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 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.

The veranda, a perfect place to relax.

Morning sunrise over Cap-Haitien Bay, seen from the pool.

A seat at the bar with the original wood craftsmanship.

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The most recent view out of my window.

The courtyard of the Mont Joli Hotel.

The open air dining room ready for the evening meal.

Tiled pillar outside the dining area.

Tiled wall in the dining area.

Appetizers of hot slaw, cheese balls, and bruschetta.

Breakfast usually has some sort of eggs, spaghetti, fresh fruit, fresh juice, and coffee.

There are often pancakes and french toast served for breakfast.

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This evening meal consisted of goat in a delicious sauce, a salad, some cooked root vegetables and french fries.

Artwork is everywhere.

Many flowers are evident on the grounds.

Comfortable sitting rooms abound at the hotel.

Open air lobby at the Mont Joli Hotel.

Upstairs open sitting room.

A stairway up to another open area for sitting.

Coffee on the upstairs porch, a most relaxing place.

A final view of Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral before departing.

Cap-Haitien, Haiti

If you are going to write, then write a novel with a Haitian woman in it and try to describe her accurately. When you can do that, you can write about people.—Jeff Buckley

I will confess, I did not go to Cap-Haitien as a tourist, but it is such an interesting place to see and experience.

I feel that to experience Haiti, typical touristy things don’t apply. You have to drive the streets and roam the countryside. I will admit, it is not for the squeamish tourist.

I found truth in the above quote. The Haitian women are remarkable. They glide through the city streets with grace and composure. It is a sight to behold. I love to watch the Haitian people going about their daily lives. I marvel at them. Amidst poverty and poor conditions, they seem to smile and carry on.

This trip, we did a touristy thing by going to Cormier Beach. This is a very nice beach, about a 30 minute drive from Cap-Haitien. It is a scenic drive across the mountain. The beach is small and has a hotel and nice restaurant. There are many trees to provide shelter. Our group ate lunch at the restaurant on the beach. I ordered a shrimp cocktail and a dish of seafood rice. Both were really good and fresh. The shrimp cocktail was more like a salad, so that was a surprise.

We stayed at the Mont Joli Hotel in Cap-Haitien. This hotel was built in 1954. Though it isn’t luxury, it has a wonderful location, high above the city and it is clean. It is a very romantic hotel with a nice pool, a very good open air restaurant, bar, and lobby. The veranda above the pool is a great spot to just sit and look and converse. This is where we spend most of our time when we are at the hotel.

I went to The Citadel, or as called in Haiti, Citadelle Laferriere , a few years ago. This may be the most important tourist destination in all of Haiti. It is definitely worth the trip up the mountain to see. The ruins of the Sans-Souci palace, the palace of King Henry 1, sits at the base of the mountain on the way to the Citadelle. It is about an hour drive outside of Cap-Haitien near the town of Milot.

Cap-Haitien is more for the adventurous tourist. Lanquage would be a problem for most visitors unless you can speak French or Creole. We had interpreters with us.

Haitian art is readily available for sale, however be ready to haggle and don’t be surprised if another seller comes up to you while you are haggling. You may have 3 or 4 haggles going on at one time.

Haiti is a beautiful country with friendly people. You can find mountains, valleys, beaches, villages, and chaotic cities all on the same trip within an hour drive.

Cormier Beach

Shrimp Cocktail at Cormier Beach

Seafood rice at Cormier Beach

Fried plantains at Mont Joli Hotel, this is also a very good street food.

Delicious breakfast at the Mont Joli Hotel. Spaghetti is often eaten at breakfast. It took me a little while to adapt to this for breakfast, but it actually is quite tasty in the morning.

Mornings in Cap-Haitien Bay seen from the Mont Joli Hotel.

View of Cap-Haitien and the bay from high above the city.

Colorful attire is commonplace on the streets of Cap-Haitien.

Red umbrella on a rainy day in Cap-Haitien.

Woman carrying eggs.

Morning rush hour.

Motorcycles are becoming the most used taxis.

The ruins of Sans-Souchi Palace near Milot at the bottom of the mountain going up to the Citadelle.

Inside the Citadelle. You can see the surrounding mountains.

London…Day 7, Notting Hill

Portobello Road has become an epicenter for the devastatingly cool residents of West London.—Olivia Petter, Vogue Travel

Most of our last day was spent in Notting Hill. It was Saturday, so it was the Portobello Street Market, billed as one of the best street markets in the entire universe.

We arrived in Notting Hill and had breakfast at Lowry and Baker on Portobello Street. This is a small cafe and coffee shop and it was a great start and convenient for our day in Notting Hill. My love for avocado on toast, topped with a poached egg began here.

Of course, five of us separated into three groups. The son-in-law was way out of his element here so after a short stroll among the throng in the street, he took his little daughter and escaped to a park somewhere. My wife and daughter did what they do best, shopped and pondered and talked about what they were pondering about buying. I headed down the street taking pictures, found some delicious street food, and listened to really good street musicians.

