Strasbourg

Our second stop on our tour was Strasbourg. Strasbourg is the capital city of the Grand Est region, formerly Alsace. Both French and German architecture and food. Known for its great White wines and amazing food.

We checked into the Hotel Suisse too early for our room so we stowed the bags and headed out for lunch at one of our favourite spots, "Mama Bubbele" for Tarte Flambee.

Ultra thin crust with a sour cream, onion and bacon top, this fantastic treat has been our choice for our arrival lunch for a couple of years now. Meteor Beer makes things complete for me anyway!

Munich

Our first stop on our 3 week tour was Munich. We love it! Great Hotel in the market away from most of the city noise. This will be our 4th visit and one of our all time favorites.

Right across the way is my favorite restaurant. Quiet and friendly. a small menu but everything delicious! The traditional building was first mentioned as a restaurant in 1633 and has been known and loved as "Bratwurstherzl" since 1901.

Authentic. Not touristy like the huge Beer Halls downtown. Hacker-Pschorr beer only. Around 5 types. Larger and Dunkel (Blonde and Dark) are my favourite. Clean and crisp. Perfect.

Bratwurstherzl is cozy. All organic. Sausages cooked over a Beachwood fire.

The Market is one of our favourite in all of Europe. Anything is available and its open every day.

St Paul's Cathedral

This year's visit worked out well. We love it here and look forward to returning hopefully next year.

Here We go Again!

I was told that all great trips start with a Bloody Mary and it has to have a huge Shrimp!! Cheers! Wish us luck!

This years trip we will be visiting Munich Germany, Strasborg, France, a bike tour in the Burgundy and Champagne regions and a finish in Spain at Santiago de Compostela.

We are hoping you will follow along on this year's Barbara and Scott's Adventure!

Molly

One of my greatest moments was the afternoon I got a phone call from Barbara at work. I had tried talking her into getting a Corgi for about a year and after a constant, "No No, No. We Are not getting a dog, she called. "I've changed my mind, we are not getting a Corgi, we are getting two!"

The plan was that Barb would be driving up to Vermont to a breeder and returning with two puppies. Choosing Molly wad easy. When Barbara picked her up, she put her head against Barbs chest and with her big brown eyes, Molly was coming home.

It wasn't long before our new baby had taken total control over Barbara me and her cousin, Jake I was asked to name our new puppies. First time in my life being asked to name the family pets. I thought "Molly" would be perfect. Soft sounding with two syllables and sounding clearly different from her cousin's new name, "Jake". Molly would make you love her whether you would like it or not. Meeting people on our walks on her approach she would crouch down, put her ears back and wag her tail so that her whole butt would move back and forth and with her big beautiful brown eyes without a peep say, "I'm your new best friend".

When she came up to them, she then would roll over on her back. and wait for a belly rub. Remember? im your new best friend. When guests made the mistake of sitting on the sofa, it would only be a bit before Molly would be sitting in their lap.

Anyone. You would be more likely to have her in your lap if you didn't want her to.

On our first walks Molly and Jake would get into anything that was wet if it looked big enough for them to go into it including mud puddles They would climb down steep Banks get in the water and then climb back up They just love getting wet! We wanted to take them to a place that the water was a little cleaner than the sinkholes around Lexington, so we took them by bike trailer to spy pond in Arlington and let them swim where friends have told me that dogs can legally swim and that it's clean. I took Jake and lowered him slowly into the water with his leash on and grabbed him around his chest in an area that was only waist deep for him and me. As we were just getting settled , Barbara started yelling "Scott Scott get Molly!" I turned around and saw Molly swimming off and then turned around and swam back and then went around and swam off and she was doing a little circle with her leash on and so I got Jake to the shore and took Molly and put her up on the side where it was dry. Jake, Barbara and I stood looking at Molly with our mouths open it was amazing! no one taught her she just started swimming and doing a great job. Jake wasn't really happy about that she was getting attention but he was happy to not be in the water so we got on the trailer and went home.

Our last full day in Europe

We started with breakfast at our favorite spot. Eggs, Coffee and Croissant. And of course, the lemonade cake. Our plan today is to head directly to the Cathedral. With an early start there should be no line to get in. Straight in, no waiting!

The remains of Saint James, the Greater are said to be in the silver coffin. Possibly he has been moved to Rome. The relics were not discovered until 900 years after his death so we are really not sure. Its a Great story anyway and has atrackted thousands of Pilgrims each year.

After our Cathedral visit, we headed out for a walk around town. Twelfth Crntury stone architecture always photographs well! This is the perfect playground for a boy and his camera. Although the photos are here on the blog in 2D (Hight and Width) they are on 3D on the camera with its snap on viewer If you want to see them, you will have to see me.

After our final visit to Casa Marcella we have headed back to the room to get ready to come home. Our cab is at 7:30am. It has been a fantastic trip All the adventure we could have ever expected. Nice places with friendly people. It will be nice to be home. Being back with our dogs, Molly and Jake. Im sure they will be happy to see us. Thanks for following along! 😃