Austria, Day 5…Innsbruck and a Train Ride to Garmisch, Germany

The traveler sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see.—G.K. Chesterson

I started my day not knowing I would be riding a train to Garmisch.

We began with a delicious breakfast at our hotel, Hotel Nala. We had a croissant, fruit, and coffee. We ate in the garden.

We headed into Old Town again. The women shopped and my son and son-in-law were on guard duty with the children, so this gave me the perfect opportunity to get some really good views of Innsbruck. I took the steps up to the top of the City Tower after paying my three Euro fee, a discount for achieving my age. The views are incredible from this vantage point, you get a good sense of how Innsbruck sits in a valley surrounded by the Alps.

At some point, it was decided that we were going to ride the train to Garmisch, Germany. So I decided that it would be appropriate to buy some cheese and bread to eat on the train. As I see it, any excuse to buy cheese and bread in Europe is worth it.

We entered Il Gusto da Leonardo, a small Italian eatery. The man behind the counter was very entertaining. He sold us some really good cheese and bread.

The most fun I ever had buying cheese and bread.

We grabbed lunch at Baguette across the street from the station. This is a large chain. Normally we would not eat at a chain restaurant or cafe, but with three children in tow, we could not look around too long. It was convenient and a good location. The food was good and I don’t regret stopping here at all. The children were getting restless and it was nap time. There was a painting by our table that summed up the mothers feelings at the time just before the train ride.

Check out the mother in the middle of the couch. Be ready for some of these moments when traveling with small children.

We boarded the train for a quick side trip to Garmisch. This would take us through beautiful scenery through the Alps. We saw small villages and highlands. It is about a 90-minute ride and well worth the time and the cost of the tickets. Of course we had cheese and bread to munch on.

We knew we didn’t have much time to spend in Garmisch. Part of our crowd went to the park and did some shopping and stopped for ice cream. The other part of our crowd went to the base of Wankbahn Mountain and rode the small gondola up to the top. We did this just for the view. We had one of our granddaughters with us. We had to perform a high altitude diaper change in the small gondola, no small feat.

The view of Garmisch from the gondola was incredible as the city just kept getting smaller while we rose higher. The views from the top of the mountain were more grand. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a side trip from Innsbruck.

We rode the train back to Innsbruck.

For our evening meal, we ate at Ufo Casa , a Mediterranean restaurant with some Turkish dishes. Everything that was ordered here was so delicious. I sampled all dishes.

Time to call it a night for our final night in Innsbruck. Tomorrow on to Munich.

Top of Triumphal Arch.

St. Anne’s Column.

One of the saints on St. Anne’s column.

I love the ornate window.

Fresh flower market.

I hope you don’t suffer from high anxiety on these steps up and down to the top of the City Tower. Tremendous views await all those who climb these steps.

Told ya.

I could have stayed up here all day if I had fresh bread and cheese.

Another view from atop the City Tower.

Gargoyle at the top of the City Tower.

A jet flies through the Alps before landing in Innsbruck, a view from the train.

From the train on the ride to Garmisch, Germany.

Garmisch, Germany from the gondola going up Wankbahn.

The view from atop Wankbahn Mountain.

Cross on top of Wankbahn Mountain.

I highly recommend this restaurant in Innsbruck.

One of the best meals we had in Austria was at Ufo Casa.

Innsbruck, Austria…Day 4

The mountains are calling and I must go.—John Muir

I don’t know if John Muir was ever in Innsbruck. If this is how he felt, he may never have left.

I don’t know who the official pretty city-rating people are, but if I was in that group, Innsbruck, Austria would definitely be at the top of my list. It sits in a valley completely surrounded by the Alps, which were snow-covered while we were there. It takes effort to keep from being photo bombed by an Alp when taking a picture.

We arrived in late morning after a night in Schloss Matzen Castle. We checked into the Hotel Nala which has to be the coolest hotel ever. Even the website is cool. I can’t express the level of coolness of this hotel…and very artsy.

While waiting for all the rest of the crew, my wife and I had a glass of Riesling in the beautiful courtyard. We then headed out for lunch at Machete Burrito Kartell. I must say this was the best burrito I have ever eaten.

