WHAT AN AMAZING ADVENTURE!

We arrived in sunny Amsterdam yesterday, after a scenic train ride from Brugge. Beautiful countryside, small towns, farms, and the occasional windmill.
We are staying in a great little B&B in a canal house, with a stunning view.
We spent most of today walking around town, enjoying the sights and doing a bit of shopping, before rediscovering an amazing little bar we found on our 2008 trip.
It is a liqueur tasting bar called "Wynand Fockink" and is the oldest bar in Amsterdam, open since 1679. It is tucked away in a tiny alley behind Dam Square.
We arrived just at opening (3pm) and were the only customers for the first half hour or so. The fellow serving, Hans, was so much fun, and when we said we weren't sure what we wanted to drink, he said "ok, let's start here" and he proceeded to pour samples. We started with samples of genevers...Dutch gin. When I said I might like something with raspberry, out came 3 bottles and a sample of each. Tom sampled various cherry liqueurs until he found one he loved. We had each tried 5 or 6 samples before settling on what we would order. This bar is known for the service they give to each and every customer. Hans gave us a little art and history lesson in between samples. When he finally poured our drink, it was almost overflowing, the liquid is higher than the rim of the glass, forcing you to indulge in the 300 year old custom of leaning forward and slurping the first sip before raising your glass, so as not to spill any. When we left about an hour later, the place was packed with locals on their way home from work.
It was a great way to end a great afternoon.
We are now thinking about heading out for dinner and one last stroll around the canals.
This morning I woke early to the chiming of church bells, and thought, how lucky am I? To be listening to this beautiful sound, in a beautiful city in Europe, I felt like a kid on Christmas eve. Although we have our favorite days, this whole vacation has been like this, one amazing experience after another. We have so many wonderful memories to take back with us and cherish.......Looking forward to seeing our loved ones at home.

BEAUTIFUL BRUGGE

HICKORY, DICKORY, DOCK, LYNN AND TOM CLIMBED UP THE CLOCK...

This morning, after a leisurely breakfast, shared with fellow travellers, we climbed the Brugge bell tower. 366 steps later, up a very narrow, steep and winding spiral staircase, we had an amazing view of the city and countryside. The clear blue morning had closed in on us to bring a bit of a mist by the time we arrived at the top, but still had a fantastic panoramic view. It was fun, and loud, to be at the top as the bells chimed.
After the climb down, we headed off to Market Square to look for the recommended "Garre pub"... And we found it down the tiniest lane... We figure it is so narrow because when you leave, you need the brick walls to hold you up! We had a great time, enjoying the local beer, and little bowls of cheese. Spent some time in Market square, chatting with folks from New Jersey. Today was our best day in Brugge weather wise, only a wee bit of rain, but can still feel fall in the air. Luckily, our hostess at our B&B has lent me a warmer jacket, which also made today much more pleasant.
We are leaving Brugge, and Belgium, and their incredibly friendly people tomorrow and heading to Amsterdam. Our last stop before heading home....stay tuned

Tombs of Mary of Burgundy and Charles the Bold, grave paintings discovered in 1979

Church of Our Lady

Michelangelo's Madonna and Child

BRUGGE WALK

We are thoroughly enjoying our visit to Brugge. We are staying at a fabulous little B&B in a 17th century house ( no, it is not cold, or drafty, but incredibly cozy) that was inhabited by nuns until 1953.
This morning we headed out to explore, visiting the Basilica of the Holy Blood, build in 1150 to house the drops of Christ's blood that a crusader brought back from Jerusalem.
Regardless of what your beliefs are, it is very special to be in such a beautiful place, and we were privileged to witness the ceremony of bringing out the vial from behind the silver tabernacle that it usually sits behind, giving people a chance to view it.
We continued on our city walk, enjoying the canal views and the clip clop of the horse drawn carriages.
We toured the Church of Our Lady, and saw Michelanglo's "Madonna and Child". He carved this ( in Carrera marble) in between breaks from carving his masterpiece "David". It is said to be the only Michelangelo statue to ever leave Italy in his lifetime. The Brugge businessman who bought it and donated it to the church, is buried beneath it. It is beautiful.
We also saw the tombs of Mary of Burgundy and her father, Charles the Bold. Excavations in the church
in 1979 turned up other painted grave markings which were quite fascinating.
We ended our day with a great dinner in Market Square, at a great restaurant where we sampled a few Belgian Blondes, beer that is.
We are hoping the weather dries up and warms a bit, as we would love to get on a couple of bikes and tour around the countryside....stay tuned

LEST WE FORGET

This morning we picked up a rental car (brand new) and headed from Brussels into the French countryside. What a beautiful drive, farm fields dotted with brick and stone farmhouses and huge church spires and steeples.
A few months back, I had been searching the Internet, and found the WW1 war memorial cemetery in France, where my great uncle ( or would have been, had he lived past the age of 20) is buried. He died in the trenches ( near Vimy Ridge) on December 20, 1916.
I had corresponded with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and they confirmed his site, and gave vague directions to the cemetery. Thanks to google maps, and our GPS, we were able to find this small cemetery in the middle of a farm field. It is immaculately kept, beautiful trimmed lawn, roses and other flowers growing around the grave markers. Tom and I walked the whole cemetery and couldn't help but feel sad, thinking about the fighting that was going on at this very spot, almost 100 years ago.
We also drove up to Dunkirk, before heading back into Belgium. We are now in Brugge, a beautiful town that we are anxious to explore. Stay tuned...

