Plaza de Armas

Today I paid my first visit to the Plaza de Armas, the old center of Santiago. All Spanish towns are built on grids around a central plaza, and you can tell that you're getting close to the center when the streets start to run at right angles to each other--the only point in the city where they do this. The plaza itself is gorgeous, populated by tourists and locals, painters and musicians. The centerpiece of the whole place (in my opinion) is the Santiago Cathedral, which is unlike any other building I have ever seen. Stanford's memorial church is a hovel in comparison. The only sounds are the hushed whispers of prayers and the echoing clap of the soles of shoes on ancient stones. I'll be back again soon, and this time with my camera.