Wine Museums Worldwide - WOW - which ones to visit?

WoW stands for World of Wine, also the exlamation, wow! It is a huge wine complex in Portugal, on the hillside overlooking the river. The city is called Oporto, Oporto, on a hillside above the port in Portugal, easy to remember. But that's not the only place to find a wine museum.

After the London Wine Fair, where I saw the stand of Georgia, which claims to be the birthplace of wine, I started thinking about wine museums. Some have supermarket size shops and restaurants. Others have cellar doors offering tastings, sometimes free food, other times platters of food if you have a group and book and pay - and mini-shops, and vineyard visits, with self-guided or guided tours.

I have visited Vineyards all over the world, and I have been to the memorable wine museums in Cyprus and Italy. 

Italy

Italy has huge mosaic floors from Roman villas, showing the Gods of wine, and the Romans reclining and drinking.

The one in Torgiano, Italy is in Umbria, next door to and west of Tuscany, not far from Florence. 

France 

Paris has a wine museum. 

Beyond Paris is Rheims in the Champagne area. There numerous Champagne houses offer tours and tastings.

In France, the port of Marseilles was established for the ships carrying wine. 

Bordeaux has a huge modern museum of wine. The name Bordeaux means border or edge of the water, meaning waterway. Wine drinking and export dates back to the time before air travel and even proper passable roads. Then travel was mainly by boats down rivers and in ships across seas.

Portugal

In Europe the biggest range of museums and gifts such as wine stoppers and socks was in WOW in Portugal. A series of museums on a hillside, like Disney, kept us busy all day.Videos, tastings, and a plastic tumbler to take home included in the price.

The Douro museum, along the river Douro, included a sniff section. The large ground floor shop entertained me with wine soaps and novelties.

Museu do Douro, Portugal. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

USA

California has many wineries, vineyards and shops attached. We drove along, up north from San Francisco. As we got further from the big city, the price of a corkscrew got lower and lower. One of the vineyards had a train tour, but we arrived too late. 

I saw lots of great gifts. In addition to wines, corkscrews, wine racks, bottle covers. Books for keeping a record of wine you've tried and liked. Books for storing bottle labels. 

Websites of Wine Museums: 

• Vino Versum Poysdorf, Austria
• Wine Museum (Pleven), Bulgaria
• Wine Museum, Ehnen, Luxembourg
• Wine Museum and Enoteca, Brazil
• Cyprus Wine Museum, Limassol District, Cyprus
• Macau Wine Museum, Macau, SAR China
• Musée du Vin (Wine Museum of Paris), France
• https://www.bordeaux-tourism.co.uk/cultural-heritage/wine-trade-museum.html#:~:text=Discover%20the%20history%20of%20the,better%20understanding%20of%20Bordeaux%20wines. Bordeaux, France
• Museo del vino (Torgiano), Italy
• Douro Museum, Portugal
• WOW (World of Wine), Porto, Portugal
• Drăgășani Wine Museum, Romania
• Yilan Distillery Chia Chi Lan Wine Museum, Taiwan
• https://www.wineinvestment.com/learn/magazine/2021/05/seven-wine-museums-to-put-on-your-travel-bucket-list/
• Other wine museums are in Georgia, and South Africa.
• https://www.wineenthusiast.com/culture/travel/best-winemaking-history-musuems/?srsltid=AfmBOoqzqokP-8sps2EpFXIhSY0DOMgXWFRycZtFFHAO1WKp6bNWtsJy
• California Wine Museum Antique Shop, USA

Napa Valley wine train (lunches and day tours)

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Where To Find Poetry On The Underground in London, New York, Paris, Shanghai - post 7847

 

Poetry on the underground started in London, England and spread to New York, Paris, Moscow and Shanghai. 

I picked up a leaflet of poems advertising the book of them which you can buy.

The latest version of the book is available for about thirteen uk pounds (plus postage if you are not a prime member) from Amazon.

