Chilean Wine Country

Welcome to picture overload...haha! The wine country was maybe my favorite part of Chile. Enjoy the pictures we took:

Cam and Beth, his childhood babysitter (basically like his big sister) who lives in Chile. This was at a winery near her home in the Maipo region, Cousino Macul.

Tasting room in the cellar of Cousino Macul.

On the drive down to Colchagua, the Chilean region famous for red wines at the base of the Andes.

Countryside in Colchagua valley.

Neyen, a boutique winery in Colchagua. They only make one wine a year, but we loved it. It is great wine for a splurge.

Us in Neyen's personal reserve of wine. Notice the chicken-wire--they lost their entire collection in the earthquake last year so they have chicken wire now to keep the bottles from falling.

Neyen made a chocolate to pair perfectly with their wine.  Their logo is from an ancient carving found in the region.

Montes was our second winery in Colchagua. It was beautiful, but they are much more commercial.  Their Syrah was our favorite.

All the wineries plant rose bushes around the grapes.  The rose scent will attract any pests first, so if the roses are getting infested, they know the grape crop will be next.

Montes's tasting room. It is done following the principles of fung shui.

Montes's tasting room and its view.

Alpaca grazing near the grapes.

View from lunch...gorgeous.  Just a tip: if you go into the countryside, be sure not to even eat anything washed in the water--Cam got sicker than a dog when we got back that night from eating lettuce washed in the local water--ugh. The city water was fine though.

Laura Hartwig winery.

The polo fields in front of Laura Hartwig.

Viu Manent winery, our overall favorite winery for the value.  It was beautiful, and their collection from top to bottom was the best. Their carmenere was amazing.

The tasting tables set up under the grape vines.

They took us on a carriage ride through the vineyard.

Concha Y Toro, in the Maipo region. They are the largest wine producer in Chile.

The family home on the grounds.

We aren't the biggest chardonnay fans, but they had a great chardonnay blend.

People used to rob the cellar at Concha Y Toro.  So, the owner began the rumor that the devil lived in the cellar and would punish those who took the bottles.  Chileans are very superstitious, and supposedly no one ever stole another bottle.  They have a line of wines called Casa Diablo (house of the Devil).

The countryside in the Casablanca region (the area known for its wines).

Still Bleed Blue

First, I am sorry I am such a crappy blogger lately.  I promise to finish posting my South America pictures this week, come hell or high water. 

So, someone's hubby left her high and dry in Lexington while he is partying it up in Houston.  He somehow got to work a business trip into the deal, so he only had to pay for his ticket.  Since his brother works at Rupp, the managed to pull off lower level 4th row tickets for face value.  I would hate him so much right now if we had won... 

View from their room of the stadium (I have a feeling that bottle is no longer that full...Cam's down there with his brother and his friends from high school)

I don't feel too bad that he made the big trip down there--he's been to two Houston Rockets games (in UK garb to cheer on Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes), a Kenny Chesney concert, and saw his friend Josh Teater play in the Houston Open.  And, he still has two more days down there and the business front of the trip is a huge success.  Funny enough, my cousin goes to VCU and went down there as well. He and his buddies are staying in the same hotel as Cam.  Too random!

Our friends from Louisville came in town for the big game.  We went to, where else?, Two Keys and watched the game. 

Brittany, Lauren, and I outside of Two Keys

It was a heartbreaking loss because it wasn't that UConn was a better team--we lost that game ourselves.  We didn't seem to have the heart/drive, we couldn't capitalize on any turnovers or hit any free-throw shots.  It hurts so incredibly badly that one measly point kept us from the Championship game.  

But, at least we have a lot to look forward to next year. Still so proud of my cats for bringing back a final four banner to hang in Rupp.

Don't Wake Me Up...

...Until after the championship game on April 4th. I know I was planning doing South America posts before anything else, but this is really too good to be true. 

So proud of my CATS! So happy to be a part of the big blue nation this week! I am going to have to break down and buy a pair of jorts to watch the game in next week (don't worry, I already have the jersey...) because we're in the FINAL FOUR. YYYIIPPPEE!

[All pictures from the Herald-Leader]

Jorts, we are just as happy as you are (but most of us just can't jump that high)

I don't think people understand the love that I have for this man today :)

The boys

proof that I'm not the only crazy fan out there...here's Lexington today. A reported 13 couches were burned and they had to shut down traffic in parts of downtown. There are literally hundreds of people at the airport waiting to welcome the Team back to Lexington right now...all for the CATS!

Buenos Aires

We just got back in the States, so I wanted to do a few blog posts with the pictures of our trip. And just for the update, we ended up getting our bags the last day in Buenos Aires, so at least we had them in Santiago.

First, here's a post with some of the pictures of Buenos Aires. Overall, we loved this city.  If you go, stay in Palermo for great restaurants, shopping and nightlife.  The dollar is also very strong in comparison to their peso, so definitely take advantage of the shopping prices!

But, be prepared to get a little ripped off.  Taxi drivers love to overcharge and we somehow managed to get counterfeit money out of an ATM. It is frustrating, but what can you do? At least we saved a ton of money shopping.

Cam said this was the best steak he's ever had in his life and it was HUGE (this is only half of it)

Recoleta cemetery was absolutely beautiful and unlike any other cemetery we'd been to.

Eva Peron's grave.

Entrance to Recoleta cemetery.

Their law school building is slightly more impressive than ours...

hydrolic metal flower that opens every morning and closes every night

Modern art museum