adventure, BeNeLux, booze tourism, Brussels, Champagne Bucket trips

Pardon My French: Brussels and Paris 2026 (part four)

Featured photo is probably my favorite thing about the Choco-Story chocolate museum in Brussels…

Monday morning, we woke up in our grand Brussels suite at Le Fleur de Ville, and headed down to breakfast. I thought we would be having it in the lounge again, but a kitchen worker overheard me tell Bill he’d hit the wrong button on the elevator and said that breakfast was back in the restaurant. I was glad for that, because not only was the restaurant logistically a better location for eating breakfast than the lounge was, it was also a very beautiful setting for our morning repast.

The same couple who had given us the side eye in the lounge on Sunday morning were there on Monday. I was enjoying the music that was playing, which was better than the dance music in the lobby. Below are some beautiful pastries from what appeared to be a very special bakery in Brussels. People were lining up around the corner for these freshly baked buns and meringues.

After breakfast, we headed into the narrow streets of Brussels and headed close to the beer museum. I thought maybe we’d visit the church there. Fate had different plans, as when we went to the door, we saw a sign that said visits were not allowed because of a “celebration”. I stepped to the side, and suddenly, the door to the church opened. I peeked inside, and saw pallbearers bringing a coffin down the center aisle. The pastor, in his purple robe, was leading the way. The mourners were clapping, which was something I had never seen at a funeral. Then Bill noticed the van parked in front of the church, and realized it was the hearse.

I didn’t know a single thing about the deceased, but as I stood there watching, tears sprang to my eyes. I realized that many of the people who were mourning were young. I was moved by their sadness, even as a drunk stood nearby and shouted at everyone. I wrote more about this surreal scene on my main blog, just after it happened. It was that special of an event that I wanted to make sure I didn’t forget anything about what I saw on that Monday morning.

As I wiped away tears for a person I never even knew, it occurred to me that I happened to be there to see them being sent off by friends and family. It seemed very poignant to me.

*A cool looking building near the church.*

We decided we needed to chill out after taking in the funeral scene, so we walked to the famous Mannekin Pis sculpture. Bill and I had seen it before, back in 2008…

*Mannekin Pis was naked when we visited in 2008…*

In 2026, Mannekin Pis was wearing a cute little outfit… I got a few shots from different angles.

Looking at Mannekin Pis doesn’t take much time at all, so we followed up our visit to see the famous peeing boy statue with a trip to the Friet Museum. I didn’t have especially high expectations for this potato focused museum, which is just across the street from the chocolate museum, Choco-Story Brussels. The Friet Museum and the Choco-Story Museum are affiliated, so we bought combination tickets for both attractions. Had we visited the previous day, we could have combined our tickets with the Belgian Beer Experience, too.

Let me just state upfront– the Friet Museum didn’t disappoint! It is a very cute museum, and the best part was at the end. There, once you turn in your audio guide, you get to try a sample of delicious Belgian fried potatoes, cooked in either beef tallow or vegetable oil. You also get to try the many different exotic sauces, all of which made ketchup and mayo seem positively boring in comparison. You do need the audio guide, by the way. It gives you information in 11 languages, but it also allows you to try the interactive exhibits. You only get one “go”, too, which was sad for me, because I wanted to try the pinball machine again. I guess that makes it fair when the museum is very crowded. Otherwise, people would play pinball all day and no one else would get a chance to play!

The Friet Museum has a great gift shop, and we were able to load up on lots of presents for Bill’s grandchildren. I also enjoyed the many games and interactive exhibits this museum offers. It’s wonderful and educational for kids, but it’s also a lot of fun for adults who are big kids, like I am. I learned everything from the origin of potatoes, diseases that affect them, legends about potatoes, and how “French Fries” got their name, to all about fry sauces, cooking methods, and consumption habits. It was a very entertaining attraction for me! I love potatoes! I did, however, feel a little like I was on the set of the old Nickelodeon kids’ game show, Double Dare.

Below are some photos:

*I only got one play on this. It was fun!*

After we visited the Friet Museum, we decided to cross the street and visit Choco-Story Brussels. This museum was much like the Friet Museum in many ways, although it was more crowded. I didn’t enjoy the chocolate museum as much, as it didn’t offer as many fun activities, humorous exhibits, or interactive displays. We were also there with a big group of Spanish high school students who weren’t the most considerate. The silver lining is that, again, there were samples given, and they had a good gift shop. I liked the sculpture of the kid peeing in the restroom, too. See the featured photo.

Below are photos from Choco-Story Brussels:

After we visited the museums, we decided to go have lunch. On the way there, I took a few more photos…

I kept noticing this big eatery called Drug Opera (and no, I don’t know why it’s called that– I would assume maybe it’s located in a former pharmacy). I was curious about it, so that’s where we had our lunch. It reminded me of themed US based restaurants in the 80s. The atmosphere was fun, and the place was huge. However, I didn’t really love my lunch much… I had cordon bleu, which wasn’t really prepared in the way I expected. Luckily, there was plenty of good beer and fun 70s era music. They were playing a lot of Bee Gees!

*This was drenched in cheesy sauce, which isn’t my preference.*

After a very leisurely and filling lunch, we went back to the hotel for a rest. My ankle was bothering me from my fall the previous day, and I wanted to blog about that funeral experience we had in the morning.

