After a great dinner we headed home for cakes, coffee and presents. This was a great birthday and while we could not have everyone we would like to have here it was still a happy day for Boris.
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Toscana
It is hard to show in pictures what makes Tuscany so beautiful – you simply have to see it and experience it and take it all in day by day. We certainly can’t wait to get back here for our next trip. We were in a bit of a shock when we got back to […]
La Mangiatoia
It is true – we are those people that photograph our food before we dig into it. But not all of the time. We only do this when it is absolutely exceptional. We found this little place, on the side street in San Gimignano. It turns out, La Mangiatoia, was featured in Bon Appetite magazine as […]
Siena
Another favourite of ours from last year was Siena. Siena is famous for a lot of things. The two main ones that impressed us the most are the Piazza del Campo, and the Siena Cathedral. One famous for its annual horse race, and the other for it beautiful black and white marble architecture. There is also a great […]
La Biscondola
Getting off the beaten path can be so rewarding. We found this place on one of the side streets in San Gimignano. La Biscondola, has great service and even better food. Off the menu, we tried the goose liver pate and the bruschetta as appetizers, wild boar ragout with white Tuscan beans in wine, truffle mushroom […]
San Gimignano
We are back to Italy to our favourite city we visited last year. San Gimignano know as the Town of Fine Towers had, at one point 72 towers in the city built by the rivalling families. San Gimignano has a number of fine restaurants and a gelato place which won the best gelato in the […]
Località Bagni di Mommialla
Its morning and we had a good long rest. We are now venturing out to see what this place looks like in the daylight. 2 minutes later we fall in love. We sit down by the pool and start planning our next trip here. This place is perfect, it’s in the middle of nowhere, it’s […]
Off to Italy
We are off to Tuscany. We were hoping to make a quick stop in Monaco but because of the late start and a long drive we are heading straight for our hotel just outside Sam Gimignano – our favourite and the most beautiful city we saw in Italy last year.
Quarries of Light
Just as we thought that the Roman aqueduct was the be all end all sight we were going to see on this trip, we were soon proved wrong. Quarries of Light is an extraordinary site. It was once a bauxite quarry in the bowels of the awe-inspiring landscapes of the “Valley of Hell” that inspired Dante, […]
Pont du Gard
Perhaps one of the most awe inspiring and jaw dropping structures we have seen to date is this ancient Roman aqueduct bridge in Vers-Pont-du-Gard near Remoulins. Built in the 1st century AD, the Pont du Gard is the highest of all Roman aqueduct bridges and is the best preserved. Standing almost 49m high and spanning […]
Avignon – Around Old Town
Perhaps equally as stunning but much more less opulent are the city defence walls with its 7 gates and 36 defence towers as well as the Pont Saint-Bénezet bridge of which only 4 sections remain. Numerous palaces, churches, a theatre, the city hall, many old stone houses, and narrow streets that connect them all is what […]
Avignon – Notre-Dame
Today we are exploring Avignon – the city of Popes. While not as large as Lyon, Avignon has a different more medieval charm. Actually it looks more like an Italian city than French but this could be due to a huge Roman influence on its development. First on the agenda was the stunning Papal Palace […]
Le Bistrot du Moulin
In the next village, Villeneuve-lez-Avignon, about 6km away is a little bistro which is set up in the old olive oil press shop. This place was suggested to us by the couple who run the chateau. They did say that this is not a gastronomic restaurant but a bistro not knowing what this really means […]
Chateau de Varenne
Perched on the top of the hill in the small village of Sauveterre is a quaint little Chateau that is going to be our home for the next couple of days as we explore Avignon and the surrounding countryside. The Chateau was originally built in 1610 and then occupied by the first mayor of Avignon […]
Lyon Confluence
The island in the middle of Lyon is interesting. The tip of the island where the two rivers confluence is a place of modern architecture that is simply as breathtaking as any of the old 1000 year old cathedral we have seen.
Flea Market
No French town would be complete without the Sunday flea market. Since stores are closed on Sundays, people flock to these things to find their treasures. This flea market happens to be the second biggest flea market in France. While 80% of what we saw was junk, and 20% were little treasures, we managed to […]
Lyon – Roman Ruins
Another great find in Lyon is the ancient Roman amphitheare – or rather its ruins. In its glory days this place used to seat about 11,000 spectators now the shows hosted here sit about 4500 people. Despite its age, the world wars and time which has taken its toll on the buildings, this place still […]
Lyon
We have arrived in Lyon just a bit past four. The drive was not very enjoyable, that is to say it was not as fast as I thought it ought to be, but we are here. We checked in and decided to take the rest of the day off and relax before we set out […]
Full House
There are now 11 people in this house! It seems like that is a lot but we still have sleeping and sitting room available.
Train Museum
We are really trying to get through the museums in Nuremberg. Today the Train Museum, right around the corner from the house.
Munich Tower
This is the best way to see the Olympic Park and the city with the least amount of walking.
Munich on the Train
We are off to Munich for a day trip on the train. The Bavaria pass which is €26 allows our family to travel anywhere in Bavaria on the public transportation for a whole day. Deal of a century.
Petrolhead Nirvana
To any self proclaimed petrol head Top Gear is the greatest show on earth when it comes to cars. On the weekends they ask their readers to show them what they have done with their cars. I submitted an entry through Twitter and – ours made it to the pages of TopGear.com as one of […]
Exploring Nuremberg
We are still exploring this great little city
Chateau de Meursault
Chateau de Meursault was our next winery of choice. This one offered a self guided tour of the property which is now a small museum. The roots of the family that owns this Chateau are traced back to the 12th century. The main Chateau is still being used as the primary residence, but the cellars, […]
French Countryside
On the way to Chateau de Meursault, the next winery on the list, we stopped at a typical French village to visit another bakery, for more break and pastries and to take a bit of a break after the wine tasting. Quaint, quiet and beautiful. Serenity now.
