The sins of progress have barely touched one of the world’s most prestigious wine regions. Once a sleepy, laid-back hideaway where the residents of Napa, Yountville, St. Helena and Calistoga smugly enjoyed the fragrant air, tended their vines, and quietly celebrated one of the planet’s most attractive setting, the valley today remains the home of farmers and winemakers working the land and vines hand-in-hand. Wineries are still mostly family-owned and operated, some appearing like grand estates plucked from the French countryside.

On weekends, visitors crowd Highway 29 and the Silverado Trail driving through the small 30-mile-long, seven-mile-wide Valley basin past thousands of acres of vineyards with more than 400-plus wineries, and 37 tasting rooms in the town of Napa alone. Napa Valley is interspersed with a wonderland of Victorian architecture, historical stone buildings, grand old landmarks, and expansive chateaus and estates. The gently rolling hills, with their mosaic of soil and climate conditions, obsessively test neatly planted vines. Above and beyond them, the inspiring mountain ranges are often swathed with drifting clouds that play hide and seek with the vineyards.

Virtual Yountville

To visit the petite Napa Valley town of Yountville is to take pleasure in the Napa Valley high life. In 1839, George Yount was the first to plant grapes in the Napa Valley, the first to tap the potential of Napa Valley vines, perhaps not even realizing he was establishing the foundation for a world-renowned grape region. However, after his death in 1867, the town of Yountville took its name from the early pioneer tying the town’s fortunes to the success of Yount’s vines. Yountville is tucked in and around a spectacle of vineyards and hillside in a graceful, time-honored panorama. It seems as if everyone knows everything about everyone in Yountville, including what he or she had for dinner and if the wine was red, white, or bubbly.

Residents laugh, “Everyone who lives here is right up the road. We’re a small town with a big heart, and without a touch of pretension. We have the amenities of a large city without the annoying temperament.” They might be right. Yountville is without traffic signals, only a scattering of stop signs, and no gaudy fast food joints or blazing neon lights. In their place, they have specialty shops, wineries, and chefs to keep taste buds humming at restaurants that include the famed French Laundry, a three Michelin-star restaurant once called “the best restaurant in the world, period” by none other than Anthony Bourdain.

Nearby Napa

Napa, a scenic nine-mile drive from Yountville and the gateway to Napa Valley is a winemaker’s sanctuary. Mark Herold, recognized among Napa Valley’s top winemakers having consistently produced world-class wines said, “Napa is a wonderful little town with a community feel and we’re doing better than most. There is no competition among winemakers. We’re all in it together. We know each other and what everyone is producing. Napa is a hard-working town with climate change a challenge. But if Las Vegas never sleeps, Napa is a city that does sleep.”

Napa is brick-to-brick along First Street with one-of-a-kind boutiques, upscale shopping choices, enough tasting rooms for a train load of wine aficionados, and a collection of talented chefs from throughout the world. The Napan’s dine at Bistro Don Giovanni’s on creative Italian cuisine in a large, leafy patio overlooking a dark green field of vines, with a wine list that takes a few minutes to comprehend.

Sleeping Arrangements

R Inn Napa

New on the Napa sleeping scene is the stylish R Inn Napa, tucked away in the heart of downtown Napa. Sean Heffran and family, with great attention to detail, have created a distinctive boutique property modeled after small European hotels. Totally unique to Napa, the R Inn is a perfect fit for those wishing to explore the delights of downtown.

The artistic Heffran family converted a historic hundred-year-old building into an urban oasis with five loft suites, ten stylish rooms, and a spacious two-bedroom bungalow with full kitchen, serene for a romantic rendezvous. Keypad door codes, baths with heated stone floors, open European showers, deep soaking tubs, heated Toto washlet bidet toilets, and adjustable beds, grace the sleeping rooms while a European style courtyard with a large vintage sign from a salon in the south of France sets the mood. An attractive ten-seat dining room is ideal to enjoy the creativity of Napa chef’s. Complimentary breakfast is served on weekends with open access to the pantry 24-7.

Black Bird Inn

Gifted Scott Warren, possessing all the genius of a master craftsman, purchased a vacant 1910 home just steps from downtown in a verdant, homey neighborhood once known as Millionaires Row. The home was greatly in need of renewal, and Warren spent six long years meticulously recreating the craftsmanship of the 1800’s.

Entering the Inn’s finely designed front door with its brass door handle and gorgeous, inlaid cut glass takes one a step back to the 1890’s to enjoy museum-quality talent based on the famed architects Greene and Greene and others. Warren said, “When I first purchased the property people thought I was crazy. It was a labor of love. I felt I had the opportunity to create a lost art. During the six years I had trouble sleeping, ideas were flowing through my head day and night. I worked with redwood, mahogany, white oak, ebony and hickory, but no pine.”

Warrren has created a stunning showcase crafting the furniture with gorgeous wood, Napa leather, and skillfulness that urges one to gently rub the finish following the grain. Warren also purchased a bungalow directly behind the Inn and with his two Airedale dogs, restored the bungalow to its original 1890 splendor. The Inn offers eight individually decorated rooms with Green and Green style bathrooms, the Finch Guest House with four rooms, all with their own bathrooms, some with private patios, a fireplace and bathtubs.

When You Go

Complementary full breakfast and evening wine and canapes, parking space directly behind the Inn. By chance you might meet Scott Warren who has retired his craftsman tools and taken up gardening along with two new Airedales.

The R Inn Napa is a relaxing and calm oasis, and an ideal booking to rejuvenate the spirit. No smoking, no pets and no children under age 18. Visit the R Inn Napa

The Black Bird Inn offers complementary full breakfast and evening wine and canapes, parking space directly behind the Inn. By chance you might meet Scott Warren who has retired his craftsman tools and taken up gardening along with two new Airedales. Visit the Black Bird Inn Napa

Visit Mark Herold Wine.

The post Napa Valley A Winemaker’s Sanctuary appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Question: In the Lennon/McCartney composition, ‘Don’t Let Me Down,’ who is John singing to?

Scroll down for the answer

Random Acts of Canine Kindness

Cedric the Dog takes a well-deserved break after an ill fated attempt to shut down a white supremacist rally in Idaho.

You want a friend in Washington? Get a dog. – Harry S. Truman

MORE Dog Quotations

France’s Fascinating ‘Wine Treatment’

Courtesy Melissa Banigan

In Strasbourg’s Hôpital civil, a bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape would be prescribed for bloating, while a Côtes de Provence rosé was used to treat obesity.

