adventure, Champagne Bucket trips, Funny stories, Paris

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

This is going to be a very LONG post. Sorry about that!

Thursday, March 26th, was our biggest day in Paris. We had tickets to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower, something neither of us had ever previously done. We decided to visit the iconic site at 7:00 PM and have champagne at the top. That decision cost us a lot of money, but I think it was worth it for that one time. I doubt we’ll bother going up to the top of the tower again, but I’m glad we did it that one time, especially since it was a beautiful evening.

But what did we do before we went to the tower? Well, we did lots of walking, taking pictures, and people watching. All told, we racked up about six miles on that day, which for me, is quite an accomplishment.

We started off Thursday with breakfast at the hotel. Bill had avocado toast with a cappuccino and orange juice. I had a continental breakfast, with bread, butter, jam, orange juice, poached eggs, and delicious hot chocolate. The hot chocolate was especially interesting, as I had it each of the four mornings we were at the hotel, and each time, it was served differently. Below is the cup that seemed the most conventional to me. It was very good. The guy who waited on us had to confirm that I could get poached eggs with a continental breakfast. I guess they require more work than scrambled, boiled, or fried eggs.

After we ate, we started our long walk into the city center. I paused somewhat frequently to take pictures and stretch my hips and back, which ache a lot these days. It was a crisp, sunny morning, and just slightly too cold for the v-neck wool sweater I was wearing under my bigger “coatigan”.

As we got closer to downtown, we came across Parc Monceau, a gorgeous spot that I read is a sort of mirror image of the Jardin du Luxembourg in northern Paris.” It’s interesting we went there, since our hotel was close to the Jardin du Luxembourg when we visited Paris in May 2009.

I wish we’d spent more time visiting the Parc Monceau. It was absolutely gorgeous. And a little girl drew our attention to it by blowing bubbles as she crossed the street. I wish I’d gotten a few more photos of this magical place… totally free to enjoy, and with lots of benches for weary backs. If anything, I wanted more photos of the beautiful flowers and landmarks. Parc Monceau is “unusual” in Paris, because it’s more of an informal English style garden, rather than the more formal French style. Just looking at these photos make me want to find a garden and explore it today.

*You can’t see it that well, but there were bubbles all over the place when I took this photo.*

But the chilly weather insisted that we keep walking, because sitting down, even in the sun, was a bit too cold. Besides, there was a lot more to see. So we kept walking until, as we were about to pass through the gates of the park, Bill looked up and noticed a familiar arc…

Lots of people were taking photos of the majestic Arc du Triomphe, which loomed imposingly across the street. We crossed over, soon finding ourselves on the Champs-Élysées, a very famous shopping boulevard in Paris… We cut down another street, where we passed the American Cathedral in Paris and The Crazy Horse, a legendary cabaret.

*One of those guys who doesn’t move a muscle…*

After we crossed a major road, I looked to my left and noticed we were passing the Bateaux Mouches dock. Even though we took a river cruise when we visited Paris in 2009, it seemed like a good thing to do before lunchtime. We could get out of the chill by sitting inside the boat, while taking in views of the major Parisian sites from the Seine. It was also especially handy, because there was a restroom at the dock, and on the vessel itself. It also happened to be a great spot for an Eiffel Tower pic.

So we bought a ticket for 17 euros… it was a strictly no frills cruise. And as we waited for our 11:30 AM departure, we were suddenly joined by about a hundred teenagers! They descended on the dock like the famous anchovies from the first episode of Spongebob Squarepants. I wrote more about this experience on the day after it happened. You can follow the link to my main blog to read what I wrote then.

For those who don’t want to click the link… I remember sitting there at the dock, as dozens of teens crowded in. I was sitting next to an automatic arm with a boxing glove on the end of it.

Everybody was looking at the boat that was nearest to where we were waiting. I figured that was the one we’d be boarding, and I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to find a good spot that allowed views, while not forcing me to be out in the cold. I looked at all the teens who had congregated. Quite a few of the girls were dressed stylishly, but not for comfort or practicality, as they walked around Paris. Some had on short, tight mini skirts, lacy tights, and high heels. I was dressed more appropriately, but I’m old and cranky, and I don’t like to be chilled.

So I was feeling a bit doomed, but then I noticed an annoyed looking man standing near the boxing glove. He was obviously an official, and he was trying to get the teens’ attention. He saw me looking at him and invited me to board… and it was a different boat, beyond the boxing gloved automatic arm I’d been staring at as the teens descended on us.

I jumped up, and was the first to board the boat. We took an inside seat at the rear, near the bathrooms and a vending machine that sold candy, water, and soft drinks. We didn’t move from our spots. I didn’t have to worry, anyway. The boat was huge, so there was lots of room, and it was kind of fun to listen to the kids shrieking when we went under the many Parisian bridges.

The only unfortunate thing was that I wasn’t in the best spot for picture taking. At one point, two guys stood outside our window and smoked. One of them noticed me scowling at him when he dropped his butt on the floor. He stomped on it again and walked away, but left the smoldering trash on the boat, where I think it eventually rolled off into the river. 🤬

We used a different cruise company when we did our boat ride in 2009. It was very similar, and had the same “guide” that came on over a loudspeaker that we couldn’t really hear very well. But it was okay. We were just there to kill an hour and experience something different. I enjoyed the cruise, even if I wish it had been a bit warmer outside. There are MANY boat cruise companies in Paris, and they offer a variety of experiences, so this is an activity I would happily do again and again.

Maybe next time, we’ll do a champagne cruise. That might help us avoid huge groups of high school kids… although in fairness to them, they were mostly pretty well behaved. A lot of them were wearing jackets that indicated an affiliation with the International Rotary Club. My dad used to be a member of Rotary. I also enjoyed the kids who were singing and playing songs that were popular when I was 12! One guy was singing Wham’s “Careless Whisper” (and quite well, I might add). Another was playing “Down Under” by Men at Work.

After we got off the boat, it was time for lunch. We started walking on the Left Bank of the Seine. I was looking for a charming place, not too crowded, where we might have some lovely food. I was starting to get a little frustrated until we turned on a street with a wonderful view of the Eiffel Tower. As we got closer, I noticed a couple of places that looked like they might fit the bill nicely. I almost went into a French place, but decided I didn’t like the look of their tables and chairs. I thought they’d be uncomfortably small.

But then I turned down another street, where people were taking pictures. To my right, there was an Italian place. It wasn’t packed with people. And when we went inside, we were warmly greeted by a lady who invited us to sit down at a two top near a rather crotchety looking elderly French couple. They were finishing up their desserts. Il Sorrentino turned out to be an excellent lunch choice for us, side eyes notwithstanding…

We started out with focaccia, some of the best I’ve ever had. Bill ordered sparkling water and a lovely Brolio Chianti Classico from Italy. Then, for our main courses, I had spinach cannelloni gratinati, while Bill went for ravioli stuffed with chicken on pecorino cheese and black truffle. It was absolutely delicious!