Second-hand copies of older versions are available at about three pounds or more from Awesome books, ebay and others.

One of several editions of Poems on the Underground. From Wikipedia.

Poems About The Underground

I was surprised to find that poems on the underground were used to entertain travellers on the underground with poetry, both classical and modern, on universal themes such as love, rather than poems about the underground.

Poem About The Underground

By Irish poem Seamus Healey

Poem about the UK overground, London to Scotland, commissioned by the railway company pre second world war.

Night Mail by W H Ausen 1936 has the rhythm of the train. This is the first line

'This is the night mail crossing the border ...'

In the USA Poetry In Motion has produced poems in New York city, Washington DC, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Nashville and more cities, as you can see on the Poetry Society website.

You cn also buy books by featured famous American poets.

China

Chinese poems translated into English have appeared on London underground.

In 2017 The British Council organized poems in the English language in Shanghai and other major Chinese cities, as well as English poems translated into Chinese and Chinese poems translated into English..

FRANCE

Back in 1912 Ezra Pound wrote a poem about the Paris Metro, entitled 

In A Station Of The Mero.

The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.

My favourite poem about the Overground is Auden's. I've written my own poem about the underground.

 Brunel statue, Paddington station.

The trains are travelling round and round

The underground with their roar-in sound

The passengers are running up and down

The escalators to the underground

I love the hand-written signs

Which joke and meet and greet

And the kind souls who smile

And keenly offer me their seat

The posters give me information

Something new on every station

There's Sherlock Holmes, and Shakespeare, too

The Elizabeth line which shines brand new

With lifts which keep grandma beside

As escalator passengers ride

The safe glass doors, wide corridors

One of London's new joys for sure.

When overhead you might see rain

Waiting for buses in cold's a pain

Brunel's statue on the overground

Even more to see if you take the lift down.

Sherlock wears a deerstalker hat

I wonder if he has a map?

I'm sure he'll smile and never frown

If he finds himself on the Underground.

-ends-

Useful Websites

UK

poemsontheunderground.org

tfl.gov.uk/poems

https://arts.britishcouncil.org/projects/poems-underground

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Poems-Underground

USA

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poetry_in_Motion_(arts_program)

https://poetrysociety.org/poetry-in-motion

https://poetrysociety.org/poetry-in-motion/all

CHINA

https://www.britishcouncil.cn/en/about/press/british-council-launches-poetry-metro-five-chinese-cities

FRANCE

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_a_Station_of_the_Metro

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Borough Market Today And In History

 

Find your way today. Handy maps show you different types of food and drink outlets and places to visit.

 

Learn about the area's past.

I took a photo of this so that I could study it later. If you are reading this map on a phone or laptop you can make it larger. I scanned it with the help of a magnifying glass. You can see how the railway linked various stations and landmarks.

Southwark is south of the Thames. Blackfriars was named after friars wearing black clothes. 

Hawksmoor Steak House sells a book about the steak restaurants, their experiments with cooking, and their recipes. 

The luxury chocolate shop Le Chocolat offered us a free chocolate for each person. We also picked up a history of their chocolate shops in Paris and London, England.

The architecture is impressively grand, varied, stirking, with art deco parts, high yet somehow cosy, and at Christmas crowded. It is closed on Mondays according to Wiki but was open on pre-Christmas Monday when we went there.

Wiki handily tells you about its use as a film location. We heard announcements about beware of pickpockets. We took care not to have wallets in open backk pockets of jeans. Not to walk on the edge of pavements looking at phones, because thieves on motor bikes or ebikes could zoom up from behind you and grab your phone. All went well.

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Tarte Tatin and a tasty hotel

  Tarte Tatin is named after the Tatin sisters who ran a hotel with a restaurant. The hotel is still there. You can stay in the hotel. Eat Tart Tatin.  A side trip from Paris. 

You can read a book about the Tatin sisters. And find dozens of variations of the supposed recipe, which they never wrote down.

