Champagne Christmas Quiz

[Guest fountainhall]

No, not one of those brain teaser ones. Just a few Christmassy photos to identify.

 

The eight photos below were taken on five different continents – continents being defined as Australia/New Zealand, Asia, Europe, North America and South America (I know some define the Americas as one – but I’m calling them two!). So, some of the photos were clearly taken on the same continent/s.

 

The Quiz is in two parts with prizes for each.

 

Part 1

Correctly identify the continents represented in each photo.

 

Part 2

Correctly identify the region, location or city where each photo was taken. By region and location, I mean an area that is within a radius of 25 miles or so of the photo location. So, regions like New England, states like Vermont and areas like the Alps are unacceptable. The location needs to be more specific – i.e. the Eiger Mountain in Switzerland, EUROPE or the city of Manchester, England, EUROPE. "Near the Eiger mountain" would also be acceptable.

 

I reckon the Quiz is quite difficult, although anyone who has read my posts in the last couple of years may recognize a few of the pics. Cheating is therefore permissible and expected! One clue: all the locations are well-known to those who like to travel or enjoy reading about travel. So if you are thinking of obscure locations, you are almost certainly on the wrong track. I have obscured tiny parts of two of the pics as that would have made them far too easy!

 

Awarding Points

 

Each correct continent gains 1 point. Each correct location gains 2 points. So 3 points are available for each photo.

 

Prizes

 

Gold. The first member to get the full 24 points wins the Grand Prize - a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne or Bt. 4,000 (that’s about the Duty Free price!).

 

Silver. If no-one gets 24 points, the member who gets closest to 24 points wins a bottle of Perrier-Jouet Belle Epoque (or similar) champagne or Bt. 2,500. In the event of a tie, the prize will be the cash divided by the number of winners.

 

Bronze. Also, the first member to correctly identify only the continents in all eight photos wins a bottle of Mumms champagne (or similar), or Bt. 1,000.

 

The champagne will be given to members living in Bangkok or Pattaya where I can deliver bottles. Others will have to make do with cash, either transferred to accounts in Thailand or waiting for them to pick up in Bangkok when they next visit Thailand.

 

Rules

 

1. I make the final decision on what is correct and what is not correct!

 

2. Each poster can make a maximum of three entries.

 

3. I will not comment on entries until one entry wins the Gold Prize and another wins the Bronze prize. If no-one wins the Gold Prize, the Silver Prize will be announced on December 25 or 26.

 

4. Champagne prizes will be given some time after I next return to Bangkok through a Duty Free area around January 20.

 

Deadline

 

Subject to agreement by the Board owners, the Quiz will remain open until midnight December 24 Thailand time.

 

Photo A

 

Photo B

 

Photo C

 

Photo D

 

Photo E

 

Photo F

 

Photo G

 

Photo H

[Rogie]

You could have called it the Happy Holidays Quiz! (but I'm glad you didn't as I dislike that modern euphemism for Christmas).

 

Are attempts to be posted directly to the thread, or by PM, or are both types of entry acceptable (up to the maximum of 3 per person).

 

Now all I need to do is some serious cheating

[Guest fountainhall]

Are attempts to be posted directly to the thread, or by PM

It is only fair that entries are posted on the thread publicly. That way posters can cheat from each other

 

Seriously, though, I think it has to be done publicly or no doubt I will be accused of not being impartial!

 

I should also add that you can enter each Part of the Competition in separate posts if you wish. That way, you can enter the easier one - the continents - first whilst still thinking about/researching locations for a later post. The temptation will be to hold off posting answers until others have posted their answers first. But this is a first-past-the-post quiz for the Gold and Bronze prizes, and so delaying may end up ruling you out!

[forrestreid]

Hmm...photo A and H are definitely North America...the buildings have that "look".

 

 

Photo C looks like Everest.

 

Photo G looks like South America (it reminds me of pics I have seen of the Patagonian Andes)

[Bob]

I don't have a clue so I won't waste anybody's time taking a guess. One photo - photo "E" - reminds me a bit of the promenade in front of Chapultepec (spelling?) castle in Mexico City but I wouldn't bet on it.

 

Good luck to the participants.

[Guest fountainhall]

Hmm...photo A and H are definitely North America...the buildings have that "look".

Why not make a formal entry and just take a stab at the others you are less 'sure' about? (This is not to suggest that your thoughts are correct or incorrect, though!)

 

Remember, getting the continents right still gets you the Bronze Prize without even having to try identifying the actual locations.

[ChristianPFC]

That's too difficult for me, I could make wild guesses about the continents. But as a teetotaller I want to take umbrage that the prices are wine/champagne. At least there is an alternative in money.