Then, for dessert, I had lemon creme brulee, which was served in a half of a lemon. Bill had a strawberry dessert served in a cookie crust with pistachio sauce. We had a round of espresso and, as we were paying the bill, enjoyed a digestive of limoncello.

The whole time we were dining, I noticed a bunch of people who appeared to be v-loggers outside, talking into cameras. A trio of girls, who looked like they were about sixteen or seventeen years old, were taking turns posing for the camera. One of the girls seemed to be particularly engaging. She had long, red, curly hair, and I noticed she was wearing a very stylish jacket. I would not be surprised if the girls had dreams of being models. However, although they were very pretty, they seemed a bit too short. But what do I know? They did look like they were having fun.

We closed down Il Sorrentino, and were the last ones to leave before they enjoyed a pause after the lunch rush. We continued walking toward the Eiffel Tower, which we hadn’t seen since 2009. I remember on that trip, I had been able to just walk under the tower without having to go through security. Now, they’ve got the area fenced off, and if you want to go in, you have to be screened. It is free to walk around the Eiffel Tower, though, and they have public toilets that are free of charge to use. We didn’t go in there until it was time for our visit. Instead, we did some people watching in the park. I noticed more people getting photos with the Eiffel Tower in the background. One girl was a dancer doing jetes while another woman took photos.

Later in the afternoon, we decided to look for a bar to enjoy a drink before we finally took our turn going up the tower. I couldn’t find exactly what we were looking for, but we did find a very busy restaurant called Brasserie de la Tour Eiffel, that served authentic French food– frogs legs, escargot, charcuterie, etcetera.

Of course we didn’t want to eat, but we were down for a couple of beers… I got a kick out of our very professional waiter, Philippe, who immediately gave us tokens for the toilet! This is not a spot where I’d want to have dinner, as it was very chaotic and touristy. However, it served fine as a place to enjoy drinks and people watch. And we lucked into having a great waiter, who wasn’t stereotypically rude or arrogant. It was fun watching people eat very stereotypically French cuisine, and I appreciated their selection of draft beers.

Below, outside the barrier to the tower… more people were dancing for cameras, and there were lots of Africans selling Eiffel Tower souvenirs. Or… I assume they were Africans. They looked the part.

Finally, it was time to head over to the Eiffel Tower and experience it for the first time. Since we already had tickets, we were able to get in a somewhat shorter line than those who still had to buy them. I believe it’s possible to go to the first floor of the tower, using the steps, without buying a ticket. We didn’t even visit the first floor, which is too bad. Below are a few 2009 era photos… Again, we didn’t go up the tower during that visit, because of the lines. But at that time, there wasn’t a barrier around the tower.

We crammed into an elevator, which took us to the second floor. I was immediately reminded of National Lampoon’s European Vacation and glad I wasn’t wearing a beret. I took many pictures of the magnificent evening views…

Then we found our way to the elevator to the top, crammed in, and up we went… Bill had neglected to print the last page of the tickets he bought, which was where the scanner code for the champagne was. Fortunately, he had it on his phone. Below are some photos at the top of the tower. I think the second floor may be better for photography, since you aren’t going to be behind a plastic barrier. But it was fun to be up there and get a view of Paris as evening set upon the city.

Our journey back to the second floor was uneventful. But then we got on the elevator to the ground floor, and that’s when things got especially entertaining.

A young woman with long brown hair and a beautifully made up face was running the elevator. She commanded that we all crowd in to the elevator together, and seemed a bit absent minded as she made an announcement that came out staticky. She apologized, and then said she’d be stopping on the first floor, for those who wanted to visit there.

Maybe one or two people got off, and she let one couple get on…. I’m not sure why, because she had told those waiting, that there was no room on the elevator for any more people, and they needed to go up a level. Even though she had clearly made that statement, one gentleman and his wife still tried to board.

The elevator operator then said, “I told you there is no room! Why do you not listen to me?! Go up a level, and my colleagues will take care of you!”

Everyone on the elevator was dying laughing at this lady, who was reprimanding the guy trying to board her elevator. She was so completely unabashed, telling off those folks who hadn’t paid her any mind. I happened to be standing next to her, and saw a peculiar mixture of amusement and befuddlement on her pretty face, and she fearlessly addressed the tourists. It was absolutely hilarious, and really capped off the experience for us!

Once we were finished with the tower, we decided it was time to go back to the hotel. But instead of walking, we took a taxi… Thank God for that! I accidentally connected the seatbelt to the wrong buckle, though, so the alarm was going off… and the taxi driver gently scolded me. Luckily, Bill was able to help me find the right buckle in the dark.

One last look at the majestic Eiffel Tower! I definitely recommend going at nighttime, if the weather permits.

So, now, this finally brings me to the next installment, which I will probably post tomorrow. Have a good Easter! We will be going out to lunch at Villa im Tal!

Below are some more Paris photos from 2009… We missed most of these spots on this trip. Paris is a VAST city. You could spend a week there and not see it all.

Brussels, Paris

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

On Wednesday, March 25th, Bill and I got up early, packed up our stuff, and had some breakfast. We had a date with the Eurostar train, which would take us from the Brussels Midi train station to the Paris Gare du Nord station. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the Eurostar train took over Thalys, which was the French and Belgian train company that used to handle trips between a network of cities in France and Belgium, along with a few places in Germany and the Netherlands.

Bill and I used Thalys when we took our trip to Brussels in 2008. I remembered it to be a comfortable train system, if not a bit less modern than the Deutsche Bahn trains. Our trip from Brussels to Paris would be fairly brief, and included a meal, since we were sitting in “Premier”, which is their version of first class.

Our stay at Le Fleur de Ville was prepaid, and we only had one drink each at their bar. We settled up and made our way to a taxi, which would spirit us to the big train station in Brussels. I wasn’t sorry to be leaving Brussels, although we did have a nice time. I was ready for a change of scenery, especially since the weather had turned cold and rainy.

The cab driver in Brussels was very kind and honest. I can’t remember what Bill paid for the fare, but the guy rounded down for us. I mention this because of what happened when we got to Paris. But we’ll get there. 😏

Thanks to our Premier tickets, we were allowed to use Eurostar’s lounge, which was in a building across a courtyard from the train station. The person who checked us in invited us to enjoy complimentary beverages and snacks, as well as plush seating in the lounge area. They played jazzy music and had handy screens available for monitoring the status of the trains. I think use of the lounge is the best reason for booking first class seats. It’s nice to be able to wait in a quiet place with seating, instead of milling around the train station.

Below are a couple of photos from the lounge. It has a bar, although it was too early in the day for it to be manned. There are also restrooms, although they needed to be stocked with toilet paper during our visit. Several people were doing work on their computers during our hourlong stay.

When it got close to our departure time, Bill and I walked to the Midi train station and found our way to the right track. We happened to get there just as our train was emptying out with passengers who had come to Brussels from Paris. After a brief wait, we boarded the train. I recognized the plush red seats– same ones I remembered from 2008. I looked up and saw the old Thalys branding. We didn’t find places to store our luggage between cars, so Bill and I had to hoist our suitcases onto the racks above our seats.

The train ride itself wasn’t very eventful, except for when I needed to use the toilet. For the life of me, I could not find the flusher! I looked all over for it and finally gave up. Thankfully, I only had to pee, and it seemed to go down the hole, anyway. Bill later said he found it, but it was in an obscure place. Maybe it was a foot pedal?

As I mentioned before, we got a meal included on our trip to Paris. I didn’t remember liking the food on Thalys in 2008. The same could be said for Eurostar’s offering in 2026. Bill said he did like the food. In our case, it was cold chicken breast with some exotic sides, cheeses, and dessert, as well as a beverage. I had champagne, which Bill had red wine. A vegetarian option was also offered. It wasn’t terrible, but I didn’t eat much of it, and I probably wouldn’t have ordered it on my own. Luckily, Bill was happy to eat my cheese course, because I don’t typically eat cheese unless it’s been melted and is very mild.

It was early afternoon when we arrived in Paris. As we made our way up the escalator at the busy Gare du Nord station, we made a rookie mistake. There were a bunch of people standing near the escalators, some of whom were holding up signs for arriving passengers. I had just muttered, “Now to find a taxi.” I didn’t think I’d said it very loudly, but maybe I did, because a friendly, but assertive man asked us if we needed a taxi.

Although it was against my better judgment, I found myself following the guy and Bill, who for some reason, agreed to use this man’s “services” to get us into the city. Paris transportation hubs are notoriously PLAGUED by scammers– especially when it comes to taxis. They pick up clueless tourists and rip them off. I wrote about this in the main blog, so if you want the story in detail, click here. I warn that I tend to be a lot more profane on the main blog.

Suffice to say, this guy who picked us up was an “unlicensed” driver. He did the usual con, claiming he didn’t have a working credit card machine, so he’d need cash. And he charged us way more than a licensed taxi driver would have. It was very annoying to be ripped off in that way, especially since the guy had the nerve to offer me unsolicited advice on avoiding being pickpocketed in Paris. 😡 But, on the positive side, he did get us to our hotel safely and quickly, and he didn’t try to rip us off for as much as I’ve read in some horror stories. And it’s unlikely we’ll ever make that mistake again, now that we know more about French law regarding taxis. At least we had euros, and didn’t miss the money as much as we might have when we were younger and poorer.

I booked us four nights in the Sapphire Suite at the Hotel L’ Eldorado, located in the Montmartre area of the city. The last time we were in Paris, back in 2009, Bill and I stayed at Hotel Le Six, which is in Montparnasse. We liked Hotel Le Six, but wanted to experience a different neighborhood. I also visited Paris in 1997, but I don’t remember where my sister and I stayed. I think we were in a no frills hotel somewhat close to the Eiffel Tower. I remember it was owned by Indians, and was quite nice, especially for the price. But that was a very long time ago.

In any case, when we checked in, Bill reminded the receptionist that we had reservations for dinner in the hotel’s restaurant. They confirmed our reservations, and then informed us that the elevator was out of order. The Sapphire Suite, which is one of the best rooms in the hotel, was on the fifth floor. Sigh…

Alas, I am not as young, fit, or thin as I once was. I am capable of climbing stairs, but it’s not my favorite thing to do. I do get a bit winded. I also hate it when I lead the way, because I feel pressure to go faster than I should. But we got to the room, which was covered in dark green, patterned velvet– the curtains, bed dressings, and walls were all done in the same funky style. I liked it, but I imagine it might cause sensory overload for some people.

The room had a sitting room connected by a hall to the compact bedroom. There were double doors that closed off the bedroom from the sitting room, which were a bit of a pain to deal with at night, when going to the potty.

There was a green marble bathroom with a sauna in it and a nice shower, as well as a separate water closet. The receptionist didn’t show us how to use the sauna, nor were there any printed instructions. I might have liked to try it out, but maybe it’s better that I didn’t. This was the second French hotel I’ve stayed in that had a sauna in the room. The other one was in Sessenheim, in rural Alsace.

I did like that the room had two balconies. One faced the little hidden garden at the back of the hotel. The other faced out into the street, and if you stood on it and looked East, you could see the Eiffel Tower. I took a photo, but zoomed in a lot… We were maybe a three to four mile walk from the Eiffel Tower, which we did undertake on Thursday.

As it was, Wednesday evening, Bill had an online class at the Jung Institute. That’s why we decided to have dinner in the hotel. It was good that we made reservations, although to be honest, I didn’t love what I ordered. Bill loved his dish. He had duck leg confit with beans. I had a sirloin faux filet with frites. My filet was cooked medium, but the meat was a bit tough.

Bill and I also had to trade starters, because I ordered soft set egg Meurette style, and it had mushrooms in it (I should have Googled before ordering). He ordered butternut squash and chestnut velouté, which was mushroom free. Again, not something I necessarily would have ordered for myself, but it was okay. We also enjoyed a lovely French wine, fresh bread, and champagne aperitifs. For dessert, I had profiteroles, and Bill had a red berry crumble with ice cream. Our waiter was very pleasant, but didn’t seem to speak English well. This became a problem at breakfast, later in the week. More on that in a subsequent post.

After dinner, we were both pretty tired, so we decided to go to bed. By the time we finished eating, the elevator was working again. I think the mood was kind of spoiled by the scammer and the broken elevator, but we figured a good night’s sleep would fix that issue.

Thursday was a big day for us, so I’ll write about that in the next post!

adventure, BeNeLux, Brussels, Champagne Bucket trips, Cologne

Pardon My French: Brussels and Paris 2026… (part one)

Well, hello out there in Internetland. Long time, no read. It’s been over two whole weeks since my last travel post. We didn’t even do anything special for St. Patrick’s Day this year… although since that’s the day we lost our sweet beagle, Arran (in 2023), March 17th is now sort of a “day of infamy”.

The good news is, Bill and I just got back from our latest trip, so this blog is about to “spring” back to life. Well, it’s good news if you like reading about other people’s vacations, I guess. For me, it gives me something to remember when I can’t do this kind of stuff anymore. As our world gets more complicated, that day could come sooner, rather than later.

If you follow my main blog, you might remember that we had a really hard time deciding where to go for this trip. In fact, I even “lost” a family member over planning this vacation. That’s a really stupid story– how I got publicly “disowned” by my cousin over our decision to go to Belgium and France– so I’ll spare you the details here. If you really want to read about it, follow the link. My main blog needs the love.

