Matuana Winery has a slight edge on Alchemy in my mind, only because the winemaker has more depth of experience to call on in his formulation for success. Both of these wineries are making world class wines. While Matuana may have more finesse and a more complex formula for success, both are changing perceptions of what a fine Chilean wine can and should be. Let’s start with Matuana. The icon wine is…
During our recent trip to Taipei we decided to stay a day afterwards to see a little of the island outside of its biggest city. We contacted Yolo Taiwan (https://www.yolo-taiwan.com). They assigned Alan as our driver guide. Alan had also been our guide of our tour of Taipei and we were very happy to have him show us the northern coast of the Island and give us a little of its history.…
Our visit to Taipei and Taiwan was spurred by a corporate meeting but we chose to come in a day early to see Taipei and stay a day afterwards to see a little of the island outside of its biggest city. We contacted Yolo Taiwan (https://www.yolo-taiwan.com) regarding tours and were pleasantly surprised by the driver/guide they offered to us, Alan. They scheduled both tours for us. Our first tour was on a…
It took a little over two hours to reach Kyoto from Tokyo on the Shinkansen bullet train which departs from Tokyo Station. We took the first train out at 6:00 am which meant no breakfast and met up with Kenji Matsuyama, a Government Licensed Tour Guide Interpreter (km_rugger@yahoo.co.jp) at the Kyoto Main Station. We asked a security official where a clock tower was that we were looking for as the place to…
We attended a Geisha performance arranged through Japan Awaits (www.japanawaits.com). We were served a full meal including sake, which will become important when we discuss the performance. We learned that Geisha translates into ‘performing artist’. The first Geishas were men, who performed at formal occasions starting in the 1700s. They were soon replaced by women who were better at the range of performance skills which includes dancing to music played by traditional…