Yerevan Brandy Factory Ararat
| Tourism objects | 122 seen
This post is about Yerevan Brandy Company producing famous Ararat brandy.
During my latest trip to Yerevan (Armenia) I had a free time and I decided to to visit Yerevan Brandy Factory. So, we just walked there by foot, and huge was our surprise when the girl at reception informed that tours can be arranged only by calling before - that's lame. But OK, if you are planing to make an indie trip to Yerevan Brandy Factory - make sure you contact them prior or you will be left with the same we got - wandering around at a small brandy kiosk at entrance, instead of taking a tour inside factory, observing all those oak barrels or even tasting brandy.
Ararat - Yerevan brandy company
Yerevan Brandy Company (YBC) is the leading enterprise of Armenia for the production of alcoholic beverages. Its main brand name is Ararat. Currently the company boasts a large following, particularly in Russia, as well as in Ukraine and Belarus. The Russian market accounts for about 85% of exports.YBC is owned and operated by the French giant Pernod Ricard.
Lada Niva with Ararat…
Yerevan Opera Theatre
| Tourism objects | 44 seen
It took me about 4 or 5 times to visit Yerevan, before I actually visited Yerevan Opera theater. OK, in fact I didn't even visited it, just passed by, but the Opera House is a popular landmark when wandering around Yerevan.
Here is the fun fact - The ground-breaking of the Opera-Theatre took place on 28 November 1930 during the celebrations of the 10th anniversary of Soviet Armenia.
Armenian National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet named after Alexander Spendiaryan in Yerevan was officially opened on 20 January 1933, with Alexander Spendiaryan's Almast opera performance.
Yerevan Opera Theater
The last time we visited Yereavan, and had a chance to see Yerevan's Opera house was back in the March (2016) - warm clothes and still grey tree's. But this day some manifest was held in fron of the Opera house - at least there were a lot of Armenian flags.
The opera building was designed by the Armenian architect Alexander Tamanian. It consists of two concert halls: the Aram Khatchaturian concert hall with 1,400 seats and the…
How to Upgrade from Ubuntu 12.04 to 14.04 LTS
| Servers | 39 seen
In this article I will provide simple instructions on how to upgrade Ubuntu 12.04 to 14.04.
In fact I didn't wanted to push for a server upgrade for a while, but decided to do it now, and not to wait when things will break completely. In fact I was working on a Drupal 8 site development and wanted to have it on more recent version of server, and so I opted to upgrade whole server. Following tutorial is inspired from How to Upgrade to Ubuntu 14.04 LTS
BackupsI highly suggest you to take a snapshot of your current server, before pushing for your upgrade. I have Linode backups enabled and before proceeding further I took a snapshot. It was pretty fast less than 5 minutes to generate a backup for all of mine server.
Stopping servicesIt's recommended that you stop as many services as possible before upgrading to Ubuntu 14.04 LTS. This includes web server daemons (Apache and nginx), database servers (PostgreSQL and MySQL), and any other non-critical services.
sudo service nginx stopI opted to stop nginx
Upgrade your Linode to Ubuntu 14.04 LTS by entering the following command: sudo do-release-upgrade -d…
How To Enable PHP Curl Ngnix (Good for Social share counters)
| Servers | 288 seen
Today I was eager to install and enable really cool Drupal module for my blog - Social Share Counter, this module looked simple - all I had to do, just download, enable and a little bit tweak around.
From module creator (s)
This module gives the share counts for only Facebook,Twitter and more which has some excellent features in more elegant manner. If you have a website, then you definitely need this module.
Unfortunately, after I successfully installed and enabled this module I noticed that share count is not increasing for my articles (I had one article - with more than 5,000 shares and likes today, it felt lame seeing fat zero, while my default Facebook plugin showed it correctly)
I noticed from recent log messages following notice:
Notice: Use of undefined constant CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER - assumed 'CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER' in _social_share_counter_parse() (line 254 of /srv/www/reinisfischer.com/public_html/sites/all/modules/social_share_counter/social_share_counter.module).
And I got it - most probably I didn't install php5-curl when did setup last time this server, see…
How to Upgrade PHP 5.3 to 5.5.9 on Ubuntu 12.04 to Support Drupal 8
| Servers | 13 seen
That day finally have come and I've officially started a new project on my first Drupal 8 website. While my first attempts were about two years ago, but due to the lack of time and will to explore new things and configure new servers I proceeded just tonight (after a conversation with a long time customer we agreed to make a re-branded website and I was allowed to "experiment" with a Drupal 8 site)
I took me some time to get it running as I wasn't prepared for the Drupal 8 requirements, and one of them, is to run on at least PHP 5.5.
