South to Ardèche After our 48-hour rendez vous with J.P. and Maryse in Paris, we picked up our rental car and started heading South to Ardèche. Villedieu-les-Poêles We left ourselves a few days to make the trip and stop at some places of interest on the way. The first of which was a small town […]
Battered and Brugged – FLEMISH STEW WITH CHANTERELLES
t’Keiserhof We were thankful that our little hotel, t’Keiserhof in Brugge was only a four-minute walk from the train station. My sprained ankle was still causing me serious pain, especially walking on the uneven cobblestone streets. Nevertheless, we were eager to explore this much talked about medieval city so we threw our packs in our room […]
Belgian Bublé – GREEN CURRY MUSSELS and BELGIAN WAFFLES
Buzz of Amsterdam After the buzz of Amsterdam, we were afraid that Antwerp would be a letdown. A wrong turn made the walk from the train station, a marvellous piece of architecture, to the hotel, very long. The McDonald’s of hotels We finally arrived at yet another Ibis hotel (the McDonald’s of hotels) and settled […]
Gardening In Munich – OBATZDA
German countryside The train ride through the German countryside was beautiful and entertaining. A group of beer drinking American students on their way to Stuttgart for a soccer match were glad to meet some English speaking travellers. We chatted for a while which helped us forget that we had to stand the whole way, not […]
Pigged Out! – CHOUCROUTE GARNIE
Alsatian Valley Continuing down the Alsatian Valley we rolled into Colmar. A good way to describe this fairyland is Germany meets France in Disneyland. Colmar A day of walking covered everything we needed to see in Colmar. We stopped at a few shops to check out rows of spiced cake & fresh kugelhopf and did […]
Schnapped In Strasbourg – ROESTI
The crappiest hotel After the worst sleep in the crappiest hotel so far on our tour, we awoke in the Alsatian town of Strasbourg. Cramped quarters Escaping the confines of our cramped quarters, we headed out for coffee and to see what Strasbourg had to offer. Dominating the skyline is Notre Dame Cathedral with its […]
Bern Baby Bern – FLAMMEKUECHE
Bern Switzerland As our train rolled into Bern Switzerland I was trying to get a good look at the Aar River which protects the old town on three sides. Today, the river attracts many townspeople for a leisurely float/swim downstream on a hot summer day. Hairy or leisurely The day we arrived, we had a […]
Meat Me In Florence – FARRO SOUP
Florence Leaving our cozy digs in Massarosa, we were excited to spend our last two days of the Italian leg of this tour in Florence. Although we both love being in the country we also love the energy of a big city. A huge museum Firenze is like being in a huge museum. Every street […]