November 28, 2010 - Sunday last day

Eric and I decided to take advantage of our last day and drive to Baden Baden in Germany to take in their Christmas market.

The city of Baden Baden is up against the Black Forest. It is a very nice city with a large Casino, many nice homes and some popular thermal baths.

This Christmas market was much smaller but very nice. Many nice booths and lots of good German food. Eric had a large sausage and I had a mix of pasta, ham and sauerkraut with Gluhwein (hot wine) for lunch. It was warm and yummy.

We had a fun last day together. Instead of taking the autobahn back we decided to take the scenic route through the small villages. Most of them were having their Christmas markets also. We stopped at one in Offenburg and bought souvenir mugs with hot chocolate and more Gluhwein.

Time to get back to Holtzheim, finish packing, clean up our little flat and get some sleep before our 3:00 am departure time.

This is it for my blog. Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed my travels, I'm coming home!!

November 27, 2010 - Saturday

Spent the day and evening downtown Strasbourg at the Christmas market. Cold but fun.

Lots of shopping to do!

As the day went on the city became very very crowded. The squares with the booths like the one pictured above were so jammed with people you could hardly move through the aisles. It was a good way to keep warm.

So cute, our little Alsacien girl.

We had a great day and evening. Lots of shopping and lots of eating at the booths.

We said our good-byes to the Achards, not knowing when we will see them again, boarded the packed solid tram and headed home.

November 26, 2010 - Friday

Tonight was the start of the Christmas market in downtown Strasbourg. They expect 2 million people to visit the city from now until Christmas. This is the largest Christmas market in all of Europe.

We met Achards and walked to the stage where there was music entertainment until the the countdown to the lighting of the city.

The streets were all decorated in different themes. The street that has the Baccarat crystal shop on it has huge Baccarat crystal chandeliers hanging above the street. Gorgeous!

Justine, Taylor and Claire trying to keep warm! It snowed quite a bit today.

After enjoying the lights we all went to a restaurant outside of town that has the best tarte flambees. 

November 25, Thursday - Thanksgiving

Taylor and I were up with Eric this morning so he could drop us off on his way to work at Justine's house, where we were preparing them Thanksgiving dinner. Justine was so sweet to label her kitchen with post-its of where things were and how to work the oven. Good thing, because I would not have figured the oven out!

I put on my new Alsace apron for good luck and Taylor and I went to work.

We prepared two turkeys, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, raspberry jello, pumpkin pie and apple pie.

Taylor and Justine also invited Claire and Marion for dinner. This was a first Thanksgiving meal for most everyone and they asked what the holiday is. Eric told the Thanksgiving story over dinner and everyone enjoyed the meal. Thank goodness everything turned out fine, even with all our conversions in the cooking process!

We even felt a bit at home, because Laurent (Justine's dad) had the Lions game on TV. ESPN sports is the only station they get from the states with their cable and he loves sports! We then had a little light snow for the first time since we've been here. Happy Thanksgiving!

November 24, 2010 - Wednesday

Today Taylor and I got started on a few of the Thanksgiving dishes that needed valuable oven time that I would not have tomorrow. I made my first pumpkin pie with a whole pumpkin instead of pumpkin puree which you cannot buy here.

Eric said it was the best pumpkin pie I've ever made. Guess that means no more pumpkin puree for me!

I also prepared my sweet potato dish today in my little mini kitchen. Pecans were the tricky ingredient to find for this dish. They don't eat or cook with them much here.

This dish ended up with the best review at the dinner!

I also prepared the raspberry jello today, because it is so different here I wasn't sure if it would turn out and wanted to have time to come up with a plan 2 if necessary. I was so happy later that night when we came home to see that it had turned out perfectly!

After those preparations, Taylor and I met Justine at a large cinema downtown to see the new Harry Potter movie. Taylor had been so excited for weeks waiting for it to come to France. She was quite happy with the movie. This was a much larger theatre than one we went to last week and the seats were much more comfortable and the popcorn a little better but nothing like movie theatre popcorn at home.

November 22, 2010 - Monday in Paris

We still have a few train tickets left on our Eurail passes so Taylor and I decided to take advantage of them and go to Paris for a day. Eric dropped us off on his way to work to catch the 6:45 train. Early! Taylor had mapped out our day of events. We bought metro tickets and while in line for them we witnessed the Monday morning rush in the Paris train station. Really something to see. I have a new appreciation for my car and short drive to work!