When it came time for dinner, we decided to head over the the Delirium Tremens “Village”. Delirium Tremens is a famous and delicious Belgian beer which, strangely enough, we didn’t drink any of on this visit to Brussels. When we visited Brussels in 2008, they just had the Delirium Cafe, which was a rather small place that boasted a huge selection of beers. It was showcased on Three Sheets, the US cable drinking show starring Zane Lamprey, that we used to watch on iTunes when we lived in Germany the first time… We even sat at the same seats where Zane Lamprey sat, when he was showcasing the Delirium Cafe bar.

Below are photos from our 2008 visit.

Since 2008, the Delirium “Village” has really expanded. They now have multiple bars and other venues featuring all sorts of different libations. We ended up at the huge Taproom, which offered a large selection of excellent beers on draft. They played good music, too. The only thing I didn’t enjoy about our visit was the restroom I visited, which was not very clean or well stocked, and it didn’t smell pleasant. It wasn’t until we were about done for the evening that I noticed there was one closer to where we were sitting. But at least I got a few pictures of Jeanneke Pis– a female version of the more famous male statue, located in the Delirium Village. And this time, she wasn’t “behind bars.”

I think we skipped eating dinner on that night, although we got plenty of calories from beer… and I got a few more photos before we turned in for the evening.

*I would have liked to have tried this place.*

We decided to turn in, after a full day of visiting Brussels. The next day, which was Tuesday, our last full day in Brussels, we visited the famous Atomium. I’ll write about that experience in the next post!

BeNeLux, booze tourism, Brussels, YouTube

Pardon My French: Brussels and Paris 2026 (part three)

Featured photo is from the Toone Bar… which is also a historic puppet theater.

Sunday morning, Bill and I woke up, got dressed, and had breakfast in the hotel lobby. We were under the impression that we’d be having breakfast in the lobby all week, since the receptionist had told us the restaurant was under renovation. But it turned out the lounge breakfast was only to occur on Sunday. I was glad of that, since it wasn’t an ideal location.

Because we got there at 8:00 AM, there wasn’t a lot of seating in the lounge. We ended up sitting at a very low table, right next to the drink station. Bill fought with the Nespresso type coffee machine, which wasn’t properly set up. We got the side eye from a European couple, who happened to be at breakfast on three out of the four mornings we were at the hotel. I did fall in love with the marvelous pastries, though… It’s good that I don’t have access to them every day!

After breakfast, we decided to take a walk around and see what we could find in Brussels. It didn’t take us long before we wound up at the Belgian Beer World. This fantastic and very modern museum is in a huge, beautiful, surprisingly ornate building. We thought maybe the museum would be one tenant in the massive location, but it took up the entire edifice, with a cafe, brasserie, rooftop bar, and interactive exhibits on several floors.

We happened to be there at 10:30 AM, which was when the museum opened for the day. And, we were also the first ones to explore the museum on that Sunday morning. Tickets were 21,50€ for adults, but because Bill is 61 years old, he got a senior discount, and only had to pay 19,50€. He took it with good humor!

Below are a few photos from the walk to the Beer World, which was very close to Le Fleur de Ville, our hotel. One thing I love about Belgium is the quirky, and sometimes a bit off-color humor that is often on display there. They don’t take themselves too seriously!

*These kinds of comical murals are on a number of buildings around Brussels.*

And below are a few outside photos of the massive Belgian Beer World, which is an impressive place to explore Belgium’s national drink. As a beer lover, I can confirm it’s a fun place to visit, even for children. There are lots of interactive and multimedia exhibits there, presented in several languages.

We walked up the steps and into the massive foyer… I got more photos of the very ornate interior of this building, called La Bourse… This was just the first floor! Until 1996, this historic building was home to Belgium’s financial markets. Now, it’s been renovated to house a fun and fascinating museum dedicated to beer! What could be a better use for such a grand address? 🤭 La Bourse was designed by the Belgian architect, Léon-Pierre Suys between 1868 and 1873. It is now thought to be “a true marvel of 19th century neoclassical style.”

According to the Beer World’s Web site: La Bourse was the site of heroic action: during the First World War, the Bourse district of the city was the epicenter of the clandestine press, a symbol of the Belgian resistance against the occupier.

Besides housing Belgian Beer World, it also serves as a place for hosting temporary exhibits and events. Below are a few photos of the interior:

After we got our tickets to the museum, we climbed up some steps, and took a journey into Belgian beer and the history surrounding it. Below is a photo dump of all the pictures I got at this place, which entertained us for a good while. We learned that beer, at least back in the days before sanitation, was quite literally a lifesaver!

At this point, we had the chance to taste a couple of Belgian styles. We had a brown beer and a lambic… and once again, I ran into someone who badly needed a breath mint. Fortunately, that was the last occurrence of shocking halitosis on this trip.

After tasting the beer, we climbed another flight of stairs and encountered a truly funny exhibit… The Yeast Theatre! This exhibit involved sitting in a closed theatre, as if we were in a glass of beer, and an animated yeast told us the story of fermentation. I even got some video of it! The show happens continuously every ten minutes or so. You go in and sit down; the doors close, and then the fun begins.

Learning about Belgian beer production through a fun exhibit.

After the Yeast Theatre, there’s more to see in the museum, until it’s time to choose which beer you want to sample in the rooftop bar…

A short video showing how we were recommended “free” beers to try in the rooftop bar…

There were several of these interactive virtual barkeep people, “helping” us decide which beer to try.

After we got coasters with the names of the beers that were suggested for our tastes (we both got the same suggestions), we went to the rooftop bar. This was a great culmination after spending the morning learning about Belgian beers. I had a Blanche de Brussels Rosee, which is one I’d never tried before. Bill’s choice was a bit more run of the mill, although I can’t remember which beer he chose. He did say it was kind of ordinary, which is too bad.