My family tried out a version. You make pastry and add apples and flavours. Oddly, you don't use cooking apples

Home cooked Tarte Tatin by Trevor Sharot. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

 because they disintegrate into a mush. The apples to use are eating apples which hold their shape. 

Useful Links

https://www.lamaisontatin.fr/en/

https://www.ipreferparis.net/2021/08/maison-tatin-.html

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Vinexpo Wine Paris Exhibition

 

Vinexpo, Paris, trade wine show, Feb 12-14. Photo by Trevor Sharot.

This show is for the trade, attended by wine producers around the world, those looking for distribution in other countries, hotels, restaurants and wine shops, big buyers and invenstors, and journalists who specialise in wine and spirits, beer, mixers and more. 

If you are not in the trade, or do not have the time or budget to attend, you can go to the website of the organizers, VINEXPO, or read in the trade journals, or local newspapers. 

Join the Bordeaux Crew, says the sign. Paris Vinexpo 2024. Photo by Trevor Sharot.

Useful Website

https://wineparis-vinexpo.com/

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Khalil Gibran - places to see in the USA, Armenia, Australia, Paris and Lebanon

He was born in the Lebanon, lived in France and the USA. He wrote in Arabic. His famous works include The Prophet.

He died in the USA. His paintings were donated by family to a museum in the USA.

He was buried in the Lebanon in a monastery bought by his family. 

What you can see where

USA

New York

Washington DC

The Memorial Garden has a bench with a statue of him along the top of a bench where you can sit and be photographed.

Monument on a wall by the embassy in Washington DC. USA

Boston, USA

France

Plaque in Paris, France

14 Avenue du Maine

Paris, France.

Artworks in a museum.

Lebanon

Memorial Garden in Beirut contains a bust.

Burial place in a monastery

Bust in Yerevan, Armenia

Useful Websites

http://www.gibrankhalilgibran.org/Museum/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kahlil_Gibran

https://www.tripadvisor.com.br/Attraction_Review-g303981-d324369-Reviews-Gibran_Museum-Bcharre_North_Governorate.html

https://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/people/foreigners/display/97941-gibran-khalil-gibran-#:~:text=The%20Portrait%20bust%20commemorates%20Lebanese%20poet%20Gibran%20Khalil,the%20Bankstown%20Library%20and%20Knowledge%20Centre%20in%202014.

https://bostonlitdistrict.org/venue/khalil-gibran-memorial/

ttps://today.lorientlejour.com/article/1341922/statue-tribute-to-khalil-gebran-to-be-installed-in-new-york.html

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kahlil_Gibran#

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The Romantic Story and Statues of Paul & Virginia in Mauritius and France

Mauritius is an island off the East coast of Africa, East of larger Madagascar. The rligion is largely Hindi with a large Indian poplation 

Languages spoken include English and French.

Paul and Virginia is a romantic novel about a couple whose first names is the title of the book. It was written when the author visited the island of Mauritius.

You can see a statue of Paul and Virginia if you visit Mauritius. it is in the Pamplemousses district. Pamplemousses is the French word for grapefruits. The statue is in the gardens of the St Francis Of Assissi church.

Another statue of the couple is in Paris.

Useful Websites

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamplemousses_District

Paris. Author above. The two lovers in his novel are below.

Two exhibitions hidden in Changi Airport, Singapore, Marvellous Monet, and cats in colour and cartoon style

 My family member was looking for a Starbucks for a coffee in Changi airport.

He pointed out something interesting. Starbucks is landside, at arrival. So when you get off and are waiting to be collected you can have a coffee. 

He was looking at the restaurant area, which is usually upstairs on the terrace. Beyond the restaurants he found a Monet exhibition. 

Claude Monet

Not originals but nonetheless very interesting. Paintings showed the different seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter. Plus Monet's comments. Although he is best known for his paintings of his garden, with the bridge over the water and the lily flowers floating, he painted many more subjects. 

