LOTRO: MisDeeds 1

Tsukuld with the help of Taltoz, Family kin leader, who ran my little RK through a couple of instances to get him to LV75…ding-a-ling my little war pony is ready to ride…

That dinging got me to bonging:

‘Bing bing bang a bang a bang bing bong bing a bing bang a bong
Binga bing a bang a bong bong bing bong bing banga bong
Bing bing bang a bong bong bing bing binga binga banga bong
Bing bing bang a bang bang bing bong’
Ministry – ‘Jesus Built My Hotrod’

…and instead of heading of for mounted combat I chose to use my extended LOTRO time each morning during my 11 day vacation (that was the plan that didn’t really get realized!) to wrap up some older areas I had neglected…or at least try to get some of the deeds done.

BREE

Had fun in Old Forest… not so much in Great Barrows but then I bumped into a kinnie running some alts around and I tagged along in follow and that was that… BREE METADEED DONE!

ERED LUIN

Rath Teraig explored…SARNUR left for another day…

SHIRE

That smelly PIE deed was left alone…leftovers that no-one wants!

LONE LANDS

The right to fight wights
Twisted or not..
RK vs Wight: fight night!

Tsukuld has a TWIN?

After wrapping up 99.99% of Red Maid I was stumped for a while to where the heck the spring was! For the History of the Red-maid Quests (Vessel of Purity, For the Love of Nature , Reclaim the Lost Maiden.) Twas outside and you bring the purified water into the instance… I had confused the quests… Thanks to LOTRO WIKI and patience of kinnies who I think tried to explain this to me repeatedly…OOPS!

So Lone Lands Epic quests wrapped as well as METADEED 🙂

NORTHDOWNS

Only Exploration deeds to be done and done they were rapidly, a few EPIC quests were done as well but as soon as METADEED was done Tsukuld was off…

TROLLSHAWS

Stone Troll’s Glade

Now the going got heavier as Tsukuld had basically hopped over the Trollshaws… and my little RK decided to take all the quests given along the way, the many auto daily slayer quests made reaching Kindred with the Elves of Rivendell a breeze (was close already from rep items), was the first time I had quested here since the revamp and must admit it does flow mush better.

The slayer deeds here are all a bit of a drag though…

1st: WOLF slayer in the little wolf den with slow spawn rate and irritatingly stealthed!
2nd: TROLLS are easy (when OP) I remember struggling on level on other chars…
3rd: WIGHTS are easy enough, run back and forth in Nan Tornaeth BUT only at night…  day broke and had to come back again later to wrap up!
4th: WORMS (not crawlers that look like worms but wyrms!) find the small lair around the circular lake at Cirith Ulunn… and run around alot!
5th: CRAWLERS these carrion are found all over Trollshaws but nowhere is really good for quickly farming but basically kill all that you encounter and wrap up serendiptiously while doing ‘worm’ slayer above in Cirith Ulunn.
6th: GIANTS go to giant town also good for worms (not crawlers!) but I had done that already…and amazingly there are tons of resource nodes for Lebethron and Dwarf Iron! Too many to farm alone!

Completed quite a few quests, some of the EPIC book and got the METADEED 🙂

INTERLUDE

Is that you Tarpolo? Get that Bog Lurker off your head! You don’t know where it has been!

I did intend to head into the Misty Mountains next but instead decided to go for a swim in Everswim…popped back to Bree to sort out some of the mountains of crafting mats I have collected…also put up lootbox stuff into AH for any kinnies that may find them useful…Tsucan my neglected warden (lv16!) finally leveled his scholar to Expert, oh shucks now he needs to go to Rivendell…ok bags empty Tsukuld onwards…

EVERDIM

What u staring at Tsukuld…?

Everything is so pretty in Evendim…

Deed grinding is ongoing and trying so far spectacularly unsuccessfully to avoid picking up quests, since arriving at Tinnudur and moving North to Ost Forod, have taken and completed them all…my only defense is that there is a Warden of Evendim deed for doing 90 quests!

I found Whiteberry’s Tales of Arda deed map section again yesterday, all of these deed maps are awesome!

Bandits(Tomb-Defenders) done on the island of Rantost, Gauradan done in the hills of Emyn Uial, and Giants also slaughtered here. Salamander slayer continues on Tyl Ruinen… there is a slight infestation of em!

Tsukuld hopes to wrap up here by the weekend before heading to ANGMAR and MISTY MOUNTAINS…will it never end?

