We relaxed and toured around Santiago a little more today…visiting the artistic areas in town where famous poets, actors, artists, etc. have and continue to live:
We also visited the Presidential Palace:
…along with a nice climb up into the National Forest park above Santiago:
The views and pics were not as good today…mist and haze covered the city when looking across the mountains. Some say it is caused from the copper mines…that sounds scary…
Later, we ventured south for some wine tasting and lunch at one of the older large wineries in Chile: De Martino. We had a fantastic private lunch conjured by a top chef from the area and toured around the vineyard:
They also showed us their new creation of fermenting and bottling wine made in clay pots with no preservatives — very similar to the ancient techniques used thousands of years ago. The wine is actually chilled and is quite interesting…it just will not last more than 1 year in the bottle. A new trend to drink wine faster after being bottled I guess… 🙂
David Cross Travel Blog 
Pingback: A tour around Santiago Chile | David Cross International Travel Blog
Not true about the copper mines, those are too far from Santiago. There is only 1 near, but is on the mountain (you’ll need to go thru the mountains thru the Mapocho Valley, check for “Disputada de Las Condes” that is the nearest copper mine near the city)