Dana's Travel blog Final stop France, home & more pics

And for you photo nuts, (not just you Alan P.) here's a link to see ALL of them full sized (not collaged and cropped... Warning there's mine and Kim's, so over a thousand:
https://goo.gl/photos/LDTrVxckc3rGp2zv7

Oct 14-17th From Rome, Easyjet's 90 minute flight for €44 per person won out over taking an 8 to 10 hour train journey the length of Italy. I do love train travel but the cost was enormous by comparison as well. Also, this way we had more time to enjoy the rest and relaxation of one of our very favorite places on earth,  Antibes.

We took the airport express bus from Nice and it's been so long since we did that,  we missed our stop." It stops at the Main Square after the train station right?  Oh I guess not... well let's see where we end up!"  Luckily we know how to walk over from the next little town, Juan les Pins. It's maybe 10-15 minutes longer than if we'd gotten off at the proper stop in Antibes. So once again we were extremely grateful to have small light backpacks to travel with. We'd dumped a small duffel each after the cruise which not only cleaned out our closets of goodwill stuff but saved us a significant amount of money by not having to pay for luggage on the hopper to Nice or the flight home. And thank you again Barry for carrying my bike saddle home! (it just fit but was more the bulk and weight I was grateful not to have)
We needed to collect the keys to our dear friends David and Anna's flat.  So we met up with their friends who keep it up for them. This was entertaining as they'd had quite a bit of time, and therefore wine, to wait for us to arrive.
After getting our washing in the machine we took advantage of the sunshine and spent about a half hour laying on the beach. It wasn't warm enough to want to swim but it was still lovely.
I will not go on and on about the food but I will just mention that there's nothing like fresh baguette with French butter or fresh croissants. Trust me it tastes different there! I had the most amazing dish of turbot and clams with a truffle cream sauce for dinner our first night.
We spent the next two days decompressing from the constant touristing and crowds by not doing much. Our books, blog catchup, the quiet and the gorgeous view were enough to keep us perfectly content.
Our exceedingly cheap flight on Norwegian Air took us from Nice to Oslo to Oakland. We started the day at the bakery... Excuse me patisserie... at 7am to collect breakfast (croissants),  lunch (quiche) and dinner (sandwiches). I even picked up some unique gummy candy 'orangina flavor' for the flight.
Luckily I managed a few naps throughout the day,  which was 26 hours long before we were home and passing out in our own bed! (yay... Simple pleasures!)

We used the early rise of jetlag to get our garden in order for the winter season. I'm easing myself back into work with a couple massage/injury rehab sessions a day (although my phone is blowing up with texts from clients wanting to see me.. Which is nice, and flattering).  We can't seem to stay up much past 10 still. So we haven't gotten back to our dancing nights, but I expect next week that will change. I have however made it out to the park to do a couple miles jogging/walking at least twice.. Ahh pasta& croissants& gelato&... 😉

Well thanks again for following along. We haven't anything blog worthy on the calendar for 2016 as we plan to do some projects on the house. But, as my little sister Lydia says 'I'll believe that when i see it'!

If you are getting this and there's something going in your life or a trip you've taken that you'd like to share...I've been out gallivanting so much this year I'd love to hear from y'all... Drop me an email.
Hugs,  Dana

Dana's Travel blog Rome Oct 11th-14th '15

Dana's Travel blog Rome Oct 11th-14th '15

After inspecting the weather reports, we composed a plan of action for our 3days in Rome. To maximize our sightseeing and enjoyment of this amazing city we decided to book professional and vip access tours of both the Colusseum and the Vatican museum/Cistine Chapel.

Day 1 was a walking tour that I devised from what I recalled seeing on my last trip to Rome years ago with my mom and Wendy. We stumbled on a ruin right away,  (not hard to do as they are everywhere in Rome) with many cats... Turns out it was where Julius Cesar was murdered. Then we walked up to the Pantheon and on to lunch while seeing countless churches, fountains, sculptures, ancient buildings etc along the way. I sent Kim, Lisa, Steve and Barry off to see the Trevi fountain and the Spanish Steps while I zipped back to our AirB&B and moved our luggage to our new AirB&B that we'd be in for the rest of our time in Rome. I hopped the metro and met them at the steps. We continued on down a little (we could only handle about 2 blocks before we had enough of the crowds and chaos) of the famous shopping street. We cut over to Piazza Navonna and then to one of my favorite exhibits... Leonardo Da Vinci's machines. He was one amazing dyslexic, time travelling genius! Hadn't known before seeing this exhibit that he wrote backwards and reversed (like in a mirror).
Roman thin crust pizzas for everyone!