‘No more speed, I’m almost there
Gotta keep cool now, gotta take care’
Golden Earring – ‘Radar Love’

LOTRO BLOG VACATION: ENDED

 

Tsuhelm has cut short his LOTRO BLOG VACATION! Well I was actually back at work last week but didn’t get to wrap up my intended 11 destinations…maybe next year!

I spent my vacations at home with family, basically R&R around the pool.

I have also disappointingly not completed my missed DEED hunt before Tsukuld heads off for ROHAN, hope to wrap that up soon, which for me could be a few weeks 😦

Tsukuld Misdeed post coming soon…

LOTRO BLOG VACATION: DAY 6, London

Tsuhelm is on his hols 🙂

He is not but would like to be in London!

‘London is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. It is the most populous city in the United Kingdom, with a metropolitan area of over 13 million inhabitants. Standing on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its founding by the Romans, who named it Londinium.’

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London

I love London but would never want to live there (but I also live by the idiom of ‘never say never‘. Not to be confused with the Never say Never Again Bond movie where Sean Connery played Bond after saying 12 years previously he would never again do so!)

I have been coming here to visit family friends since I was 2, London is a small part of my soul, teeny tiny compared to York but still present. I first got into Comics here, I encountered paper n pen RPGs here, I first played ELITE here and I first listened to PWEI’s ‘Def Con One’ here… All of these shaped the me of today.

When I come back to London I always end up in the same Tottenham Court Road area, almost Soho, for the Comic shops I used to hunt down solo in my early teens, which required me getting used to the underground, the TUBE, from an early age and it amazes me at those tender ages I could roam freely into LONDON. As I got older my explorations increased and I used to use my day card extensively popping up and down all over London. Now I head to Tottenham Court Road Tube station and wander over land into Soho, I may still pop into any comic shop but have added a string of pubs, Asian food stores, Japanese toy shops, design shops and various other small shops that have popped up that look ever so slightly interesting. Always exciting :).

If I am meeting friends I will pop over to Kings Cross, or Camden, Brixton or Canary Wharf! My family friends are still around Enfield, in North London, Southgate and Winchmore Hill are visited for the nostalgia, Walthamstow as well. Also have an Old Uni pal in South London that I have not met in years.

I can wander London and find something new everytime. Whether its a nice cafe, bar or restaurant to nourish oneself or a shop selling books, tshirts or designer nik naks (knick-knacks) to offload some pennies in… there is always something new in London.

For such a heavy drinker from my twenties (I have since calmed down…) I never did find a PUB in London to call home and most that I tried to frequent more than once closed or moved away (sometimes I simply couldn’t find em again!) wherever I sat down I always found fun company another aspect of London that I love. Londoners, a broad term including all the diverse ethnicities and peoples of all origins, yet another wonder is this cosmopolitan aspect of Life in London. Londorners are social creatures used to strangers, so it doesn’t matter what accent you speak with or your level of English and sometimes even what language you speak.

I do keep meaning to take my wife to Bradley’s Spanish Bar, its also near to Tottenham Coart Road tube…

Forbidden Plant the comic and SF/fantasy memorabilia place also should be visited, if you can find it, it moves from time to time.

Ronnie Scotts Jazz Club for late night music and relaxing drinking, try and get a table!

Korea town in New Malden is definitely worth a visit, if you want GOOD bulgogi and bekseju!

Down by the Thames its always worth popping into the Tate Modern: just to experience the vastness of the Engine Room.

‘It is the most-visited modern art gallery in the world, with around 4.7 million visitors per year. It is based in the former Bankside Power Station.’

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tate_Modern

Then wander to Parliament and of course BIG BEN…

‘The tower is officially known as the Elizabeth Tower, renamed as such to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II (prior to being renamed in 2012 it was known as simply “Clock Tower”)’

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Ben

I cant forget the following old joke:

‘My cousins gay, he went to London only to find out that Big Ben was a clock.’

Well whatever your reason for visiting LONDON you will surely find something to like.

LOTRO BLOG VACATION: DAY 5, Paris

Tsuhelm is on his hols 🙂

He is not but would like to be in Paris!

