Highlights Of Canary Islands - Vineyards To Visit

 If you are considering spending a holiday, the winter, or all year in one of the Spanish speaking Canary Islands. What do the islands offer?

We visited Little La Palma and larger Tenerife this year. I have written about them in other blog posts. Now I am researching other islands for my next trip. What am I looking for:

1 Food and wine attractions - Wineries or wine museums to visit. Food museums. (Tenerife had a wine museum with a section on honey.)

2 Distinctive but affordable hotels. 

We stayed in the Parador by Mount Teide in the middle of Tenerife for two nights, and the Parador hotel on La Palma for about a week. The timings were constrained by the days and times of the Fred Olsen ferries from Tenerife to La Palma and back,Ryanair and international flights from Stansted in the UK to Tenerife's South Airport. Both Paradors were remote, isolated, but we had hired a car to tour the islands. 

3 A hotel with a swimming pool which is heated, and open in winter.

4 Natural attractions.

5 Shopping, factory visits, shops in hotels or nearby, shopping centres nearby.

6 Museums and attractions, especially writers or artists. 

Tenerife had the Agatha Christie city hillside steps with the names of her books one on the front of each step and a statue or bust at the top. 

La Palma had a museum about volcanoes. Whilst my husband was climbing the side of an now dormant volcano, I spent the day watching videos of the most recent volcano which when active destroyed many homes and part of the island but added land down by the sea on the side where the lava flowed.)

My research has added these items to my wishlist.

LANZAROTE

This post is being researched. Come back later today, and look for occasional updates.

Why Fly The Day Before Departure?

My family always allow a day or two on arrival and departure by flight or ferry or ship. You never know what delays you might encounter.

 Why fly the day before?

If you are on business, can you leave at the last minute and cut it fine?

You fly out for Xmas. then somebody aasks you to a New Year's Eve party.

Xmas flight on Singapore Airlines. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Business Trips

Better to fly out Friday night, rest at a hotel and go to work Monday morning. Only fly last minute if you are the prime VIP of the meetingg and it can be postponed if you are late. Then make sure you have paid a little extra for a refundable ticket if you have to change flights.

Useful Websites

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13814987/Family-heartbroken-watching-dream-8-500-cruise-leave-port-without-making-common-travel-mistake.html

Read the comments on this article

See Ireland In A Week With Five Drinks, Waterford glass and Limericks

Map of Ireland from Wikitravel.

Ireland is known as the land of saints and scholars, and called the emerald isle.

Problem
From Guinness to Galway. Where to go, what to do, how much can I do?

Answer
I and three friends have been to Ireland. Here's a one week tour:

Ferry
Drive to Liverpool and catch the ferry to Ireland. Which one?

The eight-hour ferry is cheaper and my friends chose that. But now my friends say next time they'll pay the extra for the shorter crossing about two and a half to three hours. My husband went to Ireland on business by ferry and was in a violent storm and was violently sick and instead of taking the ferry back insisted on flying home.

Guinness In Dublin
First stop is Dublin's Guinness Museum.
It's world famous. Even if you don't drink Guinness, take a tour. (Spell it with double n and double s.) What else is the family famous for? Guinness Book of Records.

Jameson Whiskey in Dublin
From beer to whisky, no, Irish whiskey, spelled with an e. Jameson's. They have one branch in Dublin, another is County Cork. Take a tour of James's whiskey factory. You get a certificate to prove you have done it. My friend hangs his framed in the downstairs cloakroom.

A certificate from Jameson. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

If Whiskey is too strong for you, go off for lunch and finish with Irish coffee or a Baileys Irish cream. Unfortunately, there's no tour for lovers of Baileys

.Irish coffee. Picture from Wiipedia.

Waterford
Tour the Waterford glass factory. You might be able to buy a glass for your whiskey.

Clonmel
Are you tired of touring? A fine four-star hotel, with a swimming pool and spa, (not cheap), might be your base.

Apple Cider

Apple Juice
"A small company showed us how they make their juice. Everything is thrown in and pressed. Out comes a cloudy apple juice.

Tipperary
You will recall the wartime song, It's a long way to Tipperary.

If you can't sing, you might hope to get the gift of the gab. For that yo go to Blarney Castle. If you are brave, you lean backwards over the parapet, with somebody holding your legs, and kiss the stone which is above you.

One friend said, "Noo, Thank you." He claimed, "I've already done it before."

I also declined. I don't think my insurance covers it. Think of all the bad things which could happen to the man holding my legs. He might get stung by a bee. Or struck by lightning.

Limerick
You have to send home a postcard or email with a poem about limerick, a limerick, don't you! You can have plenty of fun in a pub writing a limerick with the help of friends or even strangers who will soon become friends. You need only one word to rhyme with Limerick in the second line. The word Limerick can go at the end of the first and last lines. Any rhyme will do for the third and fourth lines.

There once was a tourist in Limerick
Who caught a bus from town real quick
Never alone, didn't want to go home
Because he had kissed the Blarney stone
On a side trip to Limerick.
By Angela Lansbury.

I have several rhyming dictionaries at home. The internet will do the same trick. After I looked up the potential rhymes for the word Limerick on the internet I found several more ideas, such as the word lovesick.

I'll improve on my first limerick:

A lovesick tourist in Limerick
Caught a bus to the town, real quick
After he kissed the Blarney stone
He was never alone, didn't want to go home
From the lovely girls in Limerick.