Day2 While the weather was still good we took our VIP tour of the Palantine and Colosseum with 'Walks of Italy'.
The Palantine is the most famous and ancient part of Rome filled with the ruins of the forum, governing houses, many palaces, temples, bathhouses, stadiums and burial places (not gravestones.... think enormous cathedral sized ornate buildings in tribute to the dead nobles who were elevated posthumously into gods)
When we saw the line to get into the colosseum we were very glad to have spent the extra money to skip straight in. The tour also covered three areas that are not on the normal entrance allowance. We got to be out in the middle in the stage,  toured the  underground passages and went up to the topmost tier for photo opportunities and a great view of the Palantine that we'd just toured. Oh and by the way evidently no Christians were actually martyred there..everyone thinks so but that was actually in a stadium in Gallia.

Day 3 A super early wake-up and taxi to make our tour of the Vatican museum/Cistine Chapel. Again we splurged to get to skip the line and also to spend some time in the Cistine Chapel before normal open hours. Much more pleasant than the later stop in at the end of our time in the Vatican museum. Very crowded and the guards constantly over the loudspeaker telling everyone to be quiet and stop taking pictures!
After a nice quiet twenty-five minutes in the Cistine Chapel we backtracked to the beginning and had a tour of the highlights of the Vatican museum. After having been there once before I can say this merely scratched the surface, seriously impressive. Even with our early start there were times when the crowds were oppressive, luckily for me our guide seemed to dislike the heavy crowds as much as I and would move us or stall in a room accordingly. The tour of the Vatican finished up with a walk through the private corridor directly from the Cistine Chapel into St Peter's Basilica. After a circuit of the cathedral (and explanation of the various tombs within) we exited to the main square for a look at the roof of the Cistine Chapel and the window where the Pope speaks from.
After this second tour I was sold on Walks of Italy. Great way to maximize what you can see in a short time with guides that were native, history majors and excellent English speakers. (I sound like an advert)
By this time, without much breakfast, lunch was severely overdue. So, we hopped a taxi to the only square without a church, Campo del Fiore for lunch at La Carbonara and a walk through the market stalls.
Sufficiently refueled we walked back to our apartment for a rest and pack session until it was time to go out in search of dinner.  Kim had pizza and I lucked onto a more northern dish we had accidentally discovered years ago,  Tagliata balsamico. Which is a tender steak seared, sliced and served with shaved parmigiano,  rocket (arugala) and a balsamic reduction. It was a decidedly fitting and rich final Roman meal for our trip.

14th Oct
We shared a taxi to the airport in the morning and Steve,  Lisa and Barry all flew home. Kim and I took easyjet to Nice and a bus to our favorite spot, Antibes.

Oct '15 Italy Ave Maria 5th&6th

Ave Maria Oct'5-6th BikeBarge

5th(cont.)We did so much in one day and I really enjoyed the Amusement Park Museum in Bergantino, so I almost forgot to mention the last stop of the day at the Grana Padano factory. We toured the storage area where the 88 pound rounds were kept, scraped and turned regularly. Outside we had a cheese tasting which was nice... Although it is very related to parmigiano reggiano (made in a very specific area) it is slightly sweeter and less hard. Learned that the part on the edge (rind) is not only edible but the most coveted part. Later on that evening the chefs aboard the Ave Maria heated up some bits of the edge for us all to try.
Unfortunately, a few times the wind would shift and we were subject to the smell of the required pig farm. Evidently every cheese making facility includes a pig farm where the whey byproduct is fed to the pigs.