I have two linodes configured - one for this blog only and second for all the other websites. Both boxes are configured on Ubuntu 12.04, which is shipped with the php 5.3 version, and of course Nginx. They run smooth for Drupal 7, but speaking for Drupal 8 it took me about an hour to get things right. I got too many 502 bad gateway and 500 internal errors, while I found this great article: Upgrading PHP to 5.4 on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS to support Drupal 8.
The idea is to keep Ubuntu 12.04 (for a while), but upgrade php version onlyOptional: The add-apt-…
The Swan Lake park in Yerevan
| Tourism objects | 32 seen
The Swan lake park in Yerevan is a popular recreation area in the heart of Yerevan, located next to the Opera house in a 5 minute walking distance from main Republic Square.
The Swan Lake park usually hosts various open air art exhibitions. - Ice-skate with many locals at the Swan Lake (next to the Opera House) during winter months.
The huge guitar and piano at the entrance of the Swan park
I visited Swan park in the middle of March, it was still grey all around, but the green decors made it much better.
Sculpture
Sorry - can't tell more about it - probably very famous Armenian composer? Leave a comment if you have more information.
Swan Lake park
No water yet. I presume that during Summer months, this place just rocks. Of course I believe there are water during season.
Advertisement and benches
Postcards from Yerevan (Spring)
| | 4 seen
Back at the March 2016, we made a short, but very remarkable trip to Armenia and of course its capital Yerevan. In today's Piece of Life series - a day from Spring in the city of Yerevan.
Republic Square in Yerevan
Read more detailed article about the Republic Square of Yerevan.
View towards mount Ararat
Architecture in Yerevan city center
Sculpture in Yerevan's park
Advertisement in Yerevan
Panoramic view of Yerevan
In the background - Yerevan's brandy factory - Ararat, more on that in some of the future articles
Cathedral of Cadiz
| Churches and Monasteries | 69 seen
Cádiz Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church in Cádiz, southern Spain, and the seat of the Diocese of Cadiz y Ceuta. It was built between 1722 and 1838. The cathedral was declared Bien de Interés Cultural in 1931.
When visiting Cathedral of Cadiz, don't forget to climb up the bell tower and get some spectacular pictures from above, see: The Bell Tower of Cadiz Cathedral
Cathedral of Cadiz
The Plaza de la Catedral houses both the Cathedral and the Baroque Santiago church, built in 1635.
The church was known as "The Cathedral of The Americas" because it was built with money from the trade between Spain and America. The 18th century was a golden age for Cádiz, and the other cathedral that the city had got, Santa Cruz, was very small for this new moment of Cádiz. The new cathedral was built from 1722 to 1838.
Cathedral of Cadiz
The first person who designed the church was architect Vicente Acero, who had also built the Granada Cathedral. Acero left the project and was succeeded by several other architects. As a result, this largely baroque-style cathedral was…
Georgia - The Most Beautiful Country In The World
| Living in Georgia | 61 seen
The other day I was reading an article in which the head of the World Tourism Organization Claimed - Georgia is the most beautiful country in the world.
Well, I can ONLY agree with the words from the head of WTO, Mr. Taleb Rifai, and to add my 50 cents I have listed 32 places you should visit to make the most from your trip to Georgia.
Georgian nature, culture and people make this country the most beautiful in the world,
said UN Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, the World Tourism Organization. Source: Глава Всемирной туристской организации: Грузия – самая красивая страна в мире
For more cool tourism sights, restaurants, or travel options in Georgia - check out the Living in Georgia section or use see my complete travel map in Georgia
The Bell Tower of Cadiz Cathedral
| Tourism objects | 117 seen
I don't know how many popular tourism objects in Spain's Cadiz there are, but the Cathedral of Cadiz and it's bell tower should be among them for sure.
We visited Cadiz for couple of hours in June 2016, arrived here from El Puerto de Santa Maria by the ferry in the morning and left afternoon. There is a small entrance fee - EUR 5, which gives access both to the Bell tower and access to the church, audio guides are available as well. There is no lift to get up to the bell tower. The total height of bell tower is about 40 meters.
Cathedral of Cadiz
Tried to apply the panoramic photography above. Not the best result, but somehow framed (fit) whole building in one frame.
Cádiz Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church in Cádiz, southern Spain, and the seat of the Diocese of Cadiz y Ceuta. It was built between 1722 and 1838. The cathedral was declared Bien de Interés Cultural in 1931.