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Puerto Rico Tops the List Of Most Popular Flight Destinations From the USA

New data obtained by a flight-comparison site has revealed the most popular flight destinations searched for from the USA, with the San Juan Luis Muñoz Marin Airport in Puerto Rico emerging as the most popular destination for 2019.

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Chicago Summer Festivals: The Ultimate Guide

In Chicago, fest season is the best season. The city’s social calendar is packed with street fairs, music festivals, pop-up markets, outdoor concerts, food fests, and more all summer long. Don’t miss a beat with this handy guide that covers the best Chicago fests happening each month. Start making your weekend plans now.

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Best Obscure French Gastronomic Restaurants

Courtesy  Anthony Peregrine, The Telegraph

Here are six slightly obscure French destinations with a surprising number of gastronomic restaurants.

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5 Dangerous Hotel Habits You Can Break Today

Courtesy Joe Cortez

Many travelers believe their hotel rooms to be one of the safest places they can find while abroad. The hotel room becomes an immediate home away from home, giving travelers license to drop their guard as if they were in their own bedrooms. However, what they don’t realize is danger always lurks right around the corner — even in hotel rooms around the world.

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Why Adventure Travel Professionals Must Care About Overtourism

Overtourism has become a buzzword of sorts in the travel and tourism industry, but understanding its complexities is the first step in addressing it. We recently shared insights about what exactly overtourism is and why it is a growing phenomenon in our professional sector. To further the discussion about how to tackle this challenge, we want to share our thoughts about why everyone working in the adventure travel industry must be proactive in preventing its further growth.

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The NOAA Marine Debris Program

Earth Day has come and gone, but that doesn’t mean good habits have to go away too! You can keep up the momentum, reduce your waste footprint, and do good for our planet, no matter where you are.

MORE

Alabama Voted As The State Americans Would Least Like To Fly To

Courtesy 10 Yetis Digital

New research has found that Alabama is the state Americans would like to fly to the least, with 35% of Americans saying they wouldn’t fly there, with Nevada and New York making up the rest of the top three. California, Hawaii and Vermont were voted most desirable.

MORE

Beatle Beat Trivia Answers

Question: In the Lennon/McCartney composition, ‘Don’t Let Me Down,’ who is John singing to?

Answer: Yoko Ono, natch’.

 

“Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art”

By John Keats

Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art—
Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night
And watching, with eternal lids apart,
Like nature’s patient, sleepless Eremite,
The moving waters at their priestlike task
Of pure ablution round earth’s human shores,
Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask
Of snow upon the mountains and the moors—
No—yet still stedfast, still unchangeable,
Pillow’d upon my fair love’s ripening breast,
To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,
Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,
Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,
And so live ever—or else swoon to death.

Send Deb your favorite travel poems

10 Safety Mistakes Women Shouldn’t Make When Traveling Alone

Courtesy  Caroline Morse Teel, SmarterTravel

Solo travel can be exhilarating, freeing, and helpful in learning new things about yourself. But solo travelers, especially females, can also be more vulnerable while alone on the road. We spoke to some solo women travel experts who shared their top safety mistakes to avoid when traveling alone.

MORE

Chinese Tourism to US Declines For First Time in 15 Years

Data from the National Travel and Tourism Office found travel from China to the U.S. fell 5.7 percent in 2018 to 2.9 million visitors. It marked the first time since 2003 that Chinese travel to the U.S. slipped from the year prior, The Associated Press reported.

MORE

Customer Satisfaction in Airline Travel

A combination of newer planes, better ticket value, and improved customer touchpoints have driven overall satisfaction with airlines to its highest point in history.

Following are some of the key findings of the 2019 study:

MORE

Pickpocket-Proof Clothing: 10 Garments to Protect Your Stuff

Courtesy Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon

Nothing sours a trip like having your belongings stolen by a pickpocket. But chances are, if you travel frequently — or just happen to be unlucky — a sticky-fingered stranger will one day secretly separate you from your stuff. Since traveling sans cash, credit cards, and other valuables isn’t an option for most of us, I’ve rounded up a passel of pickpocket-proof clothing and accessories that’ll make you less of a target for thieves.

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Close Encounters of the Near-Death Kind

Courtesy Richard Collett

It was a hot, humid day in Manila, and I was sat on the rooftop of my hotel, five floors high, working on my laptop and enjoying the occasional sea breeze that flew in from the bay.

MORE

National Enquirer Theme Park Opens

National Enquirer Live! has opened in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. Among the exhibits is a re-creation of the 1997 fatal car crash of Diana, Princess of Wales. Another National Enquirer Live! is coming to Branson, Mo., in late June. And no, we’re not kidding… PS, remind me to miss it.

MORE

How to Complain Effectively at a Hotel

Courtesy Charlyn Keating

Demand satisfaction when you have a valid complaint

MORE

The One Country Where Anthony Bourdain Refused to Film an Episode

Courtesy, Marissa Laliberte, Reader’s Digest

The late Anthony Bourdain was world-famous for breaking down barriers to other countries’ cuisines, showing the world why you shouldn’t fear the unfamiliar. He rarely shied away from any crazy food choices (he once ate a still-beating cobra heart in Vietnam), but he did refuse to visit one surprising country. You’ll be surprised by the answer.

MORE

The post French Wine Treatment, Women Traveling Solo appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Random Acts of Canine Kindness

Cedric the Dog takes a well-deserved break after an ill fated attempt to shut down an illegal puppy mill in Idaho.

You want a friend in Washington? Get a dog. – Harry S. Truman

MORE Dog Quotations

New Billion Dollar Cruise Ship to Dubai in Anti-Pirate ‘Safe Haven’ Lockdown

Courtesy Logistics Middle East Staff

Lights out after dark, curtains and shutters closed, exterior decks restricted and armed security guards patrolling the ship – how brand new $960-million Spectrum of the Seas mega cruise ship is protecting itself against pirates on the way from Europe to the Middle East.

MORE

Question: In the Lennon/McCartney composition, ‘A Day in the Life’ John sings ‘I saw a film today, oh boy.’ Name the film.

Scroll down for the answer

Alabama Voted As The State Americans Would Least Like To Fly To

Courtesy 10 Yetis Digital

New research has found that Alabama is the state Americans would like to fly to the least, with 35% of Americans saying they wouldn’t fly there, with Nevada and New York making up the rest of the top three. California, Hawaii and Vermont were voted most desirable.