‘Paris is the capital and most populous city of France. Situated on the Seine River, in the north of the country, it is in the centre of the Île-de-France region, also known as the région parisienne. The City of Paris has a population of 2,273,305 inhabitants (January 2013), making it the fifth largest city in the European Union measured by the population within the city limits. Paris and its suburbs have a population of 12,292,895 inhabitants, making it the second or third largest metropolitan area in Europe, with London and Berlin, depending on the area measured.’

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris

The so called city of love…

I have always been unlucky in love…in Paris!

My first trip at age 9, maybe I was too young, at 17 I met a hot Liverpudlian but as this was a coming of age ‘school’ trip I promptly drank myself into vodka oblivion, at 23 back again with my first proper GF and things were ROCKY…we split a few weeks afterwards…and my last trip was with my then fiancé, now wifey, to put it mildly we had a rough trip! Thankfully we worked out our differences 🙂

That’s a big tower…

‘As one of the most iconic images in the world, the Eiffel Tower has been the inspiration for the creation of over 30 duplicates and similar towers around the world.’

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Eiffel_Tower_replicas

The Eiffel Tower is not unique to Paris there are now many throughout the world, really see above…! My kids call any tall tower ‘Eiffel Tower‘ as we have photo of my wife and I with the Eiffel in the background on the wall, one of the happier moments of our trip. Although it was stressful getting to the top, I do not suffer from vertigo (and it still induces a modicum of fear anyway!), my fiancé did, she soldiered on and we got some great photos from the top.

Pompidou Center 

‘Centre Georges Pompidou; commonly shortened to Centre Pompidou; also known as the Pompidou Centre in English) is a complex building in the Beaubourg area of the 4th arrondissement of Paris, near Les Halles, rue Montorgueil and the Marais. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano, along with Gianfranco Franchini.’

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre_Georges_Pompidou

Being a failed Architecture student I encountered this amazing construction and instantly fell in love, to visit was mind-blowing the first time and it dazzles still upon repeated visitations.

Musée National d’Art Moderne & Musee D’Orsee

The former housed in the Pompidou Center and the latter a converted train station both are museums worthy of pilgrimage! Just wander about and enjoy ART!

Other places of interest are the Louvre museum which had more than 9.2 million visitors in 2013, making it the most visited museum in the world. But I only really like the pyramid outside! Arc de Triomphe is cool if you like dodging the insane drivers (take the underpass!),  La Grande Arche of La Défense …huge minimal square arch (is that oxymoronic?),  Notre Dame Cathedral, to look at the idiots trying to impress their fiancés by imitating hunchbacks while uttering the immortal lines of, “She gave me wa’er’!” (Yes I did, she was not amused!)

Then go and grab a late night snack in the infamous 24 hour night life only to find most everything shut, well around your hotel that is. End up eating amazing food, but be careful of the French waiter that insists that steak should be served BLUE; and drink ‘biere’…lots of; and of course ‘vin’…lots of.

I love the Metro and everytime I walk down the step I remember that my favourite film of all time is Luc Besson’s cool, stylish if a wee bit dated SUBWAY(1985) and that is my biggest disappointment about visiting Paris, my school boy French scares Parisians away as fast as a skunk that have been force fed Brie de Meaux for a year! And the a-typical Parisian is very unlikely to want to parley in Rosbif speak! That and that I am not Christophe Lambert (before he became the ‘one’ and turned into Christopher[yuch!]) and I do not know Isabelle Adjani (Sorry wifey I would swap you for the iroquois haired Isabelle of this time…just for one night!) or even hang out with Jean-Hugues Anglade or Jean Reno! I do not know the real Paris at all, I never cooked in kitchens a la Hemingway or hung out with artists and writers in a ‘salon’. I would have run to Yves Klein’s aid as he flung himself to the cobbled floor, with a hope to help him apply International Klein Blue (IKB) paint at the first opportune moment.

Paris for me is a place of dreams, my Alphaville, a place to visit in my subconscious, the likelihood of learning French after shacking myself up in an artist garret (with obvious roof-top views) with a month’s supply of wine, a willing and attractive French whore for a muse and theoretical language teaching abilities, and a limitless supply of artistic materials to create ART is just that, a DREAM!

So reality will never provide, but like any dream it has me in its ethereal grips and I will periodically return…

A city to LOVE may be more accurate.

