Slow(er) Tuesday

After 5 days in Europe, we had been in 3 different countries and been going non-stop.  We unanimously decided that a "down" day was in order.  We decided to head to a park that Tina's family had recently discovered near their home.  Huizingen was a beautiful park that had several playgrounds, many walking trails, a petting zoo, and a pool.  After letting Olivia explore the playground, Tina, Marla, and Olivia tried out the paddleboats on the pond.  I wandered around taking in the beautiful chateau and snapping photos. 

After our park fun, Tina drove us to a local dairy to see the milk machine.

At the dairy, there was a "vending" machine of sorts.  For 1 Euro you could fill a liter container with fresh "straight from the cow" milk.

There was also this structure an insect hotel.  The sign was in French so I still need to read up on what goes into making one of these and for what purpose.

After our milk purchase, we swung by the grocery store.  Marla and I made it evident that we were not local by snapping photos of weird food items and flavors and filling our cart with chocolate and waffles!

It was nice to have a relaxing slow day that included a tasty dinner of homemade pizzas cooked on the charcoal grill. Our day would conclude with this memorable sighting.

A wild hedgehog!  Olivia had kept insisting that there was a hedgehog in the shrubs.  I kept telling her it was probably the mouse we had seen earlier.  I had just got into bed when she knocked on the door telling us that we had to get up and go outside to see the hedgehog.  I insisted that there was no hedgehog and that I wasn't getting out of bed.  A few minutes later Tina came up and told us to come see the hedgehog.  As we walked out into the yard I had to tell Olivia that I indeed stood corrected....there he was, Sonic in the flesh! 

Off to Paris

This day was all about Paris.  We hopped on a commuter train in Braine l'Allued and rode up to Brussels.  There we boarded a high-speed train that would take us to Paris.  Had we drove the trip would have taken 3 1/2 hours.  The train got us there in an hour and 20 minutes.  We ended up riding backward for the entire trip, but it was so smooth that it didn't bother me at all.

As we were nearing the train station, Paris looked like any other urban area, full of high rises and graffiti.  After getting off the train we got on the subway to ride to Hotel Deville (which is where we would get on the Batobus on the Seine).  As we came up out of the subway station into a plaza the architecture and scenery screamed "Paris".  

We got our tickets for the Batobus.  This boat made a loop on the Seine and stopped at the main tourist locations.  We would ride up the Seine to the Eiffel Tower for our first stop.

We got off the boat and joined what seemed like hundreds of people headed toward the tower.  We had already decided that there would not be enough time to go up in the tower so we were content to walk around and take in the sights.  Unfortunately, the scenery was somewhat marred by construction going on around the base of the tower.  But it was still quite something to see something so iconic in person.

We made a stop for some souvenirs and waited to board the boat again.  We would ride it down to Notre Dame.  The view of the cathedral was gorgeous from the Batobus stop.

There were hundreds of people waiting to enter Notre Dame so we would once again have to be content with walking around and enjoying the outside of the building.

As we were walking from the back of Notre Dame back to the front we passed a cafe that was making fresh crepes for takeaway.  I had to grab one.  Marla said that she wasn't hungry.  I informed her that hunger had nothing to do with my decision.  I found myself walking up the side of Notre Dame eating a fresh warm caramel crepe.  Then it hit the top of the hour and the bells started ringing.  It was a perfect moment to take in and enjoy!

Even though it was a quick trip I had a great time taking in the most famous of Paris' landmarks.  Definitely an unforgettable day!

Burg Thurant & Schloss Stolzenfels

Our last day in Germany had us starting at Burg Thurant, which was located just across the river from our hotel.  This castle was a fun one to see.  The tour was self-guided and part of the castle was still occupied.

Again this castle was perched up on the hillside and offered up gorgeous views of the Mosel river.

Thurant was set up with several rooms for viewing and some photo ops.

This is the view looking down the toilet.  The plumbing works on gravity!  It's about 20 feet straight down.

Our final castle of the German tour was Schloss Stolzenfels.  It required a hike up the hill to get up to it, but again the views were fabulous.

Our tour was in German, but we were provided with English descriptions of the rooms.  Unfortunately, we were not allowed to photograph the inside of the castle.  The woodwork was a work of art.  The wood flooring of each room was laid out in a different pattern.  This castle was in ruins in the 1800's and was rebuilt during that century.

We were able to photograph the gardens and the chapel.  Stolzenfels was beautifully landscaped.

During our time in Germany, we toured 4 castles, ate way too much scrumptious food, and even found one geocache.  Gorgeous scenery...beautiful weather...loads of history.  Danke Germany!

Marksburg Castle

After a morning of shopping in Cochem, where I happily snagged a pressed penny (or euro), we continued our German castle tour with Marksburg Castle.  Our tour guide was great and made the experience all the more fun.

The views of the Rhine River were spectacular and we were once again blessed by gorgeous weather.

This massive grape press was one of many items in the castle that really lent to the sense of history present.

This little room was right off the main dining/living space.  It was the toilet.  Apparently, convenience reigned in this castle.

Path leading up into the castle from the main outer gate.

This is quite literally the "key to the castle". Our tour guide used it to open the main gate when we began the tour.

My dinner that evening...a heaping plate of German Spaetzle.  Which was a load of cheesy goodness!  German food is not light, that's for sure!

After dinner we drove across the river and Oliva helped me snag my German geocache.  I dropped the travel bug there that I had brought with me from home.  In search of ice cream, we ended up at a small town a few miles away.  There was a party going on.  We were in a German town, holding an Italian festival, and the band was playing Elvis songs!!

Burg Eltz & Cochem

Day two of the European adventure and we all headed into Germany.  We would be touring some castles along the Mosel and Rhine rivers.  Our first stop was Burg Eltz.  It was unique because instead of being on top of a hill or up higher it was sitting down in a valley surrounded by hills.

The tour of the castle was a lot of fun, our guide did a great job.  This castle had been owned by the same family for hundreds of years.  It was originally a home for 3 separate families.

At this point, I was thinking "Why go to Disney World to see Cinderella's castle when you can see the real thing!"

After our tour we drove to Cochem, Germany.  This was the view from our hotel room!

Our room was on the top floor...gorgeous views!

Marla and I walked across the river into Cochem.  It was full of shops and restaurants and fun surprises including this group that was performing some music.

We had dinner at the hotel out on the patio.  I had a bowl of the best onion soup that I had ever tasted!  The view from our dinner table did not disappoint.  

On a side note, German road signs catered to my juvenile sense of humor!