I think I wrote at least three posts about the ridiculous fight I had with my alcoholic cousin over planning our spring vacation. 🙄 Yes, I know it’s “personal business”, but sometimes people enjoy reading about that kind of shit. If you don’t, though, no worries. I’ll understand completely!

Anyway, on with my story about Brussels and Paris, 2026!

This trip to Brussels and Paris was decided by a “champagne bucket drawing”. Regular followers of my blog might know that many times, Bill and I decide on where to go for our vacations by drawing slips of paper from our champagne bucket.

For this trip, we had initially drawn Croatia, which would have been amazing! But I didn’t think we had enough time to do what I really want to do in Croatia. So, we drew again, and picked Belgium. I was cool with Belgium, because I always have a good time there. I remembered how much fun we had in Brussels, when we went there in 2008. I wanted to go back there for more beer, frites, and chocolate. We added Paris, because we also enjoyed that city, last time we went there in 2009.

Although we often drive when we take our European trips, for this one, we decided to go by train. The main reason we opted for trains this time is because driving in European capital cities can be a huge, expensive, pain in the ass. The trains in Europe are usually very efficient and comfortable, especially in first class. However, using trains can also be problematic, our personal story of which I’ll get to in the course of writing this series.

In any case, on the morning of Saturday, March 21st, Bill took our dogs, Noyzi and Charlie, to their favorite Hundepension. Then, that afternoon, we took a taxi to the Frankfurt Airport train station to catch a mid afternoon high speed Inter-City Express Train (ICE) to Brussels. The taxi driver remembered Bill from a previous booking. I think he’s a local guy! He wanted us to book him for a ride back to our house yesterday… and kept talking about how he could drive us to Brussels. After what happened yesterday, maybe we should have considered doing that. But again, I’ll get to that part of the story later.

The taxi driver dropped us at the Frankfurt Airport train station and, as usual, we were pretty early. So we stopped for a coffee break… something I very rarely do.

*I had a caramel macchiato… first time for me, I think!*

The first time we went to Brussels, back in September 2008, Bill and I took an ICE train from Stuttgart to Cologne (Köln), then quickly caught a French/Belgian Thalys train from Cologne to Brussels. Thalys, as a brand, is now defunct; it’s since been merged with Eurostar, the folks responsible for the English Channel Tunnel (Chunnel).

Because we used Deutsche Bahn’s ICE train, we were able to take a train directly from the Frankfurt Airport station to the Brussels Nord station. Our convenient jaunt ran for just under three hours and included stops in Cologne, Aachen, and Liege before arriving at the Brussels Nord station at about 5:00 PM. Bill booked us first class seats at a four top table, with seats facing each other. He did that so that I would be assured of not having to ride backwards. My husband is remarkably considerate. 🤭

Below are some photos from the ride. It was a little bit rainy, and I was on the wrong side of the train for the best photos… I took these at the Cologne stop, which is where we were joined by a very tall man who was apparently a hacker. He kept looking at what I was doing on my iPad. I don’t know why the guy sat next to us. The car had plenty of empty seats, as well as a totally unclaimed “four top” at the front of the car. But he sat next to me and typed away while we made our way to Brussels.

*I wish we’d gotten one of these “two tops”… He was too slow on the draw.*

We have been to Cologne ourselves a couple of times. It’s a great city! I wouldn’t mind going back there someday, if the fates allow. It’s not a long trip from the Frankfurt Airport station, but it has a different feel… plus, I enjoy their local beer.

As we passed the Aachen station, I was feeling a little wistful. I’d actually considered booking a hotel in Aachen, because we’ve never been there, and I have heard it’s an interesting city. But it had been so long since we last left Germany for any reason, and I was eager to go somewhere that felt different. Although our last trip to Belgium was in the fall of 2024, our last trip to France was in March 2022! We were way overdue for a visit!

I didn’t take pictures of the Aachen or Liege stations, because I didn’t see anything worth photographing from the train. However, both cities are places I hope to visit someday.

We arrived in Brussels right on time, and made our way out of the Nord station to find a taxi to our hotel, Le Fleur de Ville. This hotel happened to be a block away from The Dominican, the hotel we stayed in when we visited Brussels in 2008. I remember really liking The Dominican, which is a former abbey turned into a “design hotel”. I also remember watching Barack Obama and John McCain debating on the television in our suite… Wow… those were the days!

*We stayed here for Labor Day weekend in 2008.*

I decided not to book The Dominican again, though, because I wanted to try a different place. Hotel Le Fleur fit the bill nicely, although we didn’t get the greatest first impression. The hotel itself is in a very beautiful building: according to it’s official Web site– it was once the “Caisse Générale d’Epargne et de Retraite, an 1850s national savings bank.” But when we arrived in the late afternoon of March 21st, we found the front desk completely unmanned. We waited several minutes before two swarthy men in suits arrived to check us in. Unfortunately, one of them also really needed a breath mint. Sorry… I know that’s kind of a rude observation, but it did make an impression.

I booked us in a room they called The Beyaert Suite, which was on the fourth floor. It was a very large and well appointed room. Below are some photos from the hotel lobby and our suite, which offered everything but a great view. The window was too high up to see out of, but that was okay. We weren’t in a particularly scenic area, anyway.

We were very happy with the room, although it wasn’t cheap. I think for four nights, we paid roughly 2,000 euros, which I’ll admit is a lot of money. But that’s still not as much as what we paid in Paris. I’ll get to that part later. 😬

I know some people would be shocked by the price of the hotel lodging. We certainly didn’t need such a grand room. But when I go on vacation, especially now that I’m well into my 50s, I like to spoil myself a bit. We’ve spent many years staying in inexpensive places, so I figure we deserve a splurge now and then. We also really needed a proper vacation, since our most recent travels were for specific things like visiting our dentist, getting Bill into the Jung Institute, and traveling places for Bill’s work. Our last pleasure trip was in June 2025… which I know is more recent than a lot of people’s most recent pleasure trip has been.

Anyway, enough disclaimers and explanations from me. I do want to state for the record, though, that there are cheaper rooms at this property. And it is a very lovely hotel, convenient to Brussel’s most popular tourist sites.

After we got settled in our extravagant room at the hotel, we went for a walk around The Grand Place, and got some dinner. That story is going to be a lengthy one, so I’ll put that in part two.

Brussels, Champagne Bucket trips, chocolate, trip planning

A champagne drawing and a coin flip later…

Featured photo is Bill when we were younger and cuter… trying a flight of beers in Brussels, back in September 2008.

So… after a VERY dramatic weekend (detailed on my main blog), Bill and I finally figured out where we will be going on our next vacation. Although it’s not usually difficult for us to decide where to travel, this time it was really hard to make our choices. A lot has to do with what’s going on in the world right now. We wanted to avoid risk and hassles, yet still have fun.

