2 days in Paris

Walking along the Seine

Paris is such a beautiful city.  I think I could come here a thousand times and still be overwhelmed by it's beauty on every visit.  We checked into our hotel near the Notre Dame and took a long walk down the river Seine criss-crossing the river multiple times along the many bridges, passing the old booksellers, painters, and romantics walking along the river.

Matt and I at the Eiffel Tower

We walked until we arrived at the Eiffel Tower.  What trip to Paris would be complete without seeing this beautiful landmark.  We stopped for a while and relaxed in the park before making our way back to where we started, and seeing a different side of the river and sites along the way.

Shakespeare and Company Bookshop

We only had 2 days in Paris, so we knew we couldn't fit in very much.  We avoided the museums, which could have easily taken up all of our time (primarily in the waiting lines) and chose instead to use our precious time soaking in the beauty and magic of this city.  We spent some time at the Shakespeare and Company bookshop, a popular hangout for old beat generation writers like William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac.  We did a bit of shopping at E.Dehillerin, a 200 year old kitchen shop with just about everything a chef could want or need.

An amazing dinner in Paris

We had an amazing dinner on our last night in Paris at Le Reminet.  It was a quintessential french bistro, small and unassuming, cosy and romantic atmosphere, and the food and wine to die for.  We had an artichoke terrine with smoked breast of duck and duck liver carpaccio, roast scorpionfish, veal, foie gras.  It was an indulgent meal for both of us and we enjoyed the short walk back to the hotel under the Paris stars.  Beautiful day followed by a beautiful night.  I love this city.

In love with Burgundy…

So I think we have both fallen in love with Burgundy.  It seems to have everything that we love in life; great wine, amazing cheeses, beautiful surroundings, and the food (oh, the food!).  We are in heaven here.

The village where we are staying (Corsaint)

We have settled into our surroundings very well.  The little village where we are staying is so quaint and cozy, we love staying in our own private french cottage.  The church bells ring every hour, which in turn makes the village dog bark at them for a few minutes more.  We are starting to give him the extra steak that we don't finish, such a sweet old dog.  We have become familiar with the area markets, and regularly pick up necessities at area villages (wine, cheese, mousse, escargot, cured meats, pastries).  Every night we build a nice, warm fire and plan our next day (which usually doesn't consist of much more than more eating and drinking).

Epoisses Cheese

We are just a stones throw away from Epoisses (stinky cheese heaven).  We travel there often for bread, wine, and other daily necessities, and to pick up their wonderfully stinky cheese of course.  We have also made trips out to the surrounding villages and explored much of the countryside.

Chablis was wonderful and has turned us both into lovers of the dry, non-oaky white wine.  They do all of their fermentation in steel barrels and the wine tastes fresh and isn't overly sweet.  We did some tastings in Chablis and although we told the gentleman our french was not good, he happily told us everything we needed to know about the wine, the area it came from, the soil (all in french, of course).  I picked up words here and there and pieced it together okay.  Matt just drank happily, nodded his head, and pretended to understand.  A smile and a nod go a long way in any foreign country :)

Dijon (home of Dijon mustard) is about an hour away and has a large fresh fruit, meat, fish market 2 days every week.  We enjoyed walking around and taking long, relaxing lunches in the center.

Valentines dinner made by my husband

So far, my favorite meal was made by my husband on a very romantic valentines day.  He made an amazing Coq au Vin, the best I have had, and of course using some local burgundian wine.  We had a roaring fire and beautiful surroundings.  I couldn't have asked for anything more.

Underground Wine Caves

The place we visited about the most while in Burgundy is called "Beaune".  It is famous for the "Route des Grands Crus", a 60-kilometre route which runs through many of the great appellations of Burgundy wine and passes by 33 villages/towns, many of which have picturesque churches.  It's been a beautiful area to explore and we have taken many long drives around the french countryside, sampling so many wines and cheeses.  We visited one winery with a maze of underground wine caves and stacks upon stacks of aged wine (some dating back to 1905).  Amazing.

Ray Walker at Maison Ilan

We watched the Anthony Bourdain Burgundy episode before we our trip and decided to try to visit Maison Ilan in Beaune during our trip.  Ray Walker owns Maison Ilan, and he is the first american to start making wine in Burgundy.  He is also from northern California :).  We contacted him while in Burgundy to try to arrange a visit while we were in the area. Ray not only welcomed us for a barrel tasting and showed us around his beautifully simple operation, he also gifted us a bottle of his coveted wine (we were unable to buy since they are sold out at the moment). We have visited hundreds of wineries and this was a first. He is a great guy with a great story, and great wine!  Definitely a highlight of our trip.  You can read more about Ray Walker's story in this NY Times article.

Semur-en-Auxois

We decided to stay here in Burgundy for another couple of weeks.  We have enjoyed the area too much to leave so soon and it feels like we have so much more to experience here.  We have also been considering heading home a bit earlier than expected.  While traveling all over europe seems lovely, our hearts are longing to come home and we have begun looking at flights.  We may be heading home to California in the next month or so!

Bonjour, France!

French countryside

We had an easy 2 hour train ride from Brugge to Brussels to pick up our car rental. We had planned to drive only 3 hours the first day, passing through Reims on our way to Epernay, in the Champagne region of France.