 

(Teetotaller is not correct; I drink on average two litres of beer per year, but I don't drink any wine or champagne.)

[Guest thaiworthy]

I don't know where they are, but the photos are exquisite, especially D and G.

[Guest fountainhall]

That's too difficult for me, I could make wild guesses about the continents. But as a teetotaller I want to take umbrage that the prices are wine/champagne. At least there is an alternative in money.

Make a guess! You don't lose anything by it. As for champagne as a prize, most people seem to like a glass or to around Christmas, and it seemed a good idea. A case of Singhas doesn't sound quite as attractive, I reckon! But, as you say, there's a cash alternative which will buy a few beers.

 

I don't know where they are, but the photos are exquisite, especially D and G.

As suggested to Christian PFC, why not make a guess? Even if you just get 1 point for one continent and no-one else enters, you win the Silver Prize!

 

I'm glad you like the photos. They were all taken by me and so are all places I have been fortunate enough to visit in recent years.

[Guest fountainhall]

Just so there is no confusion, the suggestions made in a couple of earlier posts are not formal entries and so cannot be considered as such for the Competition/s. An entry must at least be an attempt to identify all eight continents and/or all eight locations to qualify.

 

Less than four days to go!

[ceejay]

Thank you, Fountainhall, for taking the time and trouble to put this together, and for being generous enough to offer prizes. I think someone should at least try to answer it - but it's too tough for me. Even so, I'll make an entry. All but one of these is a guess:

Photo A - Europe. Somewhere in London - maybe the more downmarket end of the City, or somewhere like Holborn?

Photo B - South America. One of the high altitude lakes in the Andes?

Photo C - Australasia (New Zealand?)

Photo D - North America (Aspen, Colorado?)

Photo E - Europe (There's a lot of stuff in that style in Saint Petersburg)

Photo F - Yayyy!! I got one!! Thats the Duomo - the dome of Florence Cathedral

Photo G - Australasia - New Zealand again - those mountains look like ancient volcanoes to me.

Phot0 H - Asia (Singapore??)

Bet you I get one out of 8 for this!

 

all the best for Christmas and New Year to one and all.

[Guest fountainhall]

Hooray! Thanks for being the first to post an entry, ceejay. You can make up to three entries if you wish.

[Guest thaiworthy]

A. NYC

B. Alaska or Fjords of Norway

C. Matterhorn, Switzerland

D. Switzerland

E. Florence, Rome or Vatican City

F. Same as E.

G. Mongolia

H. NYC, and if not correct at least in the same city as "A."

 

I really do not know the answers, these are just guesses and I did not borrow Ceejay's answer.

[Guest fountainhall]

Thanks for having a 'go', thaiworthy.

 

1. Re continents, you have not identified specific continents, only locations. In the spirit of Christmas, though, I would be prepared to assume that you mean me to take the continents where your answers are located. But unfortunately you offer two continents for B (and possibly also H). And, equally unfortunately, this could allow up to four possibilities, and only three entries are allowed. So I am really sorry I have to rule you out for the Bronze Prize.

 

2. Re the location contest, I'm equally sorry I can not accept your answers for B, E, F and H since you offer more than one location for each. So the Gold and Silver Prizes are also out of reach.

 

Have you time to post another entry without the "ors"? You still have two.

[Rogie]

Here's my stab at the Bronze Prize: #1

A. North America

B. South America

C. Asia

D. Europe

E. Europe

F. Europe

G. South America

H. North America

 

I wish I knew enough to hazard a few guesses re: locations but I'm nowhere near well-travelled enough.

[Rogie]

Here's my stab at the Bronze Prize: #2

 

A. Australasia

B. South America

C. Asia

D. Europe

E. Europe

F. Europe

G. Australasia

H. South America

 

[Rogie]

Final stab #3

 

A. Australasia

B. South America

C. Europe

D. North America

E. Europe

F. Europe

G. Australasia

H. South America

[Guest thaiworthy]

Thanks for having a 'go', thaiworthy.

I guess I didn't take this very seriously. I was more anxious to just blindly participate and did not read the rules. Here it is again.

 

A. North America, Boston

B. North America, Glacier Bay

C. Europe, Matterhorn

D. Europe, The Swiss Alps

E. Europe, Florence, Italy

F. Europe, Rome, Italy

G. Asia, Himalayas-Xizang

H. North America, NYC

 

Is there a booby prize? 'Cuz if so, I would probably win it!

[kokopelli]

Just saw this contest and have an hour to go.

