17 07, 2017

Travel Missteps: The Determined Thief of Edinburgh

By |July 17th, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

Source I've written before before how my family used the "Hop on / Hop Off" busses in England to get around the cities a lot. But one of our last times on those sightseeing busses turned out to be the most eventful. As per usual, we got to the designated starting point early and claimed seats at the top. We had a wide choice of seats, the only other person on the top deck was two older women sitting together. I decided to sit halfway back, mainly because at this point in a 2 week trip I

29 12, 2016

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

By |December 29th, 2016|Categories: Attractions & Sights, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

"Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations. Our cultural and natural heritage are both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration." - UNESCO There are thousands of world heritage sites. I've been to 30 of them: Salzburg Austria Historic Centre of the City of Salzburg A turtle in Belize Belize Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System Ramses Temple at Abu Simbel Egypt Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis Historic Cairo Memphis and its Necropolis – the Pyramid Fields from Giza to

21 11, 2016

Travel Missteps: Border Clans of Scotland

By |November 21st, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

Our motto: "I remained Unvanquished". It is a rare privilege to be able to visit the homeland of your ancestors. I've been able to visit England, Ireland, and Scotland to see the countrysides of where they lived. I thought I new a lot about my Armstrong ancestors from going to the Scottish Military Tattoo Festival every year in Estes Park, CO. I knew our motto, what our crest and tartan looked like. I had learned the old story of how a warrior rescued his clan's King when he fell in battle, picking him up and getting him

9 05, 2016

Travel Missteps: Not the Hogwarts Express

By |May 9th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

England had some pretty disappointing train trips. I traveled there in the summer of 2002. I remember being a Senior in high school, and dashing through Kings Cross station late at night, to try to catch a glimpse of the barrier between platforms 9 and 10. Why? Because I wanted to act out and take a photo pretending to gain access to Platform 9 3/4! Imagine my surprise and disappointment to find that platform 9 and 10 are in separate areas! (Now they actually have a photo op elsewhere in the station, but it was dark times for early fans.) So,

20 02, 2016

Souvenir Saturday: Scottie Dog Plush

By |February 20th, 2016|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

This little scottie dog is directly from Edinburgh, Scotland and plays "Scotland the Brave". I've had it for so long I don't even remember where I bought it. Souvenir Saturday is an every-other week series on the items that represent travel memories.

4 04, 2015

Souvenir Saturday: Bagpipe Practice Chanter

By |April 4th, 2015|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

I grew up learning to play many instruments from piano, drums, guitar, and the clarinet.  Which is probably why this Practice Chanter to help learn how to play Bagpipes caught my eye in Scotland. Scottish Bagpipe Practice Chanter I bought it right after seeing Edinburgh Military Tattoo right outside Edinburgh Castle. It is a double reed instrument that feels like a cross between a clarinet and a recorder. But the sound is much closer to a Bagpipe/recorder hybrid. This particular Chanter...is very cheap. It is hard to play the notes, and the reed isn't the best quality. But

8 03, 2015

The Sounds that Travel with Us

By |March 8th, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Memories|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

BuzzFeed recently had an article about the sounds from Italy that will fill you with Wanderlust. And it reminded me of all the sounds I associate with certain trips. Here are some of my top highlights that will instantly take me back in time: Toronto: Theme from House of Cards Google Play and Amazon had the first episode of House of Cars for free. I figured, sure why not, lets see what the hype is all about. I watched the first episode on my flights out...and got hooked. At night I'd watch House of Card before falling asleep. San Diego: