If you read my last post, you'll know I spent most of the day in bed. /rolls eyes at self/ But I felt normal again by dinnertime, so I went out to a local restuarant and bar. Chile -- or at least Santiago -- is far from the cheapest place I've visited, but the prices are quite reasonable by U.S. standards. I had a ravioli dish and two (that's two!) glasses of wine, plus tip, for about $26. There are a lot of places to eat and drink here, and the food is good.
One thing I noticed about the place I went to was the cigarette smoke. I sat at the bar, where smoking is allowed. Not everyone smoked -- just a few people. But I've gotten so used to no one around me smoking that I really noticed it. Cigarette smoke usually doesn't bother me -- unless the air is just completely full of it. In fact, one of my secret pleasures is walking down the street and breathing in a whiff of cigarette smoke -- just a whiff and it can smell really good! But I wonder if spending almost four months with exposure to almost no smoke will make me less tolerant of it when I return home? Looking back on the places I've been, I saw very little smoking. Almost none until I got to Australia. And even there I saw very little, although I did walk past one or two people who just reeked of smoke (ugh!) and it smelled much worse than usual. That was the first time I wondered how I'd respond to the smell of smoke when I once again was in a place where a lot of people smoked: Would it still be OK or would it bother me? It didn't bother me tonight at the bar, but I can smell it in my hair. :(
This whole smoke thing reminds me of my impression of Santiago generally. Although I can't say it's been my favorite stop, it seems like a decent city. But the pollution is awful! I can smell it just walking around town. The Andes mountains aren't far away, yet they can barely be seen through all of the smog.
Apparently, the Andes act as a trap for the pollution, which would otherwise blow away if the mountains weren't in the way. But I blame the city for the pollution, not the mountains. The pollution wouldn't be a problem if the city weren't so dirty in the first place, you know?
One thing I noticed about the place I went to was the cigarette smoke. I sat at the bar, where smoking is allowed. Not everyone smoked -- just a few people. But I've gotten so used to no one around me smoking that I really noticed it. Cigarette smoke usually doesn't bother me -- unless the air is just completely full of it. In fact, one of my secret pleasures is walking down the street and breathing in a whiff of cigarette smoke -- just a whiff and it can smell really good! But I wonder if spending almost four months with exposure to almost no smoke will make me less tolerant of it when I return home? Looking back on the places I've been, I saw very little smoking. Almost none until I got to Australia. And even there I saw very little, although I did walk past one or two people who just reeked of smoke (ugh!) and it smelled much worse than usual. That was the first time I wondered how I'd respond to the smell of smoke when I once again was in a place where a lot of people smoked: Would it still be OK or would it bother me? It didn't bother me tonight at the bar, but I can smell it in my hair. :(
This whole smoke thing reminds me of my impression of Santiago generally. Although I can't say it's been my favorite stop, it seems like a decent city. But the pollution is awful! I can smell it just walking around town. The Andes mountains aren't far away, yet they can barely be seen through all of the smog.
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| This would be a fantastic view, if we could only see it. |
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