The big surprise to me when I saw a Monet at the art gallery in Switzerland, was the size of it. The painting stretched wall to wall. I don't know how he painted it. He either had a huge studio, or did it in sections.

Monet's garden in France. 

Cats

Beyond that was another exhibition which would appeal to children. cats. Cats with clothes expressions like human beings. The artist is Louis Wain.

The largest collection of Claude Monet's impressionist paintings is in Paris, France. But you will find his paintings everywhere, from Boston to Buffalo and Washington DC and San Francisco in the USA, Tokyo in Japan, Cairo in Egypt, Switzerland, and many other countries.

Louis Wain led an extraordinary life, with touches of tragedy, and financial ups and downs, illness and mental illness in the family. He is credited with making cats popular as pets. 

Useful Websites

Musée Marmottan Monet (English: Marmottan Museum of Monet).

https://www.changiairport.com/en/discover/events-at-changi/monet.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_Marmottan_Monet

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_paintings_by_Claude_Monet

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Wain

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Electrical_Life_of_Louis_Wain

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Useful Websites

https://www.changiairport.com/en/discover/events-at-changi/monet.html

Statues of Emmeline Pankhurst, The Statue of Liberty and other famous women

Photos from Wikipedia
 

The statue of Emmeline Pankhurst is in Manchester, England, UK. Here are some others:

EUROPE

London, England

Florence Nightingale (London)

Mary Seacole (London, England)

Edith Cavell (London, England)

Amy Winehouse (Camden, London, England)

Noor Inayat Khan (Gordon Square, London, England)

Manchester

Emmeline Pankhurst (Suffragette)

France

Paris

Statue of Liberty replica (8)

Colmar, Alsace (and other cities in France: Germany: Norway: La Rioja, Spain; and worldwide including mini versions in model villages)

Americas

USA

New York

Statue of Liberty, New York (and replicas in Virginia; Colorado; Indiana)

Statue of Liberty

Useful Websites

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Liberty

https://www.invisiblewomen.org.uk/visible-women

Statues of Irish Authors To See Outdoors In Ireland: Brendan Behan, James Joyce, Oscar Wilde

 

Bust of William Butler Yeats, poet, at Sandymount, Ireland.

I remember at school in London, England, being taught Yeat's poem, whose line I recall as, 'tread softly, for you tread on my dreams'.

Brendan Behan, seated statue. Ireland.

Oscar Wilde statue, Ireland.

Oscar Wilde wrote the humorous play, The Importance of being Ernest. Wilde was a wit. When he was stopped at Customs, entering the USA, he said, I have nothing to declare except my genius. Wilde also inspired the wit of others.

In London he was talking to his friend, the painter Whistler. After Whistler made a witty remark, Oscar Wilde commented, I wish I had said that. Whistler retorted, You will, Oscar, you will.

Another Oscar Wilde statue is in London, England, near Trafalgar Square. His grave is in Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris, France.

James Joyce statue, Ireland. James Joyce, novelist, 1882-1941. Wrote Ulysses, set in Dublin, capital of Eire.

Useful Websites

A Tour of France - where to go? When?

 

The flag of France

Our friend has asked for advice on where to visit in France, by train, majoring on two locations. Her first thought was Paris and Alsace. She wants to be somewhere warm. On second thoughts she has struck off Paris and Alsace and because she like wine, she is heading south to Burgundy and Bordeaux.  

My family replied:

Yes, avoid Paris in August. Why? Because the restaurant owners and people head off to the cooler coast and the beaches when it is stifling hot in the city of Paris in August. 

However, do consider Alsace. It has beautiful scenery and architecture. It is also a renowned wine centre.

France is a huge country. Bordeaux on the west coast is a long way from Burgundy in the east. Bordeaux has vineyards spaces out along the banks of the river, all rather separate. You would want a whole week to do justice to Bordeaux. You cannot do the whole thing in half a day. The famous places are hard to visit unless you are on a guided tour, or guide yourself in a hire car.

