Chile: Neruda and Wine, Day 3

ISLA NEGRA Poet Pablo Neruda is respected and revered by many Chileans. Politician, diplomat and man of letters, he owned three houses, one in Valparaiso, one in Santiago, and the third one on the coast at Isla Negra. This third house is a museum full of many of the objects that Neruda collected, and what a …

Chile: Valparaiso, Day 2

VALPARAISO, DAY 2 Today was foggy and cloudy and in the 60’s with a few snatches of sunlight.  We had a half day walking tour of some of the neighborhoods in Valparaiso’s historic quarter. Named a World Heritage Site in 2003, Valparaiso has undertaken an ambitious effort to clean up and restore many older buildings …

Chile: Valparaiso, Day 1

VALPARAISO:  FIRST IMPRESSIONS We flew overnight from Houston to Santiago where we were met and then driven the roughly hour and a half to Valparaiso. We passed through a fruit growing region and then a valley around Casa Blanco, site of several vineyards producing white wine. We will visit a couple of these wineries next …

Tidy Tidbits: Memoirs and Movies

READING MEMOIRS  As my regular readers know, I am fond of reading memoirs.  I am also fascinated by the dynamics within a marriage and intrigued by the nuances and tensions within romantic relationships in general.  Here are two new memoirs touching on these and other issues. The Victorian and the Romantic:  A Memoir, a Love …