Susan Boyle - You Go Girl!

Once in awhile a really talented person gets their fifteen minutes of fame. And with the planet now so instantly connected, it often leads to bigger and better things. It’s especially gratifying when someone deserving, who has long been overlooked, attains worldwide renown.

I’m speaking, of course, of the strange case of Susan Boyle who, only this month, managed to become a global icon in a very short time. Thanks in a great part to the phenomenon known as U-tube. Already she has well over 600,000 fans on Facebook. (Including me) Of course she’s not yet a senior, but still how Miss Boyle, now 47, escaped being discovered all these years is a puzzlement. She has one of the richest voices I’ve ever heard and her rendition of “Cry Me a River” has to be just about one of the best ever. It was even more delightful to watch her performance in front of Simon Cowell who usually is the very essence of cynicism. To see his facial expression change from mockery to amazement did my heart a world of good.

Susan Boyle, you go girl. I hope you win top prize, sing for the Queen and go on to have a marvellous career. You’re definitely a wonderful example to the rest of us older folks to never give up in going after our goals.

And now back to Betty’s travelblog.
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Our second day of wine tasting took us north to the Aconcagua Valley. This is an area of cool, rainy winters; hot, dry summers and moist Pacific breezes. We were told irrigation is necessary for the wonderful growth we could see around us. Snowmelt from the soaring Andes flows into the river system and is diverted to canals that surround the valley. The result? Everywhere orchards and vineyards climb the slopes of the sere foothills.

We again visited three wineries in the valley and had lunch in another delightful hacienda style resort—a lovely spot where wealthy citizens from Santiago come for a weekend get-away.
Our final winery was the renowned Vina Errazuriz founded in 1870 by Don Maximiano Errazuriz, a son of one of Chile’s most prestigious 18th century families. Today, his descendant, Eduardo Chadwick is the sixth generation to be involved in the business. We spent two hours at this premium winery, climbing first to the top of their hillside vineyard overlooking the breathtaking panoramic view of much of the valley. After touring the beautiful gardens, we ventured into the coolness of the century old cellar. Here their finest wines are aged. We tasted three of their award winning appellations and declared their 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon one of our favorite red wines ever. Feeling very happy with our two days on the Chilean wine trail, we returned to Santiago for an evening of fine dining and folkloric dancing at one of the cities’ fine restaurants.

Our five nights in Santiago were spent at the charming Plaza San Francisco, a boutique hotel in the centre of town. The king sized room was furnished in beautiful Spanish modern furniture and the elegant, marble bathroom was spotlessly clean. Given four stars by both Fodders and Travelocity, I can highly recommend it.

And I definitely recommend a visit to this amazing country at the bottom of the world.
(Coming soon: Buenos Aires, Argentina.)