Day 13: Riquewihr to Miltenberg

10:46 AM AirplaneFoodCritic 0 Comments

<p>Despite the late night party downstairs, I slept great. Breakfast was the same as the day before only this time I got to sit by the old white lab who refused to move from where he had chosen to spend his morning, which was under my chair. Dad grabbed the car and picked us up in front of the hotel. It was a long drive back to Germany. I finished up a bunch of blogs. We were on the Autobahn so there was little to see. We stopped for a stretch before we crossed over the border. The rest stop/gas station was a big truck stop. Mom and I went in to see if there was any touristy stuff to buy. We found more than we bargined for. Unlike American truck stops, where they pretend that the truckers are not ...ahem....lonely....there was a sex shop. I could have picked up a sexy nurse outfit, some flavored body lotion or a snickers bar and some motor oil. After a stretch we moved on.
We stopped in a town called Obernai which is our last big shoppy town. Mom has been there before and I hear there is a great shop there to pick up all the stuff we regretted not buying earlier. I finally bought a little Alsation pot with a stork flying around on it like the one I are the Munster cheese and potatoes out of. We were dropped off at the store and agreed to meet back up in a half hour. Mom and I speed shopped. We went through the main o e where i really wanted a giant brown pottery vase but resisted. Then we ran through town looking at three other shops. We found the time to take some pictures of my head in funnt stork-related cut-out boards. We raced back to the meeting point just in time to meet dad. Turns out dad had a big time too. He parked, found a church, lit a candle for a safe trip home and bought a soda. And on we drove....
We stopped at another rest stop but this one was not as interesting...just toilets and parking spots. We crossed the border to Germany one more time.
We drove to a cute town in the middle of nowhere called Michelstadt. It looked boring and unassuming from the outside but looks are deceiving. We parked in a big public parking lot and walked to the town. To get to the town we had to walk through the ramparts again. I always love a town with ramparts. It is like a wall keeping out the ugly and in the cute. We shopped the little cobbled streets but found nothing new to buy. We continued on our drive until we got hungry. Mom said she was in the mood for Wurst so we stopped at a little stand on the side of the road. We each ordered a different kind of sausage. Dad and mom both got a local Wurst and I ordered the heisswurst which literally translates to hot dog. It was fantastic. We ate in front of the stand on the side of the road looking up at some old castle ruins. That is what is so great about traveling in this area. Even though we have been driving all day and we stopped randomly just because we were hungry, there is still something cool to look at. Onward we drove to Miltenberg in Germany. Our hotel is the cutest thing in the town. Apparently, it has been an inn since like the thirteen hundreds and al kinds of famous people have stayed there. Dutchees this and king that. Our rooms are totally cool. The P's room was made up of three little rooms. There was the main room with old furniture and sitting tables and chairs and then there was a little sitting room with windows everywhere. My room was really bright with a canopy bed. It looked out to the main little cobbled street.
We settled in then shopped the main street. It was later in the day and a lot of the shops were closing but the shops were mainly weird clothing shops. The clothes were all really wrinkly, baggy sacs. So strange. We made our way to the end of the street where there is a cute square with a fountain in the middle. A wedding couple were there having their pictures taken. Along one side of the square is a big cement block lined with trees and table in the center. We found a free table and ordered some ice creams. The ice cream menu was ginormous with photos of all kinds of crazy concoctions of fruits, creams and flavors. The waiters were coming out from the shop with all of then. They looked just like their pictures. Originally, I was going to order an eischocolate which is hot chocolate with chocolate ice cream in it but then I saw the menu. I ordered a Schwartzwald ice cream sundae. It was cherrys...a million fresh cherries, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a scoop of chocolate ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate shavings, all topped with a cherry syrup...holy cow was it good. It is all I want to eat from now on! Mom ordered a large eischocolate so I could eat half of hers but I didn't realize that I was getting so much in mine. I manned up and ate half of hers too. Dad got the eiscaffe.
With out new found energy we read all the menus in town to find where we were going to eat that night. We chose a Bavarian place because I was in a schnitzel mood. We went to our hotel rooms, opened one of Charles' wines and set to the daunting task of packing. An hour or two, and a bottle of wine later we were ready for a beer and dinner.
We walked to the restaurant and sat outside. We all ordered giant dunkel beers that tasted fantastic. I got the paprika Schnitzel, mom got the venison Schnitzel and dad got the pork in cream sauce Schnitzel. All three were so so good. We ate heartily.
I felt great with a belly full of a hot meal and cold beer. I didn't take a second to fall asleep. I slep probably the best of the whole trip. Good thing because tomorrow is going to be a looooong day. I don't wanna leave Europe!!!




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Day 12: Alsace: Modern Life, Medeivel Life