MORE

Spain May Officially Say Goodbye to Siesta Hour

For travelers, the implications are varied — but significant.

By Nikki Ekstein, Travel+Leisure

Just as nap pods are becoming a thing in the American workplace, Spain is calling a quits to its famous siesta hour. According to a flurry of news reporting coming out of Europe, the country’s Prime Minister has proposed legislation that will nix the daytime break for once and for all. What does it mean for travelers? A few things, actually.

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The One Country Where Anthony Bourdain Refused to Film an Episode

Courtesy, Marissa Laliberte, Reader’s Digest

The late Anthony Bourdain was world-famous for breaking down barriers to other countries’ cuisines, showing the world why you shouldn’t fear the unfamiliar. He rarely shied away from any crazy food choices (he once ate a still-beating cobra heart in Vietnam), but he did refuse to visit one surprising country. You’ll be surprised by the answer.

MORE

Spring into Summer with Dignity Travel

Dignity Travel is committed to providing easy and accessible international tours for people who have difficulties walking or use a wheelchair. Our tours and services are designed to provide unique experiences while also delivering accessible accommodations, transportation and sightseeing opportunities. Our intimate group tours make sure that you have a worry-free travel experience, presented in a dignified, fun and adventurous manner. Our groups are hosted by one or more of our staff members and individual travel companions. There is always a host to assure your travel arrangements go as planned, provide a push of your wheelchair or assist you with any other needs you might have.

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Incredible Story of Only Man to Survive Titanic Disaster AND the Sinking of the Lusitania

Courtesy Ed Riley for Mailonline

A family has revealed the incredible story of the only sailor to survive the Titanic and the Lusitania disasters. George Beauchamp is the sole person to escape with his life from the two worst maritime disasters of the 20th century, according to relatives. Nearly 75 years ago, he revealed this startling line to his family:  “I’ve had enough of large ships.”

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Cultural Mistakes to Avoid Traveling Abroad

Tipping, touching, and pointing can get travelers in trouble very quickly

Courtesy Joe Cortez

One of the biggest mistakes rookie travelers make is assuming that cultural norms around the world are very much aligned with their home country. As a result, new adventurers often end up in trouble with the locals simply due to the fact that they did not understand that a simple gesture – like a handshake, a tip, or even pointing – is looked down upon.

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How to Do Laundry on Vacation (No Laundromat Required)

Courtesy: Caroline Morse Teel

If you want to travel light and still be clean, you should know how to do laundry on vacation. But no one wants to spend precious travel time at a laundromat or pay exorbitant fees for hotel laundry service. Here are some quick, easy, and cheap ways to wash your clothes while traveling.

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This Top-Rated North Carolina Restaurant is Actually at a Gas Station

Courtesy Catherine Smith

People rarely rave about the meals they eat at gas stations, but that is not the case in Franklin, North Carolina. Hungry diners – locals and tourists alike – happily line up in the Hot Spot gas station parking lot, waiting for a table at Caffe Rel, a European bistro offering a one-of-a-kind culinary experience.

MORE

10 Walking Mistakes You May be Making

Courtesy Wendy Bumgardner

Walking is great exercise: It’s easy on joints and doesn’t require special gear or a gym membership. There’s more to an effective walking workout than simply putting one foot in front of the other though. Learn how to correct these common trip-ups.

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15 Surprising Things TSA Allows Past Airport Checkpoints

By Benet Wilson

Some items — like guns (real or replica), large scissors and flammable liquids — are never allowed. But the agency continues to make changes when it comes to what can get past the checkpoint.

Below are 15 surprise items you can actually take past the checkpoint. But in case you still have questions, you can take a photo of the item and send it to either AskTSA on Facebook Messenger or via Twitter. Staff are online with answers from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET during the week and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends and holidays

MORE

 

Hitchhiker

By Jack Kerouac

‘Tryna get to sunny Californy’ –
Boom. It’s the awful raincoat
making me look like a self-defeated self-murdering imaginary gangster, an idiot in a rueful coat, how can they understand my damp packs – my mud packs –
„Look John, a hitchhiker’
„He looks like he’s got a gun underneath that I. R. A. coat’
‘Look Fred, that man by the road’ „Some sexfiend got in print in 1938 in Sex Magazine’ –
„You found his blue corpse in a greenshade edition, with axe blots’ 

Send Deb your favorite travel poems

Beast From the East: Indian Soldiers Reckon They’ve Found Yeti Footprints

Courtesy Devjyot Ghoshal

Mountaineers from the Indian army on a expedition in Nepal have found mysterious large footprints in the snow that they think belong to the Yeti, or the abominable snowman, the military said on Tuesday. Largely regarded by the scientific community as a myth, the Yeti is part of Nepali folklore and is said to live high in the snow-capped Himalayas.

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How to Travel the World for Free

How to Become a World Traveler for Next to Nothing

Courtesy Stacy Fisher

Being able to travel the world for free might sound like an unreachable dream, but you can make it a reality if you know where to look. These are practical ways on how to travel the world for free, or at least next to nothing. They include getting a job overseas, volunteering, and spending some time with the locals. Some require some education or experience but most opportunities are open to anyone who’s looking for an adventure.

MORE

The NOAA Marine Debris Program

Earth Day has come and gone, but that doesn’t mean good habits have to go away too! You can keep up the momentum, reduce your waste footprint, and do good for our planet, no matter where you are.

MORE

Leadership Lessons from Wild Rice

Dr. Kathleen Allen

In my last blog What if Leadership Exists in Abundance, I invited people to imagine an abundance instead of scarcity of leadership. If we believed leadership could occur throughout our organizations and communities, would we have higher expectations of our leaders? If there were plenty of good leaders to choose from, would we stop following leaders if they didn’t live up to the expectations of serving the organization and communities above their own interest?

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An Overview of the Lines

Cruise Line Showdown: Comparing Carnival, Disney and Royal Caribbean for Families

Courtesy Gene Sloan, The Points Guy

You might assume Disney is the Hercules of family cruising — the all-powerful competitor with no rival. But in the cruise world Disney is still somewhat of a niche player. With just four ships compared to the 52 operated by family cruise giants Carnival and Royal Caribbean, Disney is like the cruising equivalent of Olaf from “Frozen” — a bit secondary to the plot, if still much beloved. In terms of passenger capacity, Disney is barely a tenth the size of Royal Caribbean alone, and it doesn’t offer nearly as diverse an array of home ports and itineraries.