We found a nice playground and park across the Inn River that runs through Innsbruck. We let the children play and some of us older adults rest. Of course on the way to the park we stopped so my daughter and I could get a pretzel and a croissant to eat on the way to the park.

We walked around the Old Town in Innsbruck. It is a very easy stroll through this part of the city. We loved the wide pedestrian Herzog-Freidrich-Strasse with its outdoor cafes and shops and historic buildings. Innsbruck’s Old Town has a nice mix of old and new. The old buildings intertwine with modern shopping.

We saw the Golden Roof, probably the most recognized spot in the Old Town. Built around 1500 and used by Emperor Maximillian I and his wife to gaze down on the festivals and stay above the tourists.

We also saw St. Anne’s column on Maria-Theresien Street. It was built in 1703. When you are lost from your group, this is a good place to meet, very easy to find.

Old Town in Innsbruck is very lovely and relaxing. Innsbruck has such a different feel from other cities in Europe that I have seen. It is much more laid back. We were there in early April, so I’m sure it gets much more crowded in the summer. We had a pleasant day, in the 60’s and sunny.

We decided to get take out pizza for our dinner since we were tired and didn’t want to take the children out again. There is a really nice pizza place across from the Hotel Nala called Gusto Pizzeria. It is owned by a lovely Turkish couple. The pizza was really good. But a word of warning, if you want a Margherita pizza, it means cheese only in Turkey. There was a communication problem but it was my fault because I did not read the description that was in English. It was a really good cheese pizza. The other pizza was very good also.

It was a good day in Innsbruck.

We started with a nice glass of Riesling in the courtyard of the Hotel Nala.

Christ’s statue on the Innbrucke Bridge.

Triumphal Arch leading into the Old Town.

Best burrito ever was eaten here.

Row buildings overlooking the Inn River.

One of the parks in Innsbruck.

Trees were in bloom in early April.

The Alps are always peeking into the Old Town.

Many wonderful outdoor cafes are in Innsbruck on the main pedestrian thoroughfare.

The City Tower was built in 1450. You can climb the 133 steps to the top for a stunning view.

One of the many interesting buildings in Innsbruck.

Beautiful row of buildings in Innsbruck.

St. Anne’s Column in the old marketplace.

So much fun in Innsbruck just walking around.

Modern stores in old Innsbruck.

Interesting display on a balcony.

Good pizza here with friendly service and owners.

Next up, another day in Innsbruck and a train ride to Garmish, Germany.

–

Schloss Matzen Castle

Someday you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.—C.S. Lewis

My son-in-law booked us rooms in a castle for one night, at the request of my daughter.

When he informed me of this, I thought maybe I told her too many stories when she was a little girl about a princess with her name. She definitely watched too many Disney movies about princesses.

I didn’t think too much about this night in the castle as the trip materialized. While we were spending time in Salzburg, I didn’t think much about it either. We decided to eat in Salzburg before we left for the castle. As we were eating a late dinner, by our standards not European standards, I didn’t think about it. Only when they called my son-in-law to ask if we would be present for the evening meal and tour, did I start thinking about it. I was going to miss a meal and that caused pause for reflection.

This castle is about midway between Salzburg and Innsbruck in the municipality of Reith im Alpbachtal in Tyrol.

The staff was very accommodating even though they wanted us there for the evening meal and the tour. Now I have been on vacation property tours, but it was because I signed up for a cheap vacation and had to endure a high pressure condo sale.

After spending time at the Schloss Matzen Castle, I wish we would have gotten there sooner.

The castle was first mentioned in 1167 and has undergone different renovations. President Theodore Roosevelt was friends with one of the owners and spent much time there.

As soon as you walk through the huge doors into the open-air courtyard, you start to feel special. We stayed on the third floor in a room by itself down a long hallway past the chapel and the knights dining room. The rooms are large and spaced far apart, I think there are only twelve rooms for overnight guests of the castle.

Since we got there late, it took time to get the grandchildren settled in and we did not get to explore much. We saved that for the next morning.