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<p>Breakfast was French again. Less meats and cheeses but the croissants are hugem flakey and heavy with butter. We ate and got ready for my friend, Charles to pick us up at 9:30. He showed up in front of our hotel in a little white van so we could all tour the area in comfort. Charles worked two harvests at my winery. He worked in the cellar and on the presses. He was doing an internship and school project in California while attending college for enology and business management in Burgundy. The second time he came back I was happy to see him so i ran up to him to give him a hug. He was expecting a double cheek kiss and we kind of bonked into each other in an awkward body bump instead. This time I was practicing how to do the double kiss. When he walked up I grabbed him with gusto and gave him a muah muah. I guess I still did it wrong because he was expecting a left cheek to left cheek first. I will get it right one of these days.</p>
<p>We hopped in the van and he took us to all his vineyards. We took back roads over the hills towards Kayserville. Our first stop was a vineyard on a granite hillside. All of his vines were panted in 2006 so they were young looking. He has five or six vineyards but they are all really small compared to the Napa Valley. We were up on a hill and could look down on the rolling hills of vines and see all the little boundaries between the different owners. Most people try to plant north south but the topography sometimes makes them have to put rows where ever they fit. Charles said that just yesterday one of his employees had rolled the tractor down the hill. It is so steep in areas this isn't too u common. He said he, himself, had rolled a tractor just a couple weeks ago. He said you just have to dive out of the tractor before it takes you with it. The wins are so good here that I guess it is worth the extra dangers.</p>
<p>We bumped along the tiny dirt roads between vineyards. We passed a young man working in one of them. Charles said that is his cousin. Having been born and raised I the region and being the tenth generation in the business, he knew everyone in town I am sure. We drove up a hill to two war memorials. One was for the local French fighters who lost their lives. There was a whole graveyard and a directory of who was buried where and in the center is a giant French flag. The view was incredible. Charles'&nbsp; grandfather helped build the memorial. We drove down the hill a short ways to the American memorial. Here was a stone structure with some markings of what groups fought there, a flag and a stone map of the Rhine which could be seen in the distance. Charles said that on a clear day you can see the Alps on the horizon. We could see Germany and the Black Forest but the sky was a little overcast </p>
<p>The next vineyard we visited was his Pinot Noir. Here, the soil is a crumbly, red, ferrous soil. He is really proud of this vineyard because this is the one he considers his personal vineyard...his baby. The last vineyard we visited is right next to the town of Riquewhir. At the top of the hill we looked down the rows of Riesling as they led right up to the ramparts that wall the city in. Charles' vineyard plot is right next to Hugel which is a brand I have had before at home. The soil here is more gypsum and limestone. A little train passed us as we stood there. The train is a tour you can take for six euros. It takes you through town and up into the vineyards. We didn't take it but it looks kinda fun to do so sometime. We had no need since we had a local person to show us around.
Charles took us back to town where we toured his winery. He has one press and has another on order. The cellar has giant pine barrels that are a hundred years old with beautiful carved taps. He showed us his stone settling tanks and the big stainless steel tanks. There is a cute little library too. He is in the process of fixing up the cellar area for tours and tasting. We went back up to the main tasting room and store. He poured us several wines which were all so so delicious. We started with a Brut Cremant. It was creamy crisp with a moussey mouth feel. Next, we tasted the Muscat which was dry with a beautiful, floral bouquet. The flavors were roses and lychees. Then we tasted a Riesling from Mambourg then a Pinot Gris from the same region. The Pinot Gris was slightly sweet and was my favorite. We tasted a Gewurztraminer from Spore then another Riesling, this time from Shoenenbourg. We finished with a Pinot Noir from his special vineyard. It was fantastic. A beautiful, bright red color and red fruits on the nose. The balance of tannins, acid and fruit was perfect. The Pinot was not labeled yet and he opened it special for us so he recorked it to take to his grandfather. Charles was so kind to give me a bottle of Pinot Gris and my dad the Mambourg Riesling. Charles had to have lunch with his grandmother so we parted then. I kissed him backwards again and we just walked back to town. We had tried to buy anything with the Sparr name on it but Charles would not let us so mom got a little bottle opener that says SPARR TraditioN Riquewihr on it.
We freshened up at the hotel and grabbed a seat at our outdoor cafe for a little lunch. We were against a stone wall on some nice wooden chairs. The only other people there was a group of four locals having some Flammekuche and wine. We saw the man cooking the pizza on an outdoor oven and it smelled wonderful. We ordered two to share. One traditional one with little chunks of bacon, onions and mild cheese. The other we got had Munster, cumin, bacon and onions. We had some bubble water to wash it down...and to sober up from the tasting!
We hopped into the car and drove up up up to the castle on the hill, Chateau Haute Koenigsburg. It began to rain as we arrived. We paid the $12 entrance fee and entered the courtyard. The castle is from medieval times. They had the original painted walls, stones and layout. We followed a set route through old bedrooms, rooms with armor and weapons, a chapel, a huge dining room and a kitchen. I looked at the old weapons and imagined that they were actually used to kill people at one time. It is weird to think about. We went up to the tower where there are canons. There were a million little kids running around. It must have been field trip day. There were tour guides in old time clothes talking with great animation in French to the little kids. By the time we finished the tour it had stopped raining. I bought a Alsace dish towel with a stork on it and a little stork pin at the gift shop. Mom bought a little cannon that is also a pencil sharpener for dad.
We drove to Ribeauville which is another cute town and dad dropped us off so we could shop around. We bought a little can of boar pate to snack on. It was yum. All shopped out we returned to Riquewihr. I bought a little porcelin stork. We had drinks at the hotel. Somehow when I order a Campari and soda
they assume I really mean I want a Campari and orange juice because this is the second time they brought me the wrong thing. It was fine though cause it all tastes good. We had dinner at our hotel which seems like the place to be on a Friday night on Riquewihr. The joint was jumping. I started with the escargot. Ohhh man it was good. I want some right now just thinking about it. Hot, buttery and the perfect amount of garlic. Not greasy but very tender. Yum. Yum. Yum. Dad and I ordered the steak frites but both if ours were sort of tough. Mom got the tongue with a horseradish sauce. Hers was really good so I ate a lot of hers. I even ate the spaetzel that came with it. It was a long day so i grabbed a little pitcher of wine to take to my room for the night. The party continued downstairs until after midght but I didn't mind the noise, I was tired and fell right asleep.



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Day 11: Black Forest To Alsace

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Ahhh the day started great. We had breakfast in a gorgeous solarium. It was a glass rotunda of crystal and drapes. Besides the tomatoes taking too long to be replenished, it was perfect. right after breakfast mom and I ran up to the store where I had previously seen the sweet little cuckoo clock with the fox that looks just like my dog on the front. As I mentioned previously, I wanted it but thought it was too much. I told the bf about it that night and he said he wanted to buy it for me....I am so happy I bought it...it looks like a Corgi is sitting on the front porch of the little chalet. SO cute. So i went to purchase it and the store clerk showed me the cuckoo sound which made it even cooler.
If you know me then you know I own two cuckoo clocks already ( which is a lot for how large my home is) I have one that cuckoos, I have one that cuckoos and olays a different song every half hour and now...I have one that plays song bird sounds then cuckoos every half hour. So stomed that it is different. Plus, this one does not depend on me pulling the weights once or twice a day...I felt so good to have bought it. It is like one of those things that I could have regretted forever if i did not buy. I mean, when would I EVER see a clock with the likes of my dog on it again? To add to the shopping bliss of the morning we wz.ked done to Cafe Shaefer. This cafe's chef was the apprentice of the man who first invented the recipe for the Schwartzwzld Torte (Black Forest Cake). Yesterday we had a slice of cake from another cafe and it was really good, but this one was the ultimate. The chef is verynanal...in a very good way. He needs his cske to be perfect. The cafe was closed the day prior or we would have gone before, but this was with the wait. Just fyi, if you plan to go, Cafe Shaefer is closed on Wednesdays. We asked for a slice but the cake was not ready. We had to wait another half hour. I presume because the cake needed to completely cool before any cream was applied. It came out more beautiful than a wedding cake.
I filmed the woman cutting the cake and we left with the precious parcel. We got to the car and as a quick shot, I asked mom to take a picture of me pretending to eat it...all the time intending to eat it on the road on our long drive that day. Well, after one pretend bite...the whole thing got devoured by me and dad despite our insistence that we were toocf full from breakfast to have one more bite. The cake from yesterday saved my life because I needed sustinence from dehydration and low blood sugar...this slice made my life by being the most wonderful combination of flavors and textures. I wish I could convey the sensation of eating this slice of heaven. It was light, fluffy, creamy, juicy. It had the right balance of cream, alcohol, fruit, chocolate....it was even wrapped like a special gift.
C
All this before we even left the town of Triborg. We drove some more. I blogged in the car. It took us a couple hours to reach the French border. When we arrived on this trip we began in France. When we were first leaving France and crossing the border to Switzerland a man was standing in the street selling nougat and little french flags for the children...les enfants. We bought some and we have the French flags in a car waving proudly. I felt so disappointed to leave France. Then, once we got into Switzerland I was thrilled to be there and when we had to leave Switzerland for Germany I was sad once again, everytime we would leave a country I would miss the country just left. Today is no exception.
We crossed into France and I looked back to Germany with fondness. We entered Alsace. Once again, the scenery changed dramatically. The houses were not so spread out. This time they were in little villages grouped around a church in each little town. The houses are what is called half timber and have wood beams on the outside and brightly colored on the outside in blues, greens, yellows and many other colors. The design of the houses is so u ique here that one of the big selling souvineers here is ceramic houses painted like the the real ones in the local cities. The Alsace region streches alongside a mountain range from Strasbourg in the not to Colmar and Riquewihr, where we are staying, in the south. The area is famous for fois gras, storks that nest on the roof tops, pottery and their traditional dress...oh and their FANTASIC wines. My favorite varietals come from this region; Gewertztraminer, Riesling, Muscat, Pinot Gris, and more.
We drove through hills and fields of vineyards dotted with the occasional villages. It is so picturesque it is like a postcard everywhere you look. The weather was warm but slightly overcast so the green vineyards really popped in contrast to the rooftops of the towns. Château Haute Koenigsburg could be seen sitting on top of a hill from many of the towns we passed through. Tomorrow we will visit that castle. We stopped in Kaiserburg to do a little shopping. I took a million photos. Every building was a unique half timbered structure painted all kinds of different colors. Flowers spilled out of every sill and balcony.
That town thoroughly photographed and shopped, we headed on to Riquewihr. This town is one of the most visited towns in all of France and it is obvious why. Nestled in the middle of the southern part of the Alsace wine region, it is an old, quaint town dominated by a large clock tower at one end of the main street. The street is a cobbled, slightly windy road with cafes and shops lining it. Our hotel, Hotel au Dolder, is right at the front of the clock tower. It is a small family owned hotel run by a very nice couple and their white Labrador. We arrived on a Thursday and apparently the restaurant is not open that day so we found our keys and let ourselves in. We had to leave the car on the outside of the ramparts and climb up stairs to get through to the town. So cute. We shopped up and down the street until we got hungry. We stopped in a creperie to grab a snack. dad had a rubarb torte, mom had a yummy ice cream, whipped cream and Grand Marnier crepe Sucre and i had a savory ham and cheese crepe. It really hit the spot.
Filed up, we walked the town some more to find where we were going to eat dinner. The local foods here are flammenkuche or torte flambe which is like a pizza on a cracker, charcroute which is all kinds of meats on a bed of saurkraut, onion tart and Munster cheese. We made reservations at an outdoor restaurant for seven thirty and walked back to the hotel. We reshened up and headed back out. We found a weinstube where we could sit and drink some local wine. We watched the people and enjoyed the incredible scenery.
Dinner was fun. I had the onion tart to start and potatoes and cheese. The main course came in three little pots. One pot had a green salad in it. The other two pots had sliced potatoes, cream and each a different local cheese. One was Munster and i don't know what the other was but it was milder. Both were fantastic. The pots they were baked in were locally made. I see lots of them in the stores. I think I am going to have to buy one for myself. Mom and dad both got the Tete de Veaux. Literally translated that means head of baby cow. And that is literally what it is. A pot of the chunks that cooked off of the head of a cow...cheeks, tongue and all the other parts that look spongy, stringy and gross. My parents were in heaven. I had to avert my eyes. We had a half liter of Gewertztraminer and a half liter of Ededlzwicker. The half liters are brought in really pretty locally made stone pots. I already own one of my own or I would be trying to fins a way to cart one home.
While we were eating my dad whispered: GET OUT YOUR CAMERA NOW. I did what he said and looked up. What I saw was amazing. A stork was walking up the middle of the street. He was big and white and grey and beautiful. I named him Jean-Claude. I filmed him strolling along the street for a while. Finally other people noticed and a crowd formed around him. People started feeding him bread. Something tells me Jean-Claude will be returning. I can just imagine when I come back in a few years Jean-Claude will be famous like the dolphin of Dingle.
I was saying that the town of Riquewihr is a very popular tourist destination but we are so lucky that there are relatively few people here. We were able to walk the town basically alone after dinner....once Jean-Claude moved on. The town at night is just as cute as it is during the day. They light up the buildings. The big clock tower is lit up with changing colors. There was a green light that changed to purple.
I have a friend whom I used to work with who lives in the area. He owns a winery in town. when we first arrived in town I was trying to contact him to meet up tomorrow. I went to his mother's hotel and tried calling him but he was in the vineyards and i couldn't reach him. Then we were driving through town and there was his name plastered all over the side of a building. It was neat. He really owns a winery in his own name. I made contact in the evening and arranged to be picked up tomorrow morning at 9:30. We went to bed at a decent time so we would be ready for our visit.