We climbed the many steps up to Montmarte and did a little shopping and walked in and around Sacre Couer pictured here. Very beautiful. We then had a wonderful lunch in a restaurant in Montmarte. I had my first Beef Bourguignon and it was excellent. Taylor had pasta and then Creme Brulee for dessert.

It was very hazy but this is a view from Montmarte.

Logan asked us to go to La Cinematheque Francaise and take some pictures. We found it with no problem and went inside and walked around and even purchased a nice surprise for Logan!

I had been to Notre Dame two other times and was not able to get inside either time due to the crowds, so today with light tourism, we were able to get right in. The Cathedrals here are really incredible. We have been in so many, yet every time it takes your breath away.

We made our way to Champs Elysees and as we were walking towards it we came across the Paris Christmas Market so we browsed as we walked.
What a nice surprise.

We were on a mission to find Laduree where they make the world famous macaroons. We purchased a box of 8 different flavors. Yummy!

We made our way across the street to a cafe where
we had hot chocolate, tea, a lemon cake and creme caramel. Very nice! Who is spoiled now!

It was getting close to our train departure time but I had one last stop. Last time we were here I saw a gift item at the Starbucks at the Louvre that I did not purchase and wished I had. So we made our way to the Louvre and made that little purchase.

Back to the metro to catch our TGV back to Strasbourg after a really wonderful day in Paris. Taylor got us around perfectly all day. She has been here enough now that she has really mastered this city!

November 21, 2010 - Sunday

Today we did a little Strasbourg touring. We first stopped and walked around at an old Fort in Wolfisheim. We then drove past some of the large government buildings downtown. From there we walked through the botanical gardens near the University. The weather was rainy but it was nice to get out and walk around. Pictured here is a Chateau in the nearby village of Robertsau.

"Ears on the trees" on the grounds of the Chateau.

 We ended our day downtown Strasbourg with lunch in a restaurant where we had Tarte Flambee. It was pretty good but we have been told that they cannot bring wood into downtown Strasbourg, so that is not the best place to have this Alsacien speciality.

Later that evening we made some spaetzle and chocolate fondue. So good!

November 20, 2010, Saturday

We had decided to stay in the Alsace region this weekend and today we wanted to drive along the wine route and see some of the small villages we missed the first time. The weather was decent, cool with a few glimpses of blue sky. The many very small villages were almost barren of tourists. We could see most of the caves were open as we made our way through each village. There were a few people milling about several of the caves. We stopped for lunch at a nice little Winstub and then stopped at a few of the caves and purchased a few last bottles of wine.

We ended the day in Riquewihr which is my favorite little village and stopped in a bakery for tarts and hot drinks. It was getting dark while we were there so we were able to see the Christmas lights coming to life. Next weekend the Christmas markets start and these same villages will be so crowded you will barely be able to get to them.

November 19, 2010 Friday

Taylor and I have been wanting to go to the cinema so we decided since our days here are winding down, this would be a good day. We found a movie that was in English and made our way into Strasbourg. We went to one of the smaller cinemas where we saw The Social Network. I'm not sure how representative this cinema is of French cinemas but they definitely don't have the movie popcorn thing going for them. We really liked the movie though!

November 18, 2010, Thursday

Great neighbors (who are also our landlords) + champagne + a complex red wine + excellent French cuisine + Limoncino = good conversation and a fabulous evening!

Our landlords who live in the larger part of our flat had us for dinner last night as our trip is coming to a close. They have been wonderful the whole time we have been here. It was fun to see what is on the other side of our walls. Their place is fabulous! They are a couple just a bit younger than us (I think), and they love to travel. They have some wonderful paintings and other items in their home from their many travels. They also seem to enjoy entertaining and their home is set up very nicely for it. They graciously served us the items I named above and it was all top notch and so good. I felt very spoiled. It's hard for me to have people wait on me like that. I discovered Limoncino. This is the drink I wanted to have on our last night in Italy when we did not get out because of the rain and mud. I also tried to order it last weekend at the Italian restaurant but they were out and I was quite disappointed. Daniel and Karin who enjoy all types of alcoholic beverages, just happened to have some and were happy to share with me. I loved it! I really loved it! So much so that they sent the bottle home with me. Only problem is it is open and so I will have to drink it all before we return back to the states. Maybe I'll share with Eric and Taylor.

