The Travel Chica

Live Simple. Consume Less. Experience More.

Celebrating Summer in Valdivia

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I love cities that have lots of festivals.

It is one of the reasons I love my hometown of Columbus, Ohio.

When I discovered there would be 4 festivals going on during my stay in Valdivia, I was thrilled.

And the best part…

They all involve food!

Feria de Chocolate

I spotted the huge advertising banner while walking through town on the first day.

Yep, that will be on the itinerary.

We first lined our stomachs with something savory.

Yep… fried pork fat.

The freshest and most delicious I have ever had.


My Favorite Sweets

My favorite sweets were from Productos Dona Guillermina.  It was one of the few booths not ridiculously over-priced.  They do not sell in stores, but I believe they sell somewhere in the local University (on Isla Teja just across the bridge).

These people were also just incredibly nice.

 

They told me about the Feria Costumbristas in Niebla.  They said it is a must-visit place with lots of great, local food.

I was sold.

Niebla Feria de Costumbristas

Niebla is a short bus ride from the center of Valdivia.  When we arrived, I was surprised to discover this huge venue with about 100 food vendors and a stage with live music and dance performances.  There were tons of people enjoying the festivities.

This feria runs ALL SUMMER too!

Tim and I quickly split up to seek out our favorite food booths.

Pastel de Choclo

This is very popular in Chile.  It is basically a casserole of ground sweet corn with chunks of beef and chicken.  Tim ordered this, and I was lucky enough to get a delicious bite.

Chupe de Jaiba

Jaiba is crab.  And they put it in a gooey, delicious cheese concoction. You cannot go wrong with that.  This photo does not do the flavor justice.

Trust me.  It’s awesome!

Sopaipillas

We were already quite full and feeling that we might have consumed about two days’ worth of calories, so we stopped eating.  But I did get a photo of these fried disks of bread.

Dessert

Even though I was completely bursting at this point (especially after the beer), I had to pick up something sweet for the bus ride home.

I was a little nervous about going with a brownie.

Latin America is not known for making good brownies.  They are usually hard and dry.

However, this one was perfect!

In addition to properly baking a brownie to maintain moisture, they added a small layer of manjar (note that is what Chileans call dulce de leche), and then coated the whole brownie in chocolate.

 

Have you stumbled upon a city with great festivals?  What are your favorites?

 

 

 

Comments

  5. You are making my mouth water. My clear favorite, based on the pictures, is the fried bread. It looks soooo good!

  19. Looks like so much fun! The brownie would have been my favorite– I love all brownies, and that one looks especially yummy.

  21. You had me at fried pork fat. Although every other food look very delicious. The pork fat and the brownie are on the top of my list. You can never go wrong with those. Great post!

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