Favorite Destinations 7-6

7) Koln/Cologne Germany-For me traveling to Germany, there is a special quaintness about the country and once you step out of the train station in Koln you can't but help fall in love with this charming city on the Rhine. The first thing you see when you leave the train station in Koln is this massive cathedral that is one of the most amazing cathedrals in Europe. It is massive and imposing. From there charming streets that lead you invariably to the river lined restaurants. Sure they are expensive and touristy but hey, that's the price to eat with such a beautiful view. We happened upon an unassuming restaurant right next to a Thai restaurant run by a lone waiter shelping beer and brats in the rain holding an umbrella. Good beer, good brats, nice price!

Caution tip: Don't buy the sweet pretzels from the bakery near the train station, they are awful, buy the donuts!

6) Lucerne, Switzerland- A beautiful and charming city on the lake. We stayed at hotel on the other side of the beautiful wooden bridge which crosses over the river. On the older side of Lucerne are lots of restaurants, the only dilemma is which one. There was even a restaurant that served horse (appalling!) give me the fondue please! Take the boat cruise around the lake, it's a nice ride and you get to see some quaint Swiss homes where I'm sure Heidi lives. The shopping is fabulous from Swiss knives, charming Black Forest cuckoo clocks to Swiss watches. Shopping tip: Don't be cheap-buy the Swiss watch, you'll regret it once you get home. I bought a Swiss watch on my last trip in 2004 and have yet to replace the battery!-Single D

Favorite Destinations 11-8

11) Brussels, Belgium-home of Mannkenpis. Yes, pronounced Man Can Piss and it's exactly that. Legend has it that a little boy saved Brussels during the war by peeing on a bomb. Well, if you have to have a mascot, he sure is cute enough. I missed Mannkenpis many years ago, so I kept seeing this statue in various outfits, so I made sure to visit him this time. As we came to the end of the street corner, there was a crowd and there he was, he wasn't wearing any clothes and people were snapping pictures, of course my husband did his best impression of Mannkenpis for our picture. We happened to be at the next train stop, Gare de Midi to go to a carnival when we came upon 4 hapless Japanese girl tourist all lugging the same black and white polka dot suitcases, were they in a Japanese girl band? Surely they were lost and in the wrong part of town. I was wondering what in the world were they doing in this part of Brussels, (kind of seedy and run down) when they stopped us. They asked us in very broken English if we knew where they could find the Moooka Pisaa, to which I said "the Mona Lisa?" My daughter said no Mom, they're asking for mannkenpis! Poor things, wrong train stop and very lost. The best I could we tried to direct them back to the train station to Central Station. This was probably lost in translation.

A must see Grand Place, which it surely is. Unfortunately Brussels is full of competing restaurants with hawkers at every turn, eaters beware! Every other street have their specialities from mussels (a speciality) to Greek and Italian. We found the best Chinese food restaurant, take the street from the Drug Opera, away from Grand Place, to the main boulevard, look for the McDonald's on the corner, and turn down the street, I think the restaurant had the word Bowl in it. Really good! Another eating tip: Moka Cafe in the Royal Gallery, good food and reasonable prices. A must in Brussels, the waffles, try it with bananas, cream and nuts, delicious!

10) Lake Como, Italy-While not exactly on the major train routes, Lake Como is a nice place to stop and relax on your way to the southern Italy. The lake is beautiful. We took a boat ride around the lake in hopes of seeing George Clooney's house, whom we are told is the unofficial mayor of Lake Como. Cool off your tooties in the lake and relax from the hustle and bustle. Ah, if only I could afford a house here, one can only dream!

9) Amsterdam, Netherlands-What's not to love, more canals, dutch clogs, cheese, bicycles, more bicycles, and fabulous double salted dutch licorice. What is especially wonderful there, everyone speaks English. Bruges and Ghent have nothing on Amsterdam with their lovely canals, so what if some of the most charming canals are in the red light district, although I heard they are trying to clean that part up. Haven't been to Amsterdam in many years, but definitely worth a visit if you've never been there. The train station alone is amazing and lands you right in the heart of the city.

