Costanera Center

This weekend we took two trips to the Costanera Center. I want to call it a shopping mall, but it's bigger than that. I don't know if a word in English (or Spanish, for that matter) exists to describe what it is.

It's a huge indoor shopping complex. From the outside, it looks like an enormous glass building. Once inside, it looks even bigger.

Colored water falls, palm trees, and skylights. One of the friends we were with commented that this place probably looks incredible at Christmastime. I really look forward to that.

Matt, taking it all in

The escalators were cool. There are six full stories, as well as a seventh that houses a movie theater. It was a little dizzying standing at the top. It is enormously tall. A few weeks ago, a man jumped from the top in order to protest capitalism. This place certainly emobies a culture of consumption and competitive business.

We discovered that the entire 6th floor of the building is dedicated to food. Fancy restaurants abound, but there's also a food court for quick bites. For dinner on Saturday, we went to dinner at a beautiful Peruvian restaurant called Tanta. Peruvian food is very popular in Chile. 

The restaurant was on the sixth story, and we chose to eat on the patio/balcony. The view was beautiful, and the restaurant provided heaters to keep the space warm.

Many restaurants in Chile sell fresh juice. I got a pineapple, mango, and orange juice. I guzzled almost half of it before I realized I should document it.

One strange thing about Chile: you have to pay for water in restaurants. I ordered a water after I finished my juice, assuming it'd be regular tap water, but the restaurant only served mineral water in glass bottles. It cost about three US dollars. 

After dinner with friends, we saw the new Planet of the Apes movie, which in Spanish was called Plaenta de los simios: Confrontación. The movies here are offered in a couple of different formats. You can choose either a dubbed version, in which Spanish-speaking voice actors speak over the film in Spanish, or a subtitled version, which features the original spoken English but with written Spanish subtitles at the top or bottom of the screen. We went with the subtitled version, as one person in our group does not speak Spanish.

The theater was very large, and had stadium style seating, like many of the newer US theaters. The theaters in Chile have overpriced concessions and long previews, just like at home. It was a very nice theater. Ticket prices are about $10 per person. 

We went back to the Costanera Center on Sunday to do a little shopping. I tried to snap some photos that would communicate just how big the place is.

What kind of shoppin does the Costanera Center offer? Well, it houses two of Chile's biggest department store chains, París and Falabella, as well as many general clothing stores, including ones you'll recognize from home, like Banana Republic, H&M, Zara, Clark's, Gap, the Apple Store, Armani Exchange, Calvin Kelin, Esprit, Naturalizer, Nine West, Docker's, Tommy Hilfiger, Izod, an Adidas store, and GNC, among many, many others. Click the hyperlink at the top of this post to see a full list of tiendas (stores).

There are also pharmacies, banks, bakeries, electronics stores, bookstores, and candy shops. And, just like in the US, frozen yogurt is huge here. I saw at least three different frozen yogurt places in the Costanera Center.

And, of course, there was a Starbucks.

There is a big home goods store called Easy. It's sort of like an Ikea and a Home Depot, combined.

Jumbo, my favorite grocery store in Chile, had a full-size location in the mall, too. This photo was taken in the international aisle. You can see that the US is represented by Kraft macaroni and cheese, canned pie filling, and peanut butter.

Next we stumbled upon an exhibit that featured vintage Cirque de Soleil costumes. There were beautiful.

I took some photos in the food court on Sunday, too. It was the biggest food court I'd ever seen. It had a lot of familiar US chains, as well as some enticing Chilean options. Many of the Chilean chains bake their bread in house, make their own mayonnaise, and pickle their own sauerkraut. A lot of effort goes into even the fast food.

This collage serves to prove to my brother that Chile has food he can eat. He's a picky eater, so now he knows that when he visits me, he'll have some familiar options. 

For lunch on Sunday, Matt got a completo, which is a hotdog with mayonnaise, sauerkraut, and tomato. It's a Chilean staple. 

I look forward to going back to the Constanera Center for more shopping. It really is a neat place. It has something for everyone, both shopping-wise and food-wise. I can't wait to bring visiting family and friends here, and I especially look forward to seeing it decorated for Christmas (even though it'll be a warm 80-something degrees then - talk about temperature dissonance). 

Miss you all and love you very much.