IF THIS IS THURSDAY, IT MUST BE BELGIUM

Another sunny day, much warmer than yesterday. Spent the day just walking around town exploring.
Great sights, great window shopping and great beer!

PLANES, TRAINS AND BOATRIDES

We said Arrivederci to Italy this morning, and Bonjour to Belgium. Our morning started at 4 am, as we had to catch the boat from Venice to the airport. It was a beautiful, clear and starry morning, so even though it was early, we still enjoyed the boat ride.
It was a short flight to Brussels, and you have to love a country when the first sign you see when you get off the plane is CHOCOLATE!
We had to stop at the Starbucks in the airport, before catching our train into the city. I don't care how many great cappuccino's we have had, I still love my Starbucks.
This afternoon we hit the jackpot for lunch, stopping at a quaint Crepe house, my chicken and banana curry crepe was delicious, Tom opted for the tamer ham, egg and onion crepe. As much as we like pasta, we are ready for some different cuisine. We have also started our chocolate research project, trying some Hazlenut praline in milk chocolate. We will be out shopping for bigger pants tomorrow.
As I type this Tom just walked in with our first Belgian beer, another research project on the go! With almost 200 breweries in the country, we have our work cut out for us.
We walked around the Grand Place today, as it is only a couple blocks from our hotel. We will be doing some more walking and exploring tomorrow. The weather is sunny and cool and we sure feel like we left summer behind in Italy. Stay tuned...

THESE ARE A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE THINGS

WE SHALL LEAVE NO BRIDGE UNCROSSED

Just about to end our second day in Venice. What an amazing city....we did so much walking and I am very grateful Tom can read a map because I could never have figured out all the bridges and canals. Today we woke up to rain, so we headed to an amazing Leonardo Da Vinci exhibit. That was one smart man, born way before his time. The skies cleared by noon, so We explored more of the city, and discovered so many interesting neighborhoods. The cruise ships were in, so the main squares were packed, and we tried to keep to the alleys and canals less travelled. Discovered an amazing
church, Santa Maria Gloriosa Dei Farari. A beautiful, peaceful church, it has the status of a "minor" basilica. There were only a half dozen people there when we were there, which made the visit even more peaceful.
We had some delicious pizza from a little hole in the wall place, and when I say that, I really mean a hole in the wall, just walk up to the counter sticking out on the lane, and buy a piece of amazing pizza. Being our last day in Italy, we had to have our last Grom Gelato, the creamiest gelato we have had....and we have had a lot.
Tomorrow we catch an early flight to Brussels, Belgium. Stay tuned.....

HARD TO SAY GOODBYE

We spent yesterday exploring our town, Monterosso. We walked as much of the trail towards Vernazza as we could, turning back just before the person on guard....there have been a few rockslides in the last few weeks, which is why they closed all the trails. Some people have been climbing over and under gates and hiking them anyway, so now they are posting guards. We caught a glimpse of what the views must be like from the trails, so really hope we make it back here while our knees still work.
We had a great lunch on the beach, I tried the pasta with walnut sauce, one of Cinque Terre's specialties. It was delicious, but I don't think anything beats their pesto.
We ran into Jane and Donna a couple times, and each time gave each other our goodbye hugs, as they are heading on to Santa Margeurita before going into France.
We could not miss our last happy hour on our beautiful B&B deck, it is like being on top of the world. Tom and I were enjoying a glass of wine, chatting with fellow travelers and watching the evening sky, when we hear a little voice (a little out of breath) coming from a bush in the direction of the stairs. Jane and Donna had made the climb up to our place to enjoy our last Cinque Terre evening together! What a perfect way to say goodbye, way better than the other 3 times we THOUGHT we were saying goodbye.
This morning we stretched out breakfast as long as possible before having to say goodbye to Lorenzo and Giovanni, our fabulous hosts.
We hopped our first of 3 trains of the day and said goodbye to Monterosso. Tom and I both agreed it was the first time on this trip that we were not ready to move on.
Our first train connection was going to be tight as we only had 5 minutes to change trains, and we were 6 minutes behind schedule. Our compartment had six seats, and we were chatting with the others, a couple from Seattle, an elderly-80ish Italian lady and a young Italian man. The man pointed out different things along the way, when we were going thru Carrera and saw all the marble yards, and pointed out the mountain where Michelangelo took the marble to carve the Pieta. I mentioned my concern about our timing, and he got on his phone to check online what other trains we could catch if we missed our connection. The elderly lady and him were conversing in Italian, they were so concerned for us. The man called the train attendant over and talked to him, again in Italian, he checked the train computer and said we would likely make our connection but it would be close. When we were close to our stop, we got our luggage and thanked our new friends very much. We hopped off the train and started toward the stairway to get to the other track, and I hear our lovely 80 year old lady friend, who must have run to the door of the train as she was sticking her head out and yelling "run, your train is here" and the train attendant was a car further down yelling "run, go down the stairs and to your right"....and but for the kindness of strangers, we made it! ( I was just waiting for someone to yell...run, Forrest, run). I said a prayer and thought, well I am glad the stress is over for today......and then we pulled into our next transfer station ...first we heard the yelling and chanting, then we saw all the riot police lining the station..... Big soccer game today, Bologna vs Florence and all the fans were chanting and yelling, waiting for their train to Florence. We actually got our train bound for Venice with no problem, but is was interesting, I know how passionate the Europeans are about their soccer. I am definitely having wine with dinner tonight!
We arrived in Venice about an hour ago, and thanks to Jane's map and directions, managed to find our hotel without any problem.
Thinking of our family who will all be together tonight for Thanksgiving dinner and sending our love to all of you...stay tuned.....