MORE

How to Complain Effectively at a Hotel

Courtesy Charlyn Keating

Demand satisfaction when you have a valid complaint

MORE

Costa Expands Food Donation Program with Costa Fortuna

Surplus food not served aboard the ships is collected and distributed to local organizations that support people in need. Launched in Savona on July 22, 2017, the project currently operates in Italy, in the ports of Savona, Civitavecchia, Bari and Palermo, and has been exported as an Italian “best practice” to France and Spain, in Marseilles and Barcelona and, since last December, in Guadeloupe and Martinique as well, according to a prepared statement.

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Nude Resort Etiquette Rules You Need to Know

Courtesy Patricia Magaña

Aside from a few key considerations, nude resort etiquette is general resort etiquette. There’s also the fact that most everyone is naked. Skip the potential awkwardness at a clothing-optional experience and go with an open mind, plus these helpful tips.

Dont’ stare

Nude resort newbies may experience initial shock at the sight of a sea of nakedness. It’s fine to look. What is not OK, however, is to stare. You’ll quickly get the hang of it, but if you’re not used to engaging in eye-contact and conversation with someone who’s totally exposed, wear sunglasses whenever appropriate.

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Burping Is Good Manners & 25 Other Global Etiquette Surprises

Courtesy The Daily Meal Staff

In Italy, Never Order A Cappuccino After A Meal

When you’re dining the Italian way, be sure to order an espresso or a coffee after a meal. Do not order a cappuccino, as Italians believe milk beverages slow down digestion.

Inuit Tribes: Passing Gas

You’re probably not visiting any Inuit tribes soon, but it’s interesting to know that this culture shows appreciation through… flatulence? Yup, a good meal is praised by letting one rip afterward.

MORE Global Etiquette Surprises

Beatle Beat Trivia Answers

Question: In the Lennon/McCartney composition, ‘A Day in the Life’ John sings ‘I saw a film today, oh boy.’ Name the film.

Answer: Richard Lester’s ‘How I Won the War,’ which featured Lennon in a dramatic role. It was his third film with Lester. The other two: ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ and ‘Help!’

The post Yeti, Anthony Bourdain, Dubai Pirates appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Random Acts of Canine Kindness

Cedric the Dog takes a well-earned break after organizing a protest at an alt–right Neo-Nazi rally in Oklahoma.

Dog Quotations

The World’s First Floating Space Hotel is Launching in 2021

Are you always looking for something a little different when it comes to travelling? Well, booking a “room” in a hotel that floats in space would probably be right up your street.

Robert Bigelow, a billionaire hotel mogul, has announced plans to launch just that.

The 72-year-old says a ‘B330’ line of space stations, advertised as ‘fully autonomous standalone space.

MORE

New Music Celebrity Site Features Unseen Photos & Trivia

See Music Celebrity Site

Three Iconic Brands Partner to Create a Whiskey Lover’s Dream Gift

Ashford Castle, Midleton Rare Whiskey and Waterford Crystal Produce the Perfect Blend

Ashford Castle, Ireland’s 800-year-old quintessential castle hotel, has announced a new and exciting partnership with Midleton Very Rare Whiskey and Waterford Crystal to launch a bespoke cask specifically for Ashford Castle, along with crystal whiskey tumblers and carafe bearing the Ashford logo.

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Drive from Ireland to Scotland by Bridge?

Just a matter of hours after Boris Johnson announced that it was possible to build a bridge crossing the English Channel from England to France a leading architect has suggested that a bridge from Ireland to Scotland is feasible at a fraction of the cost to the England/France connection.

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Airlines Inching Closer to Dynamic Pricing

Courtesy Robert Silk

Imagine if airlines could tailor fare offers based on who was making the ticket inquiry, rather than strictly on the search criteria. Well, industry technology and revenue-management experts say those days are fast approaching.

MORE

Anthony Bourdain’s Most Interesting Places to Eat in America Right Now

Despite getting his start in kitchens, as painstakingly detailed in his memoir Kitchen Confidential, Anthony Bourdain will be the first person to say he doesn’t have much of an interest in restaurants, at least not in the conventional sense.

MORE

Hands down, this Canadian gem is our pick for the most hilarious, madcap travel show on the cybersphere.

Here’s a look back as the Travel Guys take on Santa Rosa.

WATCH the VIDEO

Every Berlin Neighborhood You Need to Know

Courtesy Erin Porter

Once made up of many small villages, Berlin is a sprawling city that can be confusing to travelers. Each of its twelve districts has its own feel and personality, so here’s what to keep in mind.

MORE

“Games of Thrones”-Themed Ice Hotel Opens in Finland

A “Game of Thrones”-themed ice hotel complete with a bar and a chapel for weddings has opened in northern Finland in a joint effort by a local hotel chain and the U.S. producers of the hit TV series.

MORE

Countries Difficult for Americans to Visit

In spite of broad generalizations that Americans have no interest in leaving their own borders, US citizens are traveling abroad in record numbers. According to the US National Tourism Office, nearly 67 million Americans chose to take an international trip in 2016. The world may be our oyster, but some countries impose harsh visa requirements that may hinder American tourism.

MORE

Beatle Beat Trivia Answers

Please Please Me is the first Beatles single to hit the number one slot in the United Kingdom. The Fab Four’s debut studio album, also titled Please Please Me, was rush-released by Parlophone on 22 March 1963 to capitalize on the success of their singles “Please Please Me” (No. 1) and “Love Me Do” (No. 17).

Listen to an early version here

Beatle Beat Trivia

Name the first Beatles single to hit #1 in the UK?

Answer Below

When on Safari, Always Best to Check Your Air Filter in the Morning

See African Air Filter here:

Easter, 1916

By William Butler Yeats

I  have met them at close of day
Coming with vivid faces
From counter or desk among grey
Eighteenth-century houses.
I have passed with a nod of the head
Or polite meaningless words,
Or have lingered awhile and said
Polite meaningless words
And thought before I had done
Of a mocking tale or a gibe
To please a companion
Around the fire at the club,
Being certain that they and I
But lived where motley is worn:
All changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born

That woman’s days were spent
In ignorant good-will,
Her nights in argument
Until her voice grew shrill.
What voice more sweet than hers
When, young and beautiful,
She rode to harriers?