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The Schwartzwald - Triborg, Germany

9:09 AM AirplaneFoodCritic 0 Comments

Lake Titisee was beautiful this morning. I ate way too much for breakfast but it was so so good. Fresh smoked salmon and cream cheese, horseradish, rolls, pancakes, an array of cold cuts, including my absolute favorite, the mortadella like bologna one....mmmm!! We checked out and even though some of us were a little tired, we were in good spirits from the massive discount we got on the room.
We drove deeper into the Schwartzwald. The scenery is so wonderful. Thick, lush dark forests and rolling fields dotted with huge houses with giant roofs. Every shade of green imaginable is represented. We stopped at our hotel in Triburg to drop off our luggage then headed to the Dorotheenhuette. The Dorotheenheutte is a working glass factory. They hand blow, shape, color and cut all sorts of glass. From wine goblets to Christmas orniments and jewelry. For five euros we got to tour the place they actually are blowing the glass. One of the glass blowers took a liking to me. I could tell because he kept whistling at me and saying Ciao, Bella! Italian men are not shy. I was allowed to go up to the glass blowing p,at form and take a ball of glass on a stick. I chose what colors I liked and the man dipped my glass ball in some color chips. He heated the ball in the furnace kiln thing and handed it back to me. I blew on the stick and he put it back in the fire. I took it out and blew again and it started to look like a vase. The man pressed a bottom on the vase and snapped it off of the stick. We let it cool for fifteen minutes and another man polished up the cut end for me. I walked away with a beautiful red and yellow glass vase I made myself. It was so exciting and fun.
From there we drove to Gutach and did a little shopping. There is an outdoor museum there where you can walk around and see what life used to be like in olden days. We chose to just visit the gift shop though. Driving back to Triburg we passed a really cute building on the side of the road. Everything in this area is carved wood and cuckoo clocks and this building looked a guant cuckoo clock. We pulled over and mom and I walked over to it. I put a euro in the slot and the entire building lit up. Wooden people were dancing, a dog was chasing a clockmaker man, deer were jumping, and a water wheel was moving actual water. I loved it! Got it all on video.
We checked into our room in Triburg and walked up the main street to a park. Our hotel, the Park hotel Wehrle, gave us free coupons to visit the waterfall in the park. We used our passes and hiked up the falls. They claim to be the highest falls in Germany. It was pretty warm out but the hike was shady. The falls were a pretty multi step falls. We hiked up to the second bridge. We could have bought peanuts to feed the squirrels but we never saw any of the famous squirrels. We also could have hiked into the forest but I was getting hot and the band aids on my feet were falling off so we headed back towards town.
In town we used another coupon from our hotel to visit the Schwartzwalder Museum. This place was huge. It took you on a journey through the history, culture and geology of the Black Forest. There were all these rooms you could go into. One showed all the traditional clothing, one showed a hat maker, one showed the clock maker, one room was all music boxes, one was the whole history of the cuckoo clock, there was a bob sledding room and you got to go through a pretend underground mine that displayed all the minerals of the region. Beautiful crystals, rocks and minerals. By the time we got to the end I was exhausted. I felt dehydrated and was getting cranky so we walked down the street to a cafe. I had a giant bubble water and a huge slice of Schartzwalder Torte. I felt like a million bucks after that. The cake was a light brown then a layer of sweet, Kirsch soaked cherries, then a layer of fluffy cream, then a Kirsch soaked layer of chocolate cake then more cream. I was in heaven.
With my new found energy mom and I were able to go shopping. I bought a little hand carved nativity scene. Most of the stores had all their walls comp,etely covered I. Clocks. Everything was ticking and clucking, cucukooing, and bonging. I already own two cuckoo clocks and I have no room in any bags to buy anything else but there was one I really liked. It was a small clock, about eight inches high. It looked like the traditional house and in front sat a little fox. The fox looked like my dog. I didn't buy it but I kept thinking about it. We bought a cute clock for my brother and went back to the hotel. I drank a whole bottle of the complimentary bubble water in my room. I took a rest on my balcony. I looked out onto the forest and half timber houses. I wore my long shirt like a dress and sunned my legs.
Feeling refreshed I dressed for the dinner we were having at the hotel and met my parents in the bar. The bar has a modern elegant decor. There is a giant chandelier in the middle lit up in red. There are black leather club chairs and bench seats. We chose a corner of the bar and read the extensive drink menu. This place makes anything from Mai Tais to Alabama Slammers. We had a coupon for a free drink each. Dad got an Americano, mom got an Aperol sour and I got a Campari Soda. The bartender put a lot of care and work into making the drinks. They were HUGE and delicious. In the bar, there was a couple who had just gotten married. We had seen them at the waterfall earlier that day taking their wedding photos. They had also taken up o e of the three dinner rooms for their wedding party. It looked beautiful.
The restaurant was really cool. There were two rooms for us to eat in. They were both white walled roms with dark, massivr beamed ceilings but the back room had a table I just HAD to sit at. It is an antique bed that they took the middle out and put a table in the middle. I felt lime I was in a tavern in 1549. The windows were made of the bottoms of wine bottles. There was an old fireplace and the beams in the ceiling look like they are 400 years old. The bed had to be just as old. You could tell because it was only long enough for a person no taller than five feet. It was pretty warm where we sat but it was worth it to be so cute in the wooden covered bed.
Our waitress, or should I say serving wench, no, I will say waitress, was dressed in a traditional dress with the white blouse and corset with long skirt. Dad had the menu which was spargle with fried goat cheese and prawns to start, mom started with capraccio (or kar-pace-io, as some Americans led it I. Lauterbrunnen) of tongue with scallops, which was devine. I started with a wild garlic soup with yummy croutons. We all shared a couple bottles of local wines. As a main course dad got a giltfisch with a salmon tartare, mom had lamb two ways and I got a saddlesteak of veal with an awesome crust of herbs and breadcrumbs. It came with an oxtail ragout. I also had a giant serving of spargle. Mom is the only one who likes asparagus so she had a lot spargle that night. The service was such that we got to spend a lot of time enjoying the meal which I like. It was all we were doing that night so why not?
For dessert dad had ice cream with strawberries and a mousse. We all shared it. It was a beautiful evening and the fanciest meal of the trip. I spent the remainder of the evening on my balcony watching the light fade over the Black Forest. I talked to the bf and told him about the cuckoo clock I liked. He said he wanted to buy it for me. I am so happy. The next day I went straight after breakfast and bought it. So cute. It has a cuckoo that first sounds like birds then has the coo-coo coo-coo coo-coo sound. Love it love it love it!!

