Author: Keith Klein

A few hours in a planes gets us from Malaga to Rome – via Madrid.  We’re very fired up because we’re meeting our great friends from Manhattan Beach, Gary and Kamala Horwitz. A taxi from the Rome airport gets us to our hotel – the Artemide. A four star hotel, but just barely.  OK for one night, but wouldn’t base an entire vacation here.

As soon as we arrive, we get a message from Gary and Kam to head to the Trastevere neighborhood to meet them.  Lots going on down there on a summer night.  Feels almost like the French Quarter in New Orleans!  Live music and tons of people out eating and drinking in cobblestone alleys and courtyards filled with bars and restaurants. After being on the road for seven and a half months it feels great to meet friends from home in Italy. 

We didn’t stay out late that night because we had an early wake up to meet our Backroads leaders, Guido, Rachel and Stefano, along with the rest of our Backroads group at the Roma termini train station.  We were a bit self-conscious traipsing through Rome, cuz we were all wearing our bike clothes (except Gary who was too cool for that 😎), but we made it successfully and were soon in a very comfortable bus on our way to the hills of Tuscany.

We’d selected e-bikes for the trip.  I wasn’t totally sure about this choice, but after doing it I am 100% certain it was the way to go.  So much more social – especially when you are with friends.  You can all ride together and there is no pressure on the “less strong”  or “less confident” riders.  And if you so desire, you can get as much of a workout as you want by turning down the electric boost (but what fun is that!).  Also, you can carry extra stuff, like the UE Megaboom speaker I strapped to the back of my bike which provided a great soundtrack for our e-cruising through Tuscany.

First day of riding was pretty short.  I think we started somewhere near Montalcino and made a great stop for lunch at the Castello Banfi winery.  It’s an amazingly beautiful property that houses a wonderfully restored castle that’s now a winery and small hotel. We met the owner – an American – who proudly recounted the vineyard’s history and explained how the family acquired what is currently the largest privately owned piece of land in all of Italy.  Apparently the family’s patriarch founded Riunite wines.  If your in your fifties you’ll remember the jingle – “Riunite and ice, that’s nice”.  He parlayed that into this amazing Italian vineyard.

That evening we lodged at the Castel Porrona.  This a wonderful hotel.  With a little help from our amazing travel pro – Tammy Cane [https://www.castelporrona.it] – we got upgraded to a lovely suite with a great bottle of champagne waiting for us. Enjoyed drinking by the very nice pool in the afternoon and a big dinner with the entire Backroads crew – all of whom were very cool.

Another day of e-riding took us closer to the coast and up a long gravel road to the L’Andana hotel [https://www.andana.it].  This is truly a five star property.  After another rest by their wonderful pool, we get in the Backroads van for a ride to the Le Mortelle winery.  There was actually a very nice bus to the winery, but we ran a bit late – and Gary and Kam a bit later – so we ended up in the van!  Cool winery tour and a great dinner in a special glass room above the wine production facility with  stunning views of their vineyard.  Very cool!

We spent two nights at the L’Andana – which was awesome.  Second night we had a dinner at the L’Andana’s Michelin starred restaurant.  Nice!  We sat with some very nice people – Mark and Lisa from Seattle and Peter and Josie from the Bay Area.  Turns out the Peter and I had some common friends from Amgen – small world!

The next day we finally make it to the coast.  Stopped in the town of Ortobello for lunch and then made our way to the incredible Il Pellicano hotel.  This was the highlight of the trip.  One of the nicest hotels we’ve ever stayed at.  It used to be owned by a couple from Newport Beach and then it was transformed into this resort.  It sits terraced directly above the Mediterranean Sea and is wonderfully luxurious in all respects.  Great bars, restaurants and a ocean shelf area with lounge chairs and a bar right on the water. 

 

It’s a really nice place for a swim or a stand up paddle on the hotel’s boards.  About 300 yards up the coast there are some big caves and one amazing grotto you can paddle into where the water turns an incredible deep blue. Very special.  All in all, the Il Pellicano is great spot.

That evening we had a casual dinner in the neighboring town of Porto Ércoles (which stands for Hercules!).  He must have done something amazing there – but we could never figure that out.  Probably a question for Google.

After a great breakfast overlooking the sea, we went for our final e-ride.  A great route with a breakfast stop in the really old but cool town of Capalbio where I made friends with a beautiful Golden Retriever named “Gheri”. 