 

A. Europe - London

 

B. New Zealand - Lake Wakatipu

 

C. Europe - Matterhorn

 

D. Europe - Lake Geneva

 

E. North America - Las Vegas

 

F. Europe - Florence

 

G. South America - Torres del Paine/Patagonia

 

H. North America - NYC

[Guest fountainhall]

THE RESULTS

 

Wow! That was all very last-minute!

 

Firstly, thanks to everyone who gave their best guesses and entered. I realised when I picked the photos that the competitions were not easy, although with everyone having three guesses, I reckoned there was a reasonable chance that someone might quickly get at least four of the continents. Then, less than 24 hours later, I was sure there’d be a flood of entries when two posts, by forrestreid and Bob, actually gave away no less than five of them - – A, C, E, G and H! If anyone had just entered these and got one other correct, they’d have won the Bronze prize. But such is luck!

 

Secondly – and most importantly – the winners! Remember, for the continents only, there was one point per correct answer. For the continents and locations, three points for each answer – one for the continent and two for the location. It was very close up to the last hour. ceejay and Rogie were almost neck and neck, but then with just 32 minutes to run, out of nowhere came the dark horse kokopelli. Here are the results.

 

Continents and Locations – ceejay got two points for two correct continents D and F (1 point each) and two points for one correct location F. But kokopelli had five correct continents B, E, F, G, H (5 points) and no less than 4 correct locations B, E, F, G (8 points). So, kokopelli wins the Silver Prize with 13 points – more than 50% of the available points. Great job! Congratulations!

 

Continents Only – thaiworthy made a valiant effort but just did not quite match Rogie’s first entry with 5 correct answers A, C, F, G, H. So, Rogie wins the Bronze Prize.

 

Commiserations to thaiworthy and ceejay who added to the fun (as did forrestreid and Bob).

 

Here are the detailed answers.

 

Photo A

Snowmen outside a store in CHICAGO, NORTH AMERICA

Taken four years ago, I believe on North Michigan. The small building across the street is the FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF CHICAGO whose name I had to fudge out. The car parked on the left side of the road might have been a tiny clue that it’s not Britain. And the only times I have ever noticed the red hand stop pedestrian signs are in North America. If I’m correct, then that would be another clue.

 

Photo B

The TSS Earnshaw steamer which makes daily trips on Lake Wakatipu from QUEENSTOWN, South Island, NEW ZEALAND

This was taken on the day summer officially started. Sadly, the temperature had plunged to almost zero overnight. I tried to disguise the clue on the flag which is clearly a New Zealand flag. Queenstown is one of the most lovely places in the South Pacific. Around the town are many of the locations where The Lord of the Rings and X-Men Origins: Wolverine were filmed. I admit this was probably the most difficult to identify as there are old steamers still working in many parts of the world, including Japan. But one photo had to come from Australia/New Zealand, and none of the others do.

 

Photo C

MACHAPUCHARE (or FISHTAIL) PEAK, Annapurna Range, NEPAL, ASIA

http://www.mountain-forecast.com/peaks/Machapuchare

Taken as dawn broke over the magnificent Annapurna range north of the town of Pokhara (and thus well over 200 miles west of Mt. Everest). Since the total area of the Annapurna Range is relatively small (the full circuit trek is just 155 miles), I’d have accepted that as an answer. The Matterhorn was an inspired guess as the two mountains do look somewhat similar. New Zealand has lots of mountains, but the highest is only 3,754m. Machapuchare is 6,993m high, one of the smallest in the Annapurna range which has 13 peaks over 7,000m.

 

Photo D

LAKE LOUISE, Banff, Alberta, CANADA

http://beautifulplacestovisit.com/lakes/lake-louise-alberta-canada/

This lake is one of the most scenically beautiful spots in Canada, situated just a short drive from the town of Banff and not far from Calgary. In late April, there should have been much less snow and the lake should have been clear. But it had just frozen over after a very cold snap. The building on the right is the famous Chateau Lake Louise, one of several large Scottish castle-type hotels built across Canada by the Canadian Pacific Railway in the early 1900s.

 

Photo E

Angels Trumpeting at CAESAR’S PALACE, LAS VEGAS, NORTH AMERICA

http://www.masterfile.com/stock-photography/image/700-01955328/Caesars-Palace-Hotel-and-Casino-Las-Vegas-Strip-Paradise-Las-Vegas-Nevada-USA

The suggestions of this being Mexico or St. Petersburg are much more exotic than its actual location. These rather tacky, kitsch angel trumpeters are part of the exterior of Caesar’s Palace Hotel in Las Vegas.

