Tag: Travel

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What Did We Eat?

Foods in the Alsace region of France

Spending time in the Alsace region of France, we discovered a definite German influence. Apparent in both food and wine…some we enjoyed. Some…not as much.

Here are a few we tried…

Flammekueche

This is to Alsace what pizza is to Italy. It’s basically a tarte flambee garnished with a blend of cream, possibly cream cheese, lardons or bacon, and onions. You will find it on most menus. The crust is thin and crispy. Some chefs bake this in a bread oven. Even though it sounds heavy, it’s not. The crispy crust adds to the creaminess of the sauce. We found it on just about every menu, with slight variations.

We enjoyed it with a glass of Alsatian Riesling.

Pretzels

Pretzels in Alsace are more like a savory brioche. Garnished with rock salt, these are slightly crisp on the outside. The insides are light and tender. We noticed these at the market with pepperoni and cheese on top, similar to what you might see as a slice of pizza.

Choucroute garnie

Sometimes called the national dish of Alsace, this is a version of German sauerkraut. The fermented cabbage is cooked in white wine, beer, or cider and seasoned with juniper berries and black peppercorns. We saw it served with boiled potatoes and a variety of different meat.

Kugelhopf

Looking like a bundt cake, we found these in a variety of sizes. Something between a bread and a cake, this is usually baked with almonds and raisins. We found it to be a little dry as a cake. It was better when we dipped it in our morning coffee.

Alsace Wines

Most of the wines in this area are dry Rieslings, similar to what we found in Germany. Gewurztraminer is also popular, as are different sparkling ones. If sweeter wines are your favorites, you can find those as well. We opt for the dry ones.

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Cossy Champagne

Champagne Houses

Champagne houses vary. We visited a smaller house in a small village west of Reims.

Walking up the hill, we passed rows of vines. Some belonged to F. Cossy and some did not. Seemingly, they all ran together on the hill side. In reality, they did not.

That’s what makes this area so special. Even though vines run up and down the hills, through the small villages, and next to the winding roads it’s different than in many places. You won’t find acres of vines for as far as you can see which are all owned by one winery.

Here, an entire row may be owned by different people. One person may have vines which go a few feet or a few hundred feet. It doesn’t mean the whole hectare belongs to one person.

We set off to the small village of Jouy-les-Reims in search of a Champagne house a sommelier friend suggested. Traveling on narrow roads through small villages, we thought we may have made a wrong turn and were actually driving on a private lane. We’ve driven on a lot of roads similar to these. This time, we were following the GPS and wondered if we had entered the wrong address.

Houses and buildings perched so close to the road we could reach out and touch them. Vines with small bunches of remaining grapes begged to be photographed. There would have been no room to meet another vehicle. Maybe we were on the wrong road.

Turning a tight corner, we arrived at the address. Since it was a house and not what we were expecting, I called the winery owner. We were in the right place and she was on her way to meet us.

Some of her vines were ones we had passed. This time, we could photograph them. And, taste the remaining grapes. So sweet. She has other vines in a neighboring village.

Sophie Cossy had taken over the winemaking part of their family business when her father unexpectedly passed away. She was only 25 at the time. Young for a winemaker of a Champagne house. Their family had been farming these vineyards since 1764. They had been bottling under their own label since the 1950s.

The tour of her operation and the tastings were outstanding. Of all the Champagnes we tasted…these were among the best.

If you are in the Champagne area or are planning a trip, do not miss this house.

If You Go: Located in the 1er Cru village Jouy-les-Reims. You will be on the western outskirts of Reims. Check their website for visiting information, champagne-cossy.com.

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Does Your Phone Work?

Does Your Phone Work?

You have options for using your phone when traveling to Europe. You can probably purchase an international phone plan from your carrier.

Or, you can do what we do.

We purchase a Sim Card from Orange. You can do this one of two ways. If you want to purchase one after you land and have the store put it in your phone, go to an Orange Store. They will take care of inserting the new Sim Card. They will then give you the phone number to use while in Europe.

Or, you can purchase one before you leave. If you do this, you need to register it with Orange. That will allow the number to work as your new phone number. You can insert this Sim Card into your phone while on the plane. That way, you will be ready to use your phone once you land. This is helpful if traveling with others or calling the hotel or apartment where you will be staying.