Hotel hint: The hotels do not use sheets on their beds. I ran down stairs to tell the tiny front desk that the bed hadn't been made. He asked, was a comforter on the bed? Well, Yes, Then the bed is made, that's the Dutch way, he says.

8) Siena, Italy-Just a short bus ride from Florence is the beautiful town of Siena in the Tuscan countryside. Meandering cobblestone streets and beautiful old building along with another amazing plaza. It can be really hot there so make sure you stop and have the gelato. Be sure not to stir up the ire of some of the town's roving Gypsies, like my sister-in-law did when we were there. The Gypsies got on our bus back to Florence by way of the back door. When she reported it to the bus driver, he promptly ignored her (guess he didn't want the evil eye put on him). Well, nonetheless, my sister-in-law starts giving the Gypsies a hard time. When we were getting off the bus, the older Gypsies woman gave her the evil eye while pulling at her hair (sister-in-law later encounters really bad luck???) If you can avoid the Gypsies, then a trip to Siena is well worth it!-Single D

15 of My Favorite Destinations/Destinations 15-12

And now for my list of some of my favorite places that I have visited.

15) Paris-how many times have I heard the people say they love Paris? I bet they all speak French! Sure Paris is a beautiful city with amazing architecture, but come on people, when you get off the train at Gare du Nord, it's a shock to the system. There are millions of people wandering around with that dazed and confused look on their faces. No one can read French and the lines for information are about two hours long. Once outside, you either line up in a long queue for a taxi or you take your chances on the metro hoping that you bought the right tickets. Yes, the French are snooty, won't give you the time of day, but at least if you try to speak French, they will try to speak English. For all it's faults Paris is truly a beautiful city. I love the street markets where they sell the most fantastic selection of meats and cheeses, who knew you could buy seven different kinds of sauerkraut?

Shopping tip: buy from the hawkers selling Eiffel tower souvenirs behind the Eiffel Tower (not at the park in front), they have the best prices, 3 key chain Eiffel towers for 1 Euro. you'll regret not buying them once you get home.

14) Bruges/Brugges Belgium-After many years hearing that Bruges is one of the oldest cities in Europe, I almost expected to see some Flemish painter in Renaissance garb walking down the street, instead it was throngs and throngs of tourist to which unfortunately Bruges has caved into with their modern display of trendy shops and touristy priced restaurants. I was mildly surprised that the canal rides were still reasonable, 6 euros per person. Bruges does have it's charm and although they call it the Venice of the North, it reminded me nothing of Venice. Eating tip: There is a little sandwich shop near the canal boat operators that sells fries (very popular in this part of Europe) sandwiches and snacks. It's a two woman operation, but they must be making a fortune for us fellow travelers that refuse to spend more than 5 euros for lunch. It's pretty good with a nice view of the canal. Get there early, it's crowded and there are only about 4 tables.

13) Ghent/Gent Belgium-If Bruges was too touristy, then Gent is the place everyone should be going to. It's got the magnificent cathedral, a castle and lots of shopping. The only drawback is that it is not walking distance from the train station. You have to take a bus to the city center which is about a 15 minute ride. It's worth the visit.

Coffee tip: Go to the department store in the center where you'll see a sign on the second floor that says buffet. That caught my eye. Buffet is not what you think, but it is a pretty decent coffee pastry shop at reasonable prices. The coffee is strong and the pasties are delicious.

12) Cologne/Koln Germany-When one arrives from the train in Cologne, the first thing you see when you get out of the train station is this massive cathedral. It's so beautiful and awe inspiring, worth the trip alone. Along the Rhine River, there are many restaurants catering to the tourist. The quandary is which one? After walking up and down, we settle on the one that seemed to be the underdog of restaurant row. It seemed less pretentious and pricey and was manned by one lone waiter (whom I was fairly sure that he was also doing the cooking). In fact when we started to talk to him, to give him some helpful restaurant tips (since we once owned one) we told him to buy some new table and chairs (he had plastic white ones). Turns out he was also the owner, lived upstairs and was very grateful for our suggestions. Here we had very good bratwurst and fries for 5.99 euros.