Useful Websites

https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/coming-to-france/coming-to-france-your-covid-19-questions-answered/

Author

About the Author Angela Lansbury

BIOGRAPHY

Angela Lansbury B A Hons ACG ALB PM5 EH5 DL5 VC5 
The Author of several books including  Etiquette For Every Occasion. Wedding Speeches & Toasts. How to be the Best Man. Quick Quotations. Who Said What When.

Blogs travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com

dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com

translateforfun.blogspot.com

Braddell Heights Advanced Toastmasters Speakers Club Vice President Public Relations (VPPR), Previous President

Join BHA 1st Wednesday 7pm and 3rd Saturday 2 pm Singapore time 

Vice President Public Relations (VP PR) of Tampines Changkat Advanced;

Secretary of weekly online Singapore International Dynamic Toastmasters Speakers’ Club;

Member and past president of Harrovians toastmasters club, UK; Past member of HOD Toastmasters, London. Past member in Singapore of: Toastmasters Club of Singapore (TCS); Tiarel; and Senja Cashew.

More details from Toastmasters International find a club.

Regular attendee at annual Swanwick Writers’ School, England.

Regular attendee at annual Writers’ Holiday, Wales.

Contributor to poetry readings, and after tea courses on: Speaking On Radio To Promote Books; and Plots And Character.

Winner of many club and area speaking contests in the UK and Singapore.

Language advisor to Empire Toastmasters club in Indonesia.

Language and speech workshops in Singapore.

Speaker on radio and TV in England, Scotland, the USA, and Australia.

Compiler of a school course on public speaking for teachers to prepare pupils for school open days with attending ceremonies before government ministers, Singapore.

Former member of Harrow Writers’ Circle, London, and two writing groups in Singapore.

Angela is on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter. She would be delighted to link up with new friends.

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Books by Angela Lansbury
How to be the best man. (Ward Lock / Cassell.)
Wedding Speeches and Toasts.(Ward Lock / Cassell.)
Unforgettable British Weekends.
Poetry Workshop Workbook.
The Tailor and the Spy. (Lulu.)
Larry The Talking Labrador. (Lulu.)
Writing Poetry for fun.

Quick Quotations

Who Said What When

 

Museum of Inventions in Paris, France - the magic word in French is Metiers

This museum has displays on a pendulum, planes, and calculators.

Essential Information

60,rue Réaumur, 75003 Paris, France

Useful Websites

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_des_Arts_et_M%C3%A9tiers

Oscar Wilde's Sayings and statues

Reclining statue of  Oscar Wilde in London, England, by Trafalgar Square.

Oscar Wilde, Pere LaChaise Cemetery, Paris, France

Oscar Wilde, Merrion Square, Dublin, Ireland

 Oscar Wilde said, The best way to appreciate your job is to imagine yourself without one. 

How relevant to today.

His other famous sayings include: 

A poet can forgive anything but a misprint.

I have nothing to declare but my genius.

"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars".^[22

You can see statues of Oscar Wilde in Ireland, in England, and his monument in Pere LaChaise cemetery in Paris, France. I came across the statue in London by chance. A great photo opportunity. It started raining. So the seat got wet. I had a photo under an umbrella. The photographer knelt down to get in both me and the head of the statue. He got wet.

Useful Websites

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Wilde

About the Author

Angela Lansbury writes book of quotations and prepares quotations for table topics (subjects for impromptu speeches) for meetings of clubs which are part of Toastmasters International. 

Edith Piaf Museum and Tomb in France

 

Je ne regrette rien sang Edith Piaf. She wrote her own songs.

Edith Piaf wasn't just a singer. She was a songwriter. She had ups and downs in her life. The man who discovered her was killed by gangsters. A lover was killed in an aircrash. Her only daughter died aged two. She had three serious car crashes. 

On the other hand, she had Yves Montand, a host of famous friends, such as Charles Aznavour, and Marlene Dietrich who was matron of honour at Piaf's first marriage. Edith was enormously popular in life and after her death as her grave is one of the most visited in the cemetery.