MORE

Carnival Fascination Returns to San Juan

Courtesy  Tom Stieghorst

San Juan has regained its homeported Carnival Cruise Line ship, five months after Hurricane Maria knocked the Carnival Fascination out of the market.

The 2,056-passenger Fantasy-class ship was chartered to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for use by relief workers in St. Croix for several months after the storm while Carnival repaired damage to its terminal in San Juan.

The 24-year-old ship then went into a drydock to be upgraded before returning to cruising duty.  Several Funship 2.0 restaurants were installed during the drydock, including Guy’s Burger Joint, the BlueIguana Cantina and Bonsai Sushi Express. Bar concepts new to the ship will be the Alchemy Bar, the RedFrog Rum Bar and the BlueIguana Tequilla Bar. The candy store Cherry on Top was also retrofitted to the ship.

The Fascination will depart San Juan on Sundays for seven-day round trip voyages stopping in St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Kitts, St. Thomas and St. Maarten.

“Out of this World” First-Ever Space Festival Coming to Las Cruces, New Mexico

It’s time to have fun and enjoy the accomplishments and importance of space in Las Cruces and the surrounding community. To celebrate all things space, volunteers have come together to create New Mexico’s first ever Space Festival.

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Cruise Cools to China

Courtesy  Tom Stieghorst

The cruise industry’s gold rush to China, if not over, has entered a new phase: For the first time in at least four years, cruise capacity in China will not grow in 2018.

MORE

Discover Your Adventure Personality

Quiz Matches Your Personality To Dream Vacation

Royal Caribbean and the personality experts at CPP-The Myers-Briggs® Company have teamed up to help travelers discover what excites, rejuvenates and fulfills them most on vacation. Adventure for some means zooming down zip lines or traversing mountains – and for others it means exploring exotic cuisines, or making new friends in faraway places. Take this personality quiz, and find out what’s your adventure vibe!

Take the Quiz here

Time Capsule Cinema

Z – A Look Back

By Walt Mundkowsky

Costa-Gavras’ Z predisposes one to admire it, as the first film to indict the brutal military regime in Greece; in fact, the music by the long-imprisoned Mikis Theodorakis had to be smuggled out of the country.

MORE

Shaq Fits the Fun Ship Brand

Former basketball star Shaquille O’Neal is now Carnival’s newly-named Chief Fun Officer. Yes, Shaquille O’Neal. Of course it makes sense for he embodies the kind of people Carnival wants on its ships: social, happy and a tad goofy around the edges.

MORE

Around the World with Carry-on Luggage Only

Jill Paider travels around the world with only a carry-on suitcase. Here are her top tips for packing light.

MORE

The post Humor, Facts & Stats, Trivia and More appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Anthony Bourdain’s Most Interesting Places to Eat in America Right Now

Despite getting his start in kitchens, as painstakingly detailed in his memoir Kitchen Confidential, Anthony Bourdain will be the first person to say he doesn’t have much of an interest in restaurants, at least not in the conventional sense.

MORE

Countries Difficult for Americans to Visit

In spite of broad generalizations that Americans have no interest in leaving their own borders, US citizens are traveling abroad in record numbers. According to the US National Tourism Office, nearly 67 million Americans chose to take an international trip in 2016. The world may be our oyster, but some countries impose harsh visa requirements that may hinder American tourism.

MORE

Beatle Beat Trivia

In the ‘The Beatles: A Hard Day’s Write” by Steve Turner (2017), John Lennon claimed there were two songs which were recycled from previous Beatle songs:

Anytime At All

Yes It Is

Name the previous songs in which they were based.

(answers below)

Every Berlin Neighborhood You Need to Know

Courtesy Erin Porter

Once made up of many small villages, Berlin is a sprawling city that can be confusing to travelers. Each of its twelve districts has its own feel and personality, so here’s what to keep in mind.

MORE

“Games of Thrones”-Themed Ice Hotel Opens in Finland

A “Game of Thrones”-themed ice hotel complete with a bar and a chapel for weddings has opened in northern Finland in a joint effort by a local hotel chain and the U.S. producers of the hit TV series.

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Shaq Fits the Fun Ship Brand

Former basketball star Shaquille O’Neal is now Carnival’s newly-named Chief Fun Officer. Yes, Shaquille O’Neal. Of course it makes sense for he embodies the kind of people Carnival wants on its ships: social, happy and a tad goofy around the edges.

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It Sifts from Leaden Sieves

A winter poem by Emily Dickinson

It sifts from leaden sieves,
It powders all the wood,
It fills with alabaster wool
The wrinkles of the road.

It makes an even face
Of mountain and of plain, —
Unbroken forehead from the east
Unto the east again.

It reaches to the fence,
It wraps it, rail by rail,
Till it is lost in fleeces;
It flings a crystal veil

On stump and stack and stem, —
The summer’s empty room,
Acres of seams where harvests were,
Recordless, but for them.

It ruffles wrists of posts,
As ankles of a queen, —
Then stills its artisans like ghosts,
Denying they have been.

Send Deb your favorite travel poems.

An analysis of It Sifts from Leaden Sieves

Here’s How Being in Power Messes With Your Brain, According to Science

From the bully on the playground to the big-wig in the corner office, power dynamics are everywhere in our lives.

Courtesy Hilary Brueck, BUSINESS INSIDER

A flood of allegations that powerful men in media, politics, and tech have been abusing their positions of power and preying on those below them have surfaced in recent months. High-profile figures including Harvey Weinstein, President Donald Trump, Kevin Spacey, Matt Lauer, Roy Moore and, Senator Al Franken and have been accused of various kinds of unwanted advances, including exposing themselves to co-workers and employees, groping, and rape. People are starting to wonder: Is there something about the rush of being in power that leads people to commit these despicable actions?

Science suggests that there are unusual things happening in the brains of power-holders.

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Hands down, this Canadian gem is our pick for the most hilarious, madcap travel show on the cybersphere.

Here’s a look back as the Travel Guys take on Las Vegas.

WATCH Travel Guys Take on Las Vegas

Random Acts of Canine Kindness

Cedric the Dog takes a well-earned break after organizing a protest at an alt–right Neo-Nazi rally in Idaho.

Dog Quotations

Discover Your Adventure Personality

Quiz Matches Your Personality To Dream Vacation

Royal Caribbean and the personality experts at CPP-The Myers-Briggs® Company have teamed up to help travelers discover what excites, rejuvenates and fulfills them most on vacation. Adventure for some means zooming down zip lines or traversing mountains – and for others it means exploring exotic cuisines, or making new friends in faraway places. Take this personality quiz, and find out what’s your adventure vibe!