For this vacation, which starts on March 21st, we considered Croatia, Albania, Poland, The Netherlands, France, Belgium, Italy, and Austria. I didn’t really want to go to Italy, because we went there a year ago. I love Italy, but I wanted to go somewhere different. However, I had it in mind that I wanted to go to a nice spa, and a lot of the best ones are in South Tyrol, which is in Italy.

My mind started changing about the appeal of the spa hotels when I realized that a lot of them are resorts. Sometimes I enjoy the resorts, which usually come with half board. But they do have a drawback, because sometimes having included food means that we don’t try as many restaurants or get off the resort’s property as much as we should. Sometimes resorts can be noisy and crowded.

Also, some resorts kind of have a cruise ship feel, which I didn’t think I’d enjoy right now. We went to a resort hotel in the South Tyrol back in 2020– during the height of the pandemic– and we got the side eye from so many people because we were Americans in Europe at a time when Americans weren’t supposed to be in Europe. Now, our dumbass POTUS has taken us to war with Iran. The last thing I want to deal with is people blaming me personally for what Trump does, especially when I am on vacation.

When we were finally ready to make a choice, I put my hand in the champagne bucket and pulled out a slip of paper that read… CROATIA! Yea! I love Croatia, and there are a lot of places I want to see there, especially after our visit in 2021. But then I started looking into the logistics of doing what I really wanted to do, and I realized that it would work better as a road trip. We don’t have enough time for a proper road trip for this vacation.

However, March is a good time to go see places like Split and Dubrovnik, because there aren’t so many tourists at this time of year. It’s also not hot right now. Maybe next year, or in the fall, we can do that… if we haven’t been kicked out of Europe.

So, I drew again, and pulled out a slip of paper that read… BELGIUM! Great! It’s funny, because before I started getting totally overwhelmed with choices, I had thought to myself that I wanted to go to Belgium again. We’ve been a few times since we moved back to Germany in 2014, but we have not ventured back to the capital city– Brussels. Bill and I visited Brussels in 2008, when we were a lot younger and poorer. We had an absolute BLAST!

I remember just before we went for Labor Day weekend, Bill was working really hard and putting in a lot of overtime. He sent me a funny email that read, “I want to go to Brussels and see Mannekin Pis.” It was mainly because he was really pissed off! We spent the weekend eating frites, waffles, chocolate, and croissants. We also drank a shitload of excellent beer! And we also took a day trip to Bruges. I don’t think we’ll go to Bruges again this time, since we’ve been back there since our 2008 trip. But I do know of some bars I want to visit again. I have also booked us a very nice looking and rather posh hotel!

Check out these old photos from September 2008!

We last went to the city of Paris in May 2009, for Memorial Day weekend. It was right after Bill learned that we were going to have to leave Europe a year sooner than we planned. I was PISSED. This was something that had been orchestrated by Bill’s narcissistic war boss, who was later very publicly fired. Going back to the US a year early ended up working out for us, in the long run. Still, I was not happy about being yanked a year early, especially when it turned out that the job Bill had been “handpicked for” was just a bullshit billet so that Bill’s ex boss could move a different guy to a more prestigious job. But, as you can see, we got that year back and then some… many times over.

Below are some photos from our 2009 trip to Paris. I went there once before, back in September 1997, right after Princess Diana died. Unfortunately, that trip was with my sister, who was driving me crazy…

We had a great time in Paris. I remember at one point, we went to this very unassuming little brasserie and had the most wonderful lunch. Bill discovered a new favorite wine that we actually found a couple of bottles of in the States. I actually considered going to the the winery that produces that wine, down in Narbonne. I decided not to because, again, the logistics were a bit difficult for the amount of time we have.

We decided to go to Paris after considering going to the Champagne region. I actually wanted to go to Champagne, but realized that it would be a logistical hassle getting back to Frankfurt because we are doing this trip by train, instead of driving. Going to Brussels by train is a snap from Frankfurt. In fact, we went by the now defunct Thalys train in 2008. And going to Paris from Brussels is also easy; I think we’ll be using the Eurostar train, which is what replaced Thalys. Last time we went to Paris, we flew Air France, which was a mistake, mainly because it took FOREVER to get to the city from the airport.

We can still visit Champagne if we want to, as it’s only a 39 minute train ride from Paris. But I have a feeling we’ll just drink bubbly in the City of Lights!

I have found us a lovely hotel in Paris, too… in a different area of the city than where we stayed last time we visited. In 2009, we went to Montparnasse, and stayed in a hotel near the Luxembourg Gardens and a bar where Ernest Hemingway used to frequent. This time, we’ll be in the heart of the city, near the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre. Maybe this time, we’ll even go up the Eiffel Tower, which I haven’t done on either of my previous visits. We’re also finally going to visit the Louvre.

Anyway… this adventure starts in twelve days, and will last until March 29th. Hopefully, all will go well, and nothing horrific will happen between now and then. Knock on wood!

Funny stories, videos, YouTube

Bill’s very FRENCH dining experience circa 2017…

I have already written about this incident in my travel blog, and if you do a search, you can read the whole story of our trip to St. Marcelin-de-Cray and how Bill ate chitlins there. But I decided to make a video version of the story this morning, so here’s a link to that for the interested…

I hope to make new memories next month, when we go on our next trips…

This was pretty funny when it happened. Luckily, Bill is a good sport.

Baden-Württemberg, Schwarzwald

Ten things I learned in the Freiburg region…

If you’re a regular reader of my travel blog, you know that I like to wrap up our trips with a ten things I learned post. It kind of helps me sum things up succinctly, as is hand for those who don’t want to read the blow by blow journal. So, I now humbly present to you ten things I learned while we visited the Freiburg region of Germany!

*One of the excellent local wines we had in the Freiburg/Kaiserstuhl region.*

10. Freiburg has a thriving wine culture. We noticed a number of wineries as we headed down to Horben. If we’d had another day or two, maybe we would have visited a few wineries and tried more of the local wines and brought some home. One of the sommeliers in training reminded us that the region is very close to France’s Burgundy region, so there are some good wines to be had from Freiburg. There are also, naturally, some excellent beers, and some places are embracing the alcohol free cocktail trend, too.

*Schauinsland is a must see on a clear day…*

9. The Schauinsland cable car takes about twenty minutes, but you get a gorgeous view of the countryside. The Schauinsland rises 1284 meters as it takes riders up the mountainside, where they can enjoy hiking, biking, dog walking, and the miner’s museum. It’s also a great place for lunch or even breakfast at Die Bergstation. Be sure to make a reservation if you want to try breakfast, though.

8. If you get bored with Freiburg, you can easily visit France and/or Switzerland. Both borders are very close to Freiburg. I was thinking we might venture into Switzerland at some point during our visit, but Freiburg had so much to offer that we never had the opportunity.

7. If you want to visit Freiburg, you might want to walk, take the bus, or ride a bike… Freiburg is a “green” city. It’s not very car friendly at all, as we found out when we tried to find a parking garage and ended up in a Walkplatz, where people were quick to give us dirty looks and gestures. I would like to visit Freiburg proper, but not when we have to worry about driving.

