I’ve just returned from a trip to Bordeaux, just under three hours from Paris by train.

It’s a city with deep and well-preserved history — the sheer amount of 18th century architecture still in regular use in the city  is impressive — but it was actually a modern innovation that I found simply brilliant.

Or, I should say, simple and brilliant. Right in front of several of the major attractions, including Bordeaux’s cathedral, is a bronze relief sculpture of the self-same attraction. The idea is to allow the visually impaired to experience the sights — there’s braille incorporated into the sculpture — but it’s also a fun feel for people with perfect vision.

I’ve never seen such a thing before, has anyone else? A little web browsing this morning revealed that the FDR Memorial in Washington DC incorporates braille into its sculptures, but it doesn’t seem like quite the same thing.

_{Photo credit: Alison Stein Wellner.}

Just north of Mendocino on the Northern California coast is Glass Beach, one of the most unique beaches in the world.

But it’s uniqueness is not from nature but from man. That’s because this beach was once the Fort Bragg City Dump.

Everything from spark plugs and engine blocks to china and glass was dumped here from 1949 until 1967 when it was finally decided that perhaps dumping garbage at the water’s edge wasn’t such a good idea after all.

Three decades on, nature has reclaimed the beach. The constantly pounding surf has transformed trash into treasure, resulting in the beach displaying shiny layers of polished broken glass in a kaleidoscope of shapes and colors.

Yes, there still is the occasional rusty spark plug but mostly it’s the glass sparkling in the sun that catches everyone’s eye.

Now part of MacKerricher State Park, Glass Beach makes for an interesting living science lesson with not only it’s trashy beginnings but also because of it’s ever changing tide pools that are home to crabs, mollusks, and aquatic plants.

(photo by Shiny Things)

You do not have to know a thing about Robert Burns to enjoy the stories and photographs Andy Hall presents in Touched by Robert Burns. I think, though, that you know more about Scotland’s national poet than you may realize.

If you’ve ever said the phrase “ the best laid schemes of mice and men…,” that’s Robert Burns. Sent or received a card that said my love is like a red red rose? That is Burns too. If you’ve heard or sung Auld Lang Syne, Ae Fond Kiss, Flow Gently Sweet Afton, Charlie Is My Darlin,’ then you’ve met Robert Burns as well.

What Hall did for this book was ask a range of people, many Scots, and some from farther afield, to tell stories about how they had been touched by the work and words of Robert Burns at some time in their lives. He created photographs to accompany each story.

The pieces are by turns funny, surprising, and touching, and all are vivid expression of language and thought. There are tales of classroom experiences, inspiring and otherwise, of finding Burns later in life, of Burns suppers in Scotland and on a mountain in South America, of friendship, family and creativity. Hall’s photographs are by turns of the small moment of a flower opening and the larger landscapes of Scotland, sometimes in direct reference to what is being told in the stories, at other times adding a complimentary idea.

It has been more than two hundred years since Robert Burns died, and yet, on his birthday on January 25th, there will be gatherings around the world to celebrate his life and work. Touched by Robert Burns is a good companion for such a time.

Each story is about one page long, and each is best read in its entirety. A few excerpts

“I began to to see my dad in Robert Burns Scottish humour. Robert seemed as much home to me as my own family. “ singer and songwriter Eddi Reader

“The sheer, electrifying humanity of Burns work is, I think, the quality which makes it transcend the barriers of time.” novelist Alexander McCall Smith

“Burns writes from a genuine place that contains a kind of magic…” singer and songwriter Dougie MacLean

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Past the food court, down a long, carpeted corridor, and behind drawn black curtains that stretched from floor to ceiling in the Fallsview Casino Resort’s Grand Hall, cameras were click, click, clicking as the chairman of the Wine Council of Ontario ran down a roll call of Ontario winemakers who, one twosome at a time, took turns joining him onstage to pour four bottles of icewine each into a comically oversized wine flute.

Today, the start of the region’s annual Icewine Harvest Festival, this group of 30+ Ontario winemakers gathered in solidarity under one common goal: to set a new Guinness World Record for the largest wine flute filled with icewine. That, and to stake their ceremonious flag firmly into the global wine industry as producers who no longer have anything to prove. “We’re always comparing ourselves to somebody else, and I think it’s time to stop doing that when we break this record today,” said chairman Ed Madronich. “We make amazing wines right here that are uniquely Ontario.”