She is buried in Pere Lachaise cemetery, the largest cemetery in Paris, France.

Useful Websites

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89dith_Piaf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_%C3%89dith_Piaf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A8re_Lachaise_Cemetery

About the Author

Angela Lansbury is a British author who has lived in the USA.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

Angela Lansbury teacher of English (advanced and English as a Second Language or English as a Foreign Language, French and other languages, aspiring polyglot.

Angela Lansbury, author and speaker. Member of many toastmasters  speaker training clubs and speaking contest judge.

Angela Lansbury, the author of 20 books including Wedding Speeches & Toasts, and Quick Quotations, has lived in the USA, Spain and Singapore. 

She  has several blogs and writes daily on at least two of the following:

travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com

dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com

translateforfun.blogspot.com

About the author Angela

Where to See Napoleon and Josephine

 

Young Napoleon.

1 CORSICA - Ajaccio

Napoleon was born in Corsica and a museum about him is in the capital, Ajaccio. Napoleon was not a poor unknown boy. His father had worked at the court of the king. The Bonapartes owned vineyards.

2 FRANCE

Vendome Column, Paris. A bit like Nelson's column. Based on one from ancient times.

Napoleon's tomb is in Les Invalides, Paris.

3 ELBA

Napoleon was exiled to Elba. the little island is off the west coast of Italy, on the way to Corsica, one might say. Not so little, actually. Napoleon was allowed a bodyguard of 600 men. 

They ordered in wine, made on the island. Napoleon is still the local hero. He renovated the mansion he lived in. He built roads and dealt with stray dogs.

His sister Paulina and the place she lived in were centres of attraction. She had objects and events such as a masked ball. Who would have thought exile could be such fun.

4 BELGIUM, Waterloo

Waterloo is near Brussels, the capital of Belgium, about ten miles or 15 kilometres away. I have been there. Just a field with a mound and a lookout point. 

5 ST HELENA

Napoleon died here. He was buried on the island. 

Two decades later his body was returned to mainland France to be buried in an accessible place and with honour.

Useful Websites

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empress_Jos%C3%A9phine

s://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Waterloo

https://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/Attractions-g202314-Activities-Elba_Island_Province_of_Livorno_Tuscany.html

https://www.visitelba.com/discover-elba/napoleon-on-elba/

https://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/Tourism-g1767153-St_Helena_Island-Vacations.html

About the Author

Angela Lansbury teacher of English (advanced and English as a Second Language or English as a Foreign Language, French and other languages, aspiring polyglot.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Member of many toastmasters  speaker training clubs and speaking contest judge.

Angela Lansbury, the author of 20 books including Wedding Speeches & Toasts, and Quick Quotations, has lived in the USA, Spain and Singapore. 

She  has several blogs and writes daily on at least two of the following:

travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com

dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com

translateforfun.blogspot.com

 Please share links to your favourite posts.

World's Best Vineyards - and a tipple or two

What makes the world's best vineyard? The one where you get the best photos? The tour which explains everything? The best lunch? The best shop selling souvenirs of scarves with grape designs, jewellery and items for yourself and friends? The tasting which tells you which wines to buy?

My favourites


USA California
Drive north from San Francisco


UK
London has tours of breweries and wineries and places producing spirits.

Drive from London.
Denbies. Outdoor tours in summer. Indoor tours. Must book. Huge busy place.

England has many more. Get a map and pick your favourite.

France
Champagne in Rheims.
Numerous tours in the Champagne region.
Drive from Paris


Spain
Rioja in the North. Drive from Santander.
Numerous establishments around the wine capital, all grouped around the old railway station.