It was a great evening and this morning my stomach is a bit fragile because it came on the heels of the previous evening, when we took a peer of Eric's from work out for his last night in Strasbourg. Jim flew in from the States on Sunday to work through Wednesday with Eric here in France. This was his first visit to the European office so on his last night Taylor and I met he and Eric in Strasbourg for a little touring about and dinner. After walking around the Cathedral and Petite France we stopped in a pub for drinks. From there we went to an Alsacien restaurant in Petite France for dinner where we shared a bottle of wine. We had a really nice time and it was so good to see someone from the States I think Taylor and I talked incessantly. But he seemed to enjoy the evening so I don't think we drove him  too crazy! I'm sure he could tell we were just starved for conversation with another American.

This weekend we plan to stay in the Alsace region of France and make more discoveries of this area where we currently reside.

November 14, 2010 - Sunday

We let ourselves sleep until around 9:30 Sunday morning before getting packed up and looking for breakfast. Our original plan was to drive another hour around the Lake to Geneva, Switzerland. We decided we were not up for adding another hour to the trip for another big expensive city. The gal at our hotel had told us about a spa in the Alps that was an hour away, but an hour toward our drive back home. That sounded like a good way to spend the day. We had a light breakfast in little bakery near our Hotel and before leaving Evian we wanted to seek out the natural springs. We drank for continued good health!

We walked the upper area of the city a bit before heading out for the spa. It was another beautiful sunny day. Evian is a really wonderful, smaller city and we enjoyed it very much. The lake and the Alps make a fabulous combination.

The drive to the spa was amazing as we headed further into the Alps. Les Bains De Lavey, the spa, was incredibly difficult to find but it was worth it. There were marvelous warm pools, hot tubs, saunas, steam rooms and quiet sitting areas inside a warm, windowed room overlooking the Alps. It was so relaxing and I kept saying to Eric, don't forget to look up at the Alps every now and then and remember where we are. I think we chose the right way to spend the day.

We drove back through Switzerland enjoying the last of daylight and this wonderful country. We stopped in Colmar for dinner at a Winstub, where I had delicious salmon and rice, and then back to Holtzheim after another really amazing weekend.

We do still have two travel days left on our Eurail pass, but Eric has not been able to take time off work, and we want to spend our last full weekend staying in the Alsace region of France where we reside, so Taylor and I are going to take a day and go to Paris this coming week.

November 13, 2010 - Saturday France/Switzerland

Saturday morning we headed for Evian, France and Geneva, Switzerland for the last big travel weekend. This was a driving weekend as the drive through Switzerland is so beautiful, and we had already purchased a toll pass for Switzerland and wanted to get more use from it. After several hours of driving through the fabulous countryside we arrived in Montreaux, Switzerland. After stopping for lunch of pb & j in a park along the water we hopped back in the car to drive about another hour around Lake Geneva to arrive in Evian where we had hotel reservations.

It is hard to see in the pictures but as we drove around the lake, we were up against the mountains that were covered in vineyards winding up the whole side. It was really something.

Once we arrived in Evian and once again made it through the difficult task of finding our hotel and finding parking, we went for a walk along Lake Geneva.

It was a fabulous November day, the sun was shining and the air was cool. It felt so good to be walking along the water's edge.

After we walked around the water a bit we made our way into the city center and went into some of the shops.

As the sun began setting over the water we decided it was time to seek out a place for dinner.

It was only around 6:00 and the restaurants in most of Europe do not open until 7:00 for dinner so we found a  cozy little cafe to have a coffee and chocolate drink before dinner. We chose an Itallian restaurant for dinner where the pizza was quite good. They served Grappa which we had wanted to try in Italy and never did so we decided this was the time. Whoa, very, very strong and not all that good. After sharing a bottle of red wine with Eric for dinner, the Grappa hit me fast and hard. It didn't help that I finished Taylor's also, because it was way too strong for her. From here we headed to the Casino to check it out and have one last drink in the bar. Taylor and I played some slots, just for a short time and I won a few Euro's, but it was really fun. We headed to the upstairs bar and had one last drink for the evening which put me over the top, but we were having a really good time. 