From Paris I suggest heading south to NICE, cos its nice, visit ANTIBES where my parents discovered a little restaurant with 2 stairwells leading to its door where I would willingly eat fish, trout baked in almonds to be exact and I think start my love of food… Visit NANTES because I had a great trip there and was surprised to find that a small group of stupid English-speaking, teenagers stranded by a sick driver, could have an amazing time drinking Pelforth Blonde in a cafe with a TETRIS arcade machine, while camping! …Go North to Mont Saint-Michel which would make a great small private getaway if you could somehow remove the tourist infestation! …you can even go to London on the train…UNDER the English Channel appropriately using the Channel Tunnel!

So I am not there but I wish I was, or do I? I do dream of being there…

The French are another language group blessed with their own LOTRO servers (Come on venture capitalists a Spanish speaking version must be possible…or maybe it was a missed opportunity of yesteryear…another dream!)

 

 

LOTRO BLOG VACATION: DAY 4, München

Tsuhelm is on his hols 🙂

He is not but would like to be in München!

‘Munich is the capital and largest city of the German state of Bavaria, on the banks of River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg, with a population of around 1.49 million. The Munich Metropolitan Region is home to 5.6 million people.’

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich

München is Munich to us English speakers! Once had a business trip to Münster and got confused and nearly got a train to München although I am sure I would have had a much better time if I hadn’t realized the error!

OKTOBERFEST

‘Oktoberfest is the world’s largest funfair held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It is a 16-day festival running from late September to the first weekend in October with more than 6 million people from around the world attending the event every year.’

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oktoberfest

I was here once visiting friends made in Cádiz, yes I am proud to say that I have German friends, in deed they are consistently the friendliest and nicest people I have met since I started travelling in 2007 and they are more so when they are home in Germany.

Joined by the ex-landlord of Woodstock, Cádiz who traversed the whole of Germany to join in Oktoberfest celebrations. So we wandered around from tent to tent from huge beer to huge beer, we joined in haphazardly with other tables and entered many a strange conversation. Drunken and worse for wear, crashed out in the central station… never did find my German friends that night!

A reason to make the trip is the national dress prominently on show during the Oktoberfest, Dirndl dress for the ladies (upfront and in your face!) and lederhosen for the chaps…well er … if I ever return I have promised to don a pair!

I also really enjoyed the amazing art nouveau swimming pool, Müller´sches Volksbad, never had I swum in such an amazing pool!

I really wanted to but didn’t dare try to bodysurf the WAVE, true German ingenuity has created a surfable constant 12m long wave on the Eisbach River, located centrally!

From Munich I headed off to Berlin and Cologne, other than losing my frisbee in the Rhine… I had a thoroughly great time in Germany, I will be back!

LOTRO is also BIG in Germany, 6 SERVERS: Anduin, Belegaer, Gwaihir, Maiar, Morthond and Vanyar.

 

LOTRO BLOG VACATION: DAY 3, Cádiz

Tsuhelm is on his hols 🙂

He is not but would like to be in Cádiz!

Cádiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of Cádiz province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. 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. It is also the site of the University of Cádiz.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A1diz

(Relaxed so much I failed to post this before but hey will post it now anyway!)

My dream home, and the place I spent 6 months while I ‘studied’ Spanish…well I spoke better Spanish then than I do now after living over 5 years in Argentina!

I spent most of my time on one place, in all weather conditions, and it wasn’t a bar, or tapas spot of which there are many (more later) and it wasn’t my bed in which I spent many an hour recovering from the excesses derived in the latter…but it was simply the La Playa de Santa María del Mar.

Where I learnt to bodysurf, I spent as much time as possible here in the waves, in fact when the sea was still I got melancholic! I also did quite a bit of throwing frisbee, beer drinking & socializing. I did very little Spanish practice…

My day would begin hungover (recaca), I would have my first coffee and tortilla in the bus station cafe before catching the bus around the peninsula to La Playa de Santa María, craning my neck around to the first views of the Atlantic to see if the sea was going to provide waves today! I would continue either way, I could always throw my Frisbee into the wind and surely at some point find company there. But with waves crashing my excitement would build until I had shod-off my clothing and was ‘fluorescent’ short attired again and plunging into the waves, dodging (board) surfers and again trying to collect the waves that would propel me onto the beach again…hopefully missing the submerged rocks…came a cropper a few times…nothing major. But the addiction of ‘water flying’ had bitten deeply and as soon as one wave was ridden I would be out again. I swam for hours… I would pause to rest, grab some water, check my belongings on the beach, or see if any friends had turned up, we had a small group of casual body surfers that gathered in the same spot most days…although I think I was the most stupid that was undettered by bigger waves even in bad weather!