Lots of sea views and then a wonderful cocktail cruise on a sweet boat.  It had been cloudy all week (great for riding) but the sun came out just in time for boating.  Went for swim in the perfectly cool water and had a great time.  Beautiful coastline with lots of caves and rocks.  Tons of fun.

The next day our Backroads trip sadly departs the Il Pellicano.  The Horwitz/Klein crew gets a few extra pool hours by by hiring a private car to take us to the airport – rather than the Backroads bus to the train station.  Was expensive, but totally worth it to hang out just a bit longer at a very special place.  Was also great cuz I was able to snag a couple of tix to the upcoming Ryder Cup in Paris while sitting by the pool (but that is a whole ‘nother story for a later edition of Travelbreezers!).

With pool time done, we take the 90 minute drive to the airport in Rome for a plane to Madrid for a couple more days of fun!

Madrid is a beautiful, elegant city.  When we were here with our kids in July it was just too hot to see much.  But this time, in September, it’s a bit cooler and we’re able to have a great time on a guided e-bike tour of the city.  Our tour guide is Vasily.  He’s also an actor who proudly shows us pics of his recent role in Netflix’s “Money Heist” – also known as “Casa de Papel” in Spanish (we binge watched this series with Nikki in the summer and highly recommend it – but be sure to watch it in Spanish with English subtitles – the dubbed version is not so good).

The That evening we go for a guided Tapas tour.  Super fun and we learn that vermouth is actually an artisan type beverage in Spain.  They serve it out of a tap over ice. It’s actually pretty good!  After the tapas we see a super intense and authentic Flamenco show.  Great day in Madrid.

We sadly say goodbye to Gary and Kam the next day after breakfast at their swanky Westin Palace hotel.  Another great visit with friends from home.  

Now off to Paris for us!

The train from Avignon to Barcelona takes about four hours.  The 8:30am departure had us up at around 6:00am. That’s pretty early for us so we were really tired when we finally showed up at the Casp74 Apartments [https://www.apartmentscasp74.com/en/index.html] in Barcelona.

Casp74 is a pretty good place to stay.  Location is walking distance to the main attractions and for the price, the place is clean and well equipped.  We were pretty weary when we arrived so we decided to get a quick lunch and then come back for an early night.  After perusing the internet, we decided to get Japanese food for something a bit different.  What we didn’t realize was that Koy Shunka was a Michelin starred restaurant [http://www.koyshunka.com/KoyShunka/home.html].  Ordered the tasting menu which was really incredible!  Such amazing detail to the food.  A great surprise meal for us.  And then we just went back to Casp74 and rested. 

On our one full day in Barcelona we took an e-bike tour with wine and tapas.  Great way to see the city.  Tapas were had at Four Cats – a restaurant made famous by it’s association with Picasso [https://www.4gats.com/en/].  Apparently he started his career by trading drawings with restaurant patrons for drinks and food.  Great place to visit in Barcelona and filled with cool Picasso prints – not originals – as well as memorabilia from movies shot on location like Woody Allen’s Vicky Christina Barcelona.

Then it was time to make our way to Sea Dream One.  

We loved our Caribbean Sea Dream adventure so much back in February, that when we had a week to fill and saw that Sea Dream was traveling the east coast of spain – and departing from Barcelona which was really close by – we quickly signed up and boarded for a week of fun.  Kind of needed a vacation from all this traveling 😎!

Once again, we got a great assist from our fabulous travel pro, Tammy Cane [http://www.theartoftravelbytammycane.com]. She got us a sweet upgraded room and some nice spa credits!  Thanks Tammy!

The boat, crew, food, spa and service were tremendous, just like before, a testament to Sea Dream’s motto that it’s not a cruising experience but a yachting one.  The passengers were mostly European, but a big group of Lebanese passengers from Brazil really got the party started.  We enjoyed our many nights of drinking, dining and blackjack as well as a special performance by Keith after the professional flamenco dancer pulled Keith out of the crowd and demanded his presence on the dance floor –  lots of laughs for sure!

Our first stop was in Ibiza. We spent the day roughing it at the famous Nikki Beach club!

The third day on board we hit some rough seas, so the captain veered the boat from our original destination of Denia to a mooring in Alicante.  If you are a clueless tourist in this port you may find yourself climbing up endless steep stairs to the hilltop fortress of Castillo Santa Barbara – instead of riding to the top in the air conditioned elevator.  But the view is really worth the climb.

