Happy St. Patty's day and greetings from Santiago, Chile.
Today is the last day of our tour of South America. We toured the city of Santiago, ending with a visit to Santa Rita Winery.
Santiago is a beautiful city of roughly six million people. It's very clean with beautiful architecture. Even though it's the size of New York City, there is not the feeling of frenzy amongst the residents on the street as in NYC.
We were told by our guide that the temperatures would get up to 90 degrees today, so we dressed accordingly and nearly froze to death!! The wine tasting warmed us up well enough.
I've had no alcohol on this trip. Not the "drink of the day" on the ship, not a single Tito's and Soda, not a glass of wine. So the wine tasting was particularly nice.
It's amazing how much one's
disposition improves with a simple glass of wine, or two, or maybe even three. When I commented to Leslie and Jac how I could easily become an alcoholic to get through this speed bump in life ... I was reminded by Leslie that drinking only borrows happiness from the next day. Dammit! Foiled again!! Just when I thought I had a viable solution to what ails me!!
Before we left Tampa, I ordered a Starbuck's hot tea. They put the beverage in two large cups. The little pansy cups they had in the hotels and on the ship were a waste of a tea bag, so I've carried and used my paper Starbucks cup this entire trip. One of the cups disintegrated, but I still have one holding on pretty well.
One morning when walking through the ship with my Starbucks cup, I was stopped by a woman who asked me where the Starbucks was located. I responded, "It's on level two." and continued on down the hall. We've all had a huge laugh over that one. In fact, our guide Danillo (pronounced Dan-ee-lo) has laughed about that the rest of the trip. He also loved my dad's remark, "It's exhausting being charming." He's had a couple of challenging folks on this trip with all the dietary restrictions.
It's time to go home. I've just had an incredible vacation with my daughter. Time that I will cherish forever.
Jac and I are at the Atlanta airport waiting to catch our flight to Tampa this morning. As soon as I take care of some medical tests in Tampa ... I'm going to my "safe place" to begin the rebuilding process ... again. And I have such wonderful memories of my time with Jacqueline to kick off the party. That's where I'll start. I have so much to be thankful for. Jac and I have two more exciting trips coming up in April and May. And Jeff is graduating from USC in May. He'll be starting a new life. All of these things are so exciting.
I feel I should apologize. I've been a little "off" with the writing in this blog, missing the humor and zest of previous trips, but including lots of whining. Perhaps I'll continue these blog entries when I get back to Tampa and beyond. Sometimes writing helps me see things more clearly. I don't know where my self reflection will take me, but I do know this ... I will be back!! My light will shine again. It sure as hell doesn't feel like it right now, but I'll be back. So don't cry for me Argentina. I'm heading home. And all will be well with the world.
Today is the last day of our tour of South America. We toured the city of Santiago, ending with a visit to Santa Rita Winery.
 |
| The architecture in Santiago is beautiful. |
Santiago is a beautiful city of roughly six million people. It's very clean with beautiful architecture. Even though it's the size of New York City, there is not the feeling of frenzy amongst the residents on the street as in NYC.
 |
| Town square in Santiago. |
We were told by our guide that the temperatures would get up to 90 degrees today, so we dressed accordingly and nearly froze to death!! The wine tasting warmed us up well enough.
 |
| Jac checks the grapes to see if they are ready to harvest. |
disposition improves with a simple glass of wine, or two, or maybe even three. When I commented to Leslie and Jac how I could easily become an alcoholic to get through this speed bump in life ... I was reminded by Leslie that drinking only borrows happiness from the next day. Dammit! Foiled again!! Just when I thought I had a viable solution to what ails me!!
 |
| Lunch at Santa Rita Winery. |
 |
| My Starbucks cup on it's last day!! |
It's time to go home. I've just had an incredible vacation with my daughter. Time that I will cherish forever.
Jac and I are at the Atlanta airport waiting to catch our flight to Tampa this morning. As soon as I take care of some medical tests in Tampa ... I'm going to my "safe place" to begin the rebuilding process ... again. And I have such wonderful memories of my time with Jacqueline to kick off the party. That's where I'll start. I have so much to be thankful for. Jac and I have two more exciting trips coming up in April and May. And Jeff is graduating from USC in May. He'll be starting a new life. All of these things are so exciting.
I feel I should apologize. I've been a little "off" with the writing in this blog, missing the humor and zest of previous trips, but including lots of whining. Perhaps I'll continue these blog entries when I get back to Tampa and beyond. Sometimes writing helps me see things more clearly. I don't know where my self reflection will take me, but I do know this ... I will be back!! My light will shine again. It sure as hell doesn't feel like it right now, but I'll be back. So don't cry for me Argentina. I'm heading home. And all will be well with the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment