We decided to visit our good friend and wine guide, Mauricio Rodrigues Masserano of Chilean Wine Lovers and the Colchagua Vista Wine Lodge in Chile. We always have a great time with Mauricio and this trip was no exception. We visited a few of our favorite places such as Casa Silva (to feed sugar to the Polo ponies) and Montes, but this time Mauricio said he had discovered the Santa Ana sub-region,…
Our good friend Warner was in charge of the itinerary for our last day in Como. He talked with staff at the desk of the Palace Hotel, where we were staying, and found a boat service that would take us around the lower part of Lake Como in an hour. He also arranged for us to have the boat drop us at Villa D’Este in Cernobbio, a short distance up the lake…
While on a trip to Lake Como, we decided to take a tour up the lake from our base in the city of Como. We talked with a guide we had used for a quick city tour. She recommended a fast boat up to Villa de Balbianello, a state preserve of Italy which has been a location for various films, and a short visit to Bellagio. She got our attention by telling…
On a recent trip to Lucca, Italy, we decided to visit local wineries one day for a tasting and lunch. We debated how far we would want to drive, and in an Internet search, discovered a number of wineries in the area. After reading the reviews we finally settled on two that were fairly close to each other, La Badiola and Colle Verde. The reviews indicated that either could serve a lunch,…
I do not know her name or even where she lives, although I was there. On my birthday. What makes her special is that she is not… really. That is not fair. She is special, although not the only person in her circumstance. The simple fact that she speaks English, rather well, while neither of her parents do, at all, makes her special. She left elementary school six years ago, and has…