Other Sea Dream stops included the beautiful town of Cartegena where we swallowed our pride and toured the city on Segways – a great way to explore this port city built on recently excavated Roman ruins.

One of our favorite ports was Gibraltar where we took a gondola up to the top of it’s famous rock.  You can walk to the top, but we learned our lesson in Alicante.  This incredibly strategic port once guarded the only passage for ships needing to sail from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. 

In addition to the incredible views we were fascinated by the Macaques monkeys that live on the top of the rock.  These monkeys had no trouble jumping on visitors and quickly unzipping backpacks in their endless quest for treats.  We were warned ahead of time to not wear any jewelry or dangling sparkles of any kind.  The monkeys were actually very cool and the babies were so cute!

The last day of excursions was in Malaga, Spain to what was once labeled the “most dangerous hike in the world”, Caminto Del Rey.  Built in 1901 by King Alphonso XIII for hydroelectric power workers servicing a critical plant at the meeting place of three major rivers, the pathway hangs hundreds of feet above the ground, suspended on the side of a steep gorge.  Over the years, parts of the path had given way until it became a death defying adventure trail for thrill seekers. It was finally closed in 2000 after many deaths and reopened in 2012 after a 5 million dollar reconstruction.  You can still see the old trail under the new ramps – quite scary.  The hour hike is spectacular and not to be missed if you happen to be in Malaga.  The pictures really do not do this justice.

We left the Sea Dream with big smiles and will definitely be on another voyage in the future!  Hopefully next time with a group of friends!

We rented a car in Beaune and drove about four hours south to the Le Mas des Herbes Blanches in the village of Joucas, France [https://www.herbesblanches.com/en/].  It’s a Relais & Chateaux listed hotel in the Provence region of France.  A bit of a splurge, but we got a great deal on booking.com, so we we decided to go for it.

And we were glad we did.  The hotel is a beautiful boutique hotel set on a hill overlooking the local vineyards.  Our room was great and we took advantage of the e-bikes that were available for rent.  

We rode first to the amazing village of Gordes.  Located on top of a big hill, Gordes is an absolute must to visit if you are in the area.  The fanciest hotel there is the La Bastide de Gordes.  Stop in there for a cocktail on their terrace.  Very peaceful and a great view.  If your feeling like a big spender you might want to try their Michelin starred restaurant – Peir.  More on that place later.

We had a great lunch at a small bistro called L’Artegal.  

Next, we cruised to the picturesque town of Roussillon which is known for its red rock cliffs.  It’s also filled with great restaurants and shops loaded with artisan goods.  A great stop if you are in Provence.

The following day – our anniversary! – we took the car down the hill to Bistro LaTerasse in Joucas for a great omelette and fries.  Great views from the restaurant.  Then we took a long drive to the shopping outlets in Marmas.  We thought it would be similar to FoxTown in Mendrisio, Switzerland, but were a bit disappointed.  But still fun!  

We decided to go to dinner in Menerbes on our way back, but didn’t arrive until 8:30 and found that all the restaurants were closing.  But with the help of a really nice Spanish-American family, we navigated our way to a Pizzeria for some salads.  Great anniversary dinner!  By the way, Menerbes is another great village to visit in Provence.  But just get there a bit earlier.

One of the highlights of Provence is a place called Fontaine-de-Vaucluse.  It’s the fifth largest natural spring in the world, hundreds of meters deep that feeds a beautifully clear river.  There’s a cool walking path with restaurants along the river bank that leads to the actual spring – which is inside a cave.  You have to climb over the barriers to get a good view, but everyone does it.  I guess the French figure that if you can climb the barriers you must be athletic enough to scramble down the rocks without killing yourself.  They say that a young Jacques Cousteau almost drowned here while exploring 300 feet deep when exhaust from the compressor supplying air went inside his regulator.  Very cool and a great place to spend a day.  We went on a weekend and there were hundreds of people there to enjoy the great weather.

There are a ton of great places to ride in Provence so we took a second e-bike trip.  First we rode to the village of Goult for a great lunch at Carillon.  Highly recommended.  Fantastic food!  And a beautiful little village. 

Next we rode to the village of Lacoste where you can check out the ruins of a huge estate on the top of the hill.  Apparently it was purchased by Pierre Cardin.  He still has a long way to go in restoring the place, but it has a couple of cool sculptures in front. 

