When people ask my how our last trip went, I have discovered that I am giving an unusual answer: “We were successful in all our objectives.” Not the standard response, I suspect. Did we have good time? Of course. Was the weather good? Better than we had any right to expect. Will we go back?…
Category: FUN STUFF
FUN STUFF
Google Maps: European Failure
by renaissanceadmin • • 1 Comment
Google Maps has been a stalwart supporter of my navigating for almost two decades, and I get around pretty well with it, if I do say so myself. But on this trip to Europe ,I have noticed a few cracks in the old façade. Namely, Google Maps just can’t handle the European road system and…
FUN STUFF
Old and New Environmental Technology in France
by renaissanceadmin • • 0 Comments
My wife and I went back to a favourite haunt this week, to discover that everything changes, but it all remains the same. The venue is in the hills 20 kilometres north of the walled city of Carcassonne, near the where the Spanish/French Border meets the Mediterranean. We discovered La Chateau Villatade winery there, a…
FUN STUFF
Watching Paint Dry in the Panama Canal
by renaissanceadmin • • 0 Comments
People choose their holiday destinations for many different reasons: competition, nostalgia, comfort, change of pace, ego, history, anthropology, archaeology, partying, you name it. Sometimes — and often you don’t know it until you get there — you have to go somewhere in person because there is just no other way to live it. Nothing can…
FUN STUFF
Donkeys Are Not Cute!
by renaissanceadmin • • 0 Comments
My wife loves donkeys. Heaven knows why, but she thinks they’re cute. Oh, sure, the baby donkeys bouncing around YouTube and FaceBook and sitting in people’s laps are sweet. But when it comes to a 150 kg beast with huge teeth and sharp, hard, hooves, I lose I a bit of interest. I mean, European…
FUN STUFF
Malta: Prize of the Mediterranean
by renaissanceadmin • • 0 Comments
Malta is an island steeped in history. Due to its position at the naval choke point of the central Mediterranean, it has been important from the Crusades all the way to World War II. With all that warfare and all that history, it’s guaranteed to be an interesting place to visit. Anyone who has been…
FUN STUFF
Not Like Last Time: Star Flyer 2022
by renaissanceadmin • • 0 Comments
When it comes to holidays, what makes the difference between A and A+? Honesty in journalism forces us to admit that sometimes things don’t work out quite as well as we’d like. Our latest run on Star Flyer, a 115-metre barquentine with capacity for 166 passengers, was a wonderful experience. We had been forced by…
FUN STUFF
An Old Bird up a Tree
by renaissanceadmin • • 0 Comments
My hiking buddy, Dave Samis, is a great bird photographer. One of his pet peeves is that the birds refuse to pose on the outside limbs, but sit farther in, where there’s always a few branches to get in the way of a great picture. Last Wednesday I promised to provide a different sort…