Take the Quiz here

Around the World with Carry-on Luggage Only

Jill Paider travels around the world with only a carry-on suitcase. Here are her top tips for packing light.

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Alcatraz Inmates Survived Infamous 1962 Escape, Letter Suggests

It is one of America’s greatest mysteries: What happened to three men after they pulled off a daring prison break at Alcatraz in 1962? Only the worst criminals were sent to Alcatraz. And for 29 years, it was the most secure federal prison in the country – surrounded by the cold, rough waters of the Pacific. But brothers John and Clarence Anglin and Frank Morris disappeared into the night and have never been found.

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Time Capsule Cinema

Klute – A Look Back

By Walt Mundkowsky

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This Turkish Man’s Terrifying Buzz Cut Is Going Viral on Instagram

Over the past three days, a video of Erkek Saç, from Antalya, Turkey, haphazardly shaving off another man’s hair has been viewed 1.1 million times. It starts off with Saç dangling the aforementioned clippers over the man’s head and letting it buzz off chunks of hair in the process. If Saç held the clippers a couple inches lower or if the cord swung in the wrong direction, this video would have gone viral for completely different reasons.

Read more and watch the video here

The Best Photos of 2017

From Harry to Kendrick to Paris, the year’s best original images that appeared in the pages of ‘Rolling Stone’ and RollingStone.com

From Aguirre, the Wrath of God and The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser to Heart of Glass and Stroszek –  German director Werner Herzog is still obsessively seeking a deeper truth.

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30 Easy, Healthy New Year’s Resolutions

Courtesy Jenny Sugar, PopSugar.fitness.com

New Year’s resolutions don’t have to feel overwhelming and impossible! Here are 30 easy changes you can make this year that won’t take much effort, but will make you feel healthier and happier.

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Where Are They Now

Numerous publications have listed an end-of-the-year in memoriam of the passing of famous figures we lost in 2017. Here’s list of actors that are still with us, but have slipped from the limelight.

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Beatle Beat Trivia Answers

In the “The Beatles: A Hard Day’s Write” by Steve Turner (2017), John Lennon claimed there were two songs which were recycled from previous Beatle songs:

‘Anytime At All’ son of ‘It Won’t Be Long,’ which used same chord progression from C to A minor and back. Plus employing the same bawling vocal style.

‘Yes It Is’  son of ‘This Boy,’ same chords, harmonies & “double-Dutch” words.

The post Humor, Facts & Stats, Trivia and More appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Anthony Bourdain’s Most Interesting Places to Eat in America Right Now

Despite getting his start in kitchens, as painstakingly detailed in his memoir Kitchen Confidential, Anthony Bourdain will be the first person to say he doesn’t have much of an interest in restaurants, at least not in the conventional sense.

“I don’t really care about restaurant culture that much,” Bourdain tells Food & Wine at the 10th Annual Cayman Cookout. “Street food and traditional food — and discovering that — is exciting to me.” The Parts Unknown host still eats out, but he dreads getting special attention because of his fame. “I like going to places where nobody fusses over me or sends me any extra courses,” he says. (For this reason, his go-to drinking spot in New York is a low-key Irish pub, the name of which he will never divulge.)

Bourdain talks about the places in America he’s most excited about eating in when he’s not schlepping around the globe.

The South

“I think the South right now is really interesting. I think what Sean Brock is doing, and has been doing, is really cutting-edge and a direction forward that I think a lot of people are following: rediscovering traditional ingredients, species, specific types of food — varieties of rice, for instance, that haven’t existed. He’s a seed collector. A botonist.”

Mid-Size Cities

“What I find when I travel in America nowadays is that everywhere you go, mid-size to small-size communities like Asheville or Madison or Pittsburgh, there’s a hipster chef with a full sleeve of tattoos, and he or she is doing really good food, often reflective of the foodways of the region. So you really can’t safely sneer at any place. Chances are there’s someone or a few people who are flying the flag.”

Korean BBQ and Yakitori in N.Y.C.

“I love Torishin, the yakitori place. I love Baekjeong, the Korean barbecue place; you can eat with your hands basically over chopsticks. What I don’t want is extra courses.”

On an international scale, Bourdain is most excited about eating in the regions where he has the most to learn. “China is endlessly exciting to me,” he says. “Malaysia and Singapore, of course, are always exciting because I’ll never know it all. It’s so old and deep. Senegal, Oman, Lebanon, Iran: these are relatively new cuisines to me, but also very old.”

Alcatraz Inmates Survived Infamous 1962 Escape, Letter Suggests

It is one of America’s greatest mysteries: What happened to three men after they pulled off a daring prison break at Alcatraz in 1962? Only the worst criminals were sent to Alcatraz. And for 29 years, it was the most secure federal prison in the country – surrounded by the cold, rough waters of the Pacific. But brothers John and Clarence Anglin and Frank Morris disappeared into the night and have never been found.

The men have become folklore – fueled by Hollywood and popular shows. And in the last 55 years, theories about their fate have multiplied as new evidence surfaces. A letter allegedly written by one of the escapees recently came to light. CBS San Francisco exclusively obtained it from a source. “My name is John Anglin. I escape from Alcatraz in June 1962 with my brother Clarence and Frank Morris. I’m 83 years old and in bad shape. I have cancer. Yes we all made it that night but barely!” The FBI says this is the most recent piece of evidence that forced the agency to reopen the iconic cold case. The letter was sent to the San Francisco Police Department’s Richmond station in 2013.

“It’s interesting, I mean it’s obviously a very famous case here in San Francisco,” said jeff Harp, a security analyst for CBS San Francisco. Harp spent 21 years with the FBI, but did not work directly on this case. “As a law enforcement person I’d like to think that their escape attempt was not fruitful for them. Personally, as someone who swims in the bay, and we have a triathlon that goes on every year, and there’s not a single person that doesn’t make that swim,” he added. This past summer, we got an exclusive tour of some never-before-seen parts of Alcatraz. After months of meticulous planning – on the night of June 11, 1962 – the trio of bank robbers squeezed through the vents in the back of their cells.