We could have stayed and purchased more beer, if we’d wanted to. They offer “flights” at the museum. But we decided to move on and find some lunch. I got some more photos of the bar and the rooftop terrace, which offered lovely views of Brussels. It was a nice day, with just slightly chilly temperatures. We also could have visited the Archeo Site under La Bourse, Bruxella 1238, which unfortunately, we completely forgot about after trying the beer. I wish we’d remembered to check it out. Maybe we’ll get there next time, if we manage another Brussels visit. I’d definitely be up for another trip to Belgian Beer World.

I had noticed that a bar that we visited in 2008, at the Theatre Royal de Toone, was not going to be open on Monday or Tuesday. I definitely wanted to go there again, since we had such a memorable experience the last time we visited Brussels. So we left the Belgian Beer World, and had lunch at a place called Bier Central Brussels. Once again, I had croquettes, which I think kind of put me over the edge. I love them in small doses, though. Bill had sausage with mashed potatoes and bacon… a Belgian version of “bangers and mash”, if you like.

*Ahhh… the Duchesse… one of my favorites!*

After lunch, we headed for the Toone Bar…

If you’re thinking we drink a lot of beer, you’re right. Ordinarily, we probably would not have followed our beer soaked lunch with a visit to a bar, but I really wanted to visit the Toone Bar, which I discovered very much by accident in 2008. I remember we had taken a day trip to Bruges, and came back to the city, looking for something to do on our last day in Brussels. We were walking around, dodging the restaurant row barkers, when just at the right time, I looked to my left, and saw this sign…

*One of two entrances to the Toone Bar and marionette theater, circa 2008.*

If you have been following my blog for any length of time, you might know that I love to explore alleys and alcoves. I’ve found some of our most memorable and quirky restaurants, bars, and shops that way. The Toone Theatre is a historic site in Brussels, but in 2008, I found it completely by chance. It seemed like no one else knew about it, either, because it was fairly empty on that Sunday afternoon. I remember enjoying several beers there, while the barkeep played awesome 60s and 70s era rock music. I also remember someone smoking in there during our visit. In 2026, that is no longer allowed!

I wanted to visit the bar again, but didn’t remember exactly where it was. So I used the GPS function on my phone, which was kind of worthless. We did eventually find our way to the bar, although this time, we entered through the other side from where we entered in 2008. I got lots of pictures, and we drank several beers. Unfortunately, the music wasn’t as good this time, and it was definitely not deserted… But the beers were still excellent, and the ambiance was just as quirky and fun!

Here’s a big photo dump… One thing to know about this bar is that the toilets are up some old steps. You get to the men’s room before the ladies’ room, and it reeks a bit of stale urine. One of the ladies’ stalls is extremely small and narrow, though long. The other is not as narrow, but a bit shorter. I hope one day, we can go back to this bar and actually watch one of the marionette shows! It is, after all, a puppet theater, first and foremost!

As you might have suspected, by the time we were finished at the Toone Bar, I was a bit loaded. We decided to go back to the hotel so we could process the Belgian beers. On our way there, we walked through The Grand Place. Unfortunately, this was where I wiped out on loose cobblestone. A shocked waiter witnessed my spill, which resulted in a twisted ankle and sprained finger, both of which are mostly healed now… I wrote about my fall in my main blog. If you are really interested in reading my thoughts right after it happened, you can click here for the story when it was fresh.

*People were lined up at this bakery, which was selling wonderful breads.*

After my fall, I was understandably in kind of a bad mood. We ate dinner in our hotel room, which we picked up from a Syrian restaurant just across the street from Le Fleur de Ville.

*Sometimes it’s handy to book a suite… I drank Coke at dinner time!*

That about does it for our very “beery” Sunday in Brussels. In the next part, I’ll write about our visit to Mannekin Pis, the Friet Museum, and the Chocolate Museum, as well as a restaurant called Drug Opera. You don’t want to miss that, 😏, so stay tuned!

adventure, BeNeLux, booze tourism, Brussels, Champagne Bucket trips

Pardon My French: Brussels and Paris 2026 (part two)

The featured photo was taken in September 2008… It’s too cool not to share.

I don’t know what I was expecting when we arrived in Brussels on a Saturday night. The weather was pleasant. The sun was out, and the temperature wasn’t too chilly. Naturally, lots of people were out and about, including plenty of people who observe the Islamic faith. Ramadan just ended, so they were enjoying life! Bill and I walked around The Grand Place (or Grote Markt), which was teeming with people… tourists, families, children chasing huge bubbles… there were probably some scammers out there, too.

Below are a few photos from near our hotel.

And a few photos from the amazing Grand Place, which is just as gilded as I remembered it… I got a little carried away getting photos of the kids and the bubbles. The mood was very festive!

Naturally, with all of these folks out and about, finding a place to eat was a bit of a challenge. I don’t like eating in really crowded restaurants, and it seemed like everywhere we looked, there were crowds. Bill and I walked around a bit more, including through Les Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, which we remembered from our first visit in 2008. It was packed with people! We also walked past La Mort Subite, a bar we first became aware of by watching Three Sheets, a cable show about drinking hosted by Zane Lamprey. We visited there in 2008, too.