*On the way into Freiburg from Horben… They issued a few hand gestures.*

6. Freiburg is heaven for bikers. We saw so many people riding bikes in and around Freiburg, and lots of them were riding them up very steep mountains. My days of doing that kind of bike riding are long over, but I was impressed by the stamina and bravery of the many bikers in Freiburg. For a moment, I thought we were actually in The Netherlands!

*St. Stephan’s Church rising high over Breisach.*

5. Breisach is well worth a visit. We decided to visit Breisach kind of on a whim, because I noticed it was a stop on many Rhein River cruises. I wanted to give myself a reason not to ever book one, because I live about twenty minutes from the Rhein and have been to most of the stops on the majority of the available Rhein River cruises. Breisach was one place I hadn’t been. I’m glad we went there, as it is a very cute little town right on the French border. I’d like to see more.

4. Ditto to Staufen… Staufen is a quaint, colorful, historic town I’d never heard of before we visited Freiburg. I want to thank my German connection, Susanne, for recommending it. I hope we can visit again and spend more time there.

*Todtnauer Wasserfall is well worth a look!*

3. The Freiburg region has a lot to offer. Not only do you get the Black Forest and stunning mountain views, but you’re also very close to the Rhein River. It’s kind of like a marriage between our two German lifestyles since we moved back here in 2014– Black Forest in the Stuttgart region, and Rhein River in the Wiesbaden region. Freiburg has them both! There are also waterfalls, a hanging bridge, and even a downhill scooter track.

2. Peacocks can make a visit to a small “zoo” worth the price of entry… We visited the small Schwarzwaldzoo in Waldkirch and were charmed by the animals. However, in my opinion, the preening peacock who was primed for peahen poontang was the star of the show. It was worth the 7,50 euros each to watch him strut, fanning out his beautiful tail, and showing off to everyone. What a personality!

*Such a beautiful, enchanting, inspirational place… I recommend that you visit, too.*

And finally, 1.– I am so glad we finally made it to Freiburg. Susanne has been after us to go there for ten years. She was right, Freiburg is well worth the trip. I’m glad we took the plunge. I hope we can take the plunge again and see even more!

One more waterfall crossed off the bucket list!

So far, this year, we’ve done two short Germany trips, plus an overnight in Stuttgart. Where will be going next? It’s anyone’s guess. It depends on when our new canine family member arrives. For now, I will keep my fond memories of beautiful Horben and Freiburg close to my heart and on my mind.

Baden-Württemberg

From Wiesbaden to Horben: The first day’s discoveries…

Saturday morning, we woke up to a beautiful sunny day. The sky was perfectly clear and blue, and the temperature was warm. I thought it would be a good day to visit the nearby city of Freiburg. But first, we’d have our first breakfast at Luisenhöhe. After our first dinner, I knew breakfast would be an unusual experience.

A smiling waitress, who ended up taking care of us every morning of our visit, led us to a table on the other side of the dining room. We had a view of the surrounding hills and valleys. Bill looked at the waitress’s nametag and got the sense that maybe she hails from Ukraine. She spoke excellent English that was charmingly accented, and she seemed genuinely friendly and service oriented as she offered us coffee. As she poured it, and brought me cream (rather than the usual milk), I realized that the coffee at this hotel was some of the best I’ve ever had, anywhere.

Just as it is at dinner time, breakfast at Luisenhöhe consists of small plates of different things which are brought to you at your table. They offer cold cuts and cheese that you can help yourself to, as well as juices and water. During our visit, they also offered fresh fruits and vegetables and smoothies, with a different thing offered every day. For example, on the first morning, they had vegetables. On the second and third, they had the smoothies. On the last morning, it was fresh fruit. Then after we had our four small courses, we were offered a “sweet” selection. On the first morning, it was a waffle.

Another server brought a big basket of bread, and we chose the pieces we wanted, which ended up being one of each kind. Bill likes hearty full grain breads with nuts and raisins and such. Much to my shame, I like refined white breads. It was no problem. They had several different varieties, all of which were impeccably prepared and very fresh. We had a small “globe” of butter, and jams were available. Below are photos of the first breakfast.

I enjoyed the first morning’s breakfast, although the French toast was made with Bergkäse (mountain cheese) that was too strong for me. It was too bad, too, because I really liked the idea of a savory French toast made with cheese. I’d like to try it at home, only I’d use a much milder type of cheese. It’s not even that the cheese they used was that strong. I just have very sensitive tastebuds when it comes to certain flavors. The musty, barnyard flavors in certain cheeses and other foods make me gag, and if I’m not careful, I will vomit. I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t become a chef! Anyway, I think we’ll try to find a recipe for savory French toast and use cheese that doesn’t make me puke.

After breakfast, I decided I needed to get some photos of the surrounding area. It was a good thing I did, since the skies weren’t nearly as clear the rest of our time there. Below are the pictures I took on the biking/hiking trail near the hotel.

We decided to try out the heated pool after our walk. I had a feeling it would be a good time to do that, since the weather was so nice. I figured people would be out and about. I was right about that, as we would find out after our swim. Below are a few photos from the spa area. We did not have any treatments or use the saunas, but if we go back, I’ll make a point of doing that. One thing I hope this hotel will eventually have is a hot tub or two… I’m sure it’s just a matter of time, especially at their current price point.

*This was a kind of rain shower, which took a moment or two to figure out.*

I have a feeling they use heavily vanilla scented products in the spa. I came to that conclusion on the first night at dinner, when a young woman sat near us and smelled really good… of vanilla. I thought maybe it was perfume, but then noticed she looked like maybe she’d been at the spa. When I later smelled someone else with that same scent, I realized that was a spa product. I loved the scent, although it did kind of obscure the smell of the food in the dining room. I’m not sure that was the proprietors’ aim.

After a swim, and trying out the massage functions in the pool, we got cleaned up and headed toward Freiburg. I took more photos on the drive there. I was excited to see the city… but alas, the parking garages were all FULL! And there were long lines of cars waiting to park in them. Bill made a couple of wrong turns and we soon found ourselves in “Walkplatzes”, where people were giving us dirty looks and making gestures at Bill. We didn’t know Freiburg was such a “green” city, so unfriendly to cars. The GPS sent us to the wrong part of the town, which was positively TEEMING with people who were walking and on bikes.