Afterwards we rode to Bonnieux – another quaint village with a big church – and then to Apt which is a bigger city.  Not so quaint, but a good place to get a beer.  The best part about Apt was the tree lined, car-free, bike path that went for miles.  So fun to whiz through the trees.  On the way back to the hotel I made a bit of a wrong turn that took us down a treacherous limestone gravel path.  Good thing we had the electric bikes to power back up that hill!  The 11 hour ride finished back in Joucas for dinner at La Terrase.  

We did decide to make a trip back to Gordes for a proper anniversary dinner.  So we made a reservation at Peir, the Michelin starred restaurant at La Bastide de Gordes.  This really is a beautiful property.  We had drinks on the terrace – with an incredible view – before our scheduled reservation. 

Upon our arrival at the actual restaurant, the waiter sat us at a terrible table, behind the only other diners and next to a wall.  Shawn asked if we could move and they told us that all the other tables were already reserved.  Made us feel very second-tier.  After looking over their monumentally overpriced menu, we decided that we were going to leave.  Of course at this point they did miraculously discover that they could in fact find us a better table.  But… too late.  We were out the door and ended up having a wonderful meal at a charming French bistro called Les Cuisines du Chateau.  Super fun.

While in Provence, we also took a trip to Avignon.  It’s a pretty big city.  But, you can visit the Popes Palace there.  This is the place where the Popes lived for a couple of centuries before moving permanently to the Vatican.  It’s pretty cool if you’re into that sort of thing.  But after a while all these palaces start to look the same.

Now it’s off to Barcelona for two nights and then a week on Sea Dream One for a cruise down the east coast of Spain!

A two hour train ride from Lyon takes us to Beaune, a really cool town in the Burgundy region of France.  We’d been told by various people, including Butterfield & Robinson tour leaders that Burgundy was an awesome place to visit, so we were very excited to get there.  And even better, our great friends Tim and Lucie Walsh were meeting us!

We spent our first night at the Hotel LeCep.  This is a very nice hotel – actually a five star boutique – but our room, the cheapest in the place was tiny.  But more than adequate for a one-night stay.  The bar and lobby areas are really nice.  There’s also a Michelin star restaurant at the property. 

Beaune, we learned is the center of wine production and business in Burgundy and is considered the “capital” of Burgundy wines.  It’s surrounded by some the most famous wine making villages like – Mersault, Puligny-Montrachet, Pommard and Volnay.  It’s a quaint town, with great architecture and lots of fantastic restaurants. 

The main landmark is the Hospices de Beaune, which is a fully restored 1400’s hospital that was created for the needy.  It’s a very cool historic site to tour.

On the second day of our visit the Walsh’s showed up and we checked into our two bedroom apartment at “Beaune Sweet Home” [https://www.bedandbreakfast.eu/bed-and-breakfast/beaune/beaune-sweet-home/2234716/].  This was one of the best apartments we’ve rented on our entire trip.  Old on the outside, but super clean and modern on the inside with plenty of room for two couples.  Two en-suite bathrooms, a nice full-size kitchen, laundry room and bikes.  Also a fantastic location – just adjacent to the center of town.

The biggest attractions here, of course, are the amazing vineyards.  We took the apartment’s bikes out for a ride, followed some “velo route” signs and ended up at an incredible bike path called the Le Voie des Vignes.  This is a bike path that runs directly through the vineyards to each of the major villages of the Cote de Beaune.  We also hit some great weather – warm sun with cool air.  Was about 70 degrees and, because it was the end of August, the harvest had just begun so there was a lot of action.

Great fun.  Stopping in a number of the villages for great Burgundy wine and plates of fromage and charcuterie.  So French.  

We did almost the same thing the next day, but this time on e-bikes that we rented at a local shop [https://www.bourgogne-randonnees.fr/bikes/]  So much fun and on the e-bikes, we could cover a lot more ground.  

It was so nice that we also took a bike tour on another day.  This time we were ferried up to the top of the slopes that define the Burgundy geography. 

Then we rode – mostly downhill – through the pristine countryside.  Took a tour of Chateau de la Rochepot (pronounced “Roosh-poo”), a mostly restored castle on a major Middle Ages trade route that used to collect “tolls” for travelers and traders that needed to pass.  Good way to get rich!  