Our trunk post-search

It was a nice drive through Belgium and France, passing small cities and villages dotting the countryside. We were about an hour outside of Reims when we were pulled over. The policeman motioned for us to follow him to an exit and we pulled off to greet 5 other waiting police officers. The officer realized fairly quickly that we didn't speak french very well. He asked for Matt's license and passport, then came back to ask for mine. They scrutinized the stamps in our both of our passports heavily and asked about our travel to and from Thailand. Then, they asked if we had any drugs in the car. The officers requested to check our trunk and all of our bags inside. During the search, another 3 officers arrived along with a big police van.

Our contraband

They scrutinized our loose tea with Matt trying to explain what it was. Then, they found our thyme and rosemary that we use for cooking and our ground coffee. We had a bit of a language barrier but explained that we tried to stay in places with kitchens. Thankfully the french appreciate good drink and food. About 2 hours later, they apologized for the inconvenience and we were back on our way.

Cook'In (thai french restaurant)

We had planned to stop in Reims to sightsee but by that time we were ready to find our hotel and get some food. Shortly after we found parking and checked in, we went out to get some dinner.

St Pauls in Troyes

We walked around but nearly every store, restaurant, cafe was closed. I know that french business owners keep convenient hours but this was a Tuesday at 7pm and it looked like a ghost town! The only place with their lights on was this small Thai-French fusion restaurant named "Cook'In". We weren't sure what to expect but the Massaman duck was great. After dinner, we walked back to our hotel and called it a day.

We woke up to a traditional french breakfast of bread, butter, croissants, chocolate, tea, juice, and coffee. The french understand me when it comes to the first meal of the day. I think Matt could have used some "oeufs" (eggs). We passed through the old town of Troyes, where Joan of Arc led French troops in 1429 and secured the cities allegiance to King Charles VII. It's a beautiful medieval city with timbered houses. We also visited St Paul's Cathedral, where the Treaty of Troyes was signed in 1420. We continued our drive through France leaving the Champagne region and entering Burgundy, known for their wine. The country-side started changing to beautiful rolling green hills, pastures with the white Charolais cattle, endless miles of vineyards and single lane roads winding throughout, crossing through quaint stone villages.

We rented an old stone cottage in a small village named "Corsaint". It was in close proximity to the many towns and villages that we wanted to visit in Burgundy including Dijon, Chablis, Beaune, and Semur-en-Auxois. We found our small cottage directly next to an old stone church. The owner left the keys behind the flower box for us so we could settle in. The cottage was beautiful, everything you would think a french home would look like. It had antiques on the mantle, a cozy living and eating room, a well-equipped but simple kitchen, and charm coming out of every angle. We immediately felt at home. The owner came by to greet us and deliver firewood. He gave us a nice overview of the area and some nearby stores and restaurants.

We had stopped at the grocery store and picked up some great cheese, wine, and food and relaxed in what would be our home for the next couple of weeks!

In Brugge

Streets in Brugge

We are in Bruges (or Brugge) after a short 2 hr train ride from Amsterdam. I have been to Bruges before but this is Matt's first time in the charming little city. He's wanted to come here since watching the movie "In Bruges". The movie is great for those who haven't seen it and shows many of the local sites.

Bruges is a beautiful city; winding cobblestone streets through medieval buildings that date back to the 15th and 16th centuries. We crossed the canals that wind through the city  over small arched stone bridges. Bruges is straight out of a fairy tale.

Basilica of the Holy Blood

"Blood of Christ"

We visited the Basilica of the Holy Blood, known for a vial which is said to contain a piece of cloth with the blood of Jesus Christ. It was brought to the city after the 12th century Second Crusade. We visited on a Sunday and ended up going to Mass. Neither of us really expected to be at Mass (which was entirely in Flemish) but we laughed about it later. We also visited the Church of Our Lady, which has a Michelangelo sculpture of Madonna and child dating back to 1504.

          Having a few at Brugs Beertje 

In the evening we headed to Brugs Beertje, a small pub in the city which has over 300 beers on their menu, many brewed in the monasteries by nearby Trappist monks. We tried so many different great (and strong) beers at this spot. The walks home were beautiful. The city lights up at night giving you a different perspective of it's beauty.

It's been a few days and we are ready to catch the train to Brussels to pick up our car rental. It will be nice to have our own transportation and not be at the mercy of the train routes. Matt will need to get used to driving on the right side of the road again though!

We will be heading to the Champagne region in France on our way to Burgundy.

Brugge at night

Amazing Amsterdam

We stayed in blue houseboat on the right

We've had an amazing week in Amsterdam. The city is much more beautiful than expected and the people are so friendly. We rented a houseboat for the week on "Brouwersgracht", a quaint canal street in the Jordaan neighborhood. We wake up each morning to ducks at our window and ferrys floating by. We stocked up with good cheese, bread, and wine as soon as we arrived and couldn't be more comfortable on the boat. There are cafes, markets, and pubs just a short walk away.

Walking through the maze of canal streets

Our first day was spent shopping as neither of us packed for the cold weather. We now have winter coats, hats, and boots so sightseeing is (somewhat) more comfortable. It's been in the low 30's and we've had snow and hail a few days this week! We walked nearly everywhere in the maze of canals; Nine Streets, Vondelpark, the Museum square, Red Light district, Old Center, visited the Anne Frank House. The whole city is charming and it was easy to sink into the relaxed atmosphere.




We could stay here for much longer but it's time to move on. Our next stop will be Bruges, Belgium before we start heading toward France!