Wow...we've been considering "doing" a blog for some time now. The set-up was way too easy. So, here we are with a blank page and all the world watching...or at least one or two interested people.
Who are we? Well, we are four 50+ forever young people who love to travel and who plan our trips around local wines and craft brewed beers. Now don't get the wrong idea....we're too old for drunken sprees and shenanigans as such, but we do like to taste the local fare paired with a good wine or beer; and we do like to have fun!
So far, we have toured areas of France, Spain, England, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Canada and, of course, multiple areas of the US. Our hope in starting this blog is to give you ideas for your own trips, tell you what we love in the areas we visit, including food and local excursions, and just record our thoughts about what we encounter. We also want to recommend some wines we love (or at least agree on) that you might want to try. We are not wine snobs and we will not confuse you with terms regarding wine! We think that the best wine is a wine you like -- no matter the bottle, brand, or price!
Below you will find a brief bio for each of us..hope you visit our site again soon. Happy travels!
Babs (Beverly): Tech support at local school; former English teacher; married to Dennis. One child and two spoiled cats.
Dennis: RETIRED (we are all jealous); former sales support person and history teacher; married to Babs.
Donna: Chair of department of education at local university; former second grade school teacher and married to Mike. Three children and one spoiled Yorkie.
Mike: Dean of college at online university; former Fire chief and married to Donna.
This is a recent picture of us when we were in Ireland March 2013. It was taken at the Bellinter House, down a country road near Trim, north of Dublin. The Bellinter is a great place to stay and the staff went out of their way to help us with directions to sites in the area. The peat fire in the great room was warm and inviting and service from the bar was quick and gracious. Our room had a huge hand-made bed and a monstrous shower. There was plenty of tea and coffee in room, along with various sugars and creamer, plus a bottle of wine as an option. Breakfast was delicious. There was an option for a continental or American breakfast or you could order from the menu, which we did. Pancakes and bacon sides were amazing and coffee dark and thick: the way we like it! If you go, use the toaster...none of us had ever seen anything like it! The link for the Bellinter House is http://www.bellinterhouse.com
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| March 2013 - The Bellinter House From left to right: Dennis, Babs, Donna, Mike. |
While in Ireland, we discovered that what we have always heard is true: Guinness does not travel well. While Mike and I (Donna) love our dark brews, Dennis and Babs have usually selected the lighter ones, but we are leading them to the dark side. In Ireland, we all loved the Guinness. It was much better tasting and I am at a loss to describe exactly what the difference was...lighter maybe? I know that sounds crazy, but in the states Guinness has been described as "meaty" or even tasting of protein. That was the flavor that was not in the beer in Ireland (my opinion). And we all agree that Ireland is back on the bucket list; we need to visit again!
The BEST: Guinness
Now, for our very first recommendation of wine for your pleasure. Our price range for wine has increased over time, but we still watch for those wines that are reasonable and delicious. I always get tickled when I read a price listing for wines online or in a magazine. If it says $10.00, it will always be at minimum $15.00 in our area. So I'll give you our current price on the wines we recommend, but keep in mind that it may be less or more depending upon where you live.
One of our favorite wines is Pedroncelli Zinfandel Mother Clone from the Sonoma Valley. I almost hate to share this one with you as we sometimes have to request that the owner of our local wine shop order it for us. We were introduced to this wine years ago when we were first "getting into" wine. The person who recommended it kept saying it was "jammy." What the heck is jammy? We tried it and loved it. Now we realize that jammy refers to the thick, and in this case blackberry, jam flavor in a wine. This is a lovely wine that is for those persons who like dark, heavy wine. We love it with dark chocolate! Our price is currently $14.59. Here is the link for Pedroncelli: http://store.pedroncelli.com/SHOP.AMS?LEVEL=MID&CAT=CABZIN
Please remember that anything you see in this blog is copywriter and the opinion of the authors. Please give credit to us and if you use our material,
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