6th Since Roberto was still available for the next day Lisa, Billie and I took the chance to get a ride into Ferrara. Since the boat was not going near it, we could meet the cycling crew there in time to tour the castle... Not the Gonzaga family territory any more, now on to the Estense family. The three of us did a great job of sightseeing on our own. We did one of the longest walking tours the city map offered and got to see much of the highlights of town including the amazing wall around the entire city. We started by walking past the castle, Cathedral and through the winding narrow streets. Peggy, you will be happy to know my collection of door pics was greatly expanded on this walk! Thank goodness I don't have to pay to develop all these to find 34pics of doors and 2 of us at the sights ;)
Our destination was the National Archeological Museum of Ferrara. Here we enjoyed the reconstructed Romance Era garden, the palatial building itself with its many frescoes and the huge collection of Greek and Etruscan artifacts from the long buried city of Spina. It was discovered in 1922, even though it had been known of in multiple writings for centuries, and dated back to the 6th century BC. Such amazing artwork in pottery,  glass, wood and metal!
After walking most of the way back we decided to stop for soup, pizza and calzone as the temperature had dropped and the rain started again. We got so lucky to have nice weather mostly and only rain while we were indoors!
We then met up with the riders by the castle where there was a required Gelato stop Fichi e Noci (omg fig and walnut FTW!)
Many of the group decided to go to an authentic Enoteca to drink wine.  Kim, Lisa, Steve, Barry and I toured the impressive castle and it's interesting dungeons.
After that it was time for the riders to head to the train station to meet the bus that would carry all of us (and the bikes) to Adria, where the boat was moored.  Lisa,  Billie and I caught a cab there and we all had an hour rest on the bus.

Italy '15 2nd half Ave Maria 7-10th

Ave Maria Oct 7th-10th bikebarge

7th Riding day for some and cruising for others. Kim and Barry rode with the main group and Steve, Lisa and I stayed aboard to enjoy the scenery and the traversing of the 3 locks between the rivers and canals as we made our way closer to Venice.

8th
The day was beautiful weather and started with a walking tour of Chioggia to the fish market and then a little free time to explore. We all met back at the Ave Maria where the boat, with everyone on board, cruised to the next island. There the cycles were unloaded and most of us rode along in the Venetian islands. We rode the length of the narrow island with the Venetian lagoon on one side and the Adriatic on the other. We then took a short ferry (with our bikes)  to Lido,  one of the most prestigious(and expensive) vacation destinations for all of Italy. We stopped there for a gelato and then rode back to where the boat picked us up. A lovely afternoon cruise past Venice (which I understand we weren't supposed to do but got away with it anyhow) and circled back to where we would spend the night. We had a fabulous mooring right on the dock where the Venice waterbus stopped.

9th Had a good walking tour of 'the hidden Venice' by Hein in the morning. It was followed by a dull tour by a professional guide of the San Marco square and a few landmarks on the way to the Rialto bridge.  We made it 2/3 of the way through and bailed on 'Debbie Downers' talk to have lunch and sightsee on our own. Managed to get some shopping in and had some more amazing gelato. (Nutella flavored gelato with a salted pistachio ganache!)

10th Travel day:Breakfast, said our goodbyes, disembarked the Ave Maria, took the water bus to the train station, train to Rome & train to the other end of Rome. We arrived fairly late so after checking into our AirB&B we went to dinner in the drizzle. The meal was spectacular, papardelle and lamb chops for me and amatriciana pasta and saltimboca for Kim. I loved the walls and ceiling in this cozy scooter themed locals restaurant. The walk back was in a cool downpour which meant wet socks for many. The drought stricken Californian in me still didn't mind and I enjoyed sleeping to the sound of the rain.

Italy Ave Maria Oct 3-5

This week's adventure was planned about a year ago after the Eugene to Portland bike ride. It was decided that the next trip should be something special and somewhere gorgeous. Italy on a canal bike boat tour won out over the Croatian coast where we'd be in the Adriatic (with at least one seasick companion) or a similar canal route in the south of France. This tour is a great combination of bike rides, tours of interesting castles, museums, landmarks and cruising. The France trip had mostly winery stops which might appeal to some, but our group of cycling tea-totallers decided on a bit more touristing over 'tasting'. We joined the boat in Mantua and disembarked in Venice a week later. Anyone wanting to really get a look at the lovely ship can see it in detail here:

Ave Maria Boat

http://maps.google.com/maps?layer=c&panoid=cMC1Rr2LPYsAAAQp0vNeTw&cbp=1%2C139.77649%2C%2C3.0%2C-6.9783015&cbll=0%2C0

Our guide Hein was from Holland and really made it a great and entertaining week for all. The chefs Giuliano and Sylvia made sure that no one lost weight by feeding us amazing food every night. Highlights of tenderloin of pork, swordfish with a side of fresh octopus salad, Guinea fowl in a pomegranate sauce,  duck ragout pasta, gorgonzola&pear pasta,  lasagna, molten chocolate cake, panna cotta, almond shortbread...well...you get the jist. And for my chefs (Amy,  Gerald etc...)there will be pics.. As promised.