*One of Brussels’ famous shopping galleries…*

Fortunately, I’m pretty good at finding hidden gems. We turned left from Les Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, and I spotted what looked like a cute restaurant. We went closer and Bill poked his head in. The proprietor asked if we had reservations. We didn’t, but luckily, he had a spot for us in a cozy alcove at the back of his little restaurant, which apparently has two names– O Bifanas (Chez Sebastiao). The menus say Chez Sebastio, but the Web site and door outside say O Bifanas.

Now… the proprietor at this little Portuguese restaurant is one I’ll never forget. Why? Because the man has TWO moustaches. He’s got one in the usual place, and another on his chin. I had never seen anything like that before– it was hard not to stare at it. The edges of the moustaches were curled in a very distinctive and obvious way. It brought a smile to my face. I like people who aren’t afraid to be a little eccentric in their appearances. If you Google “double moustache”, you’ll see exactly what I mean… I guess it’s a Portuguese thing. On the other hand, Google says that double moustaches are the “latest trend.” Now that I’ve seen one once, I’ll probably see them everywhere. Below is one random example I found…

*Sebastiao managed to pull off his double moustache look better than this guy does…*

I took a seat facing toward the front door, while Bill faced me. Pretty soon, the tiny dining room was full of a mostly local crowd. Sebastiao brought out some bread, butter, and olives, and we ordered wine. I decided on shrimp croquettes and salmon filet for dinner. Bill had shrimp as a starter, and a rice and shellfish stew for his entree. Both entrees were so huge that we had leftovers.

The pace of dinner was very… leisurely. We arrived at the restaurant at about 7:00 or so, and we were still there at 10:00… and we didn’t have dessert. Still, it was an enjoyable evening. The double moustache alone was worth the trip. I particularly enjoyed seeing Bill in his “bib”, which was really necessary, since he had so many shellfish to crack. I noticed a few more tables in the upstairs, where the toilets were. I don’t know how often they are open, since it looked like Sebastiao was working alone.

I don’t remember how much we paid for this super lengthy Portuguese feast, but we must have pleased Sebastiao, because he was smiling broadly and gave us big hugs as we were leaving. I’ve seen mixed reviews for his restaurant. One person even claimed he was “very rude”. I suppose anyone can have a bad day, but he was very nice to us, even if he was a little slow. On the other hand, there’s something to be said for a man who sets the pace of his restaurant. I enjoyed eating there. We didn’t have anywhere else to go, anyway. The food was good, and we weren’t hungry when we waited for it. However… I think we ended up ordering more wine, because it took so long to get our main courses that we ran out of it. 🤭

We walked back to the hotel and found that the turndown fairies had visited. They put down the shade on the one window in the room and left us a little treat on the nightstand. I also noticed the welcome cookies. That made a nice dessert.

After a quick shower in the generously sized shower, with the loose temperature knob, Bill and I turned in for the night. We were warned that the restaurant in the Fleur de Ville was under renovations, so we would be having breakfast in the lounge. More on that in the next post…

Below are a few “artsy” photos from my fancy camera… I carried it, so I might as well share a few shots!

And a few more shots I took back in September 2008… Seems like the gold is more polished in 2026. Or maybe I just have a nicer camera.

Bavaria, booze tourism

With a mere flip of a coin…

Yesterday, Bill and I decided where we will be visiting next. Bill’s mom, Parker, is coming to visit us during the first full week of February. As is our habit, we are taking her on a short trip. Last time she visited, we went to Alsace, in France. The time before that, we were in Berlin. When she visited during our first Germany tour, we went to Oberstaufen, near the Austrian border…

This time, we decided we wanted to go to Bamberg, a Franconian city in Bavaria known for its smoked beer and fabulous architecture that wasn’t ruined in World War II. I had heard a lot about the town over the years, but never got the opportunity to plan a visit. But, we have four nights… and Bamberg isn’t a big town. A lot of people spend a weekend there and are good with it. So I thought maybe it would be better to go to Nuremberg, which is about a 40 minute train ride away from Bamberg… I started looking for properties that would accommodate us.

Then I realized that Nuremberg might be overwhelming. It has a lot of fabulous museums, and a beautiful downtown area. But a lot of its original buildings were destroyed in World War II. I also figured that if we went to Nuremberg, we might never get around to Bamberg.

So then I thought maybe we should visit Würzburg, which is also a well-known Franconian town in Bavaria, with lots of history, beautiful buildings, and wine! Würzburg is about an hour train ride from Bamberg. At that point, we decided to take Nuremberg off the table for this trip and focus on Bamberg and Würzburg, which is only about a 90 minute drive from where we live.

I spent several days agonizing… because I really wanted to see Bamberg, but the more I read about Würzburg, the more I figured it was worthy of a visit, too. And then I saw a very attractive rental property, which I thought would be great for us. Weingut Am Stein is a functioning winery that has a guest house next to the vineyard. It’s very close to the train station, offers parking, and we’d have separate bedrooms. I went looking for something similar in Bamberg and, although I found a couple of appealing hotels, I found that booking two hotel rooms in a nice place would cost about as much as the house would.

Still… I wanted to be fair, so Bill and I flipped a two euro coin. Heads for Bamberg– tails for Würzburg. Bill flipped, and we got tails. So I booked the guest house for four nights. Truth be told, I’m not surprised it worked out this way. The minute I saw that property on Expedia, I had a feeling I’d end up booking it. Although the idea of staying in a cozy hotel with a nice restaurant is very appealing, it’s not so practical. I also heard that Bamberg is best when you just want to relax and take in the atmosphere. February isn’t exactly Biergarten weather, but I could totally see us holing up in a wine bar. The guest house is right next to the Weingut, which has a wine bar and a restaurant (which I hope will be open).

