We stayed in a lovely 15th century Airbnb in Avignon that had been completely renovated and modernized , whilst keeping the medieval beams and old charm. It was a short walk to the Palais des Papes and everything we wanted to see.
Although the staircase to the bedroom had charm…it was a bit intimidating!
Avignon was charming. The old city walls, Roman ruins, medieval alleyways…we loved it.
We then traveled by train to Geneva, Switzerland. We had one day to explore before our flight home and we tried to fit in as much as we could. We strolled through the old town, did a boat tour on Lac Lemon, and did lots and lots of walking. Geneva is lovely.
That large chateau is (one of) the Rothschild estate(s)
We took a train from Strasbourg to Dijon (about 3 hours, with stops).
Dijon is beautiful. Our Airbnb (which was fabulous, by the way…an apartment connected to a hotel) was right around the corner from the Palais des Ducs – the home of the Dukes of Burgundy (very rich and very powerful).
Nice digs for the dukes, right?
We loved walking around on the old cobblestone streets, exploring, shopping (Dijon!), visiting museums, and eating (we had to try beef bourguignon in Burgandy!)
We also did a wine tour and drove through some of the villages near Dijon and past lots and lots of vineyards.
This vineyard is enclosed (le clos) by a wall dating back to the 14th century The Côte de Nuits is a French wine region located in the northern part of the Côte d’Or, the limestone ridge that is at the heart of the Burgundy wine region. It extends from Dijon to just south of Nuits-Saint-Georges, which gives its name to the district and is the regional center.Clos de Vougeot, also known as Clos Vougeot, is a wall-enclosed vineyard, a clos, in the Burgundy wine region, and an Appellation d’origine contrôlée for red wine from this vineyard.
The Clos de Vougeot vineyard was created by Cistercian monks. The land making up the vineyard was purchased by the Cistercians, or donated to them, from the 12th century to the early 14th century. The initial vineyard consisted of donations in 1109 to 1115. The vineyard was complete, and a wall had been built around it, by the year 1336. It served as the flagship vineyard of the Cistercians, and has been a highly recognised name for centuries.
The wine presses were designed by the monks and date back to the 15th century
We then drove to a more modern winemaking facility where we learned about the modern process (not much different than the ancient methods) and got to taste a few local wines 🍷…
Many of the Côte de Nuits vineyards have crosses…this dates back to when the monks controlled the vineyards We also saw several cemeteries right smack in the middle of vineyards, which struck us as rather odd, but is apparently just the way it’s done here!
Our final day in Dijon was spent wandering and soaking up the cool Dijon vibes.
We flew into Frankfurt for a myriad of reasons, most specifically because we (finally) got on (the last 2 seats!) the late flight out of Jacksonville and so the late Frankfurt flight was the only connection we could make. Also, there were seats available on the Frankfurt flight.
We packed a lot into our one day in Frankfurt; we strolled through Ramsburg Square, took a sightseeing boat trip, and visited the Städel Museum (which was wonderful!) It’s a smaller museum with some works by Rembrandt, Botticelli, Rubens…and you can walk right up to them and inspect the brushstrokes and details. Just don’t, for example, try to point something out to your husband and point at a painting and let your hand get within 6 inches of it. You might set off an alarm and be very embarrassed. Hypothetically, of course.
Eating frankfurters in Frankfurt, as one does.
We spent one day in Frankfurt and then got on a train to Strasbourg, France. (Hallelujah for the ease, efficiency, and affordability of train travel in Europe!)
We loved Strasbourg…it was like a fairytale village. Sadly, it was rainy and gloomy most of our time there, but that didn’t dim the quaint, medieval vibes of the magical place.
Our last two days in Belgium were spent in Brussels and Tournai. We took the train from Bruges to Brussels and got a hotel near the train station. Since we had an early flight out we wanted to be closer to the airport. Once we arrived, we walked around the Grand Place, ate, and of course we had a beer.
There’s a place down one of the side alleys from Grand Place, called Plaka, that makes the BEST gyros.
The next morning, our final day in Belgium, we got up and took a train into Tournai, about an hour away. Tournai is in the region called Wallonia near the French border. Tournai was one of the main creators of tapestries during the Middle Ages and when I read that they had a tapestry museum I really wanted to visit. (Side note: I have been intrigued by the method of creating medieval tapestries since seeing The Lady and the Unicorn tapestries at the Cluny Museum in Paris several years ago (amazing! Go see them if you have the chance) and reading The Lady and the Unicorn and The Seventh Unicorn)
We passed lots and lots of windmills. Amazingly, I didn’t see a single dead bird piled up beneath them. 🤷🏻♀️
Tournai’s belfry dates from the 12th century and is the oldest belfry in Belgium.