The morning brought a wonderful surprise as we really got to see the castle in daylight. The granddaughters were ecstatic, running everywhere and since it is mostly stone, not too much was breakable. There wasn’t hardly anyone staying there so the long hallways and big rooms were easy for them to explore (or as we say in Eastern Kenucky, run wild).

The breakfast that was served, was the best of the trip…so many choices of breads, cheeses, jams, fruits, bacon, sausages, soft-boiled eggs, smoked salmon, yogurt, and the very best coffee. All of the choices were delicious and believe me, I sampled almost everything they had to offer. The highlight of the morning was being with my granddaughter when no one else was there and she was so excited to see all of the food displayed, a look of pure excitement…a girl after my own heart.

After breakfast, we toured the castle and the grounds. All of us were wishing we had more time here. So my advice to any of you thinking about staying here…do it and spend an extra day.

I have a few photos to show…then on to Innsbruck.

Our room is the door at the end of this long hall.

The long hall before you get to the long hall to our room. The girls loved roaming these halls.

Breakfast in this room.

I could have stayed another night just to get the breakfast again.

I told you the coffee was really good.

The courtyard.

A view of the tower. The spa is located in the tower and also a self serve bar is in the top of the tower.

The knights dining hall.

IMG_1473 2 2

The beautiful chapel.

Colorful flower boxes.

A cozy sitting room.

There are many vignettes of art and flowers all through the castle.

I wonder if Teddy Roosevelt is responsible for the large stuffed buffalo head.

Stone couch on the grounds.

One last look.

Austria, Day 3…Salzburg, Goodbye Golling

These are a few of my favorite things.—Oscar Hammerstein II

Today was our last day in Salzburg. It definitely has a few of my favorite things I look for when I tour a city…historic buildings, narrow streets, scenery, wonderful vistas, and good food. If you are looking for these few things, go to Salzburg, Austria.

We began our day with coffee on the deck, viewing the Alps, had an impromptu breakfast, and then said good-bye to our rental house owner in Golling an der Salzach. It was a wonderful place for us to stay.

We arrived back in Salzburg and I wanted a mid-morning snack. I found the perfect hold-me-over till lunch at a small bakery near Mirabell Gardens, called Resch & Frisch. It has a big picture of Mozart, so it is easy to find. I did some research on this place and found that it is part of a larger corporation. Nevertheless the croissant and pretzel I purchased here was very, very good. We shared it on the walk over to Old Town.

We found a wonderful, intimate Vietnamese cafe in Old Town. It is called Wokman Natural Kitchen. Some older guides may list it as Pho 18. The pho was so good here. We dined al fresco and they were able to accommodate all of us and our three strollers.

We meandered through Old Town for a bit after lunch and then headed up the big hill to the Hohensalzburg Fortress.

This fortress sits high atop Salzburg. Like a guardian angel, it watches over the city below. It was built in 1077 as a protection for the principality and archbishops from attacks. It has never been taken over… except now, by tourists. There are amazing views of the city and of the Alps from this fortress.

On the way back down, we stopped for a break at a small cafe that seemed to be built into the wall. I could not find the name of this little place, but the location was fantastic. We ate at a table tucked into a little cranny on the walk to the castle. The sausage and cheese plate with olives were very good.

We made our way back across the Salzach River and found a nice place to eat our evening meal. We dined at Zum fidelin Affen. We ate inside since it was becoming very windy outside. The restaurant had dark paneling and was cozy. I had more wild garlic soup and Austrian goulash with a dumpling. The entree was good, but a little heavy.

All in all it was a good last day in Salzburg. Now on to Innsbruck, but first a night at a castle!

First stop…a cheese croissant and a pretzel with mustard.

I can’t describe how good this pho is at Wokman Natural Kitchen.

Bicycles were everywhere…very European.

Outdoor cafe taken from our outdoor cafe.

Hohensalzburg Fortress sits above Salzburg. Did we really walk up there with three children under 2-yrs old?

Yes, we did. A most major accomplishment. This is part of the walk up to Hohensalzburg Fortress.

The following are views from the walk up to the fortress…

The view from Hohensalzburg Fortress.

A great place for a rest and a plate of sausage and cheese on the way up or down from the fortress.