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Day 9: First day in Germany. The Titisee (It's ok to giggle)

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Last morning in Switzerland. But that is OK because the day started so fresh and clear, no one minded. Even the "free basers" aka base jumpers, were having a good day. After breakfast mom and I walked to the bakery to pick up bread for lunch. We had gotten the cheese and meats yesterday. On our short walk we saw about five people jump off of the cliff near the top of the falls and parachute down the narrow valley.
We had a long drive today. I blogged about yesterday on half of the drive. I seemed to have lost one of my blogs if you are following and are wondering how I got to Lauterbrunnen...I hope it shows up later...it is a great story.
Our drive took us across the border to Germany and it is so interesting that there is a noticeable change in the house architecture. It went from little wide A-frame chalets to really tall roofed houses. This is the Black Forest (Schwatzwalt). The terrain changed too. We moved down in elevation and out of the glacial, alpine region to a lush, dense, green forest. This area is known for it's carvings, smoked ham, kirshwasser and hats. We descended to the lake where the town we are staying at sits and it was a lovely drive. The day is clear and warm and the lake is deep blue and glassy. The town, called Titisee, is the busiest of our trip so far. I don't mind all the people here though, because we are the only Americans. That tells you that this is still a well kept secret from the travel people on TV and I hope it stays that way. Usually we get embarrassed by the other Americans with their loud, garish, "all about me" behavior. It was refreshing to spend the afternoon listening to no English.
We checked into our hotel which is beautiful. We are on different floors but both have an unobstructed view of the whole lake. My room is AWESOME. It even smells good. It is decorated in beige and neutral colors with neat Scandinavian furniture. The walls are covered in gorgeous photos of forests to make you feel surrounded by the forest, which, in fact, you are. One wall is all glass and looks out to the giant balcony. I have a corner room so I look down on the private hotel beach and the local park.
We all freshened up and headed to the sweet little town. The hotel is a perfect distance from the town that we don't have far to walk but we have a quiet place to retreat to at night. We went to a cafe looking onto the main street to have an eiscafe. This place made it with what I am used to having: coffee with a vanilla ice cream scoop and whipped cream. I was nervous about having coffee but I figured I am on vacation and plus, I have my Atavan if i get into trouble of the panic attack kind. I was OK.
Mom and I shopped for a while while dad took a rest. Now that we are in the Black Forest, there are a lot of Christmas shops and mom and I spent a good hour in a giant Christmas store. I bought a bunch of stuff...pictures to come later....Then we grabbed dad and had a drink over looking the beach and lake. I felt a bit anxious so the alcohol felt really good. I ordered a glass of white wine. The glass was the traditional German white wine glass with the green stem but this one was a quarter liter! It was huuuge. And like I said, I needed it! We sat by the beach and watched the little boats get rented and moved around the lake. I got jealous but dad was not into paddling for a half hour. Mom and I decided to go just the two of us. Dad finished his beer as we paid the five Euro to take a little orange boat out. There were three main boat renters... a blue one, an orange one and a green one. The orange one had the best dressed operator so we chose him. Also, it was five thirty and everyone else was closing up. Mom and I paddled out little legs off. We went to the center of the lake and then turned back along the front of out hotel. I had so so so much fun. I just LOVE paddle boating. We paddled then glided, then steered then turned. I ran my hand in the water....just a great feeling. We returned just before our half hour was up but we were the only people on the lake at that time. Dad was waiting for us.
We had time to kill before our dinner reservations so we walked to our hotel's private beach. We sat on a park bench and relaxed, looking out on to the lake. A woman walked up and spoke German to us. We said we didn't understand. She said "will it shock you if I swim naked?". We said that was fine and she took all her clothes off and swam in. She swam out a little then came back. She talked to us as she dried off....it seemed that she took a really long time to dry off. It is difficult to keep a normal conversation with a naked middle aged woman I have learned.
We walked across the tiny main street to the place we were having dinner and chose, much to the staff's surprise, the inside table. I am on steroids, so i can't take much sun and I had me a pretty good sunburn going so it was a good idea to skip the balcony seating this time. The restaurant was very cute I side...all carved wood paneling and animal antlers on the walls.
First night in Germany.....what to eat? Well I figure it is either schnitzel or bratwurst. I chose the former. We all got another giant glass of white wine with dinner. My Schnitzel was the best I have ever had.....sorry mom. It didn't need salt, pepper or lemon. It was a perfect cutlet of pork, flattened to a giant pancake and breaded with a fine breading. It was then fried to a perfect crisp in butter. It came with a large side of fries..
When we were shopping earlier in the day, I saw a lot of these little shot glasses that look like a tiny bowl you would have onion soup out of. It was a brown pot with a handle. Apparently, there is a local drink that you are supposed to light on fire then drink and you use the little pot. I felt compelled to try it so I ordered it as my dessert. It was cute. She brought it out, gave me a coaster to out out the flames and lit it on fire. I watched it for a while then put it out and drank it. It tasted a little sweet and herby. It was fun.
We took a walk along the lake back to our hotel and said good night. There was a large group of Middle Eastern people staying above my room. They were singing and dancing and listening to crazy music. I had to complain at about ten. I had to complain again at eleven. That is when they disbanded. Mom and dad were woken up to some construction in the morning. They even had a plumber come in their room to look at their toilet for some reason. Because of all tis, we got a thirty percent discount on the rooms. That pretty well makes up for the inconvenience.



