Sorry, no pictures and little content. We’ve been internet deprived but very busy and tired in the village of Bourg d’Oisan, which sits at the base of Alpe d’Huez, the most famous mountain climb in all of cycling. Lots to write about, but it will have to wait until our train trip tomorrow because pizza […]

Read More Late update

By 9:45 am we had already gone from Strasbourg to the Mona Lisa. No lines to speak of at the Louvre, which is a big difference from the 2 he wait a few days ago. Our gamble paid off. It really doesn’t need to be said but the Louvre is pretty much the best deal […]

Read More Epic day at an end

Strasbourg turned out to be a nice little city that is very tourist-friendly without making you feel like you’re at EuroDisney. First thing we did upon arrival was go to the tourism bureau, a small office hidden in the train station (there was a more conspicuous one right downtown near the cathedral, but we didn’t […]

Read More Strasblog

Amongst other things, we do have to do laundry pretty much every other day.  We each have about three changes of clothes, so we wash two sets while wearing another. It’s not a very efficient process and the drying line can detract from the ambiance a bit, but them’s the breaks. You can see our […]

Read More Laundry Day

(very minor TdF spoilers at the end) Quick update, this morning we were up bright and early (5:30) and said our goodbyes to Reims and said hello to the TGV and then Strasbourg. Very interesting history to this French city. It has been in a perpetual tug-o-war between France and Germany because of its powerful […]

Read More Strasbourg

After visiting the champagne cellars at Mumm, I was blown away at how different the champagne process is from the normal wine fermentation process. The grapes are picked and squeezed and initially fermented (and all that jazz), but then the juice goes through two more fermentations. After the second fermentation (yes, most wine goes through […]

Read More Champagne vs. Sparkling Wine

Took the speedy train to Reims today.Very high tech, there’s wifi and you can see the progress of the train from your phone. Fancy. Reims is home to a lovely cathedral (Notre Dame) that was used for generations of Frank kings for their coronation, including Charles VII (if I remember correctly) who was escorted here […]

Read More Paris to Reims at 310kph

-Heels are a must (on bike, pushing stroller, whatever)!-M.C. Hammer pants never went away here – it’s awesome.-Never pass up a free bathroom.-The metro is scary and wonderful.-Eiffel Tower keychains are 4/one euro.-Beer is expensive and wine is cheap.-The Montmartre neighborhood has great pizza.-Crepes rock…

Read More Liz’s Deep Thoughts on Paris.

We in the states have been slowly lulled into a cash-free society. Now, like a frog in a kettle, the credit card companies are starting to jack up the fees on everyone, including those with perfect credit and no balances. Europe doesn’t seem to have gone all in on credit cards, and it really shows. […]

Read More Voulez-vous accepte mon carte de Piggly Wiggly?

We’ve only scratched the surface of Europe (three countries) but already we’re amazed at how distinct each country still is today. When you think about the pressures that are on countries to assimilate just by nature of proximity, and the sheer amount of time… I mean we’re talking thousands of years. I can see the […]

Read More What holds it together?