We loved the owl cushions.

The entrance to the small cafe on the way to the fortress.

Church towers in the late afternoon sun in Salzburg.

Crossing the Salzach River for the last time on the Makartsteg Footbridge.

We had a cozy dinner at Zum fidelen Affen.

The last bowl of wild garlic soup, a very good memory of Salzburg.

Austrian goulash with a large dumpling for my entrée.

One final good-bye to beautiful Salzburg.

Austria, Day 2…Salzburg’s Old Town

I can’t seem to stop singing, wherever I am.—Fraulein Maria

This was the way I felt in Salzburg.

Day two in Austria started with coffee on our deck looking at the awe-inspiring Alps outside Golling an der Salzach where we rented a house for our family.

Some of us slept in late because of the time change and jet lag. So I took this opportunity to take a walk with my almost-two year old granddaughter, that lives far away from me, and get to know her better. We found a bridge over a little stream so she could throw some leaves in the water. We had three children under two years of age, so we knew this would be a challenge to go into Salzburg.

When traveling with children this young, your mindset HAS TO BE..patience, flexibility and adaptability.

Since we were getting a late start, we made a decision not to go to Hallstatt. We decided to spend a day and half in Salzburg to give it enough time, knowing we would not be able to see all we wanted…well you know children travelers and all.

We started with a late breakfast or early lunch at Tomaselli Cafe. This is one of the oldest and continuous cafes in Salzburg. It is in the heart of the Old Town on the Alter Markt. We had a meal of sausages with mustard and fresh horseradish and various breads and jams. We sat under the wall with old paintings of former Salzburgers. We had a nice start to our day here.

We began our day touring in the Old Town. We started in Mozartplatz, we knew we were there when we saw the statue of Mozart. After dodging through the bicycle tours, or I should say after the bicycle tours dodged us since we were just as formidable with three strollers, we wandered through the Old Town.

As a side note, my wife and I would have never considered taking our children to Europe when they were two. We always went to the beach, since you can’t tear up a beach. But our adult children don’t think like we do.

We came to this conclusion…if the Nazis or the Allied forces couldn’t destroy Austria, what could a couple of two-year old girls and a 4-month old boy do? They were too busy picking up rocks and cigarette butts and anything else they could get their hands on and put into their mouth. This is the way to build an immune system.

Salzburg is a beautiful, old European city. The Salzach River bisects the city. There are numerous bridges crossing the river and we crossed these bridges a lot. My favorite is the Makartsteg Footbridge that is plastered with lovers locks.

We hung out outside the Salzburg Cathedral and Domplatz and ate some good ice cream on the steps of the 247-yr old Maria Immaculata statue. The granddaughters were quite impressed with the small rocks in the Domplatz. The cathedral was completed in its present form in 1628. It still has the baptismal font that was in use to baptize Mozart.

We saw St. Peter’s Abbey and the cemetery and catacombs. From the catacombs, there is some incredible views of the cathedral towers. We crossed the bridge and walked through the beautiful Mirabell Gardens

When it was time to eat our evening meal, we drove out to WieherWirt. This was a most enjoyable meal. We sat at a table outside where we could view the lake. Across the lake sat the Hotel Schloss Leopoldskron. This was used as the Von Trapp Mansion in The Sound of Music.

We started our meal with sheep cheese with herb nuts and cranberry sauce. This was so good. I also had Austrian meatballs with mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables. My wife had weinerschnitzel, potatoes, and cranberry sauce. All the plates were very good. Our day ended with this delicious meal and we headed back to our rental house and Golling an der Salzach.

Cafe Tomaselli on the Alter Markt in Old Town Salzburg.

The sausage was good but the fresh horseradish and mustard was very good at Cafe Tomaselli.

Mozart statue in Mozartplatz, a good place to begin your tour of Old Town Salzburg.

Residents Fountain in Residenzplatz.

Residenzplatz.

Old Town Hall.

Pfarrkirche St. Andra.

Locks on the Makartsteg Footbridge.

Big chessboard in Kapitelplatz.

The Golden Sphere in Kapitelplatz.

Salzburg Cathedral with Maria Immaculata.

