Thursday was a monumental day I had been looking forward to with anticipation, a day trip to Colchagua Valley and a visit to three different prominent wineries in the area; Clos Apalta, Vina Neyen, and Vina Viu Manent. For this tour, we signed up with a company named Uncorked, recommended to us by the ilovechiletours.com people. We had wanted to do an overnight trip because we thought, with good reason, that a day trip would involve a lot of driving and a lot of wine in a short amount of time, but there were no overnight tours from Santiago offered. Anyway, we woke up very early in the morning for the 7:30 AM pick up. On this tour there was our guide Jose who was still in training, his supervisor Vivi, and driver Ricky. There was ... read more

Tuesday, my fourth day in Chile, was one of the most beautiful days I have ever spent. We had signed up with ilovechiletours.com, for their Andes Mountains Gem Route tour, which included a visit to the Concha y Toro Vineyard, and then a visit to Embalse El Yeso in Cajon del Maipo. Once again, it was a very nice experience with only my friend and I, our guide Fran, and our driver Gabriel, on this trip. Both Fran and Gabriel were young and fun, and very enthusiastic. We immediately developed a rapport with both of them. I guess the advantage of being the only guests on the trip, plus the fact that it's a new and small company and their services are very personal, and their interest in our enjoyment very genuine. I had already been ... read more

My second day in Chile, Sunday, we decided to visit the historical neighborhood of Barrio Lastarria, which is a very popular tourist hub packed with cafes, restaurants, and eye catching street art. We reached the “Alameda” (Avenida Liberador Bernardo O’Higgins) by Metro via the Universidad Catolica metro station. The Metro wasn not too crowded on a Saturday, and it is certainly a very quick and efficient way to get around. It is certainly helpful not to have to try to find parking, which is always difficult and expensive. Our first stop was GAM, or the Centro Cultural Gabriela Mistral, and the two exhibits it was hosting. Built in 1972, it was originally a convention center, and since 2010 it has been a cultural center open to the public, devoted to promoting performing arts and music. When ... read more

Our last day in Central Europe arrived way too soon. Our third day in Prague, and our third disappointment. This time it was entirely our fault. We had been traveling too long, I guess, and forgot what day it was. We made our way to the Jewish Quarter, looking forward to visiting the synagogues and cemetery, only to realize it was the Sabbath and everything was closed. We had to be contented to walk by Maiselova Synagogue, now a museum, Spanelska Synagogue, and Staronova Synagogue without going in. I particularly wanted to see the Old Jewish Cemetery, but it was not to be. So, what else can one do? We decided right then and there that it was the universe's way of telling us we have to go back to Prague. Whether combined with the German ... read more

As it turned out, the departure from Vienna was a lot less painful than anticipated. I had been terribly intimidated about my ability to find the right platform and the right train but, happily, it's a well organized machine if you only know how it works. Our helpful taxi driver explained it on the way to the station, and the well organized station was easy to navigate after that. First, 50 minutes before departure, the correct platform is shown in big screens like in an airport. You look for your train number and destination. Then, once you get to that platform there is a map showing you in which area of the platform your train compartment is going to be at. We were in first class, towards the front of the train, so we had to ... read more