Miraculously, we found each other and headed to find some food since it was midday and we were hungry. We settled on a nice Greek restaurant, Santorini. We had Greek appetizers and all of them were delightful. This was very good food.

We were not done eating for the day. We strolled over to Ottolenghi and purchased some pastries and chocolate desserts. We grabbed some carry-out pizza and we ate our purchases in Holland Park to let our granddaughter have her exercise whilst we savored a very good pizza, some red wine and of course the Ottolenghi desserts. Let me tell you, we definitely ended on a high note.

We caught the bus back to Kings Cross. The next morning we said good-bye to our daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter. And said farewell to a good week in London.

My wife and I caught the train to Paris. Cheerio.

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Inside Lowry and Baker

This is now my favorite breakfast dish.

This could be why my son-in-law searched for a more serene environment.

One of the devastatingly cool residents of West London.

A booth at the Portobello Street market in Notting Hill.

A street musician wailing on his guitar.

Art seen on the buildings near Portobello Street.

Very good Greek food here.

Ottolenghi in Notting Hill, the granddaughter wasn’t too impressed but all of the adults were.

London, Day 6…Tower of London

When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.—Samuel Johnson

This day was a beautiful sunny day and we got an early start. We headed on the bus to the Tower of London. I was very impressed with the Crown Jewels. They gave me some good ideas of what to buy the missus for Christmas.

I thought about how we view the carvings and graffiti on the tower walls that were left behind by the prisoners. It’s strange how we can view these poignant messages and through the hundreds of years of history they have endured, read them so matter-of-factly.

We loved our time here. Then we crossed the London Bridge, not to be confused with the Tower Bridge, and ate fish and chips at The Barrow Boy and Banker, a pub on the south bank of the Thames. We washed it down with a half pint of Fullers.

We strolled down the south bank of the Thames past the Globe Theater and London Eye. We crossed the Westminster Bridge and met my son-in-law at Churchill’s War Room. He and my daughter toured the war room while my wife and I took our granddaughter across the street to St. James Park for her daily release of energy.

We had our evening meal at Colosseo, an Italian Restaurant on Victoria Street. I had gnocchi and it was so good.

We headed back to our flat in Kings Cross to rest up for our last full day in London.

Tower of London

Inside the prison tower.

Guard stationed outside the Crown Jewels.

Typical tourist shot of guard at his post.

Street portrait of Shakespeare.

Globe Theatre

London Eye

Millennium Bridge with the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral.

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The remnants after a thoroughly devoured ice cream cone in St. James Park.

Colosseo, a very good Italian Restaurant…get the gnocchi.

London…Day 5, A day with Diana, Victoria, Albert, and Rory

Goodbye England’s Rose, may you ever grow in our hearts.—Elton John

It his hard for me to think of London or England without thinking about Princess Diana. I never kept up with the royals, but Diana was different. I really admired her and the good things she brought to humanity. Most of this day was about Diana.

We got a late start to our day, we were traveling with a 15-month old. Need I say more. However she was really good, the entire trip. Today started with a walk to Caravan for breakfast. It was a cool morning, but we were able to eat outside by the large shallow fountain. We had scones and coffee. All were delicious.

We rode the bus to Harrod’s. Due to my officinophobia, I declined to participate. Yes, this is a true condition, a fear of shopping, and it explains a lot of my psyche. So I did not darken the doors of Harrod’s. Instead I took my granddaughter and headed for the natural history museum.

We met up for lunch at the Victoria and Albert Museum. We dined in the garden cafe. I had read where if you eat in one of the museums of London, the V and A is the best. I didn’t eat at any of the other museums, so I have nothing to compare it with, but the garden cafe was very enjoyable and the food was delicious. There were many choices here and it was difficult to decide.

The rest of the day was devoted to Diana. We walked over to Kensington Palace. Rory and I stayed outside and played around the huge pond and watched the ducks and geese. My wife and daughter explored the Princess Diana clothing exhibit. We all went through the beautiful Princess Diana white garden. They took Rory over to the Princess Diana playground and I had a relaxing glass of white wine at the courtyard outside the palace.

Our son-in-law met us at the playground and after a while we headed back to the King’s Cross area to have our supper at Iberia Restaurant. This is a restaurant that specializes in Georgian food… so I had a Russian dish, my first bowl of borscht. I love beets and I can’t believe I never have eaten borscht. This was very good.

The perfect borscht is what life should be, but never is.—Aleksandar Hemon

We shared a Georgian specialty of flat bread stuffed with cheese. This was so good.

There are so many international restaurants on Caledonian Road in the Kings Cross area of London. If all the world leaders would just walk up and down this road together sharing meals, the Miss America contestants would not have to worry about solving the world peace problem.