How about this:
I went as a tourist to Limerick
I ate so much good food that I was sick
The hotel called me a doctor quick
Ever so helpful, he was a brick
They're lovely and friendly in Limerick.
By Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

If you want to write a limerick, words which rhyme are:
airsick, Alnwick, antic, ballistic, bedtick, Berwick, boychick, brick, candlewick, cherrypick, click, Dick, drumstick, flick, knick, lick, lovesick, Mick, Nick, nonstick, pick, prick, quick rick, Rick, sic, sick, shtick, slapstick, slick, spick, stick, tick, tic, trick, thick, unpick, unstick, Warwick, wick, yardstick.

Belfast and The North
If you have more than a week and want to tour the whole of Ireland, the top of my must-see list is the award-winningTitanic Museum, Belfast. The north also has the Giants' Causeway and The Game Of Thrones tours.

Useful Websites
Amazon (for a Christmas gift of the Guinness Book of Records, a guide to Ireland or a rhyming dictionary)
www.amazon.com
www.amazon.co.uk
http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com
For Rhymes Online
https://www.morewords.com/ends-with/ick/
wikirhymer.com/words/sick
https://www.rhymezone.com/r/rhyme

FOR HOLIDAYS TO IRELAND
http://www.ireland-guide.com/ten-of-the-best/brewpubs-craft-brewers-and-cider-makers---10-of-the-best.11709.html

Guinness Storehouse and Brewery, Dublin
Beat the queues (Americans say lineups) with a pass, they say
https://www.dublinpass.com/dublin-attractions/guinness-storehouse

Waterford Crystal, Ireland
https://www.getyourguide.com/waterford-l1643/house-of-waterford-crystal-1-hour-factory-tour-

Jameson's Whiskey
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Products-g186605-d216616-Jameson_Distillery_Bow_St-Dublin_County_Dublin.html

Eire tourist board
http://www.ireland.com/en-gb/articles/jump-into-ireland/

http://titanicbelfast.com/Visitor-Info/
https://www.viator.com/Belfast-attractions/Titanic-Belfast-tours-tickets/
http://www.gameofthronestours.com
http://maggiecobbett.co.uk/general/across-the-irish-sea

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.

What to look for in Apples, Pears, Cider, Calvados and holiday drinks

Problem
What's the difference between apples, pears, and cider and Calvados? Where will I find them?

Answer
I used to love cider and drank it all the time as a low alcohol drink before I got into wine. Cider is not as popular, with me, and the public, as it once was. (Cider producers may say differently.) Nowadays supermarkets selling drinks and restaurants have a huge range of other items to offer, wines, beers, even bottled water, to compete for the customer's attention.

Travelling To England and France
Two great cider producing regions are southern England and Northern France. If you want to explore both, you can go across from England to France by ferry or train as a foot passenger or with a car, or fly or fly-drive. If you go to England and / or France you'll find a large range of ciders all over the countries of France and England but especially in supermarkets and restaurants in these regions.

Story
Singapore
You will find cider worldwide. In Singapore we never noticed it until we needed it. In Singapore we bought cider in a supermarket to make onion chutney. We had to buy a four pack of cider.

Calvados
If you can't decide which you want, apples or pears, or want both, Calvados is the drink for you.
Calvados is type of drink combining, blending, both apples and pears. One producer has to have a minimum of a certain amount of pear juice, whilst another is limited to a maximum!

In June 217 I received an email proudly announcing that an English cider had won an award. They say:

Devon-based Lyme Bay Winery’s newly rebranded Jack Ratt Sparkling Cider has received a Silver Medal in the Design and Packaging category at this year’s International Cider Challenge, an awards scheme which celebrates the best ciders across the globe.

Tips from Websites
English Tourist Board
French Tourist Board
Cider

(I am saving this draft because I have had trouble today publishing posts and want it uploaded whilst the server connection is working well. Come back for more information later.)
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have several previous posts giving more detail on cider. Please bookmark and share posts.

What to do in Fishguard: the ferry, beach, books on the sea, and sea life exhibition

Fishguard is a quaint two centre harbour and village, end of the train line, where the boat train meets the Ferry crossing to Ireland. Fishguard's fun is seeing the sea and learning about wildlife. As you walk along the front, watching children leap over the low rock, you are invigorated by the sea breeze and the sea smell, tangy, salty, sharp, evoking memories of seaweed, fishy.

The Tesco Express sells bottles of water and sandwiches for £1.10 and fruit packs if you want to go for a healthy walk. By the tills are books on the area, Wales, and wildlife.

Opposite Tesco, across the road, is a seafront path leading to a large glass-sided, two-storey building containing a cafe, gift shop and exhibition areas.
 The Information counter by the doorway has lots of leaflets and people to answer your questions. An exhibition with a tour guide for a small cost every hour or so is about sealife and has a video and aquariums.

The handy gift shop sells jewellery and scarves and items for making mould of sand, and books on birds, seabirds, insects, flowers, SAS survival.

Check out their second hand books for sale making money for the Ocean project.

Birds and books and fish and jewellery.

The bus doesn't run on Sunday. You will have to walk uphill to the Fishguard Bay hotel, where you can buy a bar lunch and read about the filming of Moby Dick and Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood.

If you really want to see the sea, you can take an afternoon trip to Ireland (Rosslare). If you are British or Irish you do not need a passport, just a drivelling license or utility bill. (Check the Stena site for up to date details.) The cost of the trip is only £5 for a foot passenger.

Next post will be about the tapestry and history.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer, author, speaker.
Author of twenty books, the latest being Larry the Talking Labrador.