Oct 3rd was check in, dinner and orientation. We dropped our bags and then walked through town to get a look at the huge Gonzaga castle which covers a tremendous amount of the old part of town. Dinner was fantastic medallions of pork tenderloin

Oct 4th we did our first ride, an out and back of only about 40 kilometers. We got to ride along the lake path for some of it which was very pretty.
Our first stop of the day was the famous church of the blessings where there was a crocodile suspended in the middle of the church and many rustic paintings by grateful parishioners who'd survived various calamities.
Lunch was alongside a quiet country road and then a short ride to the boat. After dropping the bikes there our guide took us for a walking tour of Mantua. More Gonzaga estate and history.

Oct 5th was a bike ride to Zelo but since Lisa and one other lady weren't able to ride I joined them and Roberto (a hired driver) for a mellow and personalized tour. We visited a quiet and impressive church, where all the walls and ceilings were Trompe-l'œil frescoes to look like reliefs,  marble columns and even a full cupola with windows! We followed along with the riders by meeting them at their stops. First was the smallish castle that was part of the giant Gonzaga heritage. It is in the process of becoming a museum all about the Po river and is not yet open to the public... but Hein got a key from the mayor, so we got a tour. Then on to the lunch stop at the 'Cat Asylum' which was a picnic table/bbq area pullout along the road that had two houses specially designed and built to be a cat sanctuary. They were decidedly less interested in our group then we were in them and their cute little bunk beds.
The last stop of the day was definitely the best. We toured the museum of the history of amusement parks. Turns out almost all carnival rides came out of this one area of Italy and are still made there today. So if you are my age or older and wondered why the Carnys always seemed to be Italian gypsy folk, that's because originally they all were!

Italy '15 Bike/Boat Final European Adventure

September 30-Oct 3rd
Some think that traveling the world is glamorous but I do have to admit certain aspects of travel are not always so:
Sept 30th 7 am out the door
9am fly out from Sacramento airport to Dallas
Switch to flight to London.
Switch to flight to Venice.
Walk the length of the airport (it seemed)  to get to the water transport which took an hour to get us into Venice.
From 9am PST to 3pm Italy time Oct. 1st, the next day. Total travel time 21 hours.
Needless to say I was pretty beat tired by then.
After our lovely hostess had led us to the loft apartment and showed us how everything worked we only had a little bit of time before we expected Steve and Lisa.
Since it was not a good idea to nap when that tired, as it might turn into sleeping away the rest of the day, we went out and walked to the Rialto bridge and back to our lodgings. That was purely to reinforce that we could find our way again and then we promptly went back to the bridge to collect Steve and Lisa and lead them to the AirB&B.
At this point we are to the good part...
Off we all went to get dinner. We walked about a bit and rejected the seafood spot in favor of Da Mamo for lovely pizza and pasta. Our first meal in Italy a true success, we meandered back and all slept hard for quite a few hours.

Oct 2nd:
Our first full day we headed out on the ACTV (waterbus) to Murano where we admired the glass (much from China) and went to an entertaining glassblowing demonstration. Afterwards we hopped back on the water bus to Burano where all the houses are very brightly colored and the specialties seem to be seafood and lace making. After a meander, nice lunch and a short visit to the lace museum and we were ready to head back to Venice. Dinner in the Restaurante l'Olandese Volante in the Campo S. Lio was lovely. (The Flying Dutchman in the Square of Saint Lio)

Oct 3rd:
After we had breakfast (including by the way... warm fresh baguette at the little grocery store on the corner for 30¢!) we gathered up and headed out to catch the water bus to the train station and made our way to Mantua to join our ship.  The lovely Ave Maria was awaiting our arrival. With time to spare, we did a little sightseeing of the palace grounds once reigned over by the wealthy Gonzaga family. Our orientation and first dinner boded well for a fun and delicious upcoming week (excluding any possible weight loss!)

Paris!

What can I say about the city of Paris? Magnifique , Fantastique ? And more. If you've never been,  well let's just say it is a place to put on your bucket list.  It is a food, architecture, art and people watching extravaganza.  Essentially it is an amusement park of a city. Between the museums,  monuments, sights and tastes there is an endless list of things to do morning, noon and night.