Fitting, then, that the last drops of icewine were poured by Donald Ziraldo and Karl Kaiser, the founders of Inniskillin Winery and godfathers of Canada’s renowned icewine industry; that’s them pictured above, along with current Inniskillin winemaker Bruce Nicholson.

A round of applause rose as they emptied their bottles, and soon after they were followed to the podium by a Guinness World Record Adjudicator, whom I imagined would resemble the Monopoly Guy, top hat, cane, and all, but in reality looked strangely, disappointingly, like a normal guy wearing a suit; Alfred E. Neuman he was not. He gave a brief overview of Guinness, then did what any good Adjudicator does: he adjudicated, and now it’s official.

Ladies and gentlemen, mark your calendars and remember where you were on January 14, 2011: the day that the world’s largest wine flute was filled with 18 liters of icewine in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

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Welcome to the first Carnival of Cities edition for 2011!

This is the blog carnival where we tour the world in a single post, via submissions from a variety of different blogs, all about any aspect of one, single city (or fair-sized town.)

The previous host was the Trekaroo Blog (thanks, guys!) and the next edition will be hosted 26 January on Sheila’s Guide.

If you’d like to host a future Carnival edition on your blog (February 9 and 23 are open) please contact me at Sheila “at” sheilascarborough “dot” com. Thanks!

Off we go….

Cities in the Americas

Queens, New York, USA Madeleine Begun Kane presents Queens Unplowed (Limerick) posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.

Zacatecas, Mexico Tim Leffel presents Zacatecas: incredible Mexican city, almost no foreign tourists posted at Tim Leffel’s Cheapest Destinations, saying, “Mexico’s colonial interior offers a lot of bang for your buck—and you don’t have to share it with the tour bus throngs.”

Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA ritchie’s into rock n roll presents You’ll Find the Best of Everything at Hess’s, Allentown, PA posted at The Daily Cocca, saying, “A post asking for comments and memories about the formerly world-famous Hess’s department store in Allentown, PA (leveled in 1996 but still occupying a big place in local myth and memory). A good discussion already has started.”

Branson, Missouri, USA Jeff Sullivan presents 2011 Branson Tourist Guide posted at Branson Missouri Tourist Guide.

Galveston, Texas, USA Andy Hayes presents Photo Essay: The Wood Statues of Galveston posted at Sharing Travel Experiences.

Los Angeles, California, USA Shannon ODonnell presents Rediscovering Beauty at the Getty Center Museum posted at a little adrift: a rtw travelogue, saying, “A Los Angeles must for locals and tourists alike!”

Lahaina (Maui), Hawaii, USA Hawaii Beaches presents Affordable Maui Restaurants posted at Hawaii Beaches.

Detroit, Michigan, USA Dominique King presents Great Lakes maritime lore lives on at Detroit’s Dossin Great Lakes Museum posted at Midwest Guest, saying, “Want to learn more about Great Lakes maritime history? Check out the Dossin Great Lakes Museum as it celebrates its 50th anniversary along the Detroit River.”

San Francisco, California, USA Carolina presents Take the Kids to the de Young Museum of Art posted at Kids Go West, saying, “Post about visiting the de Young Museum of Art in San Francisco with young kids.”

Cities in Europe

Ghent, Belgium Nicole Elena Robertson presents Beehive print, Belgium posted at Nicole Elena Robertson, saying, “A trip to Belgium inspires art.”

Santa Cruz de la Palma, Canary Islands Wanted Adventure presents A Little History and a Lot of Double Forking posted at Well, I guess I said I wanted an Adventure…., saying, “Thank you for your time! Have a great weekend.”

London, England, United Kingdom D presents Hail to the London Taxi cab posted at Travels with Baby Tips, saying, “How I came to (unexpectedly) love the London cab during our family’s (unexpectedly) snowy visit.”

Cities in Asia

Shanghai, China This is my post from Sheila’s Guide; from a new series called Travel Post Friday on learning to catch those photography moments….body parts in a bicycle basket.

New Delhi, India travelindiaguide presents Travel India – Travel New Delhi City – India’s Tour of National Capital posted at Travel India Guide and Travel India Tour, saying, “Explore the information about the National Capital of India – New Delhi. You will find the best tourist spots in the city and enjoy the company of the locals.”

That concludes this edition, and thank you for visiting.

Please submit your (ONE, non-spammy) blog post to the next edition of the Carnival of Cities using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

(If you like this post, please consider subscribing to the blog via RSS feed or by email – the email signup box is at the top of the right sidebar near the Search box. Thanks!)