We will visit Bamberg on this trip, and if it’s as enchanting as everyone says, Bill and I will plan to visit it properly at a later date. I do like the smoked beer… have had it before, but it would be nice to try it fresh from the brewery. We can do that on this visit. We’ve already been to Rothenburg, which is another Franconian town that is very tourist friendly. But my German friend, Susanne, says that we should visit Bayreuth, too. Sigh… yet another town to add to the list of places to go!

I did watch some videos to help inform me. And I look forward to writing up this trip and collecting a lot of photos. Both towns are notably beautiful, and not actually that far from Wiesbaden. So stay tuned!

I like this guy’s channel. He’s done some great videos about German towns!

And one or two about Würzburg…

It sure is nice to have this problem. We’re definitely spoiled for choices as to where to go on short breaks. I wish we had another day or two, so we could properly do both towns. I did consider booking hotels for two nights each in both towns, but the house at the vineyard just seemed too appropriate. I don’t like booking a house for two nights, either. Anyway… it’s bound to be a blast! I think it will go down as a great trip… but then, most of our trips are awesome. I may not be the world’s most successful person, but I have managed to have a lot of fun in Europe with the best travel companion, ever!

Special thanks to Christian Horvant on Wikipedia for allowing public domain use of his photo of the Marienberg Castle in Würzburg. I look forward to taking some of my own photos when I visit, but I doubt we’ll have such pretty weather!

aquariums, art, booze tourism

Sea lions, snakes, and ice bars…

After our first night in Bergen, we decided to take a walk. We went to the other side of the harbor and found ourselves at Bergen’s small and very kid friendly aquarium. I like aquariums, so even though the one in Bergen got mixed reviews, we decided to spend some time there. I’m glad we did. It was a lot of fun, and it was educational. I especially enjoyed the sea lions and the penguins. It looked like they had sea otters at one point, too, but that exhibit was kind of abandoned looking.

There was a Burmese python snake, several crocodiles, lots of fish and lobsters, and an anaconda, among other things. Throughout the small park, there was the message of not polluting the Earth and embracing sustainability.

To be honest, I was a little ambivalent about the sea lion show, although the three California sea lions seemed happy and healthy performing for the small crowd, consisting mostly of children. I enjoyed learning more about them and watching them interact with the trainers.

After the aquarium, we headed back toward town and wound up stopping at the Magic Ice Bar, which is a bar that features really interesting ice sculptures. The bar is kept at -5 Celsius degrees. They also have a literal bar, where real cocktails are served. I was wondering if I should have worn shorts earlier, but after visiting that bar, I was glad I put on pants! Everything in there is covered in ice. The Magic Ice Bar is also kid friendly, to the extent that they are allowed.

I met another birthday girl in the ice bar, too. I overheard her saying that tomorrow is her birthday, so I said, “It’s mine, too!” I think she was from Scotland, or thereabouts, and we spent a moment thinking of famous people born on June 20th… Lionel Ritchie, John Taylor from Duran Duran, and of course, Dan Tyminski. 😉 Geminis born on the cusp, unite!

After we visited the bar, we walked back into town, searching for lunch. All of the eateries in the harbor were teeming with people, so we went up a couple of streets and stumbled on a Chinese restaurant that had a very reasonably priced (for Norway) lunch menu. We were the only ones in the restaurant. It was great!

Now, we’re enjoying a short rest. It’s nice to be at a leisurely pace, waiting until Friday, when we get on our cruise. I’d actually like to do a fjord cruise, but next week, we’ll be on a cruise ship. So maybe it’s better to focus on the land when we’re here…

Here are some photos from today.

booze tourism

“Wining” away our Saturday in Wiesbaden…

A couple of weeks ago, one of Bill’s co-workers invited us to go to a wine tasting/market in Wiesbaden. She bought tickets for us, two of her other friends, and of course, herself. The event was held in the Colonnades near the Kurhaus in downtown Wiesbaden. To gain entry, we had prove we were fully vaccinated, but all other COVID related measures were dropped. We were supposed to be limited to two and a half hours, but fewer people showed up than were expected, so we could have stayed longer if we’d wanted to.

I really had a good time. I had forgotten how much fun these events are, even though I usually end up drinking too much. 😉 We met people representing wineries from around Germany, but there were also a couple of wineries from Italy and France in attendance. We also talked to a lady who runs a nut business out of Freudenstadt, which is very close to where we used to live when we were in the Stuttgart area. She had some really tasty cashews and other nuts that had complementary sweet and savory flavors. She also had salts, cheese breads, and granola.

We didn’t manage to hit every table. If we had, I would be in even worse shape this morning than I am… My liver really got a workout. But I did manage to get some photos. Lots of people were out and about, including a number of wedding parties. Springtime in Wiesbaden is a great time to see brides!

It’s so nice to have some normalcy again. I hope to enjoy it for as long as possible.

I enjoyed talking to some of the winery reps. One French lady bonded with us over a love for Georgian wines and the ancient way wines are made in the Caucasus. She said she did an internship in the Republic of Georgia, and since I lived in Armenia, we both knew about the region. ETA: It turns out the woman was actually from Germany, but she imports French wines. We found this out when Bill got the Rechnung!

Another winery was represented by the founder’s son, who said their winery was extremely tiny, with just one hectare of vines. Besides wines, they also made plum brandy and wineschorles (wine spritzers) that were refreshing. I think we came home with about 30 bottles!

I think we’ll take it easy today… enjoy the nice weather, and take care of some chores.