Snack tip: Don't bother with the sweet pretzels near the train station, you know the ones with the bees stealing the sugar off them. They look amazing, but were plain awful. Hunt down the vendor that sells the giant German pretzels. His stall is nearer to the mall shops.

More trips next post!-Single D

European Summer Vacation Part 3

In the previous post were the things I hate about traveling and being in Europe, but there are a few things that I absolutely love, that when I come home after bemoaning that I hate being there, that I'm always tired, that my feet hurt and that I'm spending way too much money, somehow the trip becomes romanticized in my mind and I forget all the trouble it is to travel. Curious, it's like birthing a child or so I've heard, you never remember the pain, you only remember the good stuff as one gazes fondly at the vacation pictures, well that's what traveling in Europe is like. My favorite city this trip, London. I have been there many times and London just keeps getting better and better. I can remember when we first went there many years ago when it was a foodie waste land. Now great food can be had at the pubs and even at Gatwick-eat the fish n chips at the food place on the second level. I love the thought of high tea, all those scones and cakes, yum! My memory failed me this time, in that I thought Fortnum and Mason was right across the street from my favorite department store, Harrod's but it is actually in Green Park. This time we had tea at the Richleoux. It was a nice break for my feets. Tea and scones with Devonshire cream, heavenly. I love the Dutch double salty licorice. Ya I know, my mother liked licorice and I like licorice, the saltier the better. I love the European architecture, the magnificent cathedrals, the quaint towns, the sidewalk cafes, and the great coffee. I love the chocolate, pastries, cookies along with the fantastic cheese and meat stores. Yup, I'm a foodie. I love the breakfast buffet that comes with the hotel rooms. I love how you can be in one country in the morning and by lunch in another. I love how on the tube there is a guy playing his accordion or how one can be shopping and all of a sudden the sound of the most beautiful church bells will ring. But mostly, I love how I feel when I get home after an exhausting trip, grateful to live in America, it's a privilege that we take for granted each and every day. God Bless America!-Single D

European Summer Vacation Part 2

We have been to Europe many times and I came back from this trip stating that if I never went back to Europe I wouldn't miss it. I hate the long plane rides as I stated before in the previous post. I hate that I can't get use to the time change, hey, nine hours is a lot to get used to. And the older I get, I know, the harder it becomes for me. It used to be that it would normally take about a day and a half. We would land, get to the hotel, sleep a bit and then wake up for a nice dinner and then take to bed and the next day I'd feel refreshed. Not this trip. This time it took me nearly 6 days to adjust. The hotel in Brussels was kind enough to let us check in early, although I did make a stink that the room was dirty and the carpet was soiled. A call down to the front desk and they have us move to another room, right when the roll away was coming through the room door. The next room was much better, but lacked the robe and the chocolate covered strawberries. Never mind, I brought my own light wrap and who needs strawberries, they were just attracting flies in the other room. The front desk said they would deliver robes which they never did, I guess they already had had it with the American tourist in room 749. Gee I only alienated them in less than 30 minutes! Well, heck they had signs in the room that stated 100% satisfaction guaranteed, but that's another story. Yes, I had jet lag for 6 days, my sister in law said that I should take a good sleeping pill, which we forgot to bring.

I hate paying for toilets. Sure Mr. Clean at the airport is really clean, but come on 1 euro to pee? Pretty soon it will be charged on whether you have to pee or poop, 1 euro pee, 2 euro poop!

I hate foreigners or in this case natives that hate our American guts. Like the time in Germany, when I approached a worker in a train booth to ask for directions. He was wearing sunglasses so I couldn't tell if his eyes were open or shut. Uh, hello, excuse me. In a heavy Sssgerman accent he said, "First! We say Good Morning, then, we ask the question and then we say Good Day!" Well, excuseeeee ME!