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Day 8: Lauterbrunnen, Brienz, Mereingen, Sherlock Holmes and The Greatest Walk Of My Life

11:59 AM AirplaneFoodCritic 0 Comments

I woke up and threw open the French doors. I breathed in the fresh Swiss mountain air. I looked at the waterfall and the valley bathed in sunlight. I looked up at the Jungfrau as it shone stark white against the bluest of blue sky. The rain is a distant memory. Breakfast was fresh eggs, salami, ham, crunchy, chewy bread, local butter, homemade jam, local cheeses, orange juice, handmade yogurt, tea and coffee. After fueling up we headed for the town of Brienze which is just down the road on the Brienzersee, another incredible blue glacial lake. Mom and I shopped a lot because that is one of my favorite towns to shop in. I found the most awesomest thing to buy for my friends back home. I will share later because I want it to be a surprise to them. But trust me it is totally cool. I bought a ton of other really expensive things. I got a purse, a sweater, a wallet, and some pins. Most of the stuff in the stores are these hand carved statues and figures. I really wanted one of a Swiss man in traditional clothing waving a flag and a mountain goat but even for a four inch high figure, it is $100. I have to settle for the hiking man I already own, until I win the lottery. We went to the school where the people are taught to make the carvings. They are so well done, it is easy to u derstand why it is so expensive. There was also a museum there with cuckoo clocks and music boxes.
While mom and I shopped, my dad had a great time walking the stunning walkway along the lake. We met back up and dad showed us some cool things he found. There was a small park with some art. A banana sitting in a chair, a carved bear and then there was this fun water art thing. You stan on a platform and rock it side to side. That pumps water from the lake I to the air. Then you can over different levers to make the water flow different directions which, in turn, makes things rotate and twirl. I had fun getting splashed and cooled off.
We then drove to a town called Meirengen. We went to a cafe called Tea Room Frutiger where a long time ago a baker was making czkes and had too many egg whites left over so he added some sugar, whipped them up and baked them to see what would happen. The meringue was invented. We each ordered a meringue mit schlag und eis (with whipped cream and ice cream). Dad got the regular and mom and I got the mini. Dad's was HUGE. We each got one plain and one chocolate meringue, huge piles of cream and a dark butter colored vanilla scoop and a strawberry scoop of ice cream. I ate it looking up at the Alps from under a shady umbrella. The sugar gave us fuel for what was to come.
We headed from there to the Reichenbachfalls. This is where Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty got into a struggle and fell to their supposed deaths in Aurther Connen Doyle's famed books. We took a cable train up the VERY steep track to the base of the falls. Because of the rains, the falls were rip roaring. The other people on the train with us had a look around and took the train back down but not us. We took the steep hike up to the top of the falls. There were a lot of switchbacks and bridges. We could see insane views of Meirengen below as well as the whole valley with the little villages dotted on the hillside across the valley. The sound of the rushing water did not cover up the tinkling of the bells around the cows necks down in the valley. When we got to the very top of the hike there was a road nd a restaurant that was closed for the off season. We took the road that lead us even higher into the mountai side.
We were all alone on a little road bately big enough for one car to navigate. The sun was shining, the wikdflowers were bursting with color all over the green, rolling fields. There were brown little chalets with red geraniums spilling from every window sill. Cows and goats all had their bells on so you could hear them near and far grazing on the bountiful array of weeds, grass and flowers. This is the reason cheese and meat tastes so darn good here. Other than the tinkling bells and occasional dog barking there was no sound. The sun was warm and bright and there was a wonderful, cool, light breeze. After a little while we came across a farmer and his wife turning fresh hay. We also walked by several gardens with potatoes, onions, poppies, lettuce and more. One of the little farmhouses had a bunch of school kids running around. I was guessing that it was a farm class or something. They said hello on some sort of German dialect and we reciprocated with a wave and a hello. Then we were alone again. Just the crunching of out feet on the gravel. Every. Ow and again I would OK back up the hill we were heading down to see cute brown cows grazing with the backdrop of the snowy Alps. We came across some cows that were right alongside the road. This is when I discovered I have a hidden talent. Apparently, I can speak Cow with a perfect local dialect. When I mood at the cows they would look up quickly, like: how did she do that? One cow started dancing for me, one came over and sniffed my hand, others came running over.
If you know me, you would know that this would normally frighten me, but not Swiss cows. American cows are mean, lumpy, dirty and scary. Swiss cows are soft, cute, with big floppy, fuzzy brown ears and giant brown eyes with long eyelashes. They are cute and clean and happy. Plus there was an electric fence between us. We came across lots of cows. I four d this to be as Swiss as anything could possibly get. sweet cows munching on wildflowers with chalets and Alps all around. It was the greatest walk I have ever been on. But wait, there is more....as we descended we entered a forest. It was cool, list and dark. Ferns were growing out of the rocks, moss was on the wood and everything was a shade of beautiful green. We walked on into a rocky area where the road took us behind waterfalls and through caves. After a little over an hour of hiking we came across a bridge that crossed the cable rail we took to get up the falls. We fol,owed a ti y path down stone stairs back to the parking lot. I had a couple blisters on my feet by the time we got to the bottom but it was SO worth it.
Exhausted but feel I g great, we drove to Grindelwald for a beer. The normally busy town was pretty mellow and we were able to find a cafe where we could sit by the railing. We ordered drei grosse biers. For the millionth time that day, I filled my lungs with Swiss Alpine air. From the deck we could see, unobstructed by buildings or clouds, the Eiger, the Monch and the Jungfru. The story being the names of these three famous Alps is that the Monk in the middle protects the Young Woman from the Ogre.
We shopped some more. Not much was open but I had to get something from this town since I have been here so many times. I found a cool thing you put on your car that says Grindelwald. I am betting I will be the only person at home who will have that. I'm excited to put it on.
We headed home, first picking up some local cheese and a cold bottle of Swiss white wine. We enjoyed that using mom's new wine glasses from Megeve. I mentioned in an earlier blog that mo bought this cool set of six wine glasses, each with a different game animal etched on it. This evening we each got to choose which animal we wanted. Dad chose the stag, mom chose the rabbit and I chose the boar. We sat on my parents' balcony. It could not have been more wonderful. Relaxing, drinking, laughing, resting and enjoying the view, our own, private view.
For dinner we walked a couple places down the road to a restaurant I have actually eaten at before. I couldn't help myself, it is our last night in Switzerland so I HAD to have the fondue...again. I ordered the house special and mom ordered the traditional. Dad got Rosti with bacon and a fried egg on top...and tons of melted cheese too. Mine was really good. I could definately taste the grappa or brandy in it and it had strong flavored cheese. The best yet. Mine came with potatoes and a tray of spices that I could add to the cheese to make it have different flavors. there was chopped onion, chopped garlic, chives, cumin, a mixture of cracked pepper and sliced mushrooms. I chose to put a little pepper and garlic on my potatoes and then drizzled some cheese on that. Like a little raclette. Walking home we were quite jovial because of all the wine we had that evening. We giggled all the way up to our rooms. I slept like a baby log.





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Day 6: A Whole Day In Zermatt, Switzerland