Some surprise wines
For Jews who don't drink much wine

Sabra Chocolate orange liqueur

More details of my favourites
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2019/07/the-best-vineyards-to-visit.html

Official current awards
 https://www.worldsbestvineyards.com/
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-8521055/Worlds-50-best-vineyards-2020-named-years-Argentinian-winner-No1-overall-again.html

Travel and wine information

Victoriana Nursery
https://www.victoriananursery.co.uk/Grape_Vines/
top vineyards around the USA
https://www.travelandleisure.com/food-drink/wine/best-vineyards-yelp
visittheusa.co.uk
visitbritain.com
visitengland.com
https://www.denbies.co.uk/tours-and-experiences/
https://www.denbies.co.uk/events/forthcoming-events/

https://www.denbies.co.uk/
To learn languages to translate wine labeles
duolingo.com
memrise.com
translate google

https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2019/07/the-best-vineyards-to-visit.html
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2019/06/english-wine-white-sparkling-rose-and.html

About the Author
Angela Lansbury is a travel writer and photographer, based in the UK and Singapore. Her family has also lived in Spain, Switzerland and the USA.

See Oscar Wilde Statues and Quote his Sayings

One of my favourite statues in London is the one of Oscar Wilde.



Tomb of Oscar Wilde. Pere Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, France.

Oscar Wilde tomb, on the left of the photo, has glass arround it for the tributes from fans.

His last words were,
'Either I go, or the curtains go.'

He said to his friend, the painter, Whistler, 'I wish I had said that.'
Whistler replied, 'You will, Oscar, You will.'

On arriving in the USA, asked if he had anything to declare, Wilde replied, 'I have nothing to declare except my genius.'

His other great words were:
I can withstand anything except temptation.

The good end happily. the bad end unhappily. That is what fiction means.

Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.

No good deed goes unpunished.

I always travel with my diar. It is good to have somethin sensational to read on the train.


I love to quote Oscar Wilde at writing conferences and in my speeches at Toastmasters International Meetings.

Author Angela Lansbury
Online Toastmasters International Meetings
If you want to learn to speak the Queen's English, or Received Pronunciation. join me at my online toastmasters club,
Braddell Heights Advanced. Wednesdays, 7-9 Singapore time which is seven hours ahead of London, England.

https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=braddell%20heights%20advanced%20toastmasters
I am also a member of
Singapore Online.9-12 pm, Singapore time, Fridays. I am also a member of
Tampines Changkat Advanced.
Harrovians, Toastmasters Club, London.
Tiarel.toastmasters club, Singapore.

Toastmasters International Find a Club
https://www.toastmasters.org/find-a-club
https://books.google.com.sg/books?id=upSEBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA21&lpg=PA21&dq=quick+quotations
lulu.com/shop/angela-lansbury/who-said-what-when/paperback/product

See also
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2020/05/statues-and-saying-great-authors.html
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Chaim Soutine Museum in Minsk, Belarus

I was researching alliterations for my forthcoming ebook Improve your English, looking for an alliterative attraction in Belarus. I scanned down the sights of Belarus and Minsk and found a museum about the artist Soutine.

Okay, remind me. Who was Soutine? He was born in the Minsk are of Russia, now Belarus, of Jewish parents. His father was a taylor. Soutine studied art and worked in a photographic studio as a retourcher.

He went to Paris which was a centre for art and artists in those days and lived in an artist's colony with other famous artists.

At first he was short of money. Then a collector bought a large number of paintings and he was suddenly rich.

When the Nazis threatened to take over Paris he escaped south, and eventually went on the run. At one time he slept in the open in the forests.

This period of uncertainty lasted about two years. He eventually died of ulcers. When the bleeding got too bad, he risked returning to Paris for an operation. the operation was not successful. He died in the mid 1940s, aged 50.

Friend of Chagall.

Painted by Modigliani. The Modigliani portrait of Soutine is in the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, USA.

Soutine by Modigliani, in the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, USA.

Soutine, self-portrait, on long term loan to the Princeton University Museum of Art in New Jersey, USA.

