100 Things "I" want to experience before... Part 3

Categories
1 - 3 in Part 1 
4 - 6 in Part 2

1. Cities
2. Buildings
3. Rail Journeys
4. Experiences
5. Events
6. Natural Wonders
7. Castles and Fortifications
1. Bodiam Castle, UK
2. Stirling Castle, Scotland
3. Deal Castle, UK
4. Swiss Mountain Fortifications
   
5. Wartburg Castle - Eisenach, Germany
   
6. German Castle Road, Mannhein to Prague
   
7. German Rhine river castles (Castle RheinStein an example of the type I like)
   
8. Normandy D-Day Fortifications
9. Maginot Line - France
10. Hadrian's Wall - UK
8. Palaces, Manor houses, Country Houses, Chateaus
1. Penhurst Place, UK
   
2. Ightham mote - a moated Manor house near Sevenoaks, UK
   
3. Stokesay Castle - a fortified Medieval Manor house in Stropshire, UK
   
4. Chateau Chambord - France
5. Castle Howard - Yorkshire, UK
6. Neuschwanstein - Bavaria
7. Prince's Palace of Monaco
8. Schonbrunn Palace - Vienna, Austria
9. The Vatican
10. Hardwick Hall - UK
9. Alcohol Related Rambles
1. Port wine - Oporto, Portugal
2. Fruit Beers - Belgium
3. Single Malt Whisky distilleries - Scotland
4. Cider Route - Normandy, France
5. Malibu Rum - Barbados
6. Sherry Towns - Jerez, Spain
7. Madeira - Madeira Island
8. Pastis - Provence, France
9. Bourbon Trail - Kentucky, USA 
10.  Real Ale - UK
1. Samuel Smiths - Yorkshire, my favourite, but they don't have a tour. 
2. Jennings - Lake District 
3. St. Austell - Cornwall

100 Things "I" want to experience before... Part 2

Catagories 1 - 3 in Part 1

1. Cities
2. Buildings
3. Rail Journeys
4. Experiences(That sound like they might be fun)
1. The Northern Lights (saw them in Alaska, would like to see them again)
2. Pacific Island vacation, staying in a hut on stilts.
3. Mediterranean Cruise
4. African Safari (Tanzania/Kenya)
5. Boar hunting on horseback using a spear
   
6. Atlantic Crossing (just a bit concerned about getting sea-sick and  having that lovely experience for 7 days)
   
7. Driving a Race car
8. Via Ferrata in the Alps
9. Bareboat Charter in the Caribbean (minus the kidnapping)
10. Tour du Mont Blanc (9 - 13 day hike circling Mont Blanc through France, Italy and Switzerland)
5. Events
1. F1 Race at Monte Carlo
2. Advent Market in Europe
3. Open House Party at Ackergill Tower in Wick, Scotland.
4. Oktoberfest in Munich (if I could stand people)
5. Dakar Rally (back when it was in Africa would have been preferable)
6. Royal Geographic Society Explore Expedition planning weekend, London
7. Sumo Wrestling matches in Tokyo, Japan
8. Highland Games in Scotland
9. Burning Man - Black Rock Desert, Nevada
10. Up Helly-Aa - Viking Fire festival, Shetland
6. Natural Wonders
1. Grand Canyon - Arizona, USA
2. Bad Lands - South Dakota, USA
3. Victoria Falls - Zambia, Africa
4. Ngorongoro Crater - Tanzania, Africa
5. Giant Sequoias - California, USA
6. Angel Falls, Canaima National Park, Venezuela - not an easy sight to see, very remote.
7. Death Valley - Nevada, USA
8. Amazon River
9. Phang Nga Bay, Thailand - Islands and cliffs jutting straight up out of the water. Near Phuket.
10. Lava tubes in Iceland

It's Back

The violin I accidentally acquired back in March 2010, after a couple of attempts to get it repaired is done and

all it needed were a few mechanical adjusters,

and the sound post reinserted or replaced

and a new bridge.

All done and ready to play or be displayed.
I tried to play the well known melody from danse macabre by C.C. Sainte-Saens, but it was more like dance macrap. Very squeaky and very tough without frets. The dog looked very put out having to listen to me. I also want to play the theme from Sherlock Holmes (Jeremy Brett version), but I'll try it while no one is home. If I can screech out those 2 melodies, that will be enough, more than enough I'm sure some would say.

100 Things "I" want to experience before.... Part 1

Stealing from the multitudes of books out there telling "Me" what "I" need to see before I die, I have gone and compiled my own list of things "I" want to see and maybe I'll see some of them after I die. So there. I don't need someone else telling me what I must see or do. Except for at work where I get paid to do what I'm told.

Just to be methodical, rigid and non-spontaneous I'll group the list categorically and I'll come up with 10 categories so I only need to think up 10 things for each. Most of the items I already had written down in various places. And I'm going to pretend I have unlimited funds and unlimited time off, though if you really want to do something you should probably find a way to do it. I am also going to list places or events I might have already experienced, but would do again. The list is not in any particular order, the cannon is not closed and I reserve the right to change, append, modify, fold, spindle or mutilate.

1. Cities
1. London, England - I always find something new to see.
2. Rome, Italy- Roman ruins, Renaissance art and the Vatican.
   
3. Vienna, Austria - Palaces, Coffeehouses and Museums.
   
4. Chamonix, France - Mount Blanc and funiculars and cable cars.
5. Western Scottish Highlands - look for a "Travel? Why Not!" post in the future.
6. Cinque Terra - Italy 5 towns on the Mediterranean Coast linked by rail.
7. Istanbul, Turkey - not Constantinople.
   
