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History, Chilean Wine and a taste of Peru – 30/08/17


'Museo Histórico Nacional'
An Exhibition Hall
One of The Many Exhibits Seen Today

A cloudless sky was a pleasant surprise on yet another brisk morning setting the perfect atmosphere for a visit to the nearby ‘Museo Histórico Nacional’ located on the ‘Plaza de Armas’. Here a variety of Columbian history is covered revealing the difficult political past that Chile had faced with light touches too much earlier history dating back to the Incas. All in all, a perfect museum to see after ‘Museo Chileno De Arte Precolumbino’ as it picks history up from where it was left bringing you all the way to the present day. The one surprising thing is that the History museum is completely free and the experience you receive from it is one that will last a long time. The only downside, with my very limited Spanish I found myself translating many of the displays to figure out what I was looking at or who the figure was in a magnificent giant painting. The art works particularly of Rafael Cortes were simply breath taking to look at – small and delicate but impactful.

“Por qué anduvimos tanto tiempo
creciendo para separarnos?”

Pablo Neruda
“El libro de las preguntas” XLIV


After spending much of the morning here, we headed back to our apartment to rest before we went out and experienced Peruvian cuisine, popular throughout much of the South Americas in addition to the busy evening life. ‘El Super Gordo’ was where Emma and I chose to dine after reading many positive reviews and knowing that the portion sizes were massive (an important fact to take into account for students). Emma chose the traditional Peruvian ceviche while I went with a non-traditional shrimp ricotta in addition to, of course a glass of white Chilean wine. The food was simply delicious with both of us trying the dishes the other got to get a full experience of the cuisine. However after some time neither of us could finish our portions no matter how much we tried. Definitely got our money’s worth if not more!


After the pleasant meal we decided to head back and see the ever-bumbling lives of the locals pass before us. Mornings are filled with many rushing from one location to another while the evening reveals a much calmer but louder approach to life. A life of socialising and watching the sun set bringing yet another busy day to an end while seemingly not noticing time go past.


                     
                  Political Art
Emma Enjoying Her Food
An Interesting Display

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