Here are a few shots of some of our neighborhood’s cutest residents. We ran into them on our walk the other day. Our neighborhood also has a bee feeding vending machine made from a repurposed gumball machine.

I guess these mallards were on their way back to the creek.

booze tourism

Food and wine in Switzerland, Italy, and Liechtenstein… part fourteen

Back in Florence for one last night…

We arrived in Florence in the early evening. Tom pulled his van into the parking area where he had originally advised Bill to park. He wasn’t able to park there, though, because it was full when we arrived. Consequently, Bill had to go get the Volvo from the garage. While he was doing that, I said goodbye to the other group members, who all headed off in different directions. Tom, very kindly, stayed with me while I waited for Bill. He asked what I thought of the tour.

I’m afraid I might have been more blunt than necessary, but that was mainly because I really needed to pee, and we didn’t stop on the way back to Florence. I know I should have said something… I’m sure the others might have even been grateful. I know Bill would have. He always needs to go, because he takes blood pressure medicine that makes him have to urinate a lot. I told Tom that, if I was honest, I hadn’t really wanted to do a tour. That’s certainly not because of his services, though. It’s because, like I said, I’m just not very good at “the group thing”. I know some people find me annoying, and I don’t enjoy feeling like I’m annoying people, simply for being myself. I was also concerned about COVID-19 policies, but thankfully, that didn’t turn out to be a problem. My lifestyle probably makes me less appreciative of strict schedules, even though I know they’re necessary. But, that’s just me. Some people are great in a group situation. I fully own that I’m less so, especially since I’m out of practice since we’ve been dealing with COVID life since 2020. I don’t hang around people much, and it probably shows.

In spite of my comments in the previous paragraph, I genuinely enjoyed this wine tour. I’m really glad I did it. 😉 I would not hesitate to book another tour with Tom. I thought the price, especially for what we got, was very reasonable. It was 875 euros per person. We owed him more than the 1750 euros, since he booked two extra nights for us at the Hotel Firenze Capitale. But, for the base price, considering that it included two nights in hotels, four meals in restaurants, tours at four different wineries in several different towns, and Tom’s professional services, I think it was a pretty good deal. I really liked the places where he took us, and I was impressed by his language skills and business connections. He’s also very knowledgeable about the wines in Tuscany, and the region itself. The payment was easily handled by bank transfer after the tour.

Bill and I talked about it, and we were a little reminded of our very first cruise on a Royal Caribbean ship in 2009. It was a four night Baltics cruise that went from Oslo to Stockholm on a ship that carried 1500 passengers. We had a very good time, but by the end of the cruise, Bill said “I would happily take another cruise, but I think I’d rather do an all inclusive luxury cruise.” Those words were, of course, music to my ears. Since then, we’ve cruised three times on SeaDream I and five times on Hebridean Princess. Both ships are small, luxury vessels. I know… I know… high maintenance!

In spite of my years as a Peace Corps Volunteer, I am definitely not a “no frills” traveler. At least not anymore. Maybe roughing it for two years in a developing country does that to a person. 🙂 I’m also getting older, so I would probably prefer a tour that happens at a somewhat slower pace. Bill said he would really like to do a private tour with Tom, which I know can be arranged. We would consider doing another regular tour, too, although I think it might be better to do it with people we know. That way, people are forewarned about my unorthodox sense of humor and many personality quirks. Again, that’s easily arranged, since the tours are pretty small. I appreciated that Tom made the logistics relatively easy, which I know can be a real feat. He was very professional and, again, it was nice of him to wait with me. I didn’t expect him to do that.

It took Bill awhile to get back to the parking area, so we moved my bags to the other side of the road to make it easy to load the bags and get on our way. Bill picked me up, and we headed for Hotel David, which at this writing, is Florence’s #1 ranked hotel on Trip Advisor. After our one night there, I can see why it’s so popular. I booked Hotel David because I was looking for a hotel with parking. Hotel David’s rates include free parking. However, besides parking, the hotel offers a free social hour with wine, beer, and other beverages in the hotel’s yard. Breakfast is included in the rate, as is the minibar. And our room was beautiful and very comfortable, and beautifully appointed. I would say that now, after having stayed in four Florence hotels, Hotel David is easily my favorite, even though the somewhat stern message they sent ahead of our arrival put me off a little bit.

*I’m glad I didn’t cancel. This warning message turned out to be a non-issue.*

We arrived on May 1, though, and that was the happy day when the mask mandates in Italy were lessened somewhat. We only had to wear a mask when we were at the buffet at breakfast. I really enjoyed the aperitif hour in the garden. We met two other American couples who were very friendly and nice to talk to. It reminded me that people outside of the American military community can be very refreshing company. One lady we talked to was from Boston. I found her utterly charming. I could tell she was a good friend and loving family member. She was so excited to be in Italy, and it was really nice to talk to someone who was so happy to be in Europe and not jaded. Below are some photos from our stay at beautiful Hotel David. I would not hesitate to stay there again, although again, the elevator is TINY. I always cracked up when I saw signs advising only four people were allowed in the elevator at a time. I don’t know how four people could possibly fit!

