Santiago 2 day 3

 It is a Sunday, so I expect the city to pretty quiet today. 

I really have nothing planned for the day and I'm OK with that. I will probably take the subway into the city center and hang around a park. A chill day in more ways than one.

It has been cooler here during my second stay in Santiago and that will continue for the rest of my time here. I will fly to Buenos Aires on Tuesday.

Buenos Aires won't be much warmer I am deep in the southern hemispere and it is now the fall season. I probably won't thaw out until I get to Brazil. Then, it may be too warm.

I headed out this morning planning to board the subway to the Bellevista neighborhood that I hadn't visited yet. I got off the subway at a connection station.

Looking at a map I saw there was a train museum. Looking at the pictures, it looked like they had many locomotives on display. I reversed course and headed there instead.

It happened that it was in the park as the museums I had visited earlier. 

The locomotives were all displayed outside. Quite a few of them, at least a dozen, maybe more. The first steam locomotive introduced into Chile was made in the US. Several others were also made in the US, many from Germany, at least one from Japan and a couple manufactured in Chile.

I love steam locomotives almost as much as like riding on old trains pulled by steam locomotives. The pleasure of riding on trains disappeared for me with the advent of sealed compartment coaches. I love opening the window and hearing the sound of the train running along on the tracks.

After the the train museum, I went to the Artequin Museum. 

The museum was originally constructed in France to represent Chile in the 1889  Universal Exposition in Paris. It is an interesting mix of iron, steel, zinc and glass. One requirement was it had to built modularly so it could be shipped to Chile at the end of the exposition and reassemble in Santiago.

The museum mostly features the life and works of Gaugain and Van Gogh in fanciful displays directed  to inspire the imagination of young children.

The second floor is lined with many plan stations for kids to create their own masterpieces.

After the museum, I headed back across the street into the park on the way to the subway station. At the entrance to the park was a stand advertising "El Autentico, Mote Con Huesillos". I had no idea what it was, but I know I had to try one.

Wikipedia tells me this. 

Mote con huesillo is a traditional Chilean summer-time drink often sold in street stands or vendor carts. It is a non-alcoholic beverage consisting of a sweet clear nectar-like liquid made with dried peaches (huesillo) cooked in sugar, water and cinnamon, and then once cooled, mixed with fresh cooked husked wheat berries (mote).^[1] The sweet clear nectar is usually made with sugar, but can also be supplemented or replaced with molasses.

And that was exactly what it was. Although today was hoody cool weather, I still enjoyed it. With it including the cooked peach and the wheat berries, it was pretty filling. Luckily I got the small "chico" size.

On my way back through the park to the subway station, I came across these beauties for rent to cruise around the park.. They are tricycles incognito. 

I went back to the hostel a little earlier, stopping by the market to pick up food for tonight. The menu tonight will again be chicken, but cooked in an Italian tomato sauce on noodles.

In the late afternoon, apparently the owner was sponsoring a party in the back with some friends and relatives. Many were professional quality musicians. Among the instruments played were guitar, ukulele, saxophone, flute, a lap drum for rythm and later joined by an accordian. The played for hours. The music was a mix of latin jazz, latin classics, samba and tango. It made what would have otherwise been a ho hum evening, really special.