And then went to two wineries for some great tastings.  First at Chateau Chassagne Montrachet and another at a very small producer called Guillame Baduel in Volnay.  Also had a really terrific lunch at Olivier Leflaive in Puligny Montrachet.  One thing to remember about Burgundy wines – reds are almost always 100% Pinot noir and whites are almost always 100% Chardonnay.

Beaune is also home to some fantastic restaurants.  We can recommend Relais de Saulx – a very small restaurant with only 6 tables.  Not Michelin starred, but probably should be.  Also, Le Conty, a nice bistro in town.  If you go there, ask to sit in the cellar.  Super cool underground dining room.  Also, the Michelin starred Le Beneton – which was actually really good.  Sometimes these restaurants can get a bit to “Avant grade”, but this one kept it simple and was great.  One tip – if your eating with four people – is to look for magnums on the wine list.  Most people don’t order them so they are usually older than normal bottles.  We did that at Le Conty and got a great, aged wine at a really nice price.

We also took a road trip up to Dijon.  Yes, it’s where the mustard comes from.  It’s about an hour from Beaune by car and is a very nice, elegant town.  Much bigger than Beaune.  We made our way to the Maille mustard boutique.  Tasted a bunch of specialty mustards – which were surprisingly good.  Cool town to visit, but think Beaune – which is much more quaint – is a  better place to stay.  

Overall, we had a great stay in Beaune and a really fun time with the Walsh’s.  It’s so fun to have friends visit on our trip.

Lyon is the second largest city in France and well worth a visit.  Seemingly a place that is unfortunately just one train/plane/bus too far for American tourists – as we did not hear or see many here.  The Lyonnaise boast that Lyon is more quintessentially French than Paris.  Which makes sense, cuz it’s in France, but compared to Paris, which is really very international (and huge), it has a small city feel with great food and a ton of Gallic character. 

We started our stay at a really nice apartment directly in the middle of the Old Town restaurant and bar area [http://le-carre-merciere.hotel-in-lyon.com/en/#photo].  It was beautifully decorated and we liked it – but it was falsely advertised as having air conditioning.  Really problematic, because it was mid-August and very hot – about 95 in the day and warm at night.

The owner of the place, when asked about the A/C, said that since the building was a UNESCO heritage site (I think the entire Old Town is UNESCO), she couldn’t install A/C, but there was a Dyson fan.  In the middle of the first night  – 3:45am actually – Shawn sent a text to the owner saying that we could not stay there.  Way too hot to sleep.  And if you left the windows open – which we did – there we people partying all night just outside, making it too loud to sleep.  In any case, the next day after multiple calls to booking.com – where we booked the place – and to the owner, she quite reluctantly let us out of the week booking.  We were so relieved and very tired.

Being a bit frazzled, we decided to upgrade and caught an Uber across the river and up the hill to the Relais & Chateau listed Villa Florentine [https://www.villaflorentine.com/en/restaurant.html].

Nothing like 5 star therapy to cure the ills of being on the road for a long time.  We arrived without a reservation, but by mentioning the name of our wonderful travel agent, Tammy Cane [http://www.theartoftravelbytammycane.com/about/], and her agency, Virtuoso, they gave us a terrific suite for the price of a regular room and offered complementary breakfast, which BTW was awesome.  The staff were genuinely nice and the service was fantastic. We absolutely loved our week here. 

Besides the Old Town – apparently the largest “urban” UNESCO World Heritage Site – which is full of excellent restaurants, bars and shops, there are lots of cool things to see.  We took a Segway tour of the city and the lovely Parc d’Or.  It’s like a Central Park  with a free zoo inside.  Really nice park with lots of people enjoying the great sunny day.

Other sites included the Lyon Cathedral and the Louis XIV square.  Very fun to ride the Segway – I’d never done it before – but my feet did start to go numb after about 90 minutes.  You can cover a lot of ground on the Segway, but not as much as a bike.

We did one other tour, this time on e-bikes.  Unfortunately, there was a mistake between the booking agency – Viator – and the actual tour provider – Lyon Bikes – and we ended up on a tour that was entirely in French.  No matter, the tour guide was great and provided just enough English info for us to enjoy the sites.  The other 6 French people on the tour were great too.  They were all from the surrounding area and were super nice.  