When we were in Rome a few years back, my sister in law was buying water in a small store. When she came out she said the man said the word "puta" to her or something like that. "What does that mean?" she queries. "Puta" I say incredulously? I march back into the store and then in my best Spanish influenced Italian, tell the sour Italian man that I know what that word means, and promptly tell him "a pox on both your houses"! I quote Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. It was the only thing I could think of at the time.

I hate being sweaty all the time and feeling like grime at the end of a twelve hour day of sight seeing. I hate it when my dogs swell up like giant sausages and blisters the size of Mount Edna erupt on my toes.

I hate the stink, but I do have to say, Europe has gotten better in terms of their bathrooms, more sanitary and better toilet paper. I hate paying for water in restaurants, but here too, they are becoming more Americanized and some places do give free tap water even with a little ice!

I hate paying $7.00 for a coke (Paris), ask before you order and never, ever give in when the waiter tries to rip you off by charging you for something you didn't order! That happened to us in Ostende Belgium a beach resort. The restaurants are crazy expensive and a rip off. We ate at one place, Andy ordered a nice roasted chicken, my daughter a hamburger (more like a sausage burger, they like pork there) and I ordered the safe pork kebab which was 10 euros. When the bill came, he charged me 17 euros for it. I said I didn't order the large one. He then in a heavy French accent said, then why didn't say it wasn't the big one that you ordered. I told him, I didn't know the one given to me was the BIG one! He finally backed down and said the words, "well it's my fault". Your darn right it's your fault! I didn't want to say, that I didn't even like that terribly dry kebab thingy anyway!

But mostly I hate, hate, hate it when I take bad summer vacation pictures!-Single D

Summer Vacation-2009

This year we had the opportunity to take our daughter to see some of Europe's famous landmarks, before myself and husband become too infirmed to travel. According to my daughter, we're practically ancient. Doesn't help that I always ask her when she goes to her friend's house if I look older than her friend's mother. To which she mostly replies yes, but there is that one time when she says I look younger. Ah ha! So I do look younger than some of the other mothers!

As I get older, I have less and less tolerance for traveling. Especially less tolerance for the airplane ride that seems to last an eternity in coach. Going there is not so bad, since you have the trip to look forward to, but coming home, during the last 2 hours of the 13 hour trip, I was practically pitching a fit, wanting to scream and jump out of the plane, not to mention that we had another 4 hour plane ride to look forward to once we landed. I had no tolerance for the French lady sitting in front of me, when only 10 minutes after take off she reclines her seat all the way into my lap nearly knocking down my water bottle. I fumed and stewed until I couldn't take it any more. I'm always a courteous passenger and never recline my seat all the way especially on a 13 hour plane ride. Nothing like trying to eat food out of a tray with a seat in your face. After about 2 hours, my daughter decided she needed to go to the bathroom, so I grabbed really hard on the seat back and pulled it down viciously. The French lady looked at me with contempt, to which I answered her unspoken glaring comment with the reply, "that it is really hard to get out of the seat because it is so narrow because someone has their seat all the way back!" If before she didn't speak any English, she knew what I was saying and promptly adjusted her seat forward and there she remained for the remainder of the flight, not even getting up to go to the bathroom or eat for 13 hours. She must have the kidneys the size of a large bathtub. From then on, I was very careful not to disturb the nice French lady. Careful Madison, don't grab the seat when making your way to the bathroom!

Coming back home is always easier to adjust to the jet lag, because you're flying during the day and once at home, I force myself to go to bed at a normal time. Going to Europe on the other hand is much harder, since I don't have the comfort of my bed and had to sleep sitting up. My mother used to sleep sitting up in her bed, something about her herniated ulcer. Me, I need, I crave comfort. Who can sleep in coach? I don't care if they give you a sleep mask and ear plugs. Where's my down pillow and sleep number bed? It's no wonder it took me 6 days to overcome my jet lag in Europe, I didn't sleep a wink on the plane!-Single D