The View From Santiago

Hi, I’m Eric Pitzer, the shoemaking design collaborator and production guy for Legacy Soccer Boots, based here in Santiago, Chile. I hail originally from Ohio, where I went to Ohio State and always dreamed about living and working in South America for the culture, language and life experience.

On St. Patty´s day, my fiancée and I rented city bikes to take a ride from our home in Santiago’s Ñuñoa (read: ¨Nyoo-nyoh-ah¨) neighborhood to the city center. Come along with us for the ride.

Behind me here is the 1000-foot tall Costanera tower, the tallest in South America. The tower is a bit of a testament to Santiago and Chile’s renaissance, it’s a country that has been going through about a decade-long transition: building diversity, nurturing innovation, and growing into a world-class city.

There are quite a few monuments and sculptures all over town, here’s one of my favorites, the flying bicycle rider.

The open roads take you along many of Santiago´s city parks. It’s hard not to fall in love with all the green and sunshine.

Santiago’s arts district opens up with the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, which was Latin America’s first art museum when it was founded in 1880.

Calle Mosqueto is one of my favorite streets in downtown Santiago. It has a European flair with French architecture, a cool book café and this awesome mural right in the middle of the block. This street is near to my heart, as it’s where I got my start in Santiago, after a 4:30 am drop-off from the airport back in 2010. I didn’t know a soul in this town then and I had a blank canvas to fill. It’s been the most fulfilling experience in my life so far.

I'll sign off with where we finished our bike ride - lunch at a Peruvian restaurant right on Santiago´s central Plaza de Armas. We had raw fish and shrimp ceviche, a lobster chaufa and a tart ¨Cure All¨ fruit drink- the Peruvians say it’s a proven hangover cure and aphrodisiac. I don’t need either of those, but hey, it can’t hurt!

Hope you enjoyed our tour. Santiago it great city to live in and a wonderful city to visit. Next time we will take you on a tour through the tanneries where we source the special leathers that make Legacy Boots so soft and comfortable to wear and play in!