We spent 3 days in the city of Santiago, Chile.  It was a welcome change to spend some time in a more metropolitan environment.  We spent our time going around the city on the metro exploring art galleries, museums and street side cafes.  We were impressed with the artistic vibe of the city, there seems to be a high population of artists, musicians, writers and foodies.

We visited Pablo Neruda's house on a twitter recommendation from our friend and World Effect follower, Catherine.  Sorry, we were not aloud to take photos inside the house.  Neruda was a poet and a superstar celebrity in South America.  He seemed to create a kind of lifestyle movement in Chile with his anything goes attitude, eccentric personality and eclectic taste in design.  He had 3 houses in Chile, 3 wives and as the locals say, many many more women.  His houses were a hodgepodge of collections including nautical items (he was deathly afraid of the water), watermelon art, ceramics, ship mastheads and hundreds of other things.  Walking around Santiago, you can feel his presence in the design of many restaurants, galleries and homes.

We enjoyed Santiago and believe the rich artisitic vibe will continue to grow making it an even more attractive destination in the future.