Our first night we walked from our hotel towards the Place St. Michael and found the back streets filled with restaurants, creperie, gyro stands and all kinds of cheesy gift shops. Way more than when we were here last (12yrs?!).  We ended up having an 'ok' meal of traditional French fare: Fondue, steak with Roquefort sauce and fries, with apple tart and creme Brulee to end the meal.

Monday:Our first day in Paris was supposed to be easy and low key... Sitting in cafés to watch people.  Instead we did that briefly when we needed coffee and food. And in between we saw The Cathedral de Notre Dame and walked half way to the Eiffel tower via the Louvre, the Tuillieries and the Obelisque . Then we went to the top, third level of the Eiffel tower which turned out to be entertaining as Kat is actually a bit afraid of heights.  We all took the elevator down to the second level, walked down the many flights to the 1st level,  and I took the elevator the rest of the way while Kat and Kim walked down the stairs.  

I've had a terrible time with blisters for the first time in years... I'm blaming the heat.. Well that and the 20,000+ steps a day we are walking in said humid heat. It's gotten so bad that I switched to wearing my flip flops for a couple days.  Now those are toast so I'm back to my sneakers. I'm not even going to pack them home as I've walked those flip-flops flat!

Tuesday: Disneyland Paris! 

We'd booked in advance and had an excursion complete with bus tickets out and back.  

It was Disney magic with some old, some new and some very different rides and attractions not in the other parks that we've been to. In the Disneyland park we did 'Phantom Manor', Big Thunder roller coaster, walked Sleeping Beauty's castle, Pirates of the Caribbean and went on Indiana Jones Temple of Peril roller coaster.  Pirates of the Caribbean was a delightful nostalgia hit as it was the way Pirates used to be before the one back home went totally Jack Sparrow. 

In Walt Disney Studios park we rode the 3D Ratatouille ride which turned out to be my favorite. We also rode Andy's RC Racer in the Toy Story area where everything is big like in Bug's Life. 

By then all of our feet were toast so there were no arguments about staying later than the 8pm bus back.
One or two things about DLParis that were surprising to me: The Parks were not as uber clean as I'm used to. The rules about smoking only in designated areas and not using selfie sticks were ignored or just not enforced. And the lines and organization of lines for food and attractions were not as clear or well put together...which made for some awkwardness and annoying waits. 

That night we had an absolutely great street food dinner in the area between our hotel and the St Michael Square.  Amazing falafel and gyros, crepes with lemon and sugar or Nutella! You'll never guess which one I had... Nutella! I've never seen such large containers of the stuff... It even comes in a bucket!

Paris pt 2 (end of this trip)

Sorry this got long but I felt like wrapping up the blog before I jump back to reality on Monday.

Days 3,4&5 Paris Pass & Museum pass days

Wednesday:
Feet so tired from the over 24,000 steps in Disneyland (we have been breaking 20k most days), that we decided to do seated tours...all covered by our pass. Big bus with the open top and audio guide as well as the mini train around Montmartre and the Siene river cruise!
The Big Bus was an ok way to see the city and get an overview with a little history although it was quite hot and sunny.
We did the 7:30 Bateaux Cruise along the Siene which was lovely and although not sunset it was close enough to have nice light and be slightly cooler. We even saw people dancing in the alcoves along the river! I think it was West Coast in one and Salsa and Tango in a couple others.

I'd never been to the Montmartre district of Paris so the cutesie "train" around was fun and we got to see the Sacre Coeur much closer than the usual distant landmark. It is an area renowned for the risqué shows and shops... Essentially the 'red light district' of Paris.
While there we decided to book a show at the famous Moulin Rouge. So, we made plans to return at 11 that night. Although we tried to take it more easy with less walking tours, I'm not so sure we succeeded. With all that riding around sightseeing we still made 20k steps.
We were quite surprised to find when we arrived for the show that there were 2000 seats for each show... The clue was that the line went around the block. I've stood in some long lines but this was perhaps the longest! I was impressed  with how quickly they got everyone seated.
The show itself had lots of over the top, skimpy (many topless) costumes with more shiny & feathery bits than you can imagine. Since they've been doing this since the 1800's I'm going to say 'Vegas Style' is the wrong term... They should all be called 'Moulin Rouge Cabaret' style!
Two great two person acrobatic vignettes and one extremely humorous comedy bit broke up the singing, dancing and top-less prancing nicely.