Climbing up the ramp
I was the only one visiting bell tower at this time (thus I met some German couple climbing down from the tower). The total height of bell tower is about 40 meters (131ft)
…
Postcards from Cadiz
| | 14 seen
My latest trip to Spain took us to the sunny and astonishing city of Cadiz. In today's Piece of Life series - a fraction, os simply Postcards from Cadiz.
Square in Cadiz
Cádiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the province of Cádiz, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia.
White arch in Cadiz
Cádiz, the oldest continuously inhabited city in Spain and one of the oldest in western Europe,has been a principal home port of the Spanish Navy since the accession of the Spanish Bourbons in the 18th century. The city is a member of the Most Ancient European Towns Network.
Cadiz, Spain
Situated on a narrow slice of land surrounded by the sea‚ Cádiz is, in most respects, a typically Andalusian city with a wealth of attractive vistas and well-preserved historical landmarks. The older part of Cádiz within the remnants of the city walls is commonly referred to as the Old Town (Spanish: Casco Antiguo). It is characterized by the antiquity of its various quarters (barrios), among them El…
Port of Cadiz Bay
| Railway / Bus / Ferry | 3 seen
We used Port of Cadiz Bay (Puerto de Cadiz) twice - first for entering from El Puerto de Santa Maria, second for leaving back to, yes you re right, back to the El Puerto Santa Maria again.
At Reina Victoria pier in Cadiz-City Basin, there is a metropolitan maritime station from Cádiz, that attends to the passengers between Cádiz, El Puerto de Santa María and Rota, with modern catamarans. It has it access from Sevilla square and it is five minutes walking from the center of the city.
Inside terminal building
Passengers leaving Port of Cadiz Bay terminal
Puerto de Cadiz
See more: http://www.puertocadiz.com/opencms/PuertoCadiz/en/
Average Monthly Salary in Former Soviet Union Republics 2016
| Macroeconomics | 172 seen
About two years ago I first compared average monthly salary in Former Soviet Union Republics. Now, two years later, I decided to compare again. I was surprised after seeing results. Let me explain.
First - call it as you wish - major world economic crisis, sanctions against Russia, better integrated or worst integrated parts of the World, but after seeing huge drops in all but Baltic States and Armenia's average salary for me it seems, those countries are still very closely related with Russia, at least in economical plan, and I'm not saying it is good nor it's bad. It's just how it looks for me.
If exchanged to US dollar Russia's monthly average salary in Russian roubles in past two years have dropped by whooping -359 USD. If you are interested in former Soviet Union space, you have probably heard about events in Ukraine, sanctions against Russia and Russian rouble troubles against American dollar. Those of you who follows my blog, had probably read about my worries about weak Georgian Lari against American dollar.
Not only national currencies have lost their…
Castle of San Marcos (El Puerto de Santa María)
| Tourism objects | 20 seen
While waiting for our ferry departing for Cadiz, we had a chance to visit a local fair in El Puerto de Santa Maria). I made some interesting photography here. One of the first tourism objects I noticed in El Puerto was Castle of San Marcos.
Castle of San Marcos (also Castillo de Alfonso X El Sabio) is a medieval castle located in El Puerto de Santa María, Cádiz, Spain. The castle was erected as a fortified church by King Alfonso X of Castile. It was built on the site of a mosque of which the wall of the qibla survives.
Front view of Castle of San Marco
The castle was declared a national monument on 30 August 1920 and is currently listed in the Spanish heritage register as a Bien de Interés Cultural.
Statue of Alfonso X of Castile
Alfonso X (also occasionally Alphonso X, Alphonse X, or Alfons X,23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284), called the Wise(Spanish: el Sabio), was the King of Castile, León and Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death. During the Imperial election of 1257, a dissident faction…
How I Made $1,000 with Google AdSense in 7 years
| Blogging | 6 seen
Yes, I know the title doesn't sounds too much promising. Do a quick Google search and there will be zillion of results pointing out how to make $1,000 a day, or at least in a month. No to speak about - how to make a million dollar from Google AdSense. I'm here to tell you my story how I made humble thousand dollars in seven years. Dude, I feel sorry for me.
Round a year ago I covered an article about Google AdSense achievements, it turned out I was using Google AdSense for already 6 years. Now it's already seven years, that's about 1/4 of my life or about one half of my adult life.
Now to put a little bit of light of this sad entry I must tell that about 2/3 of this money I have made in last 365 days.
Here is how it all started: It was a late night of September 4th, 2009, when I finally decided to give it a try for Google AdSense. Back then I had dozens of different "projects", mostly powered on WordPress, I was exploring different niches and put a lot of time on too much directions. I decided to try to monetize my efforts - and of course I was thinking, yet yet - I will make those million dollars overnight. …
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