Chile's French Connection: The grape that went missing is back ... and delicious

For me, one of the joys of traveling is learning about the cuisine and, of course, the wine produced in different parts of the world. I know it is for Linda and Dave, too. A couple of years ago, they were planning an outstanding trip to Chile, Argentina, and Patagonia.

One of the great wines being produced in Chile today is from the Carménère grape that was well known in France and thought to have been wiped out by disease in the late 1800s. Turns out it was discovered to be thriving in Chile under an assumed name. In anticipation of Linda and Dave's trip, we had to open a bottle. It is a rich, full-bodied and flavorful wine. I love Cabernet Sauvignon so I was delighted the first time I tasted Carménère.

My philosophy is that almost any occasion is an opportunity to open a bottle of wine and enjoy it, which we did as a prelude to Linda and Dave's trip, which I didn't get to go on. (Just sayin'.) ;-D

Anyway, I wanted to share this occasion with you since we've preserved it in a video. After all, YouTube is forever, right. Here's looking at you, kid. We'll always have Carménère.

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In Aruba, a shopping haven ... for the ladies

I came upon this scene in Aruba, but it’s a universal phenomenon. The women shop and the men look for a place to sit. This would be a good entry for a funny parody account on Instagram called “Shopping With Their Ladies: The Miserable Men of Instagram.” A couple of years ago, a mall in Shanghai introduced “husband rest cabins”, spaces with comfortable leather chairs and video games where husbands could relax while their wives shop to their heart’s content. It wasn’t quite so fancy in Aruba.

What better place to grow beautiful things than in a garden?

By Linda Foxlow I had not known what to expect when we went to the home of the impressionist painter Claude Monet in Giverny, France in March 2023. I had, of course, seen pictures, and Monet’s beautiful paintings. But the gardens themselves defy description. I’m using this glimpse of a small part of the gardens and the window through which the artist viewed his incredible setting to announce a new endeavor. We travel extensively each year, and there are abundant opportunities to see some of the world’s most beautiful places. Naturally, I try to capture some small part of that as we travel. It was suggested that we ought to share some of those images from time to time, and so that is what we are doing. You can find this images and a few we have posted on Fine Art America . We’ll be adding more later. We hope you like them. We’d love to see your comments below.

Fairbanks, Alaska: Day 1 of our 12-day journey in the 49th state

Linda and I cruised Alaska in 2015. This time. with Princess Cruise Lines, we put together a tour that starts with five nights in the interior. Day 4 and it is an amazing experience. Come along with us and feel the magic of our 49th state! That's Denali in the photo at the top. At more than 20,000 feet above sea level, it's the highest peak in North America. Denali had been the traditional name for generations but in the Alaska Gold Rush days in 1896, a prospector is said to have named it Mount McKinley, to show his support for William McKinley, then a candidate for president. McKinley won and the name stuck, at least until 1975, when a state board tasked with naming places decided the old name, Denali, was better, and made it official. The Federal government kept on calling it Mount McKinley right on up until 2015, when the name was changed to match what Alaskans had been calling it all along. We're told some folks in Ohio weren't too happy about that name chang...

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