By doing this we avoid huge charges on our phone bill.

A couple of suggestions:

  • Be careful when removing your Sim Card from your phone. It does contain your entire phone life and information.
  • Take a very small resealable bag to place your Sim Card in.
  • Store this in a reliable spot while on vacation. You will need to put it back in before you land in the US.
  • Remember to register the Sim Card.
  • When you receive your new phone number, give that to everyone who may need to get ahold of you. Both in the US and in Europe.

For more information and for answers to questions you may have, go to the website for the Holiday Orange card.

https://topup.orange.com/faq-transpays/faq-about-orange-holiday-france-offer/
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Vacation Rentals…What Do You Want?

A few More Vacation Rental Tips

I know I have posted some tips to think about before you rent a vacation home, apartment, or flat. The following are some tips from readers, from personal experience, and from other travel professionals. They are by no means complete.

If you have tips or suggestions…please send them my way.

  • Read the reviews before you book. All of them. The good, the bad, and the ugly ones. If you keep seeing the same issue or problem in several reviews, chances are there is a problem or issue. If you only see one person who rants about the place, he or she either had a genuinely bad experience or they just like to complain. Keep reading.
  • Look at the dates of those reviews. If there was a problem three years ago, has the owner addressed that complaint in a more recent post? Are the most current reviews from two years ago? If so, you may want to look at another place with more current reviews.
  • Does the owner or manager speak your language? If you prefer they respond in English, is that one of the languages spoken? Or, are you going to have to rely on your college French to understand what you are renting?
  • Do you have the ability to contact the owner or manager? Both before and once you arrive. By phone or email? Does it say how soon they will respond? What about after you arrive? Will there be someone to talk to if a problem should arise once you unpack your bags?
  • Read the description. If it says two bathrooms, great. Keep reading. Do those bathrooms include toilet, sink, tub, shower, or what? Never assume a bathroom has all the above. We have stayed in generously sized apartments with three or more bedrooms and had only one toilet. We had three showers in separate rooms, but one very small room with a toilet.
  • Check the location before you book. Check street view, Google earth, and map view. You may find out the apartment that looks fantastic inside is located next to an industrial warehouse or a train station. Maybe not what you want. What is located around it? How does the building look on the outside? Is it neat or does it look run down? Is the street filled with bars and nightclubs? If so, your sleeping may be affected.
  • If you want laundry facilities, add that to your filters when looking at places. Many apartments in Europe have one facility which is both a washer and a dryer. You just use the appropriate button. It might be a good idea to take a few laundry pods with you. Be sure to label them and secure them in a resealable plastic bag. Put them in your checked luggage. If you are only carrying on your luggage, be sure to bring powdered pods. Label them well or leave them in their original container. I buy a small package of them so I can leave them sealed in their original bag. There is no doubt what they are if TSA wants to look at them.
  • Many times, apartments do not have bars of soap. Or, they have really tiny ones. If you are there for a longer time, it would be a good idea to bring your own soap. If I stay in a hotel and do not use the multiple bars there, I will toss one in my bag and take it with me when I travel to Europe. I already take my own shampoo, so why not soap?
  • When you return home, be sure to write a review on the site where you booked. Your comments may be what someone else was wondering about.

I will have more suggestions later. Do you have anything to add?

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Colmar VRBO

When traveling and staying in an area for several days, we don’t usually stay in hotels. Instead, we opt for a vacation rental or an Airbnb.

We find we have more options this way. We have the ability to eat in if we want, more room to spread out, and we feel a little less like a tourist who is in town for a day or two. We’ve stayed in everything from a roomy estate to a small apartment.

We’ve had noise that couldn’t be shut out to places with absolute quiet. There have been floors that squeaked if you even thought about stepping on them. We’ve had tiny lifts to the fourth floor and places where we carried our luggage up 79 old, worn, stone steps. There have been views worthy of the best postcards. And, views of a brick wall.

In Colmar, France, we opted to rent a VRBO (vacation rental by owner) in the middle of town.

As usual, we read all the reviews, contacted the owner, and checked out Google street view before we booked. What did we find?

The apartment was exactly as billed. Spacious, more than enough room, great location, and positive interaction with the manager. One problem was rectified as soon as they could. The lift to the fourth floor was not working when we arrived. Four of us carried our luggage up five flights of stairs. The following day it was fixed and made life easier when we carried up some wine we purchased at a local winery.