9:24 AM AirplaneFoodCritic 0 Comments

I swear, I have taken a gazillion photos here, just not with my Xoom so i can't post them. I promise I will fortify these blogs with proper photos when I get home and load my camera on here. Videos too! Ok that out of the way....
I woke up in Zermatt this morning for the first time in 11 years. This morning it was crystal clear. I awoke at 8:15 and began to get ready for breakfast. At 8:30 the town church bells began a beautiful song. It went on for almost 15 minutes. The hotel is far enough away that this was an enjoyable thing rather then a nuisence. I took multiple videos of it to post later. What a perfect start to a morning.
For breakfast we had pretty much the usual sans the croissants; meats, cheeses, several breads, eggs scrambled or boiled, homemade jams, fresh butter, cereals, juices, tea, coffee, fruit, veggies and flax seed...mostly aimed at fueling the hikers I imagine.
And hikers were just what we were. At 10:00am we set out through town and started up the Matterhorn Trail. It left the town and rose prjetty steeply into the pine forest. It flattened out after a bit and we found ourselves strolling through green fields littered with explosions of colorful wildflowers. We didn't see any edelweise but we did see the other two main alpine flowers, the blue one and the pink one. There were all kinds of others too, yellow, white, purple....everywhere. We wanted to skip and sing The hills are alive with the sound of music!
It was a little warm going up the steep part but once it evened out a bit it was perfect. The warm sun coming from a crisp, blue sky dotted with white clouds and a cool, light breeze. We passed little huts and small brown grain storage buildings that must have been built 100 years ago. The roofs are made of slabs of slate overlapped like giant shingles and moss grows on it. The base of the huts are posts that are topped with flat stones like giant dinner plates and above that is the hut. The stones keep mice and other pests from being able to climb up to eat the grain. So clever, those Swiss. After an hour of hiking we came across a tiny village. It is amazing that people live so far from anything. I guess when the whole area is covered in snow it is easy enough to ski into town for supplies. The town is called Blatten and tbhere is a little restaurant that was closed for the of season. Last autumn my parents had a meal there of carpaccio. They said the chef shaved so much white truffle over it, you couldn't see the meat!
We visited the tiny church and lit candles for the family. Mom and dad lit one for me and my brother and I lit one for my cousins. We saw a sign post that said Ricola Krautengarten. We thought that sounded neat so we followed it to this funny little garden. There was a stone path that spiraled around patches of herbs. All the herbs that go into making Ricola...there was sage, hyssop, thyme and much more ( I don't want to give away the recipe, if you want to know you'll have to go on the Matterhorn Trail yourself). We crossed the glacial river and began our descent back to Zermatt. We followed a trail that was right under the tram that takes people up to the Kleinematterhorn. It was really cool to see the big red tram buzzing above my head.
We were hungry once we arrived back in town so my mom offered to treat us all to lunch. We are next door to the place we had dinner the previous night. We had hay soup which was creamy, buttery goodness then we all ordered a half order of deer carpaccio. The serving was enormous. The meat was so so tender and it was drizzled with a super dark green extra extra virgin olive oil. There was a pesto under the meat that was really light in flavor and there was the usual parmasean shaved on the top. I feel like I over use the word perfect but it was...perfect.
We walked up the the hotel to clean up. Dad took a nap while mom and I went to do more shopping. We liked lunch so much that we made reservations there for dinner. We picked up dad at around 5pm. We had an appertif on the hotel terrace again. We joke that we just sit and stare at the Matterhorn like one would stare at a campfire. It is entertaining all on it's own.
We strolled back down the hill for dinner. The restaurant is called Restaurant Weisshorn. It was half traditional Swiss food and half Mexican food. There was an entertaining mixture of Swiss and Mexican decor. We ordered a couple half liters of local wine, a Johannisburg and a dore, which is a rose. We all ordered meat dishes and all three we FANTASTIC. Mom got the deer in a mushroom cream sauce. Dad had Zurich veal and I got a veal roulade in a Calvados cream sauce. We wolfed down our meals with gusto. Fully satisfied, we walked back up to our hotel.
We were feeling frisky so we all had a nightcap in the hotel bar. I had an apricot eau de vie, mom had an apple drink lokr Calvados and dad had something like a brandy. The staff person there, Miguel, is from Portugal. He sat with us for a little while. It was ten at night and he said that he had been there since seven that morning. It is amazing how upbeat and kind he was seeing that no matter how long he worked that day, he was only being paid for eight hours. I would be like...get the #&*$ out so i can close up!
I went to sleep watching the little blue lights on top of the Matterhorn turn red and purple and flash all sorts of designs in a silent signal that it was eleven o'clock. Tomorrow we go to Lauterbrunnen.





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Day 2: Planes, Boats and Automobiles

9:41 AM AirplaneFoodCritic 0 Comments

The second day of my vacation was spent traveling. We were up at 4:30am so we could catch the airpoter. I love airporter. This may be a surprising thing to hear from someone who normally can not take public transportation but the airporter is different. It isn't a dirty, stinky bus where you have to sit arm to arm with miserable strangers. It is a clean, fresh, happy bus full of excited, clean people. I love getting on the bus. I love the smell of it. I love riding through San Francisco watching all the people who are not going on vacation shuffle around trying to wake up. the main reason I love the airporter is because being on it means I am going to the airport and going to the airport means I am going on vacation.
Airplanes I can manage as well for the same reason but not quite as well. Even if my social anxiety might be relatively under control, my Rheumatoid Arthritis is not. despite all my precautions and medications aimed at making this a pain free trip, a 14 hour flight (including layover) is murder on my joints. I tried to make it as pain free as possible. I timed steroid, Vicodin, arthritis and other meds to coincide with certain times of my flight but I am resigned to the fact that travel without pain is inevitable.
That aside I am so happy I brought my Motorola Xoom because I watched movies that I actually WANTED to see. We have all heard of "direct to DVD" movies but I think there is an equally as terrible category called "direct to in flight" movie.
The flight from our layover in Washington Dulles Airport (which on a side note has NOTHING for souviners for the Supreme Court and the employees of the stores have no idea what that even is..I digress...) to Geneva was 43 seats empty and I was the lucky person to be alone in the three seat center row. I was soooo excited.  I NEVER am able to sleep on planes but I figure if I have THREE seats I just might make it. That is what I get for getting excited. Despite my attempt to save the seats from wandering passengers with coats strewn across the seats, some guy sat down on the opposite side. Grrrrr.
I made a point that the seat between us was 'mine' by stretching,my feet over and piling my jackets on it. He got the picture but it didn't matter....I couldn't sleep either way. I still won on principle IMO.
We arrived in Geneva at about 9am and got our Ford sedan. A little tip about flying in to Geneva Airport and renting a car: You land in Switzerland but half of the airport is in France. Switzerland uses Swiss Francs and France uses the Euro. the current exchange rate behooves you to find your way to the French part of the airport to rent your car. It saved us about $400.
I am very tired but I shall talk about our day when we arrived in another blog. Still learning how to put pics on these with my Xoom so here is a boat ride we took in Annecy.

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Day Five....First Day InSwitzerland

