On the whole, Spanish people wake later than North Americans. They don’t eat a big breakfast, perhaps coffee and some toast, before beginning their work day around 9 AM. Later in the morning, around 11 AM, they take a break and have a snack, often accompanied by some wine. They Continue Reading
travel
Andorra
Leaving France on our way to Spain we decided to visit the Principality of Andorra on the way. It’s a tiny, land-locked, mountainous ‘country’ surrounded by Spain except for its northern border with France. We set out from Limoux, France after a night of enjoying Blanquette and then sleeping in Continue Reading
The Trim
Diane and I stopped for the afternoon in the quaint French town of L’Isle sur la Sorgue, located on a small island in the Sorgue River in the Provence region of southern France. L’Isle sur la Sorgue is known for its antiques, markets, and working water wheels. In this town Continue Reading
European Handball
We had the opportunity to attend a game of European Handball in the German town of Baudsen. My friend’s first cousin (once-removed) plays on a men’s team there, but is currently out of action after knee surgery required to repair a handball injury. He and his family continue to support Continue Reading
Impressions of Italy
We spent the last 3 weeks in northern and central Italy, arriving in the south of France a couple of days ago. Here are some of our impressions of Italy. Much of the landscape appears dry and rocky, but it’s still green. Not the rich, dark, rainforest green of British Continue Reading
No good deed goes unpunished
We arrived in La Spezia on the north-west coast of Italy in a rain storm at 5:30 PM. A British couple that we’d met the night before had recommended a camping site in an industrial area near the port. As best they could figure, it was on land used by Continue Reading
If it’s Tuesday, we must be in Florence
With the eclectic variety (and occasional delay) of our blog postings, you may be wondering where we are currently and where we’ve been to-date. Here is a graphical update on our progress. Synopsis – We flew in to Vienna (Austria) and traveled W via Salzburg to Munich (Germany). We headed Continue Reading
Oktoberfest!
Welcome to the home of the $8 pretzel and beers big enough to sprain your wrist. The ultimate getaway for the beer lover, Oktoberfest is a huge spectacle. It wasn’t what I had expected — it was better! Oktoberfest is a dynamic blend of beer gardens, dinner theatre, a costume Continue Reading
Dachau
There are many memorials of war in Europe, monuments to its long and often violent history. Dachau is the site of a former Nazi concentration camp which we visited with some trepidation. It is located just 20 kilometers from the beer drinking revelry of Munich, but it is a very Continue Reading
What’s different about traveling this time?
We continue to notice differences between traveling in Europe and our last major trip through the Middle East, Africa, India, Nepal, and South-East Asia. Here are some of them: We’re traveling in developed countries, so we don’t have to be quite so self-reliant. For example, we weren’t quite as particular Continue Reading