have one so eventually he said sit down as if he was cheesed off to be dealing with more gringos who had no idea how to get about the city. We did as we were told and were dropped off near the hotel. We have just been for our free supper....very bizarre, first they asked what we wanted to drink, I said vino tinto, waiter said good choice then appeared with a bottle of white wine. We said nothing, then without a word they brought us 3 courses, never telling us before hand what we were getting or asking us did we want it. Being people who are easily pleased we accepted each course as it appeared and were just a little bemused wondering what was coming next. Anyway we were the only people in the restaurant so we think we were given the meal in the hope that others would see us and be tempted to cross the threshold. Tomorrow should be very different when we board the Amsterdam. We have booked a taxi to take us to the bus station tomorrow morning, from there it takes over an hour to get to Valparaiso. Just off now for a walk before bed, need to walk off the meat loaf we were given as our second course.