St. Peter’s Catacombs.

View of church steeples from the catacombs.

St. Peter’s statue and fountain in the St. Peter’s Abbey courtyard.

St. Peter’s fountain was a good place to hang out and rest for a while.

Inside St. Peter’s Abbey.

Fountain at Mirabell Gardens.

Hotel Schloss Leopoldskron used in The Sound of Music.

Very tasty appetizer of sheep cheese, herb nuts, and cranberry sauce at WieherWirt.

Austrian meatballs on mashed potatoes with grilled vegetables with a good Riesling at WieherWirt was a good end to a good day in Salzburg.

Austria…Day 1, Golling an der Salzach

I grew up so poor in Austria that we never took a family vacation.—Wolfgang Puck

With all due respect to Mr. Puck’s upbringing, I don’t doubt that he grew up poor. However if there ever was a place to live where one could not go on vacation, this place is the place to be in that situation. There are postcard views everywhere.

We had a long day of travel. Indy to Philly to Munich to Golling an der Salzach. We were up for 23 hours before exhaustively going to bed. We had been traveling with family, including two grandchildren under two years old. We met more family in Munich who had come from Istanbul by way of Berlin with another grandchild under two.

We picked up our rental nine passenger van at the airport in Munich after a fourteen hour trip through the night and drove to the central train station in Munich to meet the other family members. After a great meal outside on the Frauenkirche plaza, we toured the inside of Frauenkirche then left Munich for the two-hour drive to our rental house in Golling an der Salzach, Austria. The drive to Golling was very scenic.

We arrived at our rental house in Golling in mid afternoon. We met our host from Air BNB, a delightful lady. She was most pleasant and had the house ready for us.

These are photos of our house in Golling.

Here is a picture of our view off the front deck for morning coffee…

Golling an der Salzach is a lovely town surrounded by Alps, about a forty minute drive south of Salzburg. We stayed here two nights.

Golling an der Salzach is a small town of about 4300 and the first mention of a history of people living there is in the 1200’s AD.

Our first meal in Austria was the evening meal at Hauslwirt. This is a lovely hotel and restaurant in Golling. We had wild garlic soup with a semolina dumpling for starters. This was maybe the best tasting dish we had all week. It is a seasonal dish in Austria. We also had a pasta dish with green and white asparagus and a very good Riesling. We shared a piece of sacher torte, a wonderful chocolate cake with whipped cream.

We strolled through town and went back to our house, exhausted. Some of us had been up for 23 hours and looking for a good nights slumber. I have found the best way to battle the time change going to Europe is to stay up the first night until my regular bed time and that helps me get back on track.

In retrospect, a good plan with traveling with children would have been to stay in this house longer and used it as a base to travel to Salzburg and Innsbruck. It is also close to Hallstatt. The kids had to get use to too many beds and sleeping arrangements, but they were troopers and did OK.

Nevertheless, on to Salzburg…

The following are pictures taken from our van on the drive from Munich to Golling an der Salzach, Austria.

The following are pictures of Golling an der Salzach.

Wild garlic soup at Hauslwirt, the best dish of the week in Austria.

Pasta with green and white asparagus at Hauslwirt.

A fitting end to a good day, sachre torte at Hauslwirt.

Paris…Treating the Taste Buds

First we eat, then we do everything else.—M.F.K. Fisher

Before I begin, let me proclaim that I am not a chef, or a writer of culinary persuasion, or an expert of any kind in the food services. I am however one who loves to eat and try new foods. This is about some of my favorite things I tasted in Paris. My wife and I spent a week in this iconic food city and we ate well.

One thing about our food experience we did not count on, was the effect of the temperature on our appetites. As I had mentioned in a previous blog, we were in Paris during the first week of July and it was hot and humid. Because of this we weren’t in the mood for a lot of heavy and rich food. However we still found things on the menus that were quite good but a little lighter than we anticipated we would eat during the week.

PASTRIES…just wow.

We never met a pastry in Paris that we didn’t love, so we loved pastries every day. We had chocolate au pains at Coquelicot in Montmartre. We had a really good croissants, cheese bread, and almond triangles from Poulain near the Eiffel Tower on Boulevard de Grenelle.