Tournai is the only Belgian city to have been controlled by the British throne (Henry VIII in 1513). It has changed hands several times; it was important in Roman times, then seized by the Franks in the 5th century (the birthplace of Frankish King Clovis) and was a Bishop’s see in the early 6th century, it was controlled by the counts of Flanders until it was recovered by France in 1188, then Henry VIII in 1513 and returned again to France in 1518, the Netherlands in 1521, then a Spanish Habsburg province, then the Austrian Habsburgs in the 18th century, and then back and forth between France and Austria.
We thought Tournai to be utterly charming. We might have been the only tourists in the town, which was so refreshing after the hordes of tourists in Bruges, Ghent, and Brussels. Everyone spoke French. No one spoke English, or very limited English. There weren’t English translations on the menus or street signs or museum displays. This might bother some, but we loved it. (Apparently I still retain enough of my high school French to be able to communicate (together with hand gestures, ha!) and decipher menus.)
We finally located the Tapestry Museum
I was disappointed in the Tapestry Museum. They had a few medieval tapestries and an old loom, which was interesting. None of the tapestries were as intricate and beautiful as The Lady and Unicorn tapestries in the Cluny Museum in Paris, or even the Vatican Museum in Italy. I didn’t mind that the placards were just in French and Dutch. I was just disappointed at how limited the displays were. My favorite thing in the museum was a series of maps…
USA = BOUFFENT DES BURGERS 😂FLORIDA = TOURISTES, GOLF, RETIREES, ALLIGATORS 😂Hotel De Ville
In spite of the disappointment of the Tapestry Museum, we adored Tournai. Wandering around and exploring, enjoying the challenges of navigating with…language challenges. It was a fun and relaxing day. We were sorry not to have been able to see the inside of their Cathedral of Notre Dame (11-12th century basilica and UNESCO world heritage site) that was undergoing renovations, nor the Pont Des Trous, a medieval bridge on the outskirts of the town which was originally part of the city wall. It was blown up during World War II and reconstructed.
Our last two days in Belgium were spent in Brussels and Tournai. We took the train from Bruges to Brussels and got a hotel near the train station. Since we had an early flight out we wanted to be closer to the airport. Once we arrived, we walked around the Grand Place, ate, and of course we had a beer.
There’s a place down one of the side alleys from Grand Place, called Plaka, that makes the BEST gyros.
The next morning, our final day in Belgium, we got up and took a train into Tournai, about an hour away. Tournai is in the region called Wallonia near the French border. Tournai was one of the main creators of tapestries during the Middle Ages and when I read that they had a tapestry museum I really wanted to visit. (Side note: I have been intrigued by the method of creating medieval tapestries since seeing The Lady and the Unicorn tapestries at the Cluny Museum in Paris several years ago (amazing! Go see them if you have the chance) and reading The Lady and the Unicorn and The Seventh Unicorn)
We passed lots and lots of windmills. Amazingly, I didn’t see a single dead bird piled up beneath them. 🤷🏻♀️
Tournai’s belfry dates from the 12th century and is the oldest belfry in Belgium.
Tournai is the only Belgian city to have been controlled by the British throne (Henry VIII in 1513). It has changed hands several times; it was important in Roman times, then seized by the Franks in the 5th century (the birthplace of Frankish King Clovis) and was a Bishop’s see in the early 6th century, it was controlled by the counts of Flanders until it was recovered by France in 1188, then Henry VIII in 1513 and returned again to France in 1518, the Netherlands in 1521, then a Spanish Habsburg province, then the Austrian Habsburgs in the 18th century, and then back and forth between France and Austria.
We thought Tournai to be utterly charming. We might have been the only tourists in the town, which was so refreshing after the hordes of tourists in Bruges, Ghent, and Brussels. Everyone spoke French. No one spoke English, or very limited English. There weren’t English translations on the menus or street signs or museum displays. This might bother some, but we loved it. (Apparently I still retain enough of my high school French to be able to communicate (together with hand gestures, ha!) and decipher menus.)
We finally located the Tapestry Museum
I was disappointed in the Tapestry Museum. They had a few medieval tapestries and an old loom, which was interesting. None of the tapestries were as intricate and beautiful as The Lady and Unicorn tapestries in the Cluny Museum in Paris, or even the Vatican Museum in Italy. I didn’t mind that the placards were just in French and Dutch. I was just disappointed at how limited the displays were. My favorite thing in the museum was a series of maps…
USA = BOUFFENT DES BURGERS 😂FLORIDA = TOURISTES, GOLF, RETIREES, ALLIGATORS 😂Hotel De Ville
In spite of the disappointment of the Tapestry Museum, we adored Tournai. Wandering around and exploring, enjoying the challenges of navigating with…language challenges. It was a fun and relaxing day. We were sorry not to have been able to see the inside of their Cathedral of Notre Dame (11-12th century basilica and UNESCO world heritage site) that was undergoing renovations, nor the Pont Des Trous, a medieval bridge on the outskirts of the town which was originally part of the city wall. It was blown up during World War II and reconstructed.
