South to Ardèche After our 48-hour rendez vous with J.P. and Maryse in Paris, we picked up our rental car and started heading South to Ardèche. Villedieu-les-Poêles We left ourselves a few days to make the trip and stop at some places of interest on the way. The first of which was a small town […]
Belgian Bublé – GREEN CURRY MUSSELS and BELGIAN WAFFLES
Buzz of Amsterdam After the buzz of Amsterdam, we were afraid that Antwerp would be a letdown. A wrong turn made the walk from the train station, a marvellous piece of architecture, to the hotel, very long. The McDonald’s of hotels We finally arrived at yet another Ibis hotel (the McDonald’s of hotels) and settled […]
Pigged Out! – CHOUCROUTE GARNIE
Alsatian Valley Continuing down the Alsatian Valley we rolled into Colmar. A good way to describe this fairyland is Germany meets France in Disneyland. Colmar A day of walking covered everything we needed to see in Colmar. We stopped at a few shops to check out rows of spiced cake & fresh kugelhopf and did […]
Schnapped In Strasbourg – ROESTI
The crappiest hotel After the worst sleep in the crappiest hotel so far on our tour, we awoke in the Alsatian town of Strasbourg. Cramped quarters Escaping the confines of our cramped quarters, we headed out for coffee and to see what Strasbourg had to offer. Dominating the skyline is Notre Dame Cathedral with its […]
Bern Baby Bern – FLAMMEKUECHE
Bern Switzerland As our train rolled into Bern Switzerland I was trying to get a good look at the Aar River which protects the old town on three sides. Today, the river attracts many townspeople for a leisurely float/swim downstream on a hot summer day. Hairy or leisurely The day we arrived, we had a […]
Meat Me In Florence – FARRO SOUP
Florence Leaving our cozy digs in Massarosa, we were excited to spend our last two days of the Italian leg of this tour in Florence. Although we both love being in the country we also love the energy of a big city. A huge museum Firenze is like being in a huge museum. Every street […]
Lucca In Pictures
Walled city of Lucca One of our favourite places to visit in Tuscany is the walled city of Lucca. Founded by the Etruscans, it became a Roman colony in 180 BC. Lucca is called the city of 100 churches. Not because there are 100 churches within its walls although there does seem to be a […]
Truffle Hunting!
He’s here It was 5:30 in the morning when there was a gentle knock on our door. “He’s here…” I said “and he is half an hour early!” We quickly gathered the cameras (and our wits) and slipped downstairs to where our host for the morning was waiting beside his truck. Giorgio Cortopassi He was […]