Thursday:
After our late night we got a slow start but managed to get to the Opera house for the 11:30 English tour. Rita, our entertaining tour guide, gave us quite a bit of the history. She really put across the importance of the venue as a place to 'see and be seen'. Men would attend 3 nights a week: Monday with their wives adorned with expensive outfits and jewelry, Wednesday with their daughters to attract suitors,  and Friday with their mistresses.
And yes, this was the Opera house depicted and made famous again by 'Phantom of the Opera' ... So there's even a box assigned to him.
We followed up the Opera tour by going to the History of Chocolate Museum and enjoyed the delicious samples and retro adverts! There was even a special chocolate drinking cup with a mustache guard on display.
As if that wasn't enough touristing, we headed over to the Musee d'Orsay for our fill of the classics. This is one of my  favorite museums in the whole world. I enjoy the Van Gough, Gougin, Matisse and Seurat. But even more for me, at that museum there's a section with gorgeous inlaid furniture. Some pieces are by Gaudí.  There's also a few Rodin sculptures and a small but delightful display of Lalique jewelry pieces that I never tire of.

Friday.. Last day:
We 'only' managed to get to the Louvre and Orangerie museums ;)
We went early to the Louvre and left before complete overload set in. If you have been (or been to the Vatican museum) then you know what I'm talking about. It is not just the art and sculptures and exhibits... The building was a palace so it is amazing as well. The ceilings, walls, floors and windows are art of their own. Walking all of it would be more than 10 miles. Although we didn't scratch the surface of that distance, we still did over 8miles total (only 17000steps but I  may have left my phone in the room when we went to dinner)
L'Orangerie Museum is a refreshingly  small and manageable size... Mostly because it's devoted purpose and exclusive upstairs 2 large oval rooms house Monet's Nymphéas (aka water lilies) Not everyone is aware of their enormity as its hard to depict that in books. There's also a series of exhibition rooms on the lower level but it is so small by comparison to the other museums that overload is less likely. It does have a nice selection of Renoir, Gaugain and a few others.

Cumulative days on the feet and imminent rain meant that dancing was out of the question so we returned to the hotel for some much needed off the feet time.  This made the search for one last awesome street food dinner more pleasant, despite the rain. It was a cooling nice drizzle which ended up a pretty significant rain by the time we got our dessert :D Nutella crepes! We even had to duck into an empty shop doorway to  finish them before they got soggy.

Tomorrow we have our last warm amazing French croissants for breakfast and then head to the airport. (little bit of a bummer as the last morning croissants were kind of burnt but we'd had many amazing warm ones.. So that's good)

Overall it was a fantastic trip and a delightful visit with Joelle and decadent crazy touristing time with my awesome traveling companions... Thanks Kim and Kat for such a blast! I was probably a little whiny because of my blisters and the crazy heat and both were so patient with me and let me sit while waiting in lines at times.

Thanks for reading/'traveling' along,
Ciao, Auf Wiedersehen, Au Revoir until October when we hit Northern Italy for a week with barges, bicycles and a weekend in Rome!

Germany Part 2

Day 4:
A blissfully uneventful train ride to Baden-Baden later we made it to check in and get an awesome lunch at the Lowenbrou Restaurant before heading to the Caracalla Spa.
Although check in was less than relaxing and the staff seemed very confused and disorganized, the pools and treatments we all got were very nice. Since we'd just been to Bath England in the spring, I was able to compare the two. I'd say the organization and efficiency of the spa in England put it higher on my list for future visits.
Day 5 Baden-Baden
A missed bus meant we spent more time in town changing money and getting snacks for our outing. Instead of the 11:23 we were supposed to take, we mooked about the walking district, got gelato and caught the 1:45 bus. On arrival we decided that famous Lake Mummelsee of the Black Forest  would now be downgraded to pond status. We spent all of 10 minutes mosey circumnavigating said wonder of the area before taking the bus back to town. The ride however has been very pretty with lots of green trees and low mountain views.
I am looking forward to later as we are going to the other bathhouse in town...the one that was the original roman baths. It has 17 stations of Irish airbaths and roman pools combined in a healing sequence. Should be fun. And since it's been high 90's again..any water sounds good!

