[hkskyline]

On this day - September 8 in ...

2017 - Lausanne
What country's wine do you like? France, Chile, or Italy? How about Switzerland? Just a short train ride out of Lausanne, the Lavaux Vineyards spread along the hillsides with many easy hiking paths to enjoy them. I saw the grapes up close and personal (please, no tasting) and soaked up some rays in a productive afternoon walk.



2016 - Queenstown, New Zealand
The tourist literature advised not to drive your rental car into Milford Sound in the late winter due to the risk of avalanche, which would be very costly to then fish your car out. I didn't want to risk such a potential downside cost as well as an 8-hour roundtrip drive, so I picked a cheap coach-cruise-coach tour to do the heavy lifting. With a major snowstorm to greet my arrival into Queenstown the day before, the scenery en route was quite magical. Despite the blue skies, we are all at the mercy of Mother Nature in these remote parts, so I didn't have much reaction when the driver told us we had to turn back due to a tree avalanche just a short distance from arriving. At least I got a refund for the trip.