The FBI says they used a homemade drill made from a broken vacuum cleaner motor to widen the vents. Once they crawled through, they climbed up a network of pipes and plumbing in a commonly unguarded space. They set up a secret workshop on the top of their cells, where they built and hid what they needed to escape. They eventually made it out through the ventilator that led them to the prison roof. They slid down the smokestack to the ground and launched their raft – made of more than 50 raincoats. They also created life vests and wooden paddles.

The next morning, guards found dummy heads made of plaster, paper mache, paint and real human hair in their cells.

According to the letter, Frank died in 2008 and John’s brother died three years later. The writer makes a deal – “If you announce on TV that I will be promised to first go to jail for no more than a year and get medical attention, I will write back to let you know exactly where I am. This is no joke.”

Shaq Fits the Fun Ship Brand

Former basketball star Shaquille O’Neal is now Carnival’s newly-named Chief Fun Officer. Yes, Shaquille O’Neal. Of course it makes sense for he embodies the kind of people Carnival wants on its ships: social, happy and a tad goofy around the edges.

The hulking 7-foot-1 O’Neal will appear in a 30-second video tour of the Carnival Vista in his first assignment as CFO (chief fun officer).

Shaq will show his playful side during the tour, sporting a Love Boat-style captain’s hat and visiting the SkyRide, Havana pool and the Cloud 9 Spa, among other Vista attractions.

On the ship’s basketball court, Shaq stuffs an attempted layup by a co-worker. At Guy Fieri’s Burger Joint, he tries to swipe a burger from an inattentive companion.

“We are very excited to have Shaq as part of the Carnival team!” said Carnival Cruise Line president Christine Duffy. “He will serve as a great ambassador ensuring everyone knows all about our one-of-a-kind brand of fun.”

Since retiring from the National Basketball Association in 2011, O’Neal’s principal role has been as a commentator on the TNT channel’s basketball coverage. In the past, he has done TV commercials for Buick, Pepsi, Reebok, IcyHot and other products.

O’Neal played for six teams over a 19-year career and was part of four championship teams, including one for the Miami Heat in 2006. The Heat’s principal owner is Carnival Corp. chairman Micky Arison.

Carnival said O’Neal’s role at the brand will be to lend his “fun, larger-than-life personality and playful spirit” to inspire travelers to “Choose Fun” when planning their next vacation and in their everyday lives.

An Analysis of It Sifts from Leaden Sieves

“It Sifts from Leaden Sieves” is a wonderful Emily Dickinson poem; it is also a beautiful winter poem. In a few lines, Dickinson captures the movement of the snow and the way it settles upon the winter landscape, rendering the road, the railings of the fence, and the lampposts different and strange.

This poem describes the snow that falls (or ‘sifts’) from the dark grey clouds in the sky (‘leaden sieves’). ‘Sifts’ is a nice use of what is normally a transitive verb as an intransitive verb (you sift something, e.g. flour; things don’t sift); it also chimes with ‘sieves’, immediately evoking the metaphor of flour being sifted through a sieve. The metaphors continue: the snow is ‘alabaster wool’ and like ‘fleeces’, a ‘crystal veil’ coating the roads and the fences, eradicating our former memories of the landscape before it was coated in a covering of snow.

The poem is a beautiful description of the way snow obscures familiar objects, rendering them strange and ghostly to us. Who but Emily Dickinson would have thought to describe snow as ‘alabaster wool’? But the most remarkable thing about the poem is that it never mentions snow by name. It doesn’t have to. ‘It sifts from leaden sieves’ (like ‘It rains’, that common idiom where the precise meaning of ‘it’ is hard to define) captures the spectral beauty of snow much more effectively.

“Games of Thrones”-Themed Ice Hotel Opens in Finland

A “Game of Thrones”-themed ice hotel complete with a bar and a chapel for weddings has opened in northern Finland in a joint effort by a local hotel chain and the U.S. producers of the hit TV series.

Lapland Hotels said Friday they chose “Game of Thrones” to be the theme for this season’s Snow Village, an annual ice-and-snow construction project covering 20,000 square meters (24,000 sq. yards) in Kittila, 150 kilometers (93 miles) above the Arctic Circle.

Snow Village operations manager Janne Pasma told Finnish national broadcaster YLE that he was a huge fan of the series and it was “a dream come true” that HBO Nordic agreed to go along.

The hotel, which stays open until April, suggests that guests stay only one night due to below-zero temperatures.

Here’s How Being in Power Messes With Your Brain, According to Science

From the bully on the playground to the big-wig in the corner office, power dynamics are everywhere in our lives.

Courtesy Hilary Brueck, BUSINESS INSIDER

A flood of allegations that powerful men in media, politics, and tech have been abusing their positions of power and preying on those below them have surfaced in recent months. High-profile figures including Harvey Weinstein, President Donald Trump, Kevin Spacey, Matt Lauer, Roy Moore and, Senator Al Franken and have been accused of various kinds of unwanted advances, including exposing themselves to co-workers and employees, groping, and rape. People are starting to wonder: Is there something about the rush of being in power that leads people to commit these despicable actions?

Science suggests that there are unusual things happening in the brains of power-holders. Decades of study have shown that the psychology and physiology of powerful people are notably different from those of average people – down to the architecture of the brain’s prefrontal cortex, and the way the heart pumps blood.

Here’s what feeling powerful does to your body and your brain, according to science.

Being powerful can dampen your ability to empathise with others.

Dacher Keltner, a psychology professor at UC Berkeley, has been studying the way powerful brains work for decades. He even lent his expertise about emotions to Pixar’s “Inside Out”.

Keltner’s research has shown that being powerful can disengage your prefrontal cortex – the part of the brain that helps you understand how others are feeling.

“Power makes it harder to empathise with other people, at the level of the brain,” Keltner told Business Insider.

Powerful people are less able to mirror people they observe or interact with.

Powerful people’s “mirroring” systems are not as strong as those of others. That means they’re less likely to mimic a person they’re having a conversation with, and they will do less laughing or shrugging along with their companion.

A 2014 study looked at brains of “high-power” people and revealed that when observing others squeeze a ball, they had less resonance in certain brain areas that should typically light up, suggesting their brains had become less empathetic and able to ‘mirror’ others. The more power someone had, the less resonant they were.

Leaders can find it tough to muster up compassion.

The vagus nerve, which runs from the top of the spinal cord down to the abdomen, has been shown to promote compassion, gratitude and appreciation.

But Keltner’s work has shown that this nerve bundle gets “de-activated” in powerful people. He says that could partially explain why “it’s harder to know how people feel when you’re feeling powerful.”

