I arrived in Santiago first—and so did my period. Two hours of immigration later, feeling a bit under the weather, I finally settled into the hotel, popped some painkillers, and waited for M to arrive. I had picked a hotel with a rooftop pool because the photos online showed stunning views of the mountains. Well, as soon as the painkillers kicked in, I thought, “If I’ve paid for a pool, I’m going to use it!” The receptionist had already apologized for the weather—apparently, it hadn’t rained like this in years. But hey, I’m a Londoner; a bit of rain isn’t going to stop me.
So, I took a dip—just long enough to snap a few photos (with no mountains in sight because it was so cloudy). Then I ran back to the room for a hot shower. Shortly after, M arrived!
After a quick shower and some rest, we ventured out to grab dinner. The receptionist kindly warned us to be cautious, as Santiago isn’t the safest, especially in touristy areas. Thank goodness for our trendy kidney bags! We probably looked like typical tourists—blonde hair, blue eyes, kidney bags tucked under our jackets, like that was fooling anyone.
On our way, we stopped at the city’s tallest building to get M a SIM card. To be honest, being structural/civil engineers, we were both a bit uneasy. Santiago is in a high-risk seismic zone, so why build something so tall here? After sorting the SIM, we left pretty quickly.
Dinner was huge! We ordered one main to share, and it was still too much. I think the staff wasn’t thrilled that we only ordered one dish. But M has a trick—when she goes out with a girlfriend, they share one main and only order more if they’re still hungry. That way, you can savor the experience without wasting food. Plus, it stretches out the evening, turning it into a mini tasting menu. I love it!
After our big meal, we weren’t up for much more, so we headed back to the hotel for an early night, jetlag and all.
Refried Neurons 
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