OMG...Friedrichsbad my new favorite spa of all time...just bumped the Hanoi tea bath/steam/massage to second favorite!
We went for the full shebang with food, 3 hours time to do the 17stations, an 8 min brushing soaping massageish thing and even a 5 min lotioning up near the end. It was awesome and we were in there from 6:30 until after 9:30! The building itself is so gorgeous and has been in service continously for over 130 years. The steam room is the only one in the world solely heated by geothermal water. I can't say enough about how nice it was and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys  soaking/swimming/relaxing/pampering.
So after all that healthy detoxification of our systems...off we went for ice cream. To make the evening even more blissful the temperature dropped to 79...whoooeee! 

Day 6 Baden-Baden and on to Freiburg
Spent the morning at the oldest Casino, going on the lamest tour ever. It is very ostentatious and over the top and our English tour turned out to be completely in German. So we looked around.. Took a few pictures and left early... I did catch one of the other tour guides explaining that this one particular room was an exact replica of a woman's dressing room in Versailles... Very gaudy and gold covered.
We killed some time before the train by getting full eye exams for free and they even checked my glasses to see how close they were to what I needed. A little lunch then onto our next city.

Freiburg is a good sized city with a huge Gothic Cathedral at the center.  We tried to go inside several times but they seemed to have services a lot on Saturday and Sundays. So we got to enjoy the exterior plenty. Lots of walking around the pretty cobbled streets enjoying the architecture and teeny tiny open waterways. I parked a faded overheated and hungry Kat and Kim at a cafe/restaurant and circled the big square snapping pics of the menus for us to compare.  One of them stood out for me and since it was going to be our last night in Germany I wanted to have a nice German dinner.  Well I got my wish and had a fantastic meal. We all had chanterelles in various ways... One crepe, one with dumplings and one with meat and spaetzle .
Still dealing with the overwhelming heat, even though it is improving slightly, we were all pleased to find out that the swimming pool stayed open until 11.  That helped quite a bit...as well as the air conditioned room.
Tomorrow off to Paris by the TGV train (Tres Grand Vitesse)

Germany Black Forest Region

Day 1 of Germany:
We had a beautiful drive from Morgins to Strasbourg, where we were returning the car. All went super smooth until we caught the train into Germany.
For starters I will just mention that almost all the following takes place in temperatures above 90°f.
About 12 minutes into the trip the train stopped just inside Germany and we were told the track was broken up the line. So we waited for a long time for a train to the next stop, only 5 minutes down the way, where everyone was put off and stood about in the little town (no actual station...just a stop). Kim and I actually gave up and had boarded a train to go back to Strasbourg to rent a car when the bus appeared. We rode that to the place, past the broken line,where we could catch a much later train than originally intended to Karlsruhe.
We felt a bad that Kat and her sister Yvonne were waiting so long for us as we were supposed to get dinner and go dancing with them that evening. Well we made it to the hotel in Heidelberg by about 9:45 and somehow managed quick showers, after the melting hot day, and to get ourselves to the college where the swing dance was held. It only went til 11 so we managed to catch the last half hour.  It was a bit tricky to find but we followed the Google map and I saw a couple of girls catch a cab from out front of this huge university like building...so I poked my head in the door and we followed the faint music to the top floor, et Voila...about 4 couples dancing in the hot, still, summer heat.
On the advice of one of the dancers, a long walk through the quiet oldtown took us to a place by the river that was still open and serving food. So we had our first flammenkuchen of the trip. It's a super thin crust with a cream sauce and lightly topped with either vegetables or in my case bacon and onion. Think flatbread pizza but burnt crisp edges and super thin crust.

Day2Germany:
Our first full day in Heidelberg, Germany we visited the impressive castle (schloss). There were some clouds overhead and the temps were down into the higher 80's just for this one day which was a relief. We toured the largest wine barrel, castle grounds fountains, gardens and the Apothecary museum before riding the funicular tram down to town for coffee and shopping.
After collecting Yvonne's car, she drove us all to Karlsruhe. We stopped at a greek Restaurant called Zeus. It was attached to a fitness center so I was a bit worried but it was a fantastic dinner. Possibly the best of the trip...certainly so far.
After dinner we went to Kat's Grandma's place where we taught everyone to play Splendor late into the night.
Day 3:
The Karlsruhe Zoo is a bit of a tired and sad place but had nice flowers & water features. Then we went into the Dulach area with lots of cobbled streets and shops. When I saw the sign of where we were, all I could think of was Dulac the 'perfect town' in Shrek. Helga, Kat's Grandma, made us a fantastic traditional dinner with brats and dumplings and two kinds of cabbage! Dinner was followed by Rummy Q and more Splendor (on Grandma's request).