Useful Websites
UK
Paris style restaurant in St Johns Wood, England.
https://www.soutine.co.uk/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaim_Soutine
BELARUS
Note that by in the website stands for Belarus
https://www.belarus.by/en/travel/belarus-life/sightseeing/tourist-attraction-minsk
https://soutine-smilovichi.by/

About the Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
I have many more posts about destinations, dances and decorations.
Please share links to your favourite posts

Watch out For Confusing Names: New York, Paris, Perth, London, Manchester, Columbus, But enjoy the associations

What can the map tell us? What can we learn from our travels?


Flag of the USA

New York
New York in the USA is named after York in England. When I first visited New York in the USA, I was puzzled by the fact that New York was often written as New York, New York. The City and the state have the same name. I have vivid memories of my first trip, walking down the spiral Guggenheim art Gallery, later reading about Guggenheim on the Titanic. I cheered myself up taking a bus tour, a Duck tour into the river, and sampling some Hersheys chocolate at an enormous shop.

York, over in England is a major attraction. Not just the large cathedral. You can walk around the city's impressive old defensive walls. York is small. The narrow alleys are full of dinky little shops, seling antiques and modern crafts. And a chocolate museum or two. Brits fondly remember Rowntrees of York.

New York in the USA has modern skyscrapers. What about history? Art deco buildings.

I once asked a girl at the World Travel Market in London, England, 'What would you say to British tourists who argue, 'I don't want to visit New York because it has no history; I would rather visit Greece!"?


Flag of Greece

She snapped, "I'd say, 'Come to New York. I have been to Greece. They have hundreds of years of history - but they still can't get the plumbing right!' "

I was glad I asked. I had not endeared myself to the PR girl, but I had received an interesting and amusing answer.

Let's move on around the map.

Paris, Texas
Paris, Texas, was named after Paris in France. It is easy to work that one out.

Manchester, Where?
When I lived in London, I was puzzled when I heard a song in a musical about Manchester, England. Nobody in England specifies that Manchester is in England. When I try to look up Manchester in Wikipedia, I immediately find myself on a page about Manchester United Football Club. But there is another Manchester, not in England.

London, England.
That is why you must add the country when addressing letters. I went from London, England, to live in the USA, and told people I was from London. My accent is British. Most people worked out that I was from London, England.










Flag of Canada, featuring the maple leaf.

London, Canada
However, several people asked me, "Are you from Canada?"
"No, England."
"So sorry."
"Never mind."

I didn't mind. The trouble only started when I left the USA to go back to England.

Stratford, Canada
When my family moved to the USA, we took several trips to Canada. We learned to add maple syrup to our porridge at breakfast time.

I vividly recall being in a hotel near Niagara and picking up a leaflet on Stratford and Shakespeare plays being performed that summer. I wondered why a Canadian hotel had leaflets about the UK. Then I discovered that Canda has a place called Stratford and a Shakespeare theatre season.

When I got back to the UK, American PR ladies would phone me and ask, "Have you received my invitation to visit our new hotel and nearby museum?"

I would answer, "No, I haven't. but thanks for calling me and telling me about it. I am in England right now. But I shall look you up next time I am in the USA."

Neither of us realised what had happened to the missing letters. Months later I received envelopes redirected from Canada.



Perth, Australia
After that I visited Australia. If you go to Australia, or just look on the map, or at the index to a map book or guide book, you will see that a city called Perth is in Scotland. Another Perth is in Australia. That is why you must add the country, when addressing letters. When you meet a man with a Scottish accent in Australia and ask where are you from, if he says Perth, you need to ask, "Perth in Australia or Perth in Scotland?"

Conclusion
The popular saying goes, the world is a small place. On the contrary, it is a big place. Big enough for your plane or letter or luggage or even you, yourself, to end up on the wrong continent. Watch those city names! Add the country name!

However, to look on the bright side, after you have been to both cities which sound alike, visiting either will draw your attention to the contrasts and their history. You can enjoy indulging in daydreams about the differences and associations. I think of New York and York. York had Rowntrees chocolate and New York has Hersheys chocolate. Ah!

!

About the Author
Angela Lansbury is a travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.