WORTHY MEALS…in Paris, really??

The first day we met some friends at Chez Casimir for Sunday brunch, near Gare Nord. This was a wonderful beginning to our eating itinerary.

I had a delicious crostini topped with smoked salmon at a small cafe near Hotel Invalides. I’m sorry I can’t recall the name of the cafe, but really…just pick an outdoor table anywhere and sit down, a great meal awaits.

I mentioned the chocolate au pains at Coquelicot, well their Quiche Lorraine was also very good.

We had a very relaxing stop at St. Georges Square and sat at an outdoor table for a light meal. My wife had a crepe and I had an assortment of cheeses and breads at A La Place St. Georges.

I had the best sushi in my life on rue Balard at COKIsushi. They had a sweet soy sauce that was made on sight. I was not able to get the recipe for the sweet soy, but it is worth a return trip just for the soy.

Probably the tastiest dish eaten was served at Bistrot Beaubourg in Pompidou center. I had a simple plate of fresh sardines on tomatoes with olive oil and basil. My wife felt it was a little too fresh and went with chicken. The service was not the best here, however. I realize the cafe culture allows the patrons to sit and relax, a foreign concept to most Americans. This waiter just ignored us even when we got his attention that we were ready to leave, but it was an ignoring that didn’t seem rude.

We had a very good dinner one night at Cafe Eugene near our hotel. My wife had a tomato and basil gazpacho, which was very tasty. I had duck confit atop mashed potatoes and arugula.

One day we grabbed some quiches, some marinated salad, and macaroons for a picnic in the Luxembourg Gardens.

Near the Eiffel Tower, we had a good meal at Le Petit Suffren. My wife had been looking for chicken crepes and finally found them on the menu here. I had another simple dish of mozzarella on tomatoes with pesto.

My dining goal in Paris was to find some cafes and bakeries in various sections of the city and circle them on a map. If we happened to be in those areas of the city when it was time to eat something, we would search them out. This worked on some days and other days we didn’t feel like searching. I felt like we didn’t go wrong in any place we stopped to eat, everything was very good. My wife had one dish that was “just ok”, which is her way of saying she should have had something else. I had no regrets. You can’t go wrong eating in Paris, unless you are searching for average food.

Best tasting meal of the week.

This place served my favorite dish.

A La Place St. Georges.

A good cafe near the Eiffel Tower.

Paris…Montmartre and Sacre Coeur

I love Paris when it sizzles.—Cole Porter

Believe me Paris was sizzling this day, temperature-wise anyway.

We dedicated almost a full day to wandering through Montmartre, a beautiful section of Paris on a hill north of the city center. Since we were staying in the south of the city center, in the 15th Arrondissement, it took about 45 minutes on the bus. My wife had a few issues with riding underground crowded trains, so we stayed up top in the sunlight. We enjoyed the bus ride since it allowed us to see more of the city.

We stopped for breakfast at Coquelicot, a wonderful little bakery and cafe on rue des Abesses. We both had a chocolate au pain and I also ordered Quiche Lorraine and an Americano. This was a delicious start to our day in Montmartre.

We headed up to Sacre Couer.

We climbed the many steps, that are quite lovely and enveloped in shadows in July. The line was very long to enter Sacre Couer, so we stayed outside to enjoy the beautiful view of the city from this high hill above Paris.

We walked over to the other, lesser-known cathedral in Montmartre, Saint-Pierre de Montmartre. This is one of the oldest churches in continuous use in Paris. It was established in the third century by Saint Denis, who has a legendary story himself. The current cathedral was finished in the 1800’s following many reconstructions, the final one after being destroyed in the French Revolution. This smaller cathedral has a few intimate chapels with wonderfully colored stained glass windows. In one of these small chapels, I stopped to pray and felt the wonderful presence of God’s Spirit. One of those few times in my prayer life where I felt so close to the Creator.

We strode through the many street artists selling and painting portraits and the various shops atop Montmartre. We took in the views and the narrow, uncrowded alleys before we worked our way down the Street of Martyrs. We stopped in at Henri le Roux chocolates and got a small assortment of tasty treats for later. A word to the wise here, if it is hot, as it was this day, eat your chocolates as soon as possible and don’t carry them with you. Ours melted somewhat, though they were still just as delicious.