8. Amsterdam, The Netherlands - Careful, these coffeehouses are different than in Vienna.
   
9. Prague, Czech Republic - Mix of architecture styles, good beer.
   
10. St. Petersburg, Russia - The Hermitage and other Palaces.
2. Buildings
1. The Forbidden City Beijing, China
2. Taktsang Monastery, "Tiger's Nest" in Paro, Bhutan
3. Machu Picchu - Peru
4. Petra, Jordan 
5. Sainte-Chapelle, Paris France
6. Pyramids in Egypt
7. Mont Saint Michel - An Abbey on an Island in Normandy, France
8. St. Michael's Mount - A Castle on an Island in Cornwall, England
9. Palace of Versailles, France
10. Himeji Castle Japan, 3 hours from Tokyo
3. Rail Journeys
1. Glacier Express - Zermatt to St. Moritz, Switzerland. 1 day.
2. The Canadian (Toronto to Vancouver) 4 days.
3. The Empire Builder (Seattle to Chicago) 3 days.
4. Winnipeg to Churchill train - Manitoba, Canada. To see polar bears. 1700km in 2 days one way, bring a book.
5. Beijing, China to Tibet journey - To see Tibet before it is just a shell of its former self. They have bottled oxygen on the train.
   
6. Trans Siberian Railway to Mongolia
   
7. FEVE (Ferrocarriles Españoles de Vía Estrecha) Rail across Northern Spain - Slow Narrow Gauge Rail from Bilbao to Ferrol, many stops and a few changes. It would give me time to read Don Quixote, the thickness of the book is daunting and preventing me from even starting.
8. The Orient Express (which doesn't exist anymore ) The best way now is a trip involving 4 changes and 3 nights, if you leave from London and end up in Istanbul.
9. The West Highland Line - supposedly the most scenic railway in Britain.
10. Rail Ale Trails - Cornwall, UK -  Local trains with pubs at stops along the routes. Usually terminate at scenic coastal villages with more pubs.

Twany Port

I plunked some cash down on a nice (read more than I usually spend) bottle of Tawny Port. Tawny Port is ready to drink having spent some time in wood casks and it picks up flavors from the wood and oxidizes hence the supposed tawny color and the name. I had first purchased the bottle of "Fine" Tawny port and I thought it was good, but compared to the 20 Year old Tawny it was just OK. I won't make it a habit of buying the 20 Year old, but since it doesn't go bad I won't have a need to get another bottle for a long while.

Left 20 Year old, right "Fine"

The"Fine" was more ruby colored than tawny and it was a bit syrupy, with nothing to compare it to, it was very good. The 20 year old in comparison was definitely tawny in color, not syrupy at all and was more complex in taste. The 20 reminded me of a sherry somewhat.

Left "fine", right 20 year old.

When I worked for the family on the farm, there was always Port in the flower refrigerator, at my grandfather's house and at the Big House. All were California, but that is where I developed a taste for it, it was good for warming you up inside on cold mornings.

And here is some duck prosciutto (Moulard duck) that I made which I thought had caused me intestinal distress or "Big D" as we refer to it here at the castle. Ends up it was just stress from work and not botulism. At the first tasting it seemed too salty and I thought it was going to be relegated to cooking, but after I recovered and tried it again, it didn't seem too salty.

Pack duck breast in salt for 24 hours, rinse, pat dry, dust with pepper and what ever else you want, wrap in cheese cloth and hang till it loses 30 % of it's weight.

Top Time Tested Travel Tips to Try

We are not professional travelers, but here are some things we have found that work for us and a few things to avoid.

• Make kids carry their own snacks and toys and books in a backpack. It makes them feel good about themselves and it is that much less that you have to carry. No one like a cranky kid.
• If your kids needs a car seat and a stroller and a diaper bag, don't go or leave them home.
• Don't bring too many bags, 2 per person should be the limit on the outbound trip. One check in and one carry on. We used to carry both of our bags on the plane, but we tired of fighting for space and carrying the bags so we switched to wheelie suitcases and checked them in.
• Use a luggage strap as extra protection for your checked luggage, attach it to the handle with a wire tie. Buy the same color strap for all your bags so you can identify them quickly.
• Keep a spare pair of socks and underwear in your carry on bag in case your luggage is delayed.
• If it can leak, it will leak, put it in a plastic bag.
• Bring snacks for adults too. No one like a cranky adult either.
• Pack clothes that have seen better days and discard them along the way. It leaves room for souvenirs. If you want to be altruistic, you could donate them, but then you should probably clean them first and not have packed such rags.

Here we have converted an old tee shirt into garland. and made a headband for my head. The flannel pants weren't making it home either.

• Most large cities have hop-on hop-off bus tours, use these to rest up after the inbound flight, to get your bearings and pick out what sights you want to see close up.
• Most cities have some sort of discount card, you can check out sights than you might not have felt were worth the price otherwise. Some include transportation, but do some simple math, not all are worth the price.
• Don't buy fragile souvenirs on the first day of a trip.
• Don't buy heavy books in the beginning of the trip.
• If you see something you want, buy it. You may never see it again. But didn't you just say...
• Duty free is a good deal if you know your prices or you didn't pick up that item when you first saw it.
• You may be on holiday, but your manners (if you ever had any) should not be.
• Check your passport expiration date 2 months before you leave. Every country has a different requirement for how long your passport needs to be valid.
• Leave copies of your passport with someone back home and keep a copy with you in a different place than where you keep your passport. 
• An overnight train could save the cost of a night in a hotel, but check the prices first.
• It doesn't hurt to learn some phrases in the language of the country you will be visiting. You won't be mistaken as a local, but they will see you tried and will get a laugh at your pronunciations.
• Thieves will know you are not a local, but you just have to be less of a boob than the next boob.