Here, I want to make a statement to anyone reading this, thinking it’s helpful to shoot dirty looks and make gestures at people who end up driving into the wrong place. We KNOW we’re in the wrong place, and we’re trying our best to rectify the matter. We don’t need you to add to the situation by wildly gesturing, giving us dirty looks, or shouting at us. It just makes you look like assholes. And before anyone points this out, we know that being in the wrong places makes us look like assholes. But, unlike you, we’re trying to fix the situation, rather than engaging in shaming and ridiculing people who simply made an honest mistake. What? You’ve never made a mistake? It must be nice to be so perfect. /sarcasm

Anyway, we did finally get out of that mess, although any relaxation gleaned from the pool was now totally gone. Bill was trying to figure out where we could go with the car. I looked around at what was admittedly a very cool looking city, and I realized that all of those people were a huge turn off to me. So I suggested that we go to France.

“But I forgot to bring my passport.” Bill fretted.

In almost ten years of living in Germany, no one has EVER asked for our passports at the French border. Of course, there is a first time for everything. But what was the worst that could happen? We get sent back to Germany?

We headed to the border, even though Bill didn’t have his passport. Before we knew it, we were driving over the Rhein… and I realized, we were passing Breisach again! As I was getting my bearings, Bill said “I really need to pee.”

I looked up and noticed a “welcome center”. Bill wondered if maybe there was a public restroom there. He pulled into the parking lot and found the place boarded up. Then he turned his head and saw a sign for a “Piscine.”

“Piscine!” he exclaimed. “Perfect!”

Naturally, I had a good laugh at the joke. Yes, we know that “piscine” is French for pool. But it does sound like one could “piss” there. One probably can, if one pays the entrance fee. I had noticed the pool from the German side of the river the day before. As we were trying to escape the parking lot, we were confronted by a bunch of confusing road signs advising us not to make a left turn. Left was where we needed to go to get out that area.

After a few minutes, we found ourselves being funneled into a parking lot where there were RVs, and then we saw a hotel… and they had the patio open for lunch! As it was almost 2:00 PM by then, I suggested we stop for lunch. Bill could use the potty while we were there.

The waitress asked us if it was okay if we had salads. Yes– it was fine. We were still kind of full from breakfast, anyway. We sat down at a table in France, at Hotel Le Caballin, with a view of Breisach, Germany. We had tarte flambées (Alsatian pizzas) with beer, as I marveled at how we ended up in Vogelgrun, France for lunch.

*I’d like to get a closer look at this building in Freiburg…*

I said to Bill, “I am fascinated by borders. It’s so cool to be sitting in France, listening to people speaking French, as I gaze at the German border town we visited yesterday…”

Bill said, “That’s true. Whenever you’re near a border, you gotta cross it!”

And I said, “Especially if it’s the border of good taste…”

We headed back toward the hotel, thinking maybe we could take the Schauinsland Bahn… but there was no parking to be had. Not surprising, given how beautiful the weather was. So, we went back to the hotel and hung out on the patio before dinner. It was a perfect Saturday afternoon…

And then we had dinner, which was, once again, a stunning experience. My one complaint was that we ended up sitting at the big communal table, which meant climbing up on a stool. However, because people didn’t want to sit in the middle seat at the big table (just as they wouldn’t on an airplane), we ended up with a slightly more private dining experience on Saturday night. As you can see in the menu, they had mushrooms on the menu, and I can’t eat mushrooms. I substituted a delicious wild boar dish for an upcharge of 13 euros. It was worth the extra money.

Bill selected a Sylvaner wine to go with our dinner. The sommelier praised his choice. Bill told him that we’d visited Würzburg in February and visited a winery that specialized in them. Much to our surprise and delight, the guy said “Weingut Am Stein?”

Yes! That was where we stayed, and we had a wine tasting there. It turned out the sommelier knew all about it, and in fact, they had some wine from Weingut Am Stein on their wine list. That was a pretty cool moment.

Baden-Württemberg, Rhein, Schwarzwald, short breaks

From Wiesbaden to Horben: Our first glimpse of Luisenhöhe, by way of Breisach!

When I plan trips, sometimes I get carried away with what I’d like to try to do. As a member of several Facebook photo groups, it’s easy to find quaint little villages where I’d like to go take some photos and walk around a bit. That was the case last week, days before we ventured to Horben. Someone in the Schwarzwald photo group on Facebook had shared a picture of a very attractive village that was on the way down to the Freiburg area. I thought it might make for a nice place to stop for coffee and a wee off of Autobahn 5.

Unfortunately, after I saw someone’s photos of a quaint village in the Black Forest, I neglected to make a note of where the place was. Bill and I looked for it on Google Earth, but never were quite sure of what we were looking for. Then, on the morning of April 5th, I decided to do laundry before we left the house. We can only drop off Noyzi at the Hundepension at an appointed time, so we didn’t end up leaving early enough to make a stop in a village. Instead, we wound up at a very familiar Rasthaus stop, where we had very ordinary food for lunch. That would be the last ordinary meal we’d have before we got home yesterday afternoon. I see that I didn’t even bother to take a photo of it. Instead, I took one of the Paulaner Hefeweizen I drank, so I could tag it for the Untappd app.

Noyzi was very happy to go to the Tierpension Birkenhof. He was so excited that he ran to the young folks who run it and practically bowled them over with his brand of canine hugs. It’s always reassuring to see how much Noyzi loves the staff at the Hundepension. We never have to worry about him when we take trips. He loves car rides, too, as you can see!

Noyzi LOVES the Birkenhof!

Although we weren’t able to stop in a cute town for a coffee break, we did kill some time in a town we’d never been to before. I get a lot of ads for river cruises, especially along the Rhein. I would never book a Rhein cruise, though, unless there was a reason other than the ports of call. I live about twenty minutes from the Rhein, and have seen most of the places where the vessels usually stop. I did notice, though, that Viking ships usually stop in a little town called Breisach, which is right on the Rhein and across the river from France. We had never been to Breisach, so we decided to stop there on the way to Horben. I thought maybe we’d have lunch there, but again, we got on the road too late for that.

Breisach is about a thirty to forty minute drive from Horben. Bill put it in the GPS, which was going to take us on a scenic route through another cute town to get there. Unfortunately, the GPS doesn’t always know about roadworks. When we were faced with a detour in a little town near Breisach, we decided to backtrack to the main road, with a quick detour to a gas station so I could have a pee break. The weather was a bit cloudy, but fairly warm. It was okay for a short stop near the cruise “port”, which turned out to be a little stop on the edge of the old town. Viking had two identical ships there, anchored side by side. Emerald Sky was also docked there when we made our short visit. We were happy to find free parking and a free toilet that was moderately clean and stocked! That’s quite a score in Germany.

Breisach is a very attractive town, smaller than I was expecting it to be. A large Catholic church– Breisacher Münster St. Stephan— overlooks the little port town, and I noticed lots of tourist friendly businesses near the port and the main drag. The ice cream shop was doing especially brisk business on Friday. As I gazed across the Rhein, somehow it didn’t occur to me that I was looking at France. Especially when I noticed a water slide on the other bank. Yes… that is extreme eastern France! And there’s a lot of waterfowl there, too. I was especially enchanted by the swans. I think I could be persuaded to visit Breisach again, and spend more time exploring there.

