We arrived in Paris yesterday, after a walk to Utrecht Centraal, a train to Schiphol Amsterdam Airport, a walk to our gate, a flight to Aéroport de Paris-Charles de Gaulle, a walk to one of several train stations there, a train into the city, a walk to the wrong
So far we haven't withdrawn, used or even touched any Euro coins or currency. We use credit cards for everything and almost exclusively rely on public transportation. The last time I didn't own a car was in 1979, and I don't speak French or
When we took off on our "retired couple international travelers" lifestyle last December (Phase 1 was South America), one motivation was a desire to see more of the world. Another was to seek peace. While peace for many starts with the physical security that is the opposite of
About 12 miles from Utrecht, the imposing Kasteel (Castle) de Haar is the largest castle in The Netherlands. We checked it out yesterday. Originally built in the 1300s, it passed to the Van Zuylen family in 1440 when the last male de Haar heir died childless. After approximately 250 years
Today we took a short train ride from Utrecht to Amsterdam. And let me just say "Damn!" What a city. We enjoyed "An Irreverent Amsterdam" walking tour as well as a boat tour of the city's intricate canals, Dutch pancakes, a pass through the
The Stadsbuitengracht Canal, which translates in english to City Outer Canal, was built in the 12th century partly as a moat-like line of defense for the medieval, fortified city of Utrecht, and also to support commerce in the city after the Rhine River shifted to the south. Our Airbnb
Travel day today, nothing interesting to report. Woke up in Geneva, walked around some, took a bus to the airport for a flight to Amsterdam, then boarded a commuter train to Utrecht (about 25 miles away) for a rainy walk to the Airbnb where we'll be for about
You might not have known that, in college, I majored in philosophy. Now you do. One of the great philosophers of the 18th century Age of Enlightenment was Jean-Jacques Rousseau, born in Geneva where his father and uncles were watchmakers. Today we returned to the Peace Capital (i.e.
The GOAT of Swiss cheeses is Le Gruyère AOP (or simply "Gruyère"), with the entire world's supply of Swiss Gruyère being made at one modest looking cheese factory in the town of Gruyėre, nestled in the lower Swiss Alps. The longer the aging process--up to
Today would be Freddie Mercury's 80th birthday, and there's no better place to celebrate the legendary Queen front man than Montreux, Switzerland... where we arrived this morning. Montreux is about a 90 minute train ride from Geneva, at the opposite end of Lake Geneva. It'
Today was a busy sampling of some of what makes Geneva unique. We started at the Alley of Flags outside the United Nations' European headquarters building. Every member country's flag is represented, and serves as a reminder to the world that its nations should aim to be
I expect to be in several cities that use "Old Town" to describe their historic city centers. Today we took a virtually guided walking tour of Geneva's Old Town (using a tour from Viator via the VoiceMap app). These tours are self-paced, informative and very