Tag: travel

Edinburgh: Whisky Distillery and Pub Grub

We took a lovely day tour of Stirling Castle, Loch Lomond and a Whisky distillery with Heart of Scotland  tours. More about Stirling castle and the Loch Lomond later but below are some pictures from the Glengoyne Distillery we visited during our tour. We got to sample some of their 12 year old single malt scotch whisky after our tour. No photos were allowed during our tour inside (something about the camera clicking can cause a spark and set the place on fire!). Here are some photos from the grounds.

Pub Talk

Other days in Edinburgh, we tried to get some pub grub at some historic pubs. This started the tour of disappointing “chain” pubs. In the US, we romanticize about getting a beer at an old pub with some home cooked comfort food. Big companies in the UK have capitalized on this and bought out many of the historic pubs. Many of the names are unchanged but their menu and beer selection is carefully duplicated at many pubs of different names. Most tourists probably wouldn’t notice this but we did. We saw this the most while in London but our first experience with it was at Greyfriars Bobby’s Bar, a bar that capitalizes on its proximity to a beloved statue of a loyal dog. We ate at this bar but discovered to see the same beer selections and menu duplicated at bars in London.

 Sweet potato pie over peas and potatoes.

Other pub fun




UK Pubs: Edinburgh

Last March my husband and I took a fabulous trip to the UK. We did some hiking, some sightseeing, and some pub time.
During the Edinburgh part of our trip we visited some fun pubs and tried some fantastic whiskies.

Our evenings would sometimes start with a dram of whisky or glass of wine from the honor bar at our bed and breakfast.

http://www.94dr.com/

One night we hung out at the Whiski Bar and Restaurant on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh.

We shared the Cullen Skink soup and a haggis tower with neeps and tats.

I was able to try one whisky that was aged in sherry cask and one of the scottish beers.

As a welcome treat, a band played traditional scottish music while we sipped our whisky drinks.

A week in Paris

We were able to spend a week in Paris in August 2010. Paris still remains one of my favorite cities. I will always remember the experience we had there. We were greeted with such friendliness by Parisians that to this day people do not believe. Parisians can be very friendly and open if you give them a chance.
We stayed in the Marais neighborhood. It was a former Jewish quarter with lots of character. You can still see many traditional Jewish shops as well as antiques and trendy cafes. We were extremely happy to spend a week in that part of town. I only wish I took some photos of the neighborhood to share.
Here are some pictures from our visit.

 We thought the locks on the bridge were very interesting. Years later they find that the locks cause add weight and cause great damage to these bridges. Please do not do this to a bridge.

Sacré-Cœur Basilica

Montmartre

Down from the Sacre-Coeur lies an interesting part of Paris. Montmarte has a rich history of its own and only some of it involves the sex industry. One of my favorite museums was the Musee de Montmarte. It contained a detailed history of the cabaret scene in Paris along with a myriad of famous posters from artists like Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.

We also broke down and went to see the cheesy Moulin Rouge show. It was quite pricy and we were put in bad seats. I suggest doing some research for another show which might be slightly less touristy (if possible). They seemed to treat those who ordered dinner with their show much better than those who only ordered drinks; keep that in mind if you do decide to go.

Saint-Jacques Tower

Arc de Triomphe

Deportation Memorial (Memorial de la Deportation)

Part of France’s dark history was their cooperation in the Nazi holocaust.  200,000 French were handed over to the nazis during this time. We got to visit this powerful memorial in Paris.

Pompidou Center

The pompidou was quite the interesting museum. It is the largest modern art museum in Europe. There were various street performers entertaining outside. Inside we got to see various artworks from famous artists. Some standout exhibits were the fox chair, a bunch of dead looking people in chairs, and Yoko Ono’s artwork : a video of butts – yes butts.