This apartment was two stories. One bedroom and bath were on the first floor. Two bedrooms and a bathroom were on the second floor. Not a big deal…until you saw the stairs leading to the second floor. This curved staircase with its small steps was only a challenge taking our luggage to the second floor.

Location was great. We were just steps to restaurants, shops, the market, and local life. Our parking garage was only a 10-minute walk.

All in all, a great location and a wonderful apartment in Colmar.

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When Should I Visit the Louvre?

Did you know the Musee du Louvre is one of the biggest art museums in the world? It has more than 35,000 pieces of art on display every day. And, that’s only 10% of the entire collection.

Over 10.2 million visitors come here every year.

Built originally as a fortress in the 12th century, the Louvre was turned into a royal residence. Then, it became a permanent art museum after the French Revolution.

It’s busy. I mean really busy. There are some days and times where you don’t even feel like you can see anything Tour groups, school groups, tourists with selfie sticks, people in a hurry…it can be crazy.

If you would like a little less busy, here are a couple of tips.

Wednesdays and Fridays the Louvre is open until 9:45 pm. Be sure to purchase your tickets ahead of time for these days. They are not available at the door. Or, purchase the Paris Museum Pass. This is a good deal as it gets you into many museums in the city. Or, go several times to the Louvre.

Start your visit about 6:30 pm. The tour and school groups have gone. Tourists are off to dinner. It’s quieter and more serene.

Stay away from Mondays. Some other museums are closed on Mondays, so crowds are larger here.

Whenever you go…enjoy.

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Are You Ready to Go?

It’s the night before you leave for France. Do you have these things finished?

If you have a pet, do you have all the paperwork ready for your pet sitter? These should include a letter for the vet, so they can treat your pet if necessary. Does the sitter know where the food and water are?

Do you have a house sitter? Do they have a copy of your insurance agent’s contact information?

Have you backed up all your devices? Your phone, computer, laptop, tablet…etc.

Are all your batteries charged? Even your spare ones?

Have you printed or downloaded your maps? GPS and phones work great…most of the time. Printed and downloaded ones are an added benefit.

Do you have enough cash? It’s easy to get some, if you can find an ATM. If you get it before you go, you don’t have to look for one and you don’t have to think about foreign transaction fees.

Are you medicines within the expiration date? Do you have a copy of your prescription?

Are your bags packed?

Can you get a good night’s sleep without worrying everything is ready?

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Do You Really Want to Rent That Place?

Renting a vacation rental this year? Check out this advice several travelers have to offer.

If you are looking at VRBO or HomeAway, look for the Premier Partner designation. On Airbnb, check for the superhost badge. Both are given for outstanding service.

Read the reviews…all of them. Pay close attention to the dates and if the owner responded to something which wasn’t up to par. If the same negative comment keeps coming up, it’s probably a good sign there is a problem in that area.

If you are planning on doing a lot of cooking, it would be a good idea to pack a quality chef knife in a checked bag. I’ve never had great knives in rentals.

Ask questions of the owner. Don’t assume anything. I did once. When the amenities mentioned linens provided, I assumed that meant ALL lines. It didn’t. No sheets or pillowcases were provided. Just towels!

Introduce yourself to your host via email or text. Do this in advance. It is always a good thing.

When contacting an owner and it takes several days for an answer, this might be a sign he or she is not a prompt person. That would be a consideration if you needed to talk to them while staying at their property.

Look at Google Street View and well as maps. This gives you a good view of busy streets, railroad tracks, bars, graffiti-filled buildings, and streets filled with garbage.

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Emergency Numbers

In the US we are familiar with 911 as the emergency number to call. Let’s say you are traveling. Any idea what you should do if there is danger in another country?

For instance:

Australia uses 000 and New Zealand uses 111

Canada is 911 as are the US Territories like Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the US Virgin Islands

Much of the Caribbean Islands use 911 as well, including Antigua, Aruba, Bahamas, Bermuda, Bonaire, Belize, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic

Jamaica uses 110 and 119

The EU (European Union) has created a universal number of 112

Russia and Switzerland have also adopted 112

The Philippines uses 166 and 177

The United Kingdom uses 999 and 112

South Africa uses 10177 and 10111