Had another great day yesterday, although the whole trip has been amazing, Cinque Terre makes me feel like My vacation has just started. We hit the last of the 5 towns ( or first, depending on which end you start at) yesterday, Riomaggiore. Where our town Monterosso is spread out along the coastline, this town heads up into the hills, with the main street of town being quite steep. We bought lunch, paper cones filled with different mixes of fried anchovies, calamari, prawns, veggies and sat on a bench enjoying it.
We went back to Manarola, and enjoyed a cold beer sitting on main street people watching, with Jane and Donna. We took the boat back to Monterosso, which gave us spectacular town views from the ocean.
Jane and Donna ventured up our 121 steps to join us for happy hour on our amazing patio. Along with our wine, Giovanni keeps coming with plates of cut up oranges, then a plate of focaccia (sp?) topped with pesto, tapenade ( not being an olive lover I was hesitant, but it is delicious here) and some with a wickedly spicy tomato sauce. Then comes more fresh fruit and a bowl of little round chips.
Somehow, we managed to save room for dinner. We went down into the village for some delicious fish ravioli....yes....I..me...said fish and delicious in the same sentence. The ravioli is boiled, then simmered in fish stock in a hot, hot pot that is brought to your table sizzling. The stock reduces to an amazing layer of deliciousness. The prawns cooked in the stock complete it and it is honestly to die for goodness.
We are sitting back on the patio now, sun in our face, The sound of the cappuccino machine whipping up our morning cup. Beside us are terra cotta pots of basil, sage, and strawberries. Giovanni, the brother of the owner, is our breakfast maker as well as bartender, and he is wonderful, to say the least. Probably the most pleasant soul in Italy.
Today is our last day in Cinque Terre, and we plan to relax, walk around town, take it all in and treasure it.....stay tuned...

ANOTHER AMAZING DAY!

CINQUE TERRE

It is our second morning in Monterosso, Cinque Terre and we are in paradise. Waking up to our amazing view.... To the east we see the terraced hillside with grapes, lemon trees, beautifully lush and green, dotted with yellow, pink and orange homes....and that is before we even get out of bed! To the south is the water, the Ligurian Sea.... Kayla, everything you told us about this place is true, even better than we imagined. Thank you!
Before we arrived, we had heard rumors that the hiking trails were closed, but didn't want to believe them as we were so looking forward to hiking from village to village. Unfortunately the rumors were true, all trails are
closed. If I let myself think about it, I would be disappointed, but there is no room for disappointment here, it is just too perfect of a place.
We bought a day pass for the train yesterday, and visited The town of Vernazza. It's harbor is beautiful, with a mix of fishing boats and pleasure boats. We watched a sailboat motor in, and thought of Mark and Gabe. We ate our picnic lunch resting against a sun warmed rock, gazing back at the town.
We hopped on the train and rode to the next town, Corniglia, the only town not on the water. We walked up the road to the village, the other choice, a zig zag path 400 steps up ( which we climbed down to get back to the train). This town was a lot smaller, less people, but with a beauty of its own. I took a path in front of some homes to get a better shot of a church, and as I was fiddling with my camera, I could smell something. I looked around, and in a yard behind me were about 6 big baskets of grapes beside a press, picture perfect.
Our last stop of the day was Manarola. This town was just as charming as the rest. They have no harbor, so the fisherman use a pulley to get their boats up to the village, and park them along the main street.
We got back to our B&B just in time for happy hour. There is a beautiful patio looking over the town and the water, and we had a chance to mingle with the other guests. Giovanni, our bartender/ breakfast cook, speaks very little English, but we seem to be communicating just fine.
Jane and Donna arrived last night from Venice, and we met up with them for dinner and an after dinner walk around town. There is a pedestrian tunnel linking the old town and the new, and there is usually a musician of some sort playing at one end, with the music echoing thru the whole tunnel, makes for an enchanting walk.
Needless to say, we love it here. We are off to explore one more town and see what the day brings.....stay tuned