As mentioned earlier, you can cover much more ground on a bike (especially an e-bike) and the 8pm start time was great too, because the temperature at night was just right.  The e-bikes carried us up the hill to the Basilica of Notre Dame de Fourvière – which dominates the skyline –  and along the Saone river.  We learned that Lyon was a huge producer of silk in its early days and that many of the old apartment buildings have really high ceilings because they were required to house silk making equipment that was very tall.  The silk workers did revolt in the 1800’s – but that is another story.  Our tour was awesome!

We also had some great meals.  Cafe Epicirie is a great place for dinner.  It shares a kitchen with the Michelin starred restaurant at the Cour de Loges hotel.  Great food, a bit expensive.  [http://en.courdesloges.com/#!lyon-hotel/lyon-stay]. We also had a wonderful meal at a really nice boutiquey restaurant called La Nef Des Fous [http://www.la-nef-des-fous.com/mobile/index.html].  Also fantastic, was the Michelin one-star restaurant in the Villa Florentine, Las Terraces de Lyon. Very pricey – but if you’re staying at the Villa Florentine, a must.  

Overall, we really loved our stay in Lyon.  It was a great place to just relax and regroup while enjoying some of the best of France.

San Sebastián Girls Trip!

I was fortunate to be invited by Linda Rosen to San Sebastián to stay in her suite at the famous Marie Christina Hotel. WooHoo!

Linda’s husband had to leave their three week trip to for a four-day work event in New York.  After getting Linda’s text, I jumped at the opportunity for a girls trip.  I arrived in San Sebastián from Bruge after a taxi, two trains, two planes and another taxi – not as easy as I thought.

This week in San Sebastián was the big festival including amazing competing firework shows from major Spanish cities.  The city was busting at the seams with festival goers.

Our first activity was a scenic hike to the the top of Monte Ursula to capture a truly panoramic view of the city.  Super great except for the “Death Metal Hell Band” playing at one of the stages below.

After hiking it was time to indulge in drinks and sumptuous tasting plates at the pintxo bars.  We pushed our way to front – totally heroic – through 4 to 5 rows of hungry visitors all competing to order.  After walking the city and watching the tremendous fireworks show, we found our way to sleep around 2am.

Next day we woke early for a great ebike tour and cruised around the whole city.

After working up an apetite, we enjoyed a three hour lunch with a bottle of Rose at the incredible Bar Restaurante Munro in their underground stone bistro.

The last day we rented a car, and with Linda at the wheel we ventured out to see some of the towns across the border in France. The first town, Saint Jean De Luz, was a quaint village overlooking a beautiful beach with little winding streets, great boutiques and restaurants, and a picturesque harbor.

In great girl-trip fashion, we found a local bistro and then hit the boutiques till our lucky parking spot meter ran out.

Then we navigated perfectly – or maybe we just got really lucky – to Biarritz.  Biarritz is another beautiful town on the coast, however much larger.  It was the busiest day in Biarritz due to another festival and we bravely whirled through the crowds on a Segway tour.  Just in case someone missed our dorky spectacle, the tour company adorned us with fluorescent green helmets!

All in all, Segways are a great way to see the town, but you have to park your ego at the curb.  After exploring Biarritz we drove back to the tiny, historic old town of Hondarribia, Spain to cap the night at my favorite gourmet tapas bar.

Gastrotekadanontzat – yes that’s what it’s called – has a large inventive menu created with truly incredible French delicacies; the organically fig-fed Foie Gras is not to be missed.  We walked around the whole quaint town, which took about ten minutes, then drove back to the hotel.

We ended this fun girls trip chatting, laughing, and looking at photos till 4am.  Thanks for fantastic trip Linda!

One more guest blog post from Shawn.  Getting to be quite prolific!

Our awesome, sweet friend Val Sartini suggested that Bruges would be a great short visit if we had time, and she was right! Bruges is a small town in Belgium with history, canals and some Harry Porter quaintness.  When the ticket checker on the train learned we were going to Bruges he said, “ahhh, the outdoor museum”!

We checked into the Hotel De Castillion, a very cute boutique hotel in the heart of the old city. Highly recommended and so romantic.  [http://de-castillion.hotel-in-bruges.com/en/]

We walked around and hit many of the highlights ending up at an iconic beer bar, 2 BE, [https://www.2-be.biz/en/home/%20photos] where you can enjoy a tasting of 6 local beers for 10 euros while watching the boats cruise by on one of the old canals.