First Italy then Switzerland

Travel tips for those interested:
1. Expect to pay quite a bit in tolls to drive the major highways of France and Italy.
2. Somehow know that if you are going to drive in Switzerland you must buy a
special pass to display in the window that shows you've paid the annual road toll (40 Swiss Francs so about $41). Although it probably won't be checked, the fine is 200. We got one after our friend informed us of the rule.
3. If you have a phobia about tunnels then the drive through northern Italy and Switzerland is soooo not for you. ...I lost count on the first day after about 17 and some were crazy long!

Our departure from San Remo was entertaining as Google sent us straight up from town on the narrowest of streets to get us to the motorway. Serious rock walls on either side and straight up the mountain it seemed.

Although the drive was rainy and thick with clouds the snippets of scenery we could see were very pretty. It also made it easy to decide whether to take the Grand St.Bernard Tunnel for 28€, or the windy mountain roads for an extra hour plus. Since visibility was next to nothing at that altitude we drove the tunnel.

Our friend Joelle lives in a small ski village in the Alps of Switzerland very close to the French border. It is a particularly lovely little town. And the chalet she has is fantastic. Since we visited last she's really made 'la Chapelle Belle' even lovelier!

It was great to see Joelle and although we've kept up on Facebook and called each other occasionally there is nothing like in person time. We also got to meet a good friend of hers, Dorna. The four of us chatted a bit then went to Di Vin Restaurant in the village of Morgins. It is Joelle's favorite with good reason! The food was spectacular. I had a two cheese fondue and got to taste everyone else's dinner ...wow!
Our arrival was coincidentally on Swiss National Day, which is their 4th of July with festivals in the village and fireworks the night before. (which were cancelled due to the drought even though it had been raining all day) It did mean all the houses had lots of Swiss flags flying and everything was dolled up even more than usual.

After a very long cheese coma sleep we managed to get in gear to go for a nice gentle hike along the river down in town. We checked out the red iron spring and passed the art installations along the path. Hence the pic of Kim in front of a giant wooden Swiss army knife. We put our feet in the water and whoooeee is that chilly!

To end the lovely visit,that night Joelle and I got to trade bodywork, which we hadn't done for about 10 years!

Morgins with Joelle

Dana and I have been visiting our dear friend Joelle at her chalet in Morgins, Switzerland.

We had a birthday celebration dinner on Saturday night and went for a small hike yesterday.

The company and scenery are both magical!

(Don't ask me why the photo is rotated... my phone kinda hates me.)

Europe 2015 take 2!

We picked a nice relaxed way to start off a summertime European jaunt. After landing in Nice, France we rented a fun little car. Now Kim wants to see if he can get a Peugeot 206 at home. It also makes us think of David and Anna as they had one until recently as well.

Less than an hour from the Nice airport you pass Monaco and cross into Italy and there begins the Italian Riviera. The place we picked to stay has a small private beach, although the pic I used of it is a glammed up version as the real thing was a bit more worn and churned up and a bit of debris...but we still swam. It also has a large lovely saltwater pool and jacuzzi in the main area. It is a combination of small cabins, essentially a stand alone hotel room with a little deck in front, and tent and camper parking further down towards the sea. This of course made Kim and I think of Ronny & Michael as well as Linda & Mike our caravan loving British families. 

They have a lovely breakfast buffet in the restaurant and Kim says the coffee is typically amazing  (as in better than almost everywhere back home) and we are in a campground!
Since our arrival late Thursday night we haven't done much other than sleep, eat, swim,sleep eat swim & sun and repeat in an attempt to beat jetlag.
Well, since it's not yet 6am I haven't won the battle obviously but it could be worse.
Last night we drove into town and circled a bit until we found a parking garage and managed to get a table at a popular restaurant out of sheer luck as they were fully booked. All I can say is Italian pizza is the best! We have pretty great places back home like Hot Italian, Selland's, Massulos and Pizza Aiolo in Colfax, but it's just not quite the same..must be the flour or tomatoes or cheese or some magic combination of all of them.

After breakfast we are going to road trip north to Morgins, Switzerland to visit Joelle. Should be a beautiful drive with the alps in the route. I will try and snap a picture or two as we go.