On Vodka and Staying Sober

Came across this interesting post and thought it was worth a look. The Russian Blog examines how
one might consume vast quantities of vodka and, I kid you not, stay sober. How might one pull of this impressive feat?
Well, only a Russian would profess to know the answer. Russians, as you probably know, are ample consumers of the grain
beverage, and it is widely experienced by travelers to Russia that when a bottle of vodka is opened, it must be finished
by attending parties before they can leave the table. That is not, it would seem, a recipe for sobriety. So how world
one accomplish this? Well, here are a few of the tips offered by the Russia blog:

One hour before
the party.

1. Eat a couple of boiled potatoes.
2. Drinks one or two raw eggs.
3. Drink
one or two table-spoons of olive oil. Sunflower oil will also do.
Thus it’s guaranteed that at the Russian
party you will stay sober for at least one bottle of vodka. I’m not kidding. Raw eggs are the most important part
of Russian pre-party preparations.

At the party.

1. If you start drinking vodka
– drink only vodka. No beer or wine. No water or juice. Carbonated drinks are taboo.
2. Drink vodka only in
shots. Never sip.
3. Eat immediately after taking a shot. Russian zakuskis are often translated as appetizers.
That’s not quite correct. Zakuskis are something you ‘zakusyvayesh’ with after taking a shot of
vodka. They are very important to neutralize alcohol. That’s why they all contain two most important alcohol
neutralizers – acid and salt.

This is just a, um, taste, or a shot, you might say, of the advice
proferred here. It is worth a read if just to steel yourself for your own alcohol consumptin this holiday season.
Anyone who tries these methods, well, we’d love to hear how well they work. Prosit!

(via Gothamist)

Visiting Bedford Falls

Christmas is pretty much said and done with in most parts of the world, but I’ve still got 53 minutes left and counting.
As pleased as I am with the days results I’ll be happy to watch it pass and do it all over again next year. But before
this day of joy and giddy laughter comes to an abrupt end I thought I’d throw a quick travel trivia question out there.
Now it’s not uncommon for films to spark a person’s interest so much that they’re ready to catch the next train out of
town and re-enact the scenes they’ve seen and while watching ‘It’s
A Wonderful Life
,’ I thought Bedford Falls must be one heck of a Christmas town. But where is Bedford Falls?

Well if you said it doesn’t exist, you’re both right and a wee-bit wrong. According to IMDB the name of the town was combined from Bedford Hills, NY and Seneca Falls, NY. From the looks of it Seneca Falls embraces the movie by hosting weekends dedicated to the event,
while sleepy Bedford Hills doesn’t quite do the same (or at least from what I gather) there is still a number of things
to explore in both cities before the New Year. Click on the links above to discover more in each town.

The Dry Dry Atacama Desert

Ask the average Joe American what the
driest place in the world is ,and I would bet the majority of folks would say either the Mojave Desert or the Sahara.
These answers make some sense, but they  are wrong. The driest place on earth is the Atacama Desert in Northern
Chile. Now, having lived in Chile for a bit myself, and having visited the desert, I can tell you that the Atacama is very dry. And it is also
one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. The light there is unreal, as if someone lifted a piece of gauze
from your eyes that you never knew was there.

And for all this time that I’ve mentioned Atacama to people,
I’ve always said that it’s been dry, that is has seen no rainfall since the days of the Spanish conquest. Guess what? I
was wrong, by about 40 million years. This fascinating article
in the BBC
says that scientists have recently discovered that Atacama’s “super-dry” state and
“hyper-arid conditions” in the desert have lasted at least 20 million years, perhaps 40 million. This is
mind-blowing, really. But it adds further heft to my point that the place is unusual. Indeed it is.

Christmas Around the World

Merry Christmas
everybody!

If you are, for whatever reason, checking out Gadling here on Christmas Day, well, we welcome you. If you are of a
non-Christian denomination and thus could give a Santa’s cuff about Christmas, well, we welcome you too. Frankly, I
like Christmas, but I am happy and tolerant and welcoming of whatever it is you want to believe and celebrate. So at
the very least, whoever you are, enjoy this fine Sunday.

Now that said, it is still Christmas, so for some of us, it is a day of hanging out around a tree that we cut
down…or bought from someone who did…and now we are opening presents and taking pictures and making big gobs of
food. Woo hoo! Or at least, that’s how we do things here in America. So how do they do it elsewhere? This being a
travel site, we are always curious and interested how people do things elsewhere. So here is a site that answers that very question. What are people around
the world…those who celebrate Christmas…doing right now? For example…what about in China? Or Italy?

New Year's in Porcupine Forest

This year Canoe Ski Discovery Company have plans to spend the next
couple of days and the very first day of the New Year in Porcupine Forest. Located only a little
distance away from Saskatoon, Canada, the group invites anyone wanting to share the experience of sledding, skiing, and
sleigh riding into the new dawn starting December 30, 2005 – January 1, 2006. If you’ve never been acquainted with the
woods perhaps it’s time you make friends, become a tree hugger and leave your mouse behind. If it’s been a long time
since you’ve smelled the pine this is the perfect opportunity to get reacquainted. They call the event New Year’s Eve
with Eco Flair. For $295 a person, your traditional pursuits will begin at the Sawyer Lake Ecolodge where you will
receive 2 nights, accommodation, all meals, ski tours, skijouring, dog sledding and more.