Total cost for a night in the superior room we booked was about $270. Cheaper and different sized rooms are available, and if you book on their site, you get 15% off your rate. I booked on Expedia, so I didn’t get the discount. If we book there again, I’ll know better. They even have a quad room, and singles. We had a very restful night, and it was so easy to load up the next morning and get on our way to the next destination, Vaduz, Liechtenstein, where we would be relaxing and decompressing a bit before coming back to Germany. More on that in part fifteen.

booze tourism, tours

Food and wine in Switzerland, Italy, and Liechtenstein… part thirteen

Family vineyards and Montepulciano…

After we checked out of Hotel San Luca, we loaded up in Tom’s van and headed to our next destination, a beautiful family run vineyard outside of Cortona called Fabrizio Dionisio. The home is owned by a couple from Rome who work as lawyers. The beautiful young woman who took us on our tour explained that a lot of people in Rome own second homes out in the country– Tuscany, in particular. The estate where the winery is located is called “Il Castagno”, and it was originally purchased by Sergio Dionisio, Fabrizio’s father, in the early 1970s. The wines produced at this lovely winery are mostly reds made with 100% Syrah Cortona DOC grapes. The lone exception is the Rosa del Castagno, which is a rose produced with Syrah grapes. I love Syrahs, so I think this winery produced my favorite of the wines we tried… but to tell you the truth, we had so many wines, that it’s hard to keep them all straight! I should have taken notes.

I got excited during the tour, when our guide mentioned Georgia and Armenia, which are well known for using an ancient method to make wines. Wines made in the Caucasus region are often made with large earthenware vessels called Qveris (or Kvevris). I am a BIG fan of Georgian wines– and only slightly less so of Armenian wines, even though I spent two years living there. I go to Armenia for brandy, and Georgia for really nice red wines with leathery, spicy, bold flavors. Anyway, this winery in Cortona had qveris, which I thought was really interesting. Also noticeable in the winery are pieces of artwork obviously done by children. The artwork was used for the the wine labels! We got to hear the whole story about that, too. Below are some photos from our stop at Fabrizio Dionisio.

Below are some photos from the mansion’s awesome kitchen, which made me so jealous… I miss having a big kitchen, although our current kitchen is a huge improvement over the last one. This was where we tasted the wines.

After our visit to Fabrizio Dionisio, we continued on to the adorable town of Montepulciano. I love wines from Montepulciano, so this was a treat! I definitely would love to visit here again someday and go shopping. Some kind of festival was going on, which slightly complicated matters. Nevertheless, Tom knew where to park, and we had lunch at Il Pozzo, where we tasted more wines!

*Montepulciano is another town with lovely views.*

Finally, after lunch, we made our last stop on the tour, a winery called Talosa. This was located in the town, so we were able to walk there from Il Pozzo. I thought the winery was really interesting, with its “cave like” tasting room. I also remember liking the wines, but I especially like the guide’s Italian accent. She pronounced every English word with an “ah” at the end. It sounded very musical-ah. 😉 After we tasted wines, we visited the cellars. The smart ones also visited the toilets, since that winery was the end of our wine tour.

We immediately made our way back to Florence, where we were all to spend another night in Florence. The other couple stayed at Hotel Firenze Capitale; the lone traveler went to the airport to stay at a hotel there; and Bill and I booked a room at fantastic Hotel David. More on that in part fourteen.

booze tourism, tours

Food and wine in Switzerland, Italy, and Liechtenstein… part twelve

Cute Cortona!

We arrived in beautiful Cortona in the late afternoon on April 30th. I had never been to Cortona before last weekend, but I do have a couple of first cousins once removed (they are sisters) who both graduated from the University of Georgia and attended study abroad sessions in Cortona while they were in college. I remembered seeing their pictures on Facebook and reading how much they liked the town. Now that I’ve seen it for myself, I can understand why they liked it so much. Besides the obvious fun of being a twentysomething college student in Italy, Cortona is legitimately an adorable town, located at the top of a steep mountain. Bill said it reminded him of Ribeauville, France, which is one of our favorite escapes from Germany. Too bad Cortona is so far away from Germany!

Tom, our guide, booked our small group at Hotel San Luca, which is right in the thick of the town. The advantage of this hotel is that some of the rooms offer stunning views from the side of the mountain. Those who don’t have a view from their rooms can go out the front door and see the view from outside the hotel, or they can enjoy the incredible views from the breakfast room. Below are some photos from near the hotel. In the distance, you can see Lake Trasimene, which is very close to Cortona.

If I’m honest, the views are the best part of this particular lodging, although it was fine for just a night. The hotel appeared to be pretty old, and it had very tiny elevators (a theme during our Italy trip) that had what appeared to be ashtrays in them! But, over the top of the ashtrays, there was a “no smoking” sign. When you enter the hotel, you’re on the ground floor, but you take the elevator down to get to the “higher numbered floors”, which are actually under the lobby.

We were in small room that had a tiny shower. I was glad I brought an extra pillow with me, even if it does make me look like Linus. I hate trying to sleep with flat, wimpy pillows. Below are a few photos of the room. I didn’t get any pictures of the bathroom, but it was very tiny and basic. On the other hand, this room wasn’t as small as the one we had in Torrechiara, and we did have a great view! There was also a balcony.

After we checked in at the hotel, we gathered for an aperitif, and discussed whether we wanted to sit inside or outside for dinner. Everyone seemed to want to sit outside, except for me, of course. Remember, I said I don’t do the “group thing” very well. I was legitimately a little bit chilly, though. Bill went and got one of my sweaters for me. We ended up not eating outside anyway. I think I overheard the waiter say that it was too cold outside, but I also noticed that there weren’t any tables set up on the terrace. I think it would be fun to eat outside where we had dinner. The location is right by the main square. However, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t glad we ate indoors, simply because it was a little cool. I guess I’m just a party pooper. Every party needs one, you know. 😉 Below are some photos I took before we reached the restaurant.