 

Photo F

The ceiling of THE BAPTISTERY, FLORENCE, Italy, EUROPE

http://www.museumsinflorence.com/musei/Baptistery_of_florence.html#

Pretty good, ceejay, and only a few meters from the exact location. It’s not Brunelleschi’s Dome. It’s the ceiling of the Baptistery situated just outside the main entrance to the Duomo. It was consecrated in 1059 and is where all citizens of Florence were baptized until the 19th century. The key feature is its octagonal shape. Before I looked it up, I had no idea that the octagon is commonly found in baptisteries as it apparently represents eternal life, most likely because the number eight is symbolic of renewal.

 

Photo G

TORRES DEL PAINE and surrounding peaks, Patagonia, Chile, SOUTH AMERICA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cuernos_del_Paine_from_Lake_Pehoé.jpg

Not quite as forrestreid guessed, but very close (I think the Andes actually stop fractionally to the north of these mountain rock formations of the Cuernos del Paine range). The mountains are in the Torres del Paine National Park in the far south of Chile and are stunningly unique. Within the cluster, there are three rock towers which give the range its more common name – the Torres del Paine (Blue Towers). The mountains are not volcanoes, though. Their extraordinary granite shapes were carved by glaciers as they retreated at the end of last ice age. From the Park you can just see the southernmost tip of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, the second largest extra-polar mass of ice on the planet (16,800 sq. kms) after Alaska. If you have not visited and have the opportunity to do so – grab it. Chilean Patagonia is one of the most strikingly beautiful parts of our planet that is increasingly being discovered by tourists.

 

Photo H

Heart ‘Statue’ in UNION SQUARE, SAN FRANCSICO, NORTH AMERICA

http://sanfrancisco.about.com/od/photogalleries/ig/Photo-Tour--Barbary-Coast/Hearts-in-San-Francisco.htm

Remember “I left my Heart in San Francisco”? The photo shows one of the earliest of over 130 hearts that have adorned Union Square since 2004 before each is auctioned off, a fund-raising project for one of the city’s hospitals.

 

So, there you have it! Congratulations again to kokopelli who wins with the Silver Prize and to Rogie who wins the Bronze Prize. I’ll be sending you PM’s to find out if you wish your prizes in champers or cash. And since there is still Bt, 1,500 left over from the total Prize pool, I will donate that to a flood relief charity.

 

(Since it's rather late and I have had a couple of drinks or more, I'll recheck the totals in the morning! Hopefully, I have named the correct winners!)

 

I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a healthy, safe and thoroughly enjoyable 2012!

[Rogie]

Bronze. Also, the first member to correctly identify only the continents in all eight photos wins a bottle of Mumms champagne (or similar), or Bt. 1,000.

 

Wow, bronze prize, but I have to say I am feeling a bit sheepish. To only get 5 out of 8 continents with my 3 guesses isn't up to scratch (even though some of the photos were devilishly tricky).

 

The rules state the bronze is awarded for correct identification of all 8 continents, and I only got 5, so I would like to suggest the award be reconsidered, and I would be happy to add my prize of 1,000 baht to the sum being given to charity.

 

Congratulations to Kokopelli - well done!

 

I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a healthy, safe and thoroughly enjoyable 2012!

 

Thank you Fountainhall for coming up with such a fascinating contest. It would be great if you decide to have another similar photo teaser next year.

 

May I also take the opportunity to wish all our readers a fine Christmas and a happy New Year.

 

[Guest thaiworthy]

Congratulations to Kokopelli and Rogie. I had a feeling they would win.

 

So sad, no booby prize for me, but I am in good company with ceejay and Bob.

 

Fountainhall, you should have your own board, it would be fun. I'll try to do better next time.

 

May Buddha bless everyone!

[Bob]

So sad, no booby prize for me, but I am in good company with ceejay and Bob.

 

At least you ventured a guess! I had no clue whatsoever and probably would have not gotten any continent right let alone a location. Congrats to the winner.

 

Oh.....and Melly Clitmas too.

[kokopelli]

Thank you fountainhall. I entered the contest at very last hour thanks to a post by Thaiworthy which piqued my interest. I first entered Banff on one photo and changed my mind. Also thought of Chicago, but fountainhall is a Brit, and changed to London! And I did leave my heart in San Francisco. I cribbed on the church in Florence although I knew of the exterior dome but not the interior. The rest of my guesses were thanks to Google and some clues by other posters..

Oh, ok, I waited till the last minute so no one would copy my answers! Just joking; I saw the next to last response by Thaiworthy whose posts I like so finally read the challenge and responded. It was so late in the game that I did not have time to even submit some alternative responses.

[Guest fountainhall]

So sad, no booby prize for me

When you are next in Bangkok, I'll buy the drinks. How about champagne cocktails as a booby prize?????

 

And that goes for ceejay too! Just let me know next time you are in this part of the world (if you are not already here).