Some research has shown that being powerful makes people more likely to break the rules, and less likely to share.

A 2011 study showed that people driving high-end cars were four times more likely to cut off other drivers, and three times more likely to cut off a pedestrian about to cross the street. (Some say this could just be a sign that the rich and powerful are more willing to take risks.)

The same researchers also observed how people acted when told that a bin of candy nearby was going to be given to kids. Upper-class people were more likely to be greedy and take extra candy from the bin.

Counterintuitively, greater income inequality leads powerful people to be less generous.

Income inequality can make powerful people less generous and foster a sense of entitlement.

A study of over 2,000 Americans revealed that high-income people in more unequal states were less generous. High-income people living in conditions of low inequality, however, showed about the same level of generosity as lower-income people.

That suggests rich people may not necessarily be inherently less generous, but they are likely to be less charitable if income distribution is more unfair.

Power can help buffer against stress.

For years, researchers have hypothesised that powerful people have a kind of built-in “stress buffer”: they consistently demonstrate lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol, and higher testosterone, which helps reduce fear.

This holds true across genders (though women have about one-sixth the amount of testosterone that men do).

This isn’t just the case once people have attained power – having lower levels of cortisol and higher levels of testosterone can also predict whether someone rises into a position of leadership.

Pranjal Mehta, who studies hormones and power at University College London, told Business Insider that these common traits wind up propagating inequality.

For example, a job candidate who comes from a wealthy or privileged background already has more sources of power, so they may walk into an interview with extra “psychological resources” that buffer them from stress.

Mehta explained that such a candidate might “appear more competent, regardless of their actual abilities.”

The effects of power extend from the brain into the body.

Powerful people such as police officers have been shown to process blood in the heart faster and deliver that fresh, oxygenated blood to the brain quicker, according to research from Wendy Mendez, who studies how power impacts the body at the University of California San Francisco.

In this way, powerful people can stay healthier and are less likely to develop deadly diseases.

Powerful people who make more money live longer, healthier, less stressful lives.

The richest Americans can expect to live more than six years longer than people living below the poverty line, because they have access to things like healthier food, better health care, and relatively pollution-free neighbourhoods.

That’s true for anyone making an income more than four times the federal poverty level. (That’s a family of four living on over US$98,400 a year, or a single person making more than US$48,240.)

A 2011 study showed that people making more than US$100,000 a year also report lower levels of sadness, hopelessness, and worthlessness than their lower-income counterparts.

But the effects aren’t just about money: Research has shown that a person’s perception of their own socioeconomic status and where they fit in the social hierarchy also impacts their health.

Data from the World Bank suggests that countries with higher income inequality have lower life expectancy rates at all income levels. Researchers say the wealth inequality leads to less “social cohesion” – and more fear and stress for everyone.

We may be primed to give strong-looking men more power.

Research from 2016 showed that men who are perceived as more “physically formidable” tend to be perceived as having greater leadership abilities.

But the effect isn’t universal. Strong men who were seen as “aggressively self-interested” were not seen as any more worthy of leadership status.

Those who appear to be power-dressers can even have an effect on the heartbeats of the people around them.

A 2014 study by Wendy Mendez pitted power-dressers against those who looked more casual – some men wore black dress suits from Macy’s, while others wore white t-shirts and plastic sandals from Walgreens.

Mendez found that “high-class” dressers had an impact on their counterparts’ hearts: When the heartbeats of the men in suits started racing, their partners’ did too. When the power-dressers heart rates slowed, the pulses of the sandal-wearers mirrored that as well.

But power doesn’t always help your health.

When a person who’s in power thinks they might lose their status, their cortisol levels can skyrocket. Mehta said this might play out in an election year.

“People in positions of power, their stress levels might be increasing,” he said.

On the flip side, in power voids or times of uncertainty about leadership, people of lower status can feel like they have got a fairer shot at making it big.

There are some antidotes to power’s corrupting influence, however.

Not all studies about power are bad news. Research has shown that people who focus on the needs of others and work to improve social welfare are better at understanding peoples’ needs and desires, and improve their ability to manage and cooperate with colleagues.

When people feel a heightened sense of social responsibility in connection with their position of power, they’re more in tune with the needs and views of others.

It’s important for people in power to remember their roots …

Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi loves to tell the story of the day she became president of the board, and her mother sent her out to fetch milk.

She returned in a huff. Here’s how she told the story to The Atlantic:

I banged [the milk] on the counter and I said, ‘I had great news for you. I’ve just been told that I’m going to be president on the Board of Directors. And all that you want me to do is go out and get the milk, what kind of a mum are you?’ And she said to me, ‘let me explain something to you. You might be president of PepsiCo.

You might be on the board of directors. But when you enter this house, you’re the wife, you’re the daughter, you’re the daughter-in-law, you’re the mother. You’re all of that. Nobody else can take that place. So leave that damned crown in the garage. And don’t bring it into the house.’

Social scientists say that ability to remember one’s roots – the background and people that helped a person make it to the top – is an exercise in gratitude that can keep powerful people in touch with others.

… And keep listening

Leaders who remember that their power is only as good as the respect others have for them also have an easier time staying grounded.

Keltner said that in order to keep his own power in check, he channels his inner Abraham Lincoln, who was known for actively listening to everyone who spoke with him.

“That really is a quality of great leaders,” Keltner said. “They stay fascinated by and devoted to other people.”

History of Auld Lang Syne

Auld Lang Syne has become an anthem sung the world over at New Year.

In 1788 the Robert Burns sent the poem ‘Auld Lang Syne’ to the Scots Musical Museum, indicating that it was an ancient song but that he’d been the first to record it on paper. The phrase ‘auld lang syne’ roughly translates as ‘for old times’ sake’, and the song is all about preserving old friendships and looking back over the events of the year.

It is sung all over the world, evoking a sense of belonging and fellowship, tinged with nostalgia.

It has long been a much-loved Scottish tradition to sing the song just before midnight. Everyone stands in a circle holding hands, then at the beginning of the final verse (‘And there’s a hand my trusty friend’) they cross their arms across their bodies so that their left hand is holding the hand of the person on their right, and their right hand holds that of the person on their left. When the song ends, everyone rushes to the middle, still holding hands, and probably giggling.

The post Shaq with Carnival Cruise Line; How Being in Power Messes With Your Brain appeared first on Traveling Archive.