We enjoyed cruising through the market square and seeing the famous Belfry Tower built in 1240, when Bruges was an important centre of the Flemish cloth industry. After a devastating fire in 1280, however, the tower was largely rebuilt.

We waited for almost an hour to climb the Belfry.  However, we were told that they had to shut down because of the lightning and thunder storm that was blowing through town.  We stepped into the Dali museum next door and were shocked to find that the temperature inside the museum was over 90 degrees even though outside was in the cool 70’s.  Sometimes the best travel ideas just don’t work!

We ended up walking through the very quaint streets, enjoying our day.  We finished it off with a really good dinner at a family operated steak restaurant called De Koetse.  I don’t think this one is even listed on the internet.  We had a great bottle of Bordeaux wine called Chateau Le Set.  Super good.

Ready for our next trips – which happen to be the first time we are splitting up on our round-the-world adventure.  I am going to San Sebastián to meet up with Linda Rosen and Keith is heading to Geneva for a few days of solo cycling!

Guest Blogger Shawn is back with another edition.  This time Amsterdam!

Amsterdam, our next destination, was highly recommended by both our girls. So with high  expectations, we made a visit to the city and weren’t disappointed.  Amsterdam is a photo waiting to happen, easy to walk around, and so quaint.  We checked into a beautiful, large apartment with high windows and a great balcony overlooking one of the iconic canals next to the Rijksmuseum.  We agreed this area of town was the most beautiful and far away from the heavy tourist area which is closer to the Red Light District.

The apartment was hundreds of years old with the typical Dutch steep stairs. Imagine lifting 50 pound suitcases up here!

But the view was worth it!

We were a five minute walk to the Rijksmuseum which houses many of the famous Dutch painters including Rembrandt.  Incredibly impressive museum and large enough to handle the crowds.  It’s very hard to do this museum in one visit.  So much great art.   We visited on our first day and vowed to come back before we left – but never made it so much to see and do.

We spent one afternoon walking though the eye-opening Red Light District brothel windows, bars/restaurants and coffee shops (marijuana bars).  The Red Light District is a spectacle created to to assuage many vices, but not charming like the rest of the city, which we greatly preferred.

We indulged in many tours but our favorite was a private tour of the Van Gogh Museum.  We had a great guide from New Zealand, Serena, who had studied art history and was married to a Dutch man.

The museum was built by Van Gogh’s nephew.  It’s stunning and so well curated. Van Gogh (1853-1890), well-liked by family and friends, tried to be a successful art dealer like his brother, Theo. After a failed stint of art dealing, Van Gogh decided to become an artist at the age of 27.  Over the next ten years (till his death at age 37) Van Gogh was incredibly prolific, sketching and painting over 2000 pieces displaying a myriad of brush techniques – sometimes many visible in a single piece.  Unfortunately for Vincent, he only sold one painting during his short life time.

The first piece VanGogh tried to sell was his now famous Potato Eaters (1885).  He self proclaimed it as his Masterpiece, but others didn’t agree.  Van Gogh, while suffering from bi-polar disorder with psychotic episodes, was supported by his brother until his death at 37 years old.  Much focus has been on his argument with Paul Gaughin in Arles, France where he allegedly cut off his ear. There is controversy in the art world that Gaughin had a severe temper and Van Gogh may have been protecting his friend by saying that he cut off his own ear. We greatly enjoyed this tour and highly recommend this company. [https://www.viator.com/tours/Amsterdam/Van-Gogh-Museum-in-Amsterdam-Small-Group-Tour-and-Skip-the-Line-Ticket/d525-8681P5]

Another tour we highly recommend is the Anne Frank house.  The tickets sell out months in advance so buying ticket on line ahead of time is key.  It is a very interesting tour which frames an horrific atrocity.

One of the tours that we had high hopes for was the Countryside Windmill Bike ride with Cheese Tasting and Clog Factory tour. The company we used employed rude guides and cattle herded our group around the city, countryside, and clog and cheese factory.  Nevertheless, I do recommend doing this type excursion but be very picky and research all the reviews. The company not to use is Mike’s Bike Tours, Amsterdam.

All in all, we really enjoyed walking the city and had some great dinners.  There are many great restaurants in Amsterdam but we had two favorites. Van Vaanderen [https://www.restaurant-vanvlaanderen.nl/nl/] was exceptionally good.  If you go there make sure the weather is good so you can reserve an evening table on their balcony overlooking a beautiful canal.  Senses restaurant [https://www.sensesrestaurant.nl/en/index.html] is also really, really good.  Newly decorated and serving mouth watering trendy delicacies.