We ambled down toward the city center and found a nice outdoor table at A la Place St. Georges on the St. Georges square. My lovely wife had crepes and a chardonnay and I had a plate of assorted cheeses and breads and a really good red wine. We rested here in this lovely cafe for a while and decided to head back toward our hotel.

We disembarked our bus ride at the Trocadero, for the best view of the Eiffel Tower. We sat by the Seine before making the 30 minute walk along the Seine back to our hotel. It had been a very good day.

Sacre Couer

Gargoyle on Sacre Couer.

A small, sunlit dome on Sacre Couer.

One of the chapels of Saint-Pierre de Montmartre.

Artists working in Montmartre.

The following are scenes in our wandering around Montmartre.

Dutilleul passing through the wall. Very cool.

We ate outside at A la Place St. Georges.

A really good view of the Eiffel Tower from the Trocadero. I assume these gates aren’t normally there. But they made a good foreground to this photo.

Paris…The Lazy way

To err is human, to loaf is Parisian.—Victor Hugo

This quote summed up two of our days in Paris.

The first full day in Paris, we decided to let the Big Bus take us around the city so we could get an overall view of the city. These buses have an open upper deck and ear phones to let you hear about what you are seeing.

The last full day in Paris, we were tired and hot, so we rode the Bat-o-bus (water taxi). We viewed the city atop the gentle refreshing waters of the Seine. Both of these experiences are highly recommended, especially by two middle-aged tourists during a hot week in July.

I wouldn’t recommend going to Paris in July because of the above mentioned heat and the height of the tourist season, but this was the only week we could go due to other circumstances. Nevertheless, the two modes of transportation around the city were very enjoyable and gave us a good view of Paris. It helps to get your bearings when visiting Paris for the first time. We did a lot of walking and exploring on our own and I will save those adventures for upcoming blogs.

Normally, I avoid these touristy methods. However, I can now see the advantage of doing this if you only have a limited time to see the city or if you have a week-long stay as we did and want to take some time to relax and still see the sights of Paris.

The following are photos I took while on board these methods of transportation around Paris.

The Louvre from the Big Bus.

Notre Dame from the Bat-o-Bus.

Towers of Notre Dame from the Big Bus.

Arc de Triomphe from the Big Bus.

The Moulin Rouge from the Big Bus.

The Eiffel Tower from the Bat-o-Bus.

Bridges on the Seine from the Bat-o-Bus.

Cafe de Flore from the Big Bus.

A cafe in shadows on a Paris street taken from the Big Bus.

One more cafe on the streets of Paris, taken from the Big Bus.

Parisians on the steps by the Seine, taken from the Bat-o-Bus.

Church steeples from the Bat-o-Bus.

Buildings overlooking the Seine from the Bat-o-Bus.

One of the many cathedral towers in Paris, taken from the Big Bus.

I had to post an artsy shot from Paris, a little impressionism of the city street from the Big Bus.

Ode to the Mont Joli Hotel…Cap-Haitien, Haiti

People will forget what you said, forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.—Maya Angelou

This quote is how I think of the Mont Joli Hotel in Cap-Haitien, Haiti.

I have a short-lived homance (hotel romance) with this hotel that sits high on a hill on the west side of Cap-Haitien overlooking both the city and the bay. I have stayed here on four visits to Haiti. It never changes…and that is a good thing.

The staff has always been friendly and the service has always been very good. Could it use a fresh coat of paint? Sure. Could it use a plumbing overhaul? Sure. But there is something special about this place that always captured my heart. Maybe it is the history, built in 1954 and changed very little, that gives it depth. Maybe it is the location that gives it soul. I believe it is the romantic spirit of this hotel I feel whenever I sit on the veranda or at the open bar and gaze on the city and the bay, always feeling a cool breeze waft up from below.

I think about the time when Haiti maybe wasn’t so poor and it was actually a tourist destination. Cap-Haitien was once called “Paris of the Antilles”.

I apologize for the many photos.