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Not much sleep last night. As I mentioned before, I am lactose intolerant so after eating all that cream and cheese I was up all night with an upset tummy. Of course, breakfast was awesome so I couldn't help myself despite not being hungry and the fact that we had a very special lunch reservation at noon. By the time I rolled down to the breakfast room it was 9am. I will only have a nibble, I thought...derrr. how soon I forget where I am. I had french bread with ham and cheese, homemade yogurt with pineapple, a croissent roll with butter and homemade berry jam and orange juice. I tried to justify it all by having some soothing chammomile tea. I was stuffed when we left the hotel at ten but wasn't feeling sick anymore so I was pleased.
Once again we rose and rose in elevation. The drive was incredible with more surprises around every corner. Vineyards on steep cliffs, little cottages clinging to mountain sides, green pastures with happy, cute, clean cows...just perfect scenery. We drove across the Swiss border and on into a town called Sierre. This town houses a restaurant that is famous for Raclette. I love that dish so I searched the internet for the ultimate and came across this place. Château de Villa is nestled in the hills above Sierre, the restaurant was serving outside on the shaded patio. I ordered the regular Raclette which is what they are famous for and consists of five different cheeses brought to you in five servings then it is all you can eat of any of the cheeses you like most. There was a chef working the raclette station which was also situated outside so we. Would watch him at work. And work he did. There had to be 50 to 70 people eating there for lunch, most of who ordered the raclette.
For those who do not know what raclette is, it is a type of cheese. It usually comes in a half wheel that is placed under some sort of heating device. As the cheese melts you or the chef scrapes the melted part onto a plate. The dish is commonly served with little boiled potatoes, cocktail onions and cornichons. We had our meal with a bottle of Fondant, which is a local type of light, spritzy, white wine. The meal was perfect. The experience quite memorable.
After lunch we drove on to Tasche. Tasche is where you leave your car to take the train to Zermatt. In regular Swiss efficency, the train was right on time, quiet, clean and comfortable. Our hotel the Alpenrose, is on the north side of the valley that is Zermatt and faces south....right down upon the town and the Matterhorn that looms above. My room is so awesome. I can lay in bec and see the iconic mountain. Right now I am sitting on my porch in the sun looking up at the Matterhorn listening to the church bells ring out that it is 5:15. It rings every fifteen minutes. To get to our hotel, we walked our baggage across the square and to a door that is the entrance to a tunnel leading into the hillside. We followed the tunnel to an elevator that took us to our hotel. This made it very convenient to move our luggage. To get into town once we have settled, we choose to take the 15 mi Ute walk down the road because the exercise feels good and the scenery is unbeatable.
The town of Zermatt is dominated by the Matterhorn and has a glacial river flowing through it. Everywhere you go you can see the Alps and hear the rushing water. The town is relatively quiet though, despite the population of residents and tourists. I this k this is because there are no cars here. The only vehicles are electric golf carts but there are only a few of those. Another interesting thing about the town is that some people have chosen to build their little brown huts waaaay up on the steep hillside. These people have a major hike if they want to get to town.
We settled in then took a walk into town. It took me all day to acclimate to the altitude. I kept feeling like I was on an invisible elevator. This made shopping difficult because I kept fearing I was going to break something. We decided to head back to the hotel for an afternoon drink. I had a campari soda which always really makes me feel like I am in Europe. I think that helped me feel a little less woozy from the elevation. We went up to our rooms to freshen up and headed down to dinner. We are at a cute little wooden hut at the top of town called the Cafe du Pont. Inside it was cozy and they served authentic Swiss food. Dad had sausage and rosti potatoes (which is similar to a buttery, creamy has brown) and mom and I split a cheese fondue. It was....so good. Once I had thrown my stomach into the lactose deep end, I was able to eat two main meals in a row that featured cheese with little reprocussions. My parents had beers but I wanted wine so I ordered a half liter of a local fondent. The fondue came with chunks of bread and little potatoes. The bread was nice and soft which I like because the cheese really soaks in. The fondue itself was a blend of cheeses but not the normal blend I am used to having at home. This was milder but they put a bu ch of cracked pepper in it to punch it up. The old chef that had worked at the restaurant for so many years....at least 11 yeas ago when I last ate at this restaurant when he was pretty old even then....came out to greet us. This is a good thing because he gave my parents a scare when he didn't come out when they were here last October. This is the man who taught us the proper way to eat fondue: you dip the bread then rotate it ten to es. This ensures that it will. Not be too hot when you eat it. Of course, we have been eating fondue for decades but it is cute that he teaches us.
We took a little walk up into the hills before we steered ourselves home. I had a nightcap of my pear eau de vie and slept pretty well. Tomorrow: a full day in Zermatt




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Day four: Megeve to Chamonix

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I could have slept much longer but I left my window open and was woken up at 7:30am by the street sweeper. All was made up for when I got to breakfast. These breakfasts are the best in the world IMO. Crusty, chewy french bread, assorted cured meats, fresh ham, local cheese, croissants made with, local butter, fresh squeezed orange juice, super ripe fruits...the strawberries were so sweet, and good coffee ( for those who like the stuff). I ate until I could fit no more in. It was the perfect start to the day.
We packed up and hopped in the car. We only paid half a day of parking because we got partially comped by the hotel. Remember, there are no cars allowed in the old town. We took the long way to Megeve, skirting the lake. Part of the beauty of this whole journey is the drive. The houses, chalets, cows, fields, vistas, vineyards, locals, cliffs and valleys. Rising in elevation we reached Megeve just before 11am. We had to shop fastbecause most stores close at noon and don't open again for a couple hours. It is the small town (and off season) lifestyle. Everyone takes a long midday break to go home, play with their kids, picnic in the park and just relax. Good for them but bad for us who want to shop shop shop!
The stores I like best are the souviner shops and the Alpine home decor/antique shops. I left with a set of glass tumblers with various game animals etched on them and a metal sign for the front door that says bienvue with a cow on it. Mombought an entire wine glass set with the same game animal motif. Being that Megeve is primarily a ski destination and we were there in mid Spring, the town was pretty dead. We stopped at a cafe that had a huge Swiss dog hanging out in front for a chocolate chaud avec chantilly and enjoyed it while looking up at the massive moutai s that surrounded us.
We arrived in Chamonix around 1pm. My hotel room looked out onto the Alps including Mont Blanc, the tallest mountain in Europe. Below was an alpine river, light blue and milky with silt. I could see several glaciers too. I think this is the first time I have seen a real glacier. We walked the super cute town, did a little shopping. I found my favorite store. It had al sorts of salami, cheese, eau de vie, chocolates and bread. I was I HEAVEN. Just the smell when you walk in is enough to bring me to my knees. The salami looked like rocks; some covered in ash, some in poivre, some had mushrooms, some had the popular local fruit, myrtilles which are like wild blueberries. I bought one with the local cheese, roublechon in it. I also bought pear eau de vie and some chocolates filled with the local spirit, genepi, which is like a gin with herbs in it.
Tired from shopping we stopped at an outdoor cafe to enjoy a large beer in the shadow of Mont Blanc. It was perfect. Dad then went to take a nap and mom and I continued shopping. We walked pretty much the entire town. Shopping can really be a workout! As we shopped, dark clouds began to form over the mountains on one side of the village. We were pretty far from our hotel when the thuderand lightening began as we finally reached the hotel there was a light mist of rain coming down. We noticed that the locals were not concerned so we were not too worried there would be a downpour but I did bring my umbrella as we left for dinner.
La Caleche is a super cute restaurant on the main street near the square. The outside is all carved wood with bright red geraniums spilling out from every window and balcony. Inside, every space of wall is covered with some kind of thing. From giant cow bells to old brass horns and pictures of Elvis. The dish of the region is called Tartflette which is a baked dish of potatoes, onions, bacon and cream. That is what I ordered. My dad got this awesome pot of melted cheese. I wasn't fondue, which they also served there. It was a whole round of a Brie like cheese that was named with a little white wine. You also get two sweet and tender potatoes and a some assorted meats. I ate until I was sick. We strolled back to the hotel where I spent the night not feeling ill. I was prepared for this because I am lactose intolerant. So now that I have gotten the first big cheese meal out of the way, I can enjoy all the ones to come.