We had dinner at a restaurant called Ristorante La Loggetta, where we enjoyed more lovely wines with good food. We had free choice of the menu at Ristorante La Loggetta, so I went with duck with orange sauce and candied apricots. Bill had a steak. After dinner, which included several bottles of local wines, we walked back to the hotel. Bill and I stopped for a gelato break, and got a few nighttime photos from the adorable city, which happens to be where portions of the 2003 film, Under The Tuscan Sun, was filmed. I haven’t seen the movie myself, but Tom said his sister works at the villa in Cortona where scenes were made. It’s a popular wedding and event venue.

I would have loved to have spent another night in Cortona, simply because I would have enjoyed exploring the town more and going shopping. The main drag has so many beautiful little shops with tons of art, housewares, clothing, and the like. But, now that we’ve been there to see it, maybe Bill and I can visit on our own at some point. We’ll see.

Sunday morning, we rose to some clouds in the sky, which offered a different view of Cortona and its surroundings. We had a simple breakfast in the breakfast room. It included typical Italian pastries, breads, cold cuts, eggs, sausages, juices, and coffee. I had to take more pictures from the huge windows in the room. Then I took more from the cliffside. A small flea market was going on, offering a brief chance to pick up souvenirs. Sadly, I gave Bill all my euros!

This is the gate to the villa where Under the Tuscan Sun was filmed.

Stay tuned for part thirteen.

booze tourism

Food and wine in Switzerland, Italy, and Liechtenstein… part three

Onward to Italy!

When I originally started planning this trip, I looked at hotels in Modena, Bologna, and Parma. I finally decided on Parma after reading a couple of blog posts written by other people and looking at the lodging available there. Originally, I chose a highly rated B&B in a suburban part of Parma, but then I read some of the reviews and changed my mind. The place was called “beautiful”, but people complained that it was in a boring suburb of Parma. I had some other doubts when I read the owner’s responses to some of the more negative comments she got.

Then I spotted what looked like a very beautiful place in Torrechiara, which is about ten miles from Parma. La Locanda del Borgo is a B&B located on the grounds of Torrechiara Castle, a manor that dates from the 15th century and sits atop a hill. For a very reasonable price, you get a tiny room with a shower and breakfast. Next door to the B&B is a restaurant, and across the cobblestoned passageway, there’s a shop where you can buy Parma ham, Parmesan cheeses, and some very delicious locally produced wines. If you want to, you can sit outside of the shop and enjoy a bottle of wine while you eat slivers of Parma ham and nuggets of Parmesan cheese. This property was significantly less expensive than the other one was, and Bill loved the idea of staying at a castle. So I booked it on Booking.com, and looked forward to our visit.

I see now, from looking at the official Web site, we were in the Bianca Room, which is a “double room” priced at 110 euros per night. I don’t know why I didn’t book a superior room, which was only 20 euros more per night. I usually splurge when I can. Maybe it was unavailable. If we ever stay at La Locanda del Borgo again, I will definitely go for the superior room, because the double room was tiny.

On the way to Italy, we stopped at one of the ubiquitous Autogrills. The one we chose was not one of the better ones, as it had an Italian fast food restaurant called Old Wild West. We should have been smarter and driven a little bit further, but we stopped there for lunch. I was reminded that not all food in Italy is delicious. But that was one of the very few places where our “green passes” were checked. On May 1, the green pass check became obsolete.

We arrived at the castle on April 24th, a Sunday. There were many people there, visiting the castle for the day, which can be toured every day except Mondays. Consequently, parking was a challenge. There are a few public lots at the bottom of the hill, but given how much luggage we had, it would not have been feasible to haul our bags up the hill. Bill actually got quite a workout when he was forced to park down there once because there simply wasn’t any parking near the castle. As it was, the day of our arrival, we had to park around the back of the castle, where lots of people’s cars lined the dirt road. On the positive side, once the castle closed, people cleared out of there and Bill was able to move the car closer.

The views at the castle are absolutely beautiful. We did try to tour the structure on our first arrival, but COVID rules were still in place, and there were too many people were already in the castle when we wanted to go. So, we decided to hit the bottle shop, instead. That turned out to be a great use of our time. The shop owner was blasting fun music from the 70s– think ABBA, the Bee Gees, and Chic. We drank two bottles of beautiful wines… I know, I know… my liver and kidneys are crying uncle just from the memory. But it really was nice wine. I wish we’d bought some to bring home with us. Below are some of the photos I took of the castle before we started drinking…

As you can see, Bill was loving the wine and freedom from work!

Breakfast at the B&B was served from 7:00am until 10:00am. On offer were cream filled cornettos (like Italian croissants), plain cornettos, Parma ham sandwiches, boiled eggs, fresh fruit, cereal, yogurt, coffee, tea, and juice. During our visit, COVID rules were still in place, so we wore masks when we were inside, except for when we were in our room.

At the bottom of the hill, there was another restaurant that wasn’t open during our visit. There was also a little plaza where there was a bar, pizzeria, and shop. Not far away was a grocery store, where Bill found us some snacks. I’d say my favorite part about our stay at the castle was the wine we drank. It was outstanding. I’m going to see if I can order some to come to our house!

The Traveling Overeducated Housewife

…the wanderings and ramblings of a boring housewife…

Category Archives: booze tourism

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Food and wine in Switzerland, Italy, and Liechtenstein… part twelve

Food and wine in Switzerland, Italy, and Liechtenstein… part three