Today was another cold, rainy day which was spent doing laundry (the reality of traveling with just a carry on bag), and then wandering around the markt, shopping, eating, drinking, and enjoying people watching. We came across some street performers and lots and lots of adorable pets – even an Old English Sheepdog and a bunny!
Today was cold and rainy, but nevertheless we decided to go explore Ghent (a short 20 minute train ride away).
We went straight to Gravensteen Castle…
Fun! (Okay, maybe not the many, many steep, narrow, old stone spiral stairs. Those were NOT fun. They were a bit scary.) But the rest of the castle was fun, especially the audio tour (hilarious, especially the sound effects).
The cross window signifies that Philip of Alsace, Count of Flanders (who built Gravensteen) went on crusade to the Holy Land.
Gravensteen was built in 1180 by the Count of Flanders, Philip of Alsace. The audio tour did a wonderful job of relating the history of the castle and of Flanders, along with many anecdotes from Philip’s life.
After touring the castle, we walked around Ghent and had lunch. And then then it started pouring and we stopped and had frites and a Stella (as one does). Ghent is beautiful and I wish we’d had better weather and been able to see more. Still, we had a great day, loved Ghent and really loved visiting Gravensteen.
After (almost) 3 years of pent up wanderlust, Tim and I have finally hit the road again. We decided to do a quick trip to Belgium, mostly because there were seats available.
The flight over was fine. Okay, honestly, it was noisy (imagine crying babies, screaming children, and lots of yapping and whining from little dogs) and so we didn’t get much (much=any) sleep. Then the customs line was slooooowwwwww. But we finally got on the train to Bruges!
By the time we arrived at our Airbnb in Bruges it was noon local time and we’d been up for 24 hours. We were exhausted…so we crashed for about 4 hours. We got up and walked to the market square (markt), ate dinner, had a beer, and just marveled at the fact that we were finally traveling again. Europe, we’ve missed you!
The next day we did the touristy things – a canal boat tour, and city bus tour…and then just walked around and explored and ate and drank. We learned a lot about the history of Bruges and saw swans and beautiful buildings and the sun was out.
This was the old city hospital. The arrow is pointing to where “ambulances” would drop off patients (by boat). In the lower right corner you can see the edge of a door which is where the dead were picked up.
I received an advance reader copy of The Lindbergh Nanny by Mariah Fredericks from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press and…wow. I loved it!
I’m a huge fan of historical fiction, particularly when it is done well, and this was. I was already somewhat familiar with the story of the Lindbergh kidnapping in broad terms, but not with the finer details. This book focuses primarily on Betty Gow, Charlie Lindbergh’s nanny, as well as the butler, chauffeur, and other staff. It was fascinating and I found myself constantly taking breaks from the book to look up more information on Betty (she was lovely), or Anne Morrow Lindbergh, “Lucky Lindy,” or the investigation or trial. I feel much more informed about this event now.
The book itself is fiction, but the author clearly did painstaking and meticulous research. She brings the characters and tragic story to life.
There were a few minor typos/grammatical errors, which will presumably be corrected before publication (November 15, 2022) but they didn’t detract from the well written and engrossing story.
I highly recommend The Lindbergh Nanny, (5 stars!). It will be published November 15, 2022. I’m very grateful to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC, to Mariah Fredericks for writing such an enjoyable, thought provoking and riveting read.
When Allison Montgomery’s beloved father-in-law passes away, her mother-in-law, Margaret, ‘temporarily’ moves in. From rearranging the furniture and taking over the kitchen, to undermining and embarrassing Allie at every turn, Margaret turns Allie’s life upside down causing her to bounce between a sincere desire to support her grieving mother-in-law and an intense urge to simply push her out of the nearest window. Feeling annoyed, trapped and even a little childish, Allie struggles to avoid a complete meltdown with help from her fearless and audacious best friend, a plan for reinventing herself and enjoying a second act, and, yes, a few glasses of Chardonnay. Along the way, Allie discovers the reasons behind Margaret’s attitude toward her all these years. Does it help? Maybe…
I enjoyed this book…I did. It’s a light, enjoyable read, and there were many funny moments. But I found Allie incredibly frustrating. And Margaret. And Hank too. And that made it difficult to relate to the characters. In the end, things are explained a bit and that helped…but still.
Thank you to NetGalley and Black Rose Writing for the ARC. Look for And Then There’s Margaret in bookstores now.
Tchin Tchin! 