Wine and windows and writing

Have been a little remiss in the past few days, partly because have been working, but also partly because I have been a little bit tired. Anyhow, following request from Fairy Godmother, I have posted a couple of pictures of the view from my window. If you look closely, you can see the snow...I promise. Thanks for the online comments...it's nice to know that at least some people in my family are technophiles and this is a pretty good way of communicating from afar. My Dad will no doubt be pleased that I have managed to change my profile and I am no longer a male...phew.
So, here I am at the end of November 2005, sitting in Santiago, with a lovely glass of Los Vascos cabernet sauvignon. Some things don't change...my predilection for the good beverages in life, but what a difference a year makes. Twelve months ago, I was in Haiti...a place that will always have a massive hold on me for various reasons...and trying to get my head around reports about a civil war and AIDS. Now, I am here in Chile, trying to get my head around a piece about the elections. I've been fighting with the article for a couple of days, but think it's pretty much done. Just need to take another look at it in the morning.
I don't think I gave feedback on the wine festival. It was pretty impressive. Dozens of stalls serving tasters of a wide range of wines. And for the equivalent of seven pounds, we got our own tasting glass and were able to try as many as we wanted. There were some fabulous ones, but of course I have no idea which ones they were, because I forgot my pen and paper and by the time I had been around half a dozen of the stands I had tried so many Carmeneres, Merlots, Cabernets that I was quite quite happy. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday evening at all.

The view from my window

Cosmopolitan

Okay, so I realised quite how cosmopolitan a life I was living last night, when I was eating Thai food in an American-run hotel in Chile, reading a book translated into Spanish by a French author and talking to an Australian maitre d', and that's before I went for the Cuban cocktail with the Argentinian friend. I know my postings will probably become less frequent as time passes, but these are just snapshots of my vida here.

Women in Chile

This is a country where divorce was only legalised last year, and socially it's been far from progressive for women, but it seems as though Chile could be about to become one of still only a handful of countries in the world to have a female leader. Michelle Bachelet, socialist, single mum, defies the stereotypes in a region that has long denigrated women and still today often treats them as objects and second-class citizens. I went to a press conference with her today and she's a pretty charismatic, mind-blowingly chatty human being.

The Middle of the Earth 

Bienvenido

They sometimes don't smell too good, but most people who know me will probably tell you that, more often than not, my feet are itchy. There's so much to see and do in this world, that it seems a shame to stay in one place for too long.
So, here I am embarking on yet another new adventure and I'd love to share it with you. I am sitting in my apartment in Santiago. It's a Saturday afternoon, eight days after I arrived in Chile and there's a slight breeze blowing in through the open window that leads to my balcony. The week-day construction sounds of drills and saws are mercifully absent, but occasionally I can hear the bark of a dog, or a car pass by heading through this residential part of the Las Condes district.
If the sounds aren't that much to write home about, the views are. From my 12th floor apartment, I can see the Andes. The peaks look as though they have been sprinkled with icing sugar and at night the smog of the city, nestled in a bowl at the base of the mountains, provides the most glorious sunset palette, ranging from magenta to gold.
I was inspired to write this blog by my younger cousin, Lucy. And although, I can only ever aspire to her levels of technophilia, I thought I'd follow her lead. My godmother, who I hope will post on this blog too, told me she was confused by Lu's posting about the loss of her apple juice. And while, the same can't always be said about my mind, I currently know exactly where my apple juice is. Unfortunately, it's looking slightly more healthy than my wine supply, which is dwindling and may feature quite prominently in this blog, given how totally fabulous Chilean vino is.
Which reminds me....I am going to a wine festival tonight. Ooooh, how exciting...