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An introduction to Chile starts in Santiago

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I’ve been planning my trip to Easter Island and Punta Arenas for about a year. I hadn’t given much thought to my time in Santiago. I really thought I would be too tired to do much, but I guess the benefit of only a two hour time difference is I wasn’t too exhausted. I couldn’t check into the hotel until three so I had about four hours to wander around. Lucky for me Sky Costanera was a five minute walk. Sky Costanera is the tallest building in South America and has some amazing views of the Andes, Cerra San Cristóbal and all over Santiago. I just walked to Cenco Costanera which is a massive shopping center, went to the lower level, bought my ticket and ten minutes later was heading up to the 61st floor and then the 62nd floor which was open on the top. I love my tall buildings, and I loved it that it was not crowded at all. There is a restaurant and a little gift shop, but not a lot else.  A view of San Cristobal On day two I took the hop on hop off bus which was an easy way to navigate
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Road Tripping 2024 Lincoln, Grant and a ferry

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I've been driving home to Cleveland by myself for over 15 years, and with only some slight variations, it's been the same drive I94 to I90/I80. It's fine, it gets me from Minnesota to Ohio and back again, but this spring/summer I really wanted to mix it up and just do some different things. It's a challenge because most of the time, I just want to get home and that's the basically straight line noted above, so going off piste is going to add time, maybe money to the journey. But you only live once, and since I only have to answer to myself, I made a few different journeys. In April I came home via Springfield, Illinois, the one-time home and final resting place of Abraham Lincoln. There are a couple of things to do in Springfield that are Lincoln-related, but I could only muster the energy and patience to stop by the tomb. It is in Oak Ridge Cemetery, which has rolling hills and was beautifully peaceful on the Saturday I visited. The tomb is free to visit, and it
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Keith Haring at the Walker Art Center Minneapolis

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I had a wonderful Sunday out last weekend with my pal and we attended the "Keith Haring: Art is for Everybody" exhibit at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. The exhibit runs through September 8, 2024, and I really recommend it to anyone interested in pop art. I was familiar with Haring's work, as in I knew the name and recognized some of his art, but I was not an expert or very well-versed in his career, but there was something about what I did know, that made me want to know more.  The exhibit covers Haring's career, which was a lot more than painting, or even just painting on canvas. He created and performed in performance art with dancers; he collaborated with rappers; he made sculptures and videos; worked with kids at a residency at the Walker; and he made protest paintings and other artwork to raise attention to growing AIS/HIV crisis in the 1980s.   In addition to paintings, there are various three dimensional art works, music videos featuring Madonna and Gra
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Day trip to Tallinn, Estonia

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  It was hard to resist popping over to Estonia from Helsinki when it's so easy to reach. It's about a 2 to 2 1/2 hour ferry ride and depending on what your sightseeing goals are, you can spend about 6 hours there and come back in the afternoon. I wasn't sure I had a lot of sightseeing goals, I just wanted to explore. I did know that I wanted see the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, but other than, no idea.  On the ferry, I booked comfort class tickets, which isn't the highest level, but it's close, and you get a limited free buffet and food for purchase. I was hoping to find a nice little corner to take a morning snooze, but the two women in the little room decided that 7:00 am was a good time to have a chat. Ugh. But other than that, the crossing was very smooth and delightful. a view from comfort class on the ferry Upon docking, I just started to walk, following the crowd since most people were going in the same direction. The conditions were slippery and snowy and co
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Nordic Capital - Helsinki, Finland

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After my Arctic adventure, I planned on spending some time in the Finnish capital of Helsinki on my own. I did some planning, but I also planned to be a little spontaneous, if that make sense. I had things I wanted to do, but aside from a day trip to Tallinn, Estonia, everything else was up for grabs. My hotel, Hotel Klaus K, was perfectly located near a tram stop, walkable to the ferry and other areas of the city center. I also knew I was going to take public transportation, so I bought a four day bus/tram/ferry card and gleefully hopped on and off. Okay, if I'm honest, I had to hop on and off so much because I kept getting lost, or slightly misdirected. But no worries, on, off, walk a little, take a different tram, it all worked out.  My first afternoon in Helsinki I just walked around I'd like to say getting my bearings, but we both know that would be a lie. Helsinki, like most northern cities, include Minneapolis/St. Paul, doesn't stop because of snow. People were out w
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