French Bakery and German Cemetery

We had a bit of trouble locating the french bakery that was recommended by our desk-clerk probably due to crossing 3 languages and two GPS's.  We managed to follow our rental car's GPS to the town where this mystery bakery was located but had to stop in a random hotel and ask for directions from there.  The directions were basically:

• go to the next round about and take the first exit.  
• Then go to the next round about and take the first exit.  
• Then go to the next round about and take the third exit.  
• Continue straight.  

La Mine de Pain did not disappoint.  We ordered coffee that was well - too french for our taste; but did serve the purpose of espresso - keeping us awake!  We also enjoyed a sweet treat of some kind for which we don't have a name.  The whole outing cost about 8EU which is about as much as one drink from Starbucks. Also, free-wifi allowed us to download and install google translate as well as the French and German Language packages which we had forgotten to do before leaving for Europe.  

Across the street from La Mine de Pain was a grocery where we purchased all-important bottled water; a necessity for the night!  Wifey drove home.  #WomenWhoKnowHowToDriveAManualTransmissionRock

Isn't this the nicest restaurant bathroom sink you've ever seen? 

After returning to our hotel across the border in Germany, we went for a walk .... because (1) avoiding sleep and (2) Wifey has a one year goal of walking 10K steps every single day.  We're just over 9 months in, so today isn't the day to break her streak! 

Random statue we saw along the way!  This was in Landstuhl.  

We also wandered into an old German cemetery.  It was clearly catholic and dates from the mid 1800's.  Most of the tombstones are no longer legible however.  We thought for a while the local sur name must've been Goff or Gott.  It's not.  Gott means God in German.  Apparently folks write "God" on their tombstones a lot here.  

For dinner we chose to visit New York Donor in Landstuhl.  We've been here several (many?) times before and it was one of the few places open on the holiday. We knew it'd provide a good quick meal that both of us would enjoy.  (Wifey doesn't eat Donor).  We were right.   

After dinner, we returned to our hotel room for the night and settled in for a few hours of work before bed!  All-in-all; a successful first day in Germany (and France)!

Honeymoon Day 10

The last day of our Honeymoon trip to Europe we were pretty traveled and photo-ed out!  

WE left EARLY in the morning to drive to Paris!

The weather was very very foggy!

But we got a kick out of the weather dependent speed limit signs ....

This is a fairly typical freeway sign - the limit is 130 normally, but 110 when wet.  Even snazzier is that our car reads and warns us of these changes.  Seriously, the cars read the speed limit signs!  

About 20 hours after this, we arrived home, post a delayed flight, customs stress, and some almost lost luggage.  Our own bed never felt so welcome!

Stay tuned for our next Journey beginning next week! 

Honeymoon Day 9

Yesterday I shared that We.Are.Tired.  Today's trip to Strasburg was decided upon by a coin toss.  Literally we tossed a coin twice at breakfast to decide which direction (NSEW) to drive.  

SW won and thus we booked a cruise and hit the road for Strasbourg.

It was a rather dreary day, but that made it all the more perfect for an unhurried drive across the countryside!

We saw a sign for a random Mexican restaurant.  Wifey kinda wishes we had tracked it down and tried the food there!  

A bit under an hour into the drive we went over the country border into France.  

All roads lead to Strasbourg .. well actually just the A4!

We pre-purchased our tour tickets, but had quite the adventure after following our GPS to ... corporate headquarters (not pictured) not to the dock.  In the end, we missed our selected departure time by about 3-4 minutes! :(  

Wifey is convinced that Hubby's good looks must've won us favor with the ticket clerk who wrote the following little note to allow us on a later tour for 'free'!  

Photos from the glassed in boat proved pointless .... with the following bit of ASL reflection exception!  ILY too!

After getting a feel for the city, and a great history lesson we disembarked and began meandering!  Wifey has about decided that meandering is her favorite.  Right next to food!  

See below a side view of Notre Dame, Strasbourg:

While we decided where to walk next, we stumbled across a band getting ready to play in the square.  Check out the performance below:  

Sleepy Hubby and Wifey need caffeine!  We ended up in a non-English speaking establishment (the best) and spent probably half an hour google-translating the menu!

This is sort of a frappuccino:

And This is soft of a coffee milkshake:

Shiny Bunting across the streat!  

The River!

Pretty Church!

Pretty Wifey and Pretty Church!

Colorful Bunting:

A local Strasbourg hotel we crashed briefly during our impromptu walking tour.

Our chosen parking garage  

After exhausting ourselves squeezing the last few hours of European touring out of our visit, we began the drive back to Germany!

Wifey never tired of the stunning landscapes we passed on both sides of the border.

Amazing!

Don't forget ... continue until the roundabout!

A church near our hotel & home base.

And we leave you with random flowers in a doorway ... because why not!?

Honeymoon Day 4, Part 2

At last the time has come for us to leave Paris, rent a car, and strike out across the French countryside! 

Our first glimpse of non-urban France ... We Love It!

A random church we stumbled across in the middle of no-where (while our GPS tried to avoid toll roads ... which is about impossible).

Beautiful, huh?

inside the church:

Spiral Staircase - these would become a theme of Europe ... they really like spiral staircases!

An adventure awaits ... (or maybe just some cobwebs)

You can see the brick showing through the wall here:

Our Rental Car:

Second of many McDonalds stops of the trip ... here we ordered "coke" were charged for "Mayan Coffee" but were served a "coke" and called that a success!

But before that ... we detoured though this storage area .... ROUNDABOUTS are the death of us!

Seriously, Rural France is Wifey's favorite!

Farming:

Roundabout!

Look at that horizon:

You'd think we were in america .... seen from the road at a random detour through Metz, France!

The Cathedral at Metz!  If we ever have another opportunity to visit, France ... I vote for staying in Metz!

Beautiful stained glass:

A bit over an hour outside of Metz, we arrived at our hotel for the night in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.  

After driving across France and half of Luxembourg, we were tired and I'll bid you goodbye for the night!  Check in tomorrow as we tour Luxembourg City!