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Day three: Annecy, France

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Going on no sleep for nearly 24 hours we rented our Ford Focus and left the airport. I mentio ed before that we rented the car in France and the next few days we will be traveling in France but we will be spending several days driving through Switzerland. In order to drive through Switzerland we needed to purchase a special sticker. So, as soon as we left the airport we stopped at a station alongside the freeway and bought it for about $60. In the process of entering the station my father sliced the top of his knuckle off. It has been bleeding non stop and a lot ever since.
We drove straight to Annecy. Annecy is a fairly large, urban town with several schools meaning lots of young people. We stayed in the old town where it doesn't allow cars and the streets are all cobbled stone. The old town is dominated by a big lake and a cute canal that flows through. There is an island that used to house a prison in the center of the canal. The water of both the canal and the lake are a gorgeous alpine blue.
Our hotel looked right onto the island which is one of the most photographed spots in town. We checked in and found our rooms looked fight onto the canal. We walked the little shops for a while. We bought a pack of French band aids for my poor father's never ending bloody finger. We went to the tourist I fo station to ask where we could buy some vodka so we can have drinks in our room at night. "You mean wine?" They asked. It must surprise French people that one would not want wine. Don't get me wrong, we are Dr I king plenty of wine but as creatures of habit, we don't go to bed without a nightcap.
The store we went to is a chain called the Monoprix. It is the Target of France. We wanted to just get vodka and tonic water and go but the stuff in the store all looked so so good. It is so different from home. We spend a billion dollars to get quality, fresh food and here their cheapo store is like gourmet. We bought some fresh, local salami, cheese, pate and cookies. We also got some mustard (Dijon) that comes in a jar that you can keep as a drinking glass. I love that because every time I Dr I k out of that glass when I am home I remember the trip and the various places I stopped alongside a beautiful road to have lunch.
We passed a lot of clothing stores. The fashion seems to be white and beige baggy clothes if you were interested. We bought some meat and cheese on delectible french bread and some Fanta.  We ate lunch in a huge park adjacent to the lake. The park was full of French sun worshippers, families, students and tourists. We watched people rent paddle boats and cruise the lake. The weather was unbelievable; warm, blue sky with shet white clouds rising from the surrounding mountains.
We fuled up with a small ice cream so we could enjoy an hour long boat ride around the lake. We shared the ride with a group of local teenaged school kids. They were fun to watch...speaking French and giggling like all teenagers do. Apparently the phrase "oh my god!" Is not just an English thing. Again, the water is a beautiful light blue and the surrounding mountains rose steep and tall from the shores.
When we got back to land we took a much needed nap before dinner. Most people in Europe have dinner between 7:30 and 9:00 anyways. We found a cafe restaurant along the canal. We all ordered the steak tartare and pomme fries. It was perfect with a nice salad and two bottles of local Savoie white wines. We walked the long way home winding along the narrow allyways listening to live music pouring out of, title alcovds and watching the people gathered at the many outdoor cafes.
First full day in France and it already feels like longer. We are deffo getting our money's worth!

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Night One Of Vacation

9:33 PM AirplaneFoodCritic 0 Comments

Just a short post about the wonderful send off to Europe I am getting. I am staying at the P's tonight. I am super tired because last night was a bit restless with the pre-trip anxieties. I kissed my little doggy goodbye and my poor, broken bf and came to stay in my old bedroom. My Mom made the room into a totally awesome guest room. We toasted with some Roederer Champagne and bid each other bon nuit.
I am now cozied up in my bed with a thousand blankets and an equal amount of amenities....
Blindfold & ear plugs, luggage rack, bottled water, my favorite scented diffuser (orange blossom), a mini flashlight, a night light in the bathroom which holds all the toiletries one could ever wish for....and a small glass of grappa to enjoy with a nibble of marzipan chocolate.
It is a great feeling to be here. Even more so to hear this beautiful rain that is drawing me towards sleep like a Siren draws ships aground.
Tomorrow: fly to Dulles then Geneva. Drive to Annecy, France.

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iPads and Xooms

11:51 AM AirplaneFoodCritic 0 Comments


A few months ago the bf bought a Motorola Xoom. He is crazy about it. We love all things Google and Android so of course we are happy with it. It has apps like Gmail, Google Documents, Google Maps, GChat, Blogger and many many more. I have not played around with it as much because the bf is very particular about his electronics and I am ...well, clumsy. I beat up my electronics pretty well as I use them. I am not delicate like he is.

I am going away on a two week trip this month and we discussed me bringing the Xoom along so I can video chat with the bf and dog while I am gone. I also wanted to use it to keep a personal journal. Every time I travel to places like Europe, I like to keep a journal. It gives me time every day to sit down and think about that day's experiences. I keep little pieces of paper like ticket stubs or postcards tucked into the pages. On long winter evenings sometimes, I like to pull out one or two of my old travel journals and read through to recall the good times I had. I also use the journals to help me plan future trips.

The Motorola Xoom

Bringing the Xoom would be a whole new, updated, version of keeping a journal. Plus, my hand won't cramp up every night as I feverishly try to jot down the day's events. I figure I can add pictures instead of ticket stubs and maybe even blog a bit from the road. I was getting excited about the whole idea when the bf gave me hints that he had reservations about how I would treat his precious Xoom. I agreed. I needed my own "toy". That way I wouldn't be afraid of how I was treating it because it would be mine, all mine.

After some discussion we decided to buy an iPad2. We figured, some people have two game consoles in their houses to play the different types of games, why not have two types of tablets in our household to use all the different applications? It was settled and the iPad2 was purchased.

The iPad2

I received the iPad2 last night. I was so excited!!! I opened it up and began to set it up for my trip. I looked for a way to blog....but found using Blogger was quite cumbersome and there were a lot of bugs in doing it on the iPad2. I couldn't use my gmail properly so I wouldn't be able to check my mail on the road with ease. There was no free program that would allow me to video chat with the bf on his Xoom. I even had to connect the iPad2 to a computer to get my music onto iTunes. It was a nightmare! I was miserable. We immediately bought another Xoom and sold the iPad2 to some friends. Soon I will have my very own Xoom to play with. So look forward to some blogging from the road from me! Hooray!!

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Anderson Valley - Wine

9:13 AM AirplaneFoodCritic 0 Comments


I recently took a trip to the Anderson Valley in Mendocino County to do some wine tasting. This was not my first trip to visit the beautiful area. I try to visit at least once a year. There are many wineries along highway 128 that make wonderful wines. The area is known for it's Pinot Noirs and Alsatian varietals. While I often camp when I visit the area, I stayed in a super cute bed and breakfast just outside of Boonville.

I went to the area on a business trip which I will go on about in a later blog but this trip was like a mini vacation. If anyone lives within a few hours of the area, I recommend it as a relaxing weekend getaway. I was accompanied by a coworker and friend. We drove up after work on Friday night and found our Inn. It is called the Toll House Inn and it was easy to find. Just take Hwy 101 to Hwy 128 out towards the coast and turn right at the Anderson Valley Brewery. About ten minutes along a gently winding road you happen upon the cute little house. There are four rooms in the house and we decided to share one room for the three of us. There was an event in Boonville that weekend and didn't want to take up all the rooms.

Greeted by a welcome bottle of wine.

In our room we were greeted by a little bottle of local wine in an ice bucket. It was a Handley Cellars Chardonnay and really hit the spot after a two hour drive. We met the caretakers of the house, a very nice, young couple who owned two cute little dogs that were not supposed to be in the main inn but we kept luring them in to pet them. The inn is like a house that is all yours. We could use the kitchen, refrigerator or any number of games and books. It was immediately relaxing.

We decided to grab some dinner before it was too late so we drove up 128 to the town of Philo to have the best Mexican food in the state.

Libby's Restaurant, the best Mexican food

Libby's Restaurant is a popular, traditional Mexican restaurant. Traditional, except for the fact that it serves a wide variety of local, fine wines with their fabulous meals. The food is excellent.

A Tostada at Libby's

On our way home we stopped at a funky, local grocery store to stock up on snacks and wine for the evening. I love this little store because it has everything you would ever need from escargot in a can to gas for your camp stove. In the back is a whole wine store selling wines from all over but featuring the local wines. We bought a bottle of Navarro Edelzwicker which is a blend of Alsatian varietals.

We spent the next day at the Alsatian Varietal Festival which I will blog in detail later. That evening, we couldn't help but visit Libby's once again. Our final day in the Anderson Valley we spent wine tasting at the various wineries. Some of the best wines can be found at Handley, Navarro, Toulouse Vineyards, Greenwood Ridge Vineyards and Roderer Estate.

Vern, the winemaker and owner of Toulouse Vineyards

The wineries were having open houses because of the event that weekend so we got an extra special treat. Most of the places had open houses with free food pairings, live music, barbecues and you got to learn from the winemaker various things about each winery and their wines.

On our way out of the valley we stopped for a beer at the Anderson Valley Brewing Company. We picked up some gifts there for our boyfriends. I bought a mustard that was made with their Stout and a t-shirt to commemorate the trip. We went home feeling like we had a long vacation.

Anderson Valley, Mendocino County

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