One of our Amsterdam highlights was a concert at the Paradiso, an old church converted into an entertainment venue in the late 60’s.  It was great to see the sheer enthusiasm of the Dutch crowd for John Prine, an old American country folk singer, who is most well known for his songwriting.  But he put on a really good show in a great auditorium.

Off to Bruges, Belgium!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Madrid to Faro, Portugal by plane takes about an hour and a half.  And Albufeira is about 30 minutes further by car.  But it is a world away.  Madrid is a beautiful, elegant city – built to last centuries.  Albufeira is extremely touristy – but if you’re looking to lounge on a great beach, eat very good food and drink lots of beer and wine, its a terrific place.

Our Airbnb has two bedrooms, two and a half baths, a great view and thankfully, powerful air conditioning.  The A/C is a godsend – and totally necessary since Portugal is experiencing a heat wave and temps, even near the beach, are 100 degrees.  [https://www.tripadvisor.com/VacationRentalReview-g1190872-d12905925-Deluxe_Villa_D_by_the_beach-Olhos_de_Agua_Albufeira_Faro_District_Algarve.html]

The beach here in Albufeira is terrific.  I’d give it an “8” as far as beaches go.  But, being from Southern California, I have very high standards.  It’s a very long beach with golden sand with some parts get really crowded.  Especially by the large tourist zone with all the souvenir stores and restaurants.  BTW, there are some really good restaurants in there as well.  

The beach adjacent to our apartment – which was only a short walk from the tourist area, was a bit “skinnier,” and less crowded.  There was a bar/restaurant right on the sand that rented lounge chairs and umbrellas.  We had a couple of very nice meals, sangria, beer and wine right there. Also spent many hours playing a great card game Natalie taught us called “Cambio”.

One issue here, however – the water is super cold.  Doesn’t look like it should be, but its frigid, even on a super hot day.  But perfect for a short dip to cool off.  

We had a car so we decided to take a road trip to a different beach town called Lagos – about an hour away from Albufeira on a very nice tollway.  Lagos is cool.  Not as touristy as Albufeira – but still full of travelers.  We drove here because Condé Nast wrote that the beach in Lagos –  Praia Dona – was rated as their number one beach in the world a couple of years ago.  It was a really nice beach with very pretty with unusual rock formations rising out of the water.  But I can’t give it more than an “8” (which means its still a really nice beach).    Especially the day we were there.  Very crowded, sand not super soft (but perfectly fine) and again, super cold water.  Don’t misunderstand me, its very nice, but can’t agree that its the best beach in the world.

Also had some great meals!  We went to the nearby town of Faro (about 40 minutes away ) to have dinner at the one-star Michelin rated Sao Gabriel [http://www.sao-gabriel.com/sao-gabriel-restaurante-algarve-eng.html].  We had a lot of fun – mostly cuz it was Natalie’s birthday dinner (23 – wow!).  The food was good and the service was great – after we moved inside because we were getting bit by mosquitos on the very nice terrace – but the food was not spectacular.  Again, a really nice place, but not sure it was worth the Michelin price tag.  

The next two days were a bit sad.  Natalie and Nikki flew home to Santiago and New York.  Nikki had been with us for almost three months and Natalie for the past two weeks.  So it was a bit of a shock to find ourselves alone with each other again.  But I think we quickly found out that we might feel more connected when its just the two of us.  Maybe we give each other more attention than focus on the kids?  Guess it’s all about attention.  Who knows?  But we’re happy with them and without – as long as they are OK.  So that is good!

Decided to take one more road trip to another beach.  This time we drove out to a town called Sagres.  It’s about an hour from Albufeira.  Now this is a really nice beach.  The town seems less touristy – which makes sense as it’s more remote.  Driving in to town – in temps over 105 degrees – we saw a bunch of surf shops.  So guessing the surf is pretty good here.

The beach itself was the nicest we’d seen.  I’d give this one a “9”!  We parked on the street above a cliff that overlooked the beach and walked down steps to a cafe on the sand.  Had a couple of cold beers, but then took off cause it was just too hot!  But I would recommend that if you come to the Algarve, this is a place to visit. 

Now, off to Amsterdam to get out of the heat!!