Pommard Caves
The best part of the tour was of course the wine cellars or the caves. The sheer volume of wine stored in the nice cool cellars underground is simply staggering. After the tour we had our first taste of some fine wines, including 1st Cru, and Chateau de Pommard. Naturally we acquired some of them […]
Chateau de Pommard
First on the list, purely by chance, was Chateau de Pommard. It was close to where we were staying and seemed rather interesting. The Chateau had a wine museum and a great restaurant, an exposition of modern art was well as great collection of originals by Picasso, Matisse, and two sculptures by Salvador Dali. We […]
Beaune
After a good night sleep in a nice little hotel just off the main square and an early visit to the bakery for some croissant, and baguette and some pain au chocolat we set off in search of some fine French countryside covered in vineyards and dotted by small chateaus. We did not have to go […]
Getting Lost in France
After Strasbourg we pointed out Alfa Romeo in the general direction of Dijon. Both of us visited Dijon in 2001 and remember it very fondly. We wanted to get lost in the French country side. Take the secondary roads and stay off the highways, just like we did last time. Endlessly drive through […]
Strasbourg
We are off to France for a few days. The drive is comparable to going to Calgary so why not. Strasbourg is the official seat of the European Parliament among other things. It has a colossal Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg which was the tallest building in the world for over 2 centuries. This is a magnificat […]
Passport
My passport application has been accepted – FINALLY
Around the Neighbourhood
We finally had a moment to get out of the house and explore the neighbourhood today. We wanted to size up the two parks we have on either side of the building, the many canals and also to find out where the closest bakery and shops are to get some groceries. It turns out, […]
Neuschwanstein Castle
So, a short distance from Garmisch is the famous Neuschwanstein Castle. Last year when we visited the site the castle was covered in scaffolding as it was being renovated. The renovations are done now and that only means one thing – the tourists are back with a vengeance. By the time we got here at […]
Leap Forward
While these are not going to replace the sweet, sweet sound of my Focal, PrimaLuna and REL – this is a vast improvement over having to listen to the mono speaker on the Mac Mini while watching TV or listening to music.
The Gorge
The walk from the top of the mountain ends at Partnach Gorge which leads back to the Olympic Park.
Citizen P
Today I finally got an update on the status of my Polish citizenship confirmation. It appears that the Polish bureaucracy is finally starting to crack and give in. Officially then, Poland has confirmed that I am and always have been a Polish citizen. Next step is to wait for the documents to arrive and head […]
School Time
Today we hired a tutor for the children who will come around the house to get them started with learning some serious German. She will then work with them throughout the school year after school to help them out further. I think this will make their time at school easier and more enjoyable and a […]
Antler TIme
We have assembled the house and actually moved some furniture around today to get that new minimalistic look we are hoping to achieve here. Basically no one is carrying any more boxes upstairs and no one is interested in assembling anything anymore. We are in a travel mood. After 10 days of hard graft, it […]
House Assembled
There are no more boxes to assemble. There are no more boxes to take down. The home assembly I now completed. We are officially open for business and the dates are going fast. Our first guests were the Great Danes. Our first guests from Canada are arriving on the 25th of August and we are […]
Faster Please
Today we fitted the kitchen and promptly headed out to the store to buy some pots and pans. I also managed to finally sign up for some high speed internet through Kabel Deutschland. For the last 10 days I have been working off if my iPhone that is tethered to my MacBook Air. It’s not […]
Dinner Time
It’s official after much searching and a lot of fiddling around we fitted the kitchen in today and made a first proper cooked home dinner tonight. We feel so civilized.
Boxed Dreams
Other than the garbage outside which is full of our boxes, we now have 3 separate storage places for all the boxes that have to be cut up packaged and disposed of. Its insane how many boxes there are and there are still more, standing in the house, awaiting their turn to be turned into […]
Pottenstein the Beautiful
Other than Legoland I think Pottenstein is the kids second favourite place in Europe. Although Boris has mentioned that it is time we visited some bigger cities, like Paris, London so he can promptly get the equivalent Lego architecture set to assemble. As per usual we still like photographing all the great food we eat. […]
Keep it cool
We finally have a fridge! It is now the only thing in out kitchen that works and is assembled. Also we have the first customer checking it out. Of course we brought this in the Alfa, its a car that keeps on giving.
Music Festival
It is unbelievably hot. At 11:30 last night it was 27°C and no wind in sight. This morning at 9:30 it was 32°C and at 11:30 it climbed to 41.5°C and stayed there until about 4:30 pm. We spent most of the day at the apartment moving things, assembling the furniture, shifting boxes and packing […]
Our Apartment
This will be our home for the next little while. Right now its full of boxes which need to be unpacked and assembled into furniture – a no small task when its 41°C outside for the next few days.
Dinner with Friends
The great Danes are here. We are heading out for a quiet dinner at our favourite go to pizza place in town. Food is always great, service is excellent and the atmosphere is amazing. What more could you ask for?
Alfa Romeo
So we have had a chance to drive our new old car back from Poland. We put just a bit over 2,000 km on the car and so far we absolutely love it. I don’t think this car will go faster than 250km/h or even 240km/h for that matter. In fact loaded up to the […]
Need for Space
We finally got home from Poland today. This is what we have managed to fit into the car – including the four of us. Got to love those station wagons. You can put pretty much everything in them, including the kitchen sink.
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