Below are some photos:

*A little town near Breisach. It was very cute, but loaded with construction.*

After our too brief stop in Breisach, we continued on toward Horben. Our route took us through a corner of Freiburg, a beautiful, sunny, “green” university city that we need to return to by train and explore some more. Freiburg is not friendly to cars, as we found out on Saturday. But, what we did see of it is very appealing, especially if you like to bike. I definitely want to visit it properly and see what’s there. The part of Freiburg that leads to Horben is very charming and kind of ritzy, as you can see below.

As we made our way up into the mountains, we passed through a charming suburban hamlet. Then we saw it… the distinctive horseshoe shape of the Luisenhöhe, which just opened in the fall of 2023. More on that in the next post!

Baden-Württemberg, Schwarzwald, short breaks, trip planning

Facebook introduces us to the wonders of Luisenhöhe…

We’re back home in Wiesbaden now, after our four night trip to the southern Black Forest (Schwarzwald) hamlet of Horben. Before a couple of weeks ago, I had never heard of Horben. Now, our visit there will live among many cherished memories I will forever have of our years in Germany.

I discovered Horben by way of Facebook. Last month, Bill was on a long TDY assignment in Bavaria, working very long days and nights. Meanwhile, I was sitting here alone, bored and a little depressed. When he got back from his temporary duty yonder, I asked Bill if he’d like to go away for a few days. He said he’d like to take a short trip. I went looking for the right place. I wanted something restful, but in a nice area. I wanted good food and a decent spa. Since it was going to be a short break, I didn’t want it to be too far away, although we did briefly consider flying somewhere.

Facebook kept sending me ads for a place called Luisenhöhe. I was definitely intrigued, because it looked like just the kind of place I enjoy the most. I noticed it was in a very scenic area and promised an excellent dining experience. Then I noticed it’s practically a brand new hotel, had only a few reviews, and it costs a lot of euros to stay there! Also, it’s in Germany, and I was kind of hoping to go somewhere else for a few days. I decided to keep looking. I thought maybe we’d finally visit Basel, Switzerland or maybe Bern. I even had a hotel in mind…

But the Facebook ads for Luisenhöhe were continuing to beckon, and I finally realized that Horben is very close to Freiburg, a city/area my German friend, Susanne, has been bugging me to visit for the ten years we’ve lived here. Susanne is from the Freiburg area, and she’s kept telling us how beautiful it is. I believed her, as we’d driven through Freiburg before on other trips. I’d even looked into staying there, but my plans were always overcome by events.

Finally, I decided to show Bill and get his reaction. He was as attracted to Luisenhöhe as I was. He also liked the other finalist, Les Trois Rois, in Basel, Switzerland. Finally, we decided to let fate settle things. We flipped a coin. Luisenhöhe won. I felt good about that outcome, especially when I realized that Horben is very close to France and Switzerland, and if we got too bored in that area of Germany, we could easily cross either border.

I immediately set about booking our stay in a 31 square meter “Wellbeing Room”, facing the garden. Since we booked within two weeks of our stay, we were committed to paying. So, I prayed everything would go according to plan, and we’d manage to finally visit the Freiburg area. Now that’s we’re home from our trip, I feel like it was meant to be that we would discover the Freiburg area and this amazing new hotel with food that blew our minds!

I’ll be writing in detail about our unique experience over the next few days. I will also be sharing photos of some of the most picturesque views I’ve seen in Germany. As we were saying goodbye to some of the very friendly staff members last night, we were warmly thanked for coming, and welcomed to come back soon. I honestly hope we can. As long as Bill works these crazy TDY assignments, I think it’s within the realm of the possible!

I hope you’ll follow along as I write my series. I’d really like to help this new hotel succeed! The food alone is something amazing to behold…

holidays

Merry Christmas 2022!

Here’s a quick photo dump and a few paragraphs about our eleventh Christmas in Germany. We have now spent half our marriage in this beautiful country, but the Christmases have been epic– 2007, 2008, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and now 2022… Oh, okay, technically we spent Christmas 2019 in France.

But we’ve lived over here for awhile… so long, in fact, that we didn’t bother to go to any Christmas markets this year. That was mostly because of Arran, who has been undergoing chemotherapy for lymphoma and tends to get in trouble if he gets left alone. We are planning to go out tomorrow, though… lovely lunch at Villa Im Tal, which is one of our favorite restaurants. I just bought a new, taller, and sturdier baby gate for preventing entry to the basement, which I hope will curtail any of Arran’s antics for a few hours tomorrow.

As usual, I bought a lot more gifts for Bill than he bought for me, mainly because I know what he likes, and what we need. I usually get him clothes for Christmas, but I already got him clothes a few weeks ago. He doesn’t need more. In fact, we both really need to cull our wardrobes! I have some clothes I haven’t worn in ten years! The only thing I bought for him that he can wear are new gloves, which he requested. I ordered them from an Italian outfit called Fratelli Orsini. He tried them on and said they fit perfectly. I tried to order a pair for myself, but I think I chose gloves that were out of stock. Oh well.

I mostly bought books– especially cookbooks and books about wine, and one book by Carl Jung– and lots of kitchen gadgets. I had a good time stuffing Bill’s stocking, which my mom knitted for us twenty years ago. We used to fill them every year, but stopped for some reason. This year, we decided to fill them again, to great success. I think Bill was especially pleased with the “toilet light” I got for us. He got me ready made cocktails, which won’t be as good as his, but might come in handy at some point. He also bought me shawls in three different colors.

Bill made baked eggs with asparagus and smoked salmon for breakfast, using one of last year’s cookbooks. He recently discovered them, and decided he liked them, so I bought him two more books by the same author, the late Michel Roux, a Frenchman who went to Britain and changed food there. Just now, I decided to get a couple more of his books, because they’re going out of print, and I have plans to buy bookshelves in the new year. Bill also made some excellent biscuits from scratch, a skill he’s been working on for awhile. The secret is truly in the flour. You need White Lily self rising flour to make them like we have them at home.

Anyway… here goes with the photo dump… He bought me a weighted blanket, which Arran immediately claimed. I also got a new office chair with heat and massage and a cordless vacuum! I did ask him for the vacuum, because the one I have is 7 years old and very cumbersome to use. I think it was a successful morning.

The featured photo is from a Christmas card our landlord brought us. It’s a photo of our village church, which dates from the 12th century. I love the photo. I might need to find a frame!

Bill is now preparing dinner, which should be pretty epic. I feel very fortunate today… and I hope everyone reading this also feels good/well today. But I know Christmas isn’t always easy for everyone… so if you happen to be feeling blue today, I send my very best wishes for better days. Merry Christmas, to all who celebrate! For those who don’t celebrate, may your day be blessed!

The Traveling Overeducated Housewife

…the wanderings and ramblings of a boring housewife…

Tag Archives: France