In 1887, heir to the Jameson whiskey fortune, James Sligo Jameson (creative name) joined an expedition in Africa to save Emin Pasha (the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition). You’re not going to learn about THIS Jameson family member on the Jameson Distillery tour. But, it’s a fascinating tale so I want to share it with you.
Warning: This isn’t for the faint of heart so continue at your own risk…
Continue readingFriends, I apologize. I’m SO far behind on posting and sharing with you guys…it’s sad.
I’ve been making lots of updates to this site, but lots are behind the scenes, like re-uploading photos that aren’t displaying properly when viewed in different browsers (auto-rotation and Firefox are apparently not a “thing”), creating a brand spankin’ new branded Instagram account and drafting a few posts that I am not QUITE happy with yet.
Those are all excuses, but thought you might be wondering what the heck is going on since my last post is MONTHS ago.
Courtesy of Giphy
Anyway, looking forward to sharing some great new content starting this weekend. I have lots of great places to share with you!
Including:
Lisbon & Cascais, Portugal
The Azores, Portugal
Edinburgh, Scotland and the Scottish Highlands
London, Salisbury (Stonehenge) and Bath
Austin, TX
Denver, CO
Valparaiso, Chile
+ more
Thanks for sticking with me and I look forward to sharing more with you soon!
Folks, I need your help trying to figure out whether to do Copenhagen, Stockholm, or both for Christmas and New Year’s Eve this year. Here’s the rub: we usually try to cram so many things into one trip, we really want to try to keep it to one destination this time around. Please vote in my poll below! And please leave a comment if you have any place you recommend in the place you’ve voted for. Thanks in advance!
Where should we (big foodies) go for #Christmas and #NYE this year? Please take the time and vote below, & please retweet!
— Fish Out of Malbec (@FishOutofMalbec) November 6, 2016
Whether you’re flying for business or traveling on vacation, you’re likely going to encounter people who are just horrible airplane passengers. Here’s my list of the worst airplane passengers, ranked by irritation factor from lowest (#5) to highest (#1). Whether it’s thinking that the rules don’t apply to you, or complete disregard for personal space, you are ruining it for everyone else. If you do any of these things, maybe you don’t realize how much you’re bothering your fellow passengers. But trust me, you’re the worst.
You know who you are. The second those rear wheels hit the runway, a chorus of click click click! echoes throughout the cabin. Except the pilot always comes on the loudspeaker and reminds all passengers (yes, that includes YOU!) that you should keep your seatbelt fastened until the plane comes to a complete stop. Why is this? Well, the plane stops short sometimes. This actually gives me great pleasure because the started “oh!” usually comes from one of you, oh Safety Shunner. Sometimes, you are taxiing for an ungodly amount of time (I’m looking at you, JFK). Sometimes, you have to wait for another plane to move before you can park at the gate. Either way, the flight isn’t over until the pilot says it’s over.
And what is your issue? Is the seatbelt SO uncomfortable that you can’t bear to wear it a second longer? I mean really. You’re not special. Keep your goddamn belt fastened and sit down.
Unless you’re crapping your pants like an Olympic marathon walker, you can sit there and wait until we’re in the sky like the rest of us. SIT. THE. EFF. DOWN. I don’t care if you don’t speak English (or Spanish or whatever the flight attendants speak) – don’t play Continue reading
Update 10/6/18: Try The World has vastly updated how they do business since my original post below. We had a good run of delightful boxes that arrived in beautiful packaging, on time, and full of quality products. That has changed. How so? Try The World no longer offers country boxes – they give you a random assortment of items that have no cohesive theme, don’t ship on time, sometimes skip months for no reason, and the overall quality of the product and packaging has taken a serious nose-dive. A TRY THE WORLD MEMBERSHIP IS SO NOT WORTH IT. I really wanted this company to make it. I did. I loved getting our box every month. Now, Try The World can try making itself better. But first it should try to avoid bankruptcy, where it is likely headed, judging from its behavior these last few months.
Hubby and I have been subscribers of Try The World since Christmas and recently received our second box – the Venice box – in the mail. So, I thought I’d write a review.
Contents of the Try The World Venice Box
“What’s Try The World?” you ask? I have to admit, I was hesitant to sign up for it because I found it via a Facebook ad. Normally, I ignore Facebook ads… and I would say that one out of 2 times I actually clicked on them and ended up buying something, I have been horribly disappointed. Continue reading
Today’s International Women’s Day, and I have to say, women celebrate it with much more gusto in Argentina than they do in the USA. Feliz día de la mujer, a mis hermanas argentinas!
It’s always been interesting to me that, although Argentine society is afflicted with extreme “machista” (chauvinism, machismo), Argentine women really come together to celebrate a few different holidays and raise each other up. Maybe it’s because they’re subject to such blatant sexism, that they celebrate it so fervently. Whatever the reason, it’s a really great day to honor the ladies in your life and celebrate their accomplishments. Día de la Mujer is one of them, and another is Día del Amigo (Friend’s Day), which is July 20 every year, the anniversary of the first moon landing.
Friend’s Day is also a fascinating tradition to me, as a gringa. Really, it’s about celebrating your friendships and treating your friends especially well on that day. It’s basically a Valentine’s Day for your platonic pals.
Unless you don’t have a heart, Friend’s Day is a really great, feel-good day that will leave you with a smile on your face and a warmth in your heart. Unlike Valentine’s Day, when a lack of Valentine can cause depression, sadness, anger and hurt for so many.
Take a minute today to let your lady-friends know today that they rock. Not only because they do, but because they need to hear it every so often! Feliz día de la mujer!!!