After a long day swimming (and frisbeeing) I would generally end up in the small bar on the road above the beach for an ice cold Heineken, a break from the delicious Cruz-campo which is the local beer, watching the sun set. Then back to flat to rest, grab some food and head out again. At the time Woodstock was my fallback drinking den, I knew the staff and the locals, indeed when no waves I would normally commiserate here by doodling the day away… Nahu, Bar Cuba and/or any bar/tapas joint open depending on who was out and about that night. I rag tag loose group of expats, students and locals… flamenco, good eats and fun all readily available… mix in Football games (Spain won the European Championships that year) and Cádiz CF are probably the ‘pro’ team I have seen play live more than any other…

Best tapas place: Casa Manteca

Best food: I recommend getting the little ferry (you can also take a train!) to El Puerto de Santa Maria and just in front of the ferry is a split fried fish restaurant, one side is for shellfish and the other for fish fish! All are simply delicious, washed down with beer or wine and for the full ‘fish & chips’ effect get some papas fritas!

You can also get over to Sevilla quite easily, more than worth a couple of days.

Overall an amazing place to vacation, pity I am not there…because its CARNAVAL NOW!

 

LOTRO BLOG VACATION: DAY 2, Copenhagen

Tsuhelm is on his hols 🙂

He is not but would like to be in COPENHAGEN.

´Copenhagen (København) is the capital and most populated city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,246,611 and a metropolitan population of 1,990,036 (as of 1 July 2014). It is situated on the eastern coast of Zealand, 42 km (26 mi) northwest of Malmö, Sweden and 164 km (102 mi) northeast of Odense.´

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copenhagen

My second home, spent 10 years in this fabulous city and happy country: ´officially´ the happiest country in the world!

First few days(weeks?) will be filled with catching up with many friends that I have been missing since 2007, WHAT it has been 7 years since I left! Time flies in love and marriage, kids are a huge factor in that equation to!

Of course I will join in with the crowds at quaint Nyhavn for a beer – bring your own or buy cheep around the corner! The day can be spent jovially getting pissed while taking the piss of tourists, including myself but the Swedish are the main targets for the verbal jests!

I would like to spend a day in Cinemateket. start with brunch/lunch while perusing the monthly screening list of eclectic movies, Check out the archive rooms, chill with refreshing beer afterwards and if possible check out a film to wrap up.

Later Christiania, to Spiseloppen for equisite food in super laidback environment…just dont get put off by the seedy entrance stairs…or try to eat at NOMA supposedly the worlds best restaurant´, “meticulous attention to detail, innovative approach to foraging and experimentation with fermentation”

Food done, time to drink, start of with some Flying Couch beer…then wander north to Stefanshus for billiards and reasonable beer prices (but face it Denmark is happy but not cheep!),

Other things to do in CPH: get on a bicycle, wander around, go shopping, or combine all 3.

Go for a swim, great pools abound but the sea is clean and used all year around!

Finally for some raw metal, dark and dingy, check out Metal Breakfast Radio; based in wonderful Copenhagen. (Offensive language throughout!)

LOTRO BLOG VACATION: DAY1, YORK

Tsuhelm is on his hols 🙂

He is not but would like to be in YORK.

York is a historic walled city at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England, and is the traditional county town of Yorkshire to which it gives its name. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events in England throughout much of its two millennia of existence. The city offers a wealth of historic attractions, of which York Minster is the most prominent, and a variety of cultural and sporting activities making it a popular tourist destination for millions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/York

My hometown, It is also home to a certain ork!

My 1st stop would be at my Mum´s: for a nice cuppa tea, depending on the time (after 5…) a cold glass of Soave being my Mum´s tipple of choice. Later some good food, maybe out for a curry or even Fish N Chips… Would probably spend the evening in easy conversation, watch a little British TV and RELAX or another family tradition would be to go and catch a movie at the CityScreen.

Next day I would catch up with my Sister (and her family as well :)) and Aunt.

Now time to catch up with mates, even old school friends (I just missed a reunion :()  would wander into town along the Ouse (Not ooze!) and partake in bibations available at one of the many pubs in town, they say there are enough for each day of the year and then some…I would almost certainly end up in the Evil Eye (purportedly Johnny Depp´s watering hole of choice when he was working on Charlie and the Chocolate factory here in York!)

I could also pop over to Leeds but that would be another post….