One of my favorite things in the world is exploring new places. It doesn’t matter if it's in my state, the U.S., or abroad. I love the chance to see how other people live.
Late week, I traveled to to Santiago, Chile to celebrate my friend Ernest’s birthday. I've been to several South American countries but never Chile so I was very excited to go.
I had an overnight flight out of Los Angeles, so I landed in Santiago at 6am. This isn’t my first rodeo. I knew I’d have to wait until the afternoon for my hotel room to be ready, so I made an appointment at a day spa for a massage and an appointment at a nail salon for a gel mani.
It took me a couple hours to get off the plane and to my hotel. I dropped off my bags, grabbed a coffee, then headed to Equilibrio Day Spa to spend a few hours getting a massage. After the spa, my next stop was Hands & Co. a local nail salon with several locations. No one in the salon spoke English and my Spanish is poor at best. But everyone was super accommodating and we used google translate to communicate. I loved my mani. The manicurist hand filed the entire set, which impressed me and she used Unbothered, Sainte Nèl's rose mauve shade.
With a fresh set of nails, I was now officially vacation ready. I spent the next week wandering around Chile and enjoying some of the best meals I've had in a while. Because the country has such a long coastline, seafood is very popular in Chile, which was great to me because I love seafood. I had a at least 4 different seafood risottos and every one was superb.
When I wasn't eating, I went wine tasting and bought a few bottles of Carmenere, hiked to the top of San Cristobal Hill, grabbed some late night drinks at Patio Bellavista and visited Cerro Santa Lucia for views. This was definitely my best trip of 2023 and certainly a place I have to return to.
Have you been to Chile before and if not, where is the best place you’ve visited in 2023? Email me at hello@saintenel.com and let me know.