Posted in Europe trip journal, France, tagged Casa Penalolen, Fort Liberia, France, French service, Irish traveler, Le Petite Train Jaune, Pyrenees, Thues-Entre-Valles, train, Villefranche on May 27, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
We had only eaten in one French restaurant until today, so I had forgotten a lot of the cultural differences between eating out in the US and France. When you ask for water, they ask you if you want it with gas (tonic water) or without. “Without” gets you a 1.5 liter bottle (very expensive). [...]
Posted in Europe trip journal, France, tagged France, French food, hike, La Casa de la Nine, Le National, Mediterranean, mountains, Pyrenees, Sete, train, Villefranche on May 25, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
I had a great snack yesterday: cous-cous with apricots, almonds and raisins, with a sweetener, possibly apricot juice? I’ll have to try to reproduce that.
The French like some foods cold that Americans don’t usually eat cold: cold cous-cous, sautéed vegetables, coffee, and even cold crème brulee! They also like creamy, heavy sauces and cheeses. I [...]
Posted in Europe trip journal, France, Switzerland, tagged couchsurfing, French service, French style, Grampi's Restaurant, Le National, local accomodation, Swiss language, Switzerland, TGV, train, Zermatt, Zermatt photos, Zermatt pictures, Zermatt videos on May 20, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Switzerland Pictures
Did I mention the servers are slow in France?! I can’t overstate that. Many, though not all, have an aloof and apathetic attitude toward customers. They don’t trip over themselves to please customers as they do in the US. Last night, we waited for what seemed like forever for the bill, like at most [...]
Posted in Europe trip journal, Italy, tagged Albergo Cannon d'Oro, castle, gelato, Italy, Piazza Il Campo, Siena, train, Tuscany, Tuscany photos, Tuscany pictures, Tuscany videos on May 16, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Italy Pictures
Italy Videos
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Today started with the alarm going off at 0630, way too early. We were out the door at 0715 and went to the train station office to see about reservations to Slovenia. Turns out the one train to Ljubljana that we could take was not running, we were forced to buy reservations through [...]
Posted in Europe trip journal, Slovenia, tagged Australian, Austria, Bus, hike, Hostel Celica, Ljubljana, Slovenia, Slovenia photos, Slovenia pictures, Slovenia videos, Slovenian food, train, Villach on May 5, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Slovenia Pictures
On our hike yesterday, we came up to a fenced area with a sign warning visitors not to enter but listed a contact for permission. It was a strange sign and never mentioned private property like all the other sings around there. We went through the fence, taking our chances until we got to [...]
