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Showing posts with the label vineyards
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After Jolly’s Drive Inn , Heather, Teddy, and I drove back to West Chester, Ohio, to the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting. It was quite an impressive place, and we had a private tour with Bob. This non-profit is a museum constructed in the original Voice of America Bethany Relay Station. It was opened during World War II and operated from 1944-1994. In addition to the memorabilia and historic information provided on VOA, the rooms go on to explain how local Powel Crosley Jr.’s broadcasts led to his interest in investing in radio and television design. The stories within the walls as well as materials in the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting are fascinating. I strongly recommend finding time to visit this place. It is also wheelchair accessible. I had no problem wheeling through all of it. Our schedule had us back at the hotel for a two-hour rest, but as often happens on these media trips, we were running late all day. We just had enough time for me to put...

Donkeys, Olive Oil, and Smrikve Return – Day Two in Istria

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When we were heading to the Porer Lighthouse to spend the night, Goran, our Visit Istria guide had told us that the island had been rumored to be haunted. I don’t put much thought into those things, but there was a bit of doubt in logic by morning. At 12:45 am, all six of us in the lighthouse woke with a startle from the loud banging of doors and windows. At first I thought it was the wind, but then realized it was coming from two different directions. A few minutes after it stopped, an alarm started sounding. It quieted down for a bit, than the sequence started again about an hour later. The lighthouse keeper had no logical explanation except wind and, quite frankly, I was too tired from two nights of not sleeping to even care.  Lynn was ready quicky and I tried to get a little work done on my photos before we left. While I have to admit that staying in a lighthouse on a private island was intriguing, the actual place – with no air conditioning and these cre...

Day One Wine Exploration in Roussillon

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The weather was not cooperating the way we wished, with clouds and rain most of the day. It didn’t put a damper on my day as I had waited a long time to get to this area and was excited to be in the South of France. Eric Aracil, Export Manager, Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins du Roussillon , picked me up for a full day of wine tasting in the Roussillon region. He apologized for the weather and explained how unusual it was since this area actually gets 320 sunny days per year. I listened to him talk with pride as I enjoyed the beautiful landscape changing in front of the mountains. There were areas of green, but also many spots where it looked like the vines were growing right out of black! These are just a few of the things that make Roussillon unique from other French wine areas. Our first stop was at Domaine Piquemal , a family-owned winery that was now in the hands of the fifth generation, Marie Pierre Piquemal. She greeted us in the brand new building that now ...