November 12, 2010, Friday

We had a really successful day today. I did lots of driving, which I haven't done since the one other time I drove back in October. After taking Eric to work I came back and got Taylor and we picked up Justine and headed for Betschdorf, a small village where they have been making pottery since the 17th century. The village is just under an hour from here. There were just enough pottery shops open to keep me from getting too confused. I purchased some beautiful pieces. One for me and some for gifts. Then we had lunch at a small restaurant and headed back towards Justine's house. On our way we got to talking about how we couldn't find any Jello for Thanksgiving dinner and Justine said they sell something like it in Germany and she could guide the way. She took us to a large shopping area in Germany. Not only did we find the Jello like item but guess what we found! Frozen turkeys! Oh yea, we did a little party dance and because they were a bit smaller than I needed we grabbed two. I think I have all my ingredients now for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Now, I'm just going to have to get to work and pray everything turns out. There will be pictures. On top of it all I arrived back to pick Eric up from work in time and never got lost the whole day!

Switzerland this weekend. Our last big weekend road trip. The weather is supposed to be sunny so we should have spectacular pictures to post next week.

November 9, 2010, Tuesday

I have been working on putting together a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for Justine's family. I collected a few recipes from home and took some off the food network site. Each time I go to the market I look for some of the ingredients. I have checked 3 or 4 markets of different sizes so far. I have not been able to find canned pumpkin so I bought a whole pumpkin, sweet potatoes are very tiny and shipped in from Israel, but they should work, Jello...nope, tossed salad it is.  Now for the prized turkey. I have found wonderful skinless, boneless breasts, and all other turkey parts, but a whole turkey is not to be found. I have seen whole chicken, duck, cornish  hen, even rabbits but no whole turkey. I have asked at the different markets about a whole turkey (dinde), and the responses have been a stare like I was crazy, rapid shakes of the head as in no way, and one lady just looked at me and walked away. It's just a turkey! I sent an email to the local butcher in our little town and received no reply. Taylor and I imagine they are still laughing. Okay, time to bring in our secret weapon. Taylor asked Justine for help. She met us downtown Strasbourg today and took us to a very nice large butcher shop. She talked to the butcher for us who immediately started shaking his head no and looked at me and Taylor. Justine, bless her heart, pressed on. He finally agreed we had enough time to order one. Yes, we did it or Justine did. Then the bomb dropped. It would be 17 euro a kg. Seeing as how we need about a 7 kg turkey that would be 119 euro which is nearly 170 usd at the current exchange rate. YIKES! When you all go to buy your $30 turkey for Thanksgiving this year remember me. Needless to say, unless we get lucky and find a whole turkey for a more reasonable price at a market in the next couple weeks, we will enjoy roasted skinless, boneless turkey breasts. They will be much healthier and less mess right! I'm perfectly okay with that.

We walked around Strasbourg a bit with Justine and treated her to a chocolate fondue at one of her favorite cafes to repay her for her efforts.

November 7, 2010, Sunday

We slowly rose Sunday morning to a rainy day. We had a wonderful breakfast at our very nice, clean and comfortable hotel. Guenter picked us up and took us on a tour of the area. He was born and raised here and there was much to see. This is a church in one of the nearby towns. Very large and beautiful

Very intricate ceilings in the church.

We went to a couple of  the many castles that are in the area. We walked around the outsides a bit enjoying the views and the history of these old buildings.

After our wonderful guided tour by the expert we made our way back to Guenter and Luzimar's house where we said our good-bye's to Luzimar before heading to a larger city named Ulm for lunch and the afternoon. Luzimar was unable to join us as she had some doctors coming for Brazilian lessons.

The city of Ulm was very nice. I enjoyed the nice mixture of old with new. We had a great lunch of Pfannekuchen's. They are huge German crepes topped with whatever you desire, savory or sweet. Then Guenter walked us around the city pointing out the sites. Unfortunately, it was raining pretty hard and being Sunday the many shops were closed but we still enjoyed the afternoon very much.

The old and the new. The modern pyramid is the library and the old building is the town hall.

This building is now a hotel and is so old it is actually leaning.

The town hall was very beautiful with all it's hand paintings. We also went into the Cathedral which is very much like the large Cathedral here in Strasbourg. Before we knew it 5:00 had rolled around and it was time to say good-bye and hit the road back to Holtzheim.

We had such a fun weekend despite the weather with Guenter and Luzimar and their friends. They are very kind and the ultimate host and hostess.