Monthly Archives: December 2024

Lodging

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Some might wonder how I figure out lodging. Or maybe no one does. It could be I’m writing this for myself. Who knows?!

If we are staying in a city that has a walled in area, or a formerly walled in area, I usually choose to stay in or near that. I do read up on places, both online and in various travel books (like Rick Steves). If there is a part of the city (or village) that has narrow alleys and streets I tend to enjoy staying there. I also look to see which streets are larger and busier: I don’t want those if I can help it! In big metropolitan cities I check to see if we are doing anything that might require night walking (as we did in Paris) and find a place that would allow for that. And sometimes I want to be a bit closer to the train station, as long as it’s close to the part of the city or village we want to see and is not too unsafe. I always book places that allow for cancelations, even while knowing I have to pay more then. (One of these trips I’d love to truly wing it and not book a thing, but I have a feeling my better half wouldn’t want to chance that!) Oh, and I also rarely, if ever, pay for breakfast. We just don’t need to eat that much! Sometimes a place will come with breakfast, and then we have no problem indulging.

Here is a list of where we stayed for this trip, and I’ll repost a few photos —

Heidelberg: For this it was an easy choice! We stayed with Greg and Jan. It was a great location and, well, we even got some nice meals at their place! Plus they are such fun to be with.

Riquewihr: This spot was Greg’s doing, so I didn’t have to look. We stayed at Gite Riquewihr “C’est Beau la Vie Alsace”. It was in a fabulous location. We could walk in a couple minutes time and get to the center of things. Our place for three nights was above the owners. We had two bedrooms, two baths, and a kitchen.


Nürnberg: I wanted to stay within the old walled in part of the city: Dan and I had passed through on our way to Bayreuth some years back, and I loved that area. The trouble was that we were going during a very popular time of year. They are known for their Christmas Market, and so many of the hotels didn’t allow for cancelations. Although I dn’t care to stay in an American chain, we ended up at the Holiday Inn Nürnberg City Centre. It really was a convenient location: inside the wall, but not near the crowds, and walking distance to the train station. And it was a nice place. I still would have preferred something other, but so it goes.

München: (Yes, I like to try and use the name of the city as those who live there would. I’m goofy that way, I guess.) Again, Greg chose this place, We stayed at Hilton Munich City. The location was nice. Not in the middle of the crowds, so quiet, but walking distance to a number of areas. It used to be close to the concert hall, and perhaps will be so again after renovations, but it turned out our concert was a cab drive away. Our room was very nice, but it was funny: Greg & Jan’s room had a good coffee machine. Ours did not. Greg is much higher up on the “Hilton chain” so maybe that’s why …? (And I forgot to take photos, I guess!)

Paris: For this we wanted to be walking distance to the opera house. I would have liked to find something less costly, but Paris is … well … Paris! We ended up at the Hotel St. Petersbourg Opera & Spa. The spa bit is wasted on us since we aren’t spa people. This is the place that had a small bar and had the worst cocktails ever. But I’ll let that go. Unless they ask me. The room was fine, and typically small. The one funny thing was that the toilet was in its own space and one had to walk across the room to a sink. But we managed.

Montpellier: We were quite near the Place de la Comédie, but not RIGHT in it, which would have been noisy. I thought the location of Hotel d”Aragon was great. Rooms were a bit odd, with the carpet that looked like wood. But it was totally fine. We were up one flight of stairs and there was no elevator, but we managed.

Zaragoza: Not an American chain, but a chain nonetheless, we stayed at Catalonia El Pilar. It was a good location, the room was nice, we had a good view outside our window, and it was quiet.

Madrid: We opted to stay off of busy streets, even while Rick Steves recommended some. He just advised that we ask for a higher floor on those streets. But while he might ask for a higher floor and get it, we weren’t so certain we would. So I found a place very close to the opera house (even though we weren’t going to an opera), and it looked interesting. The Hotel Meninas was really in a nice location, and it was quiet most of the time.

Manhattan: And now for the smallest and most expensive room on our trip. The only place to open luggage was on the bed, the closet could only hold Dan’s clothes, and the bathroom door ran into the bed! The room had no coffee machine, but did come with $10 for each of us each day for coffee and pastry at a bakery connected to the hotel. I think, though, it might be our last stay at the Hotel Belleclaire. It’s in a great location for getting up to The Bronx, but it’s just so very costly. (And yes, I forgot to take a photo. I think I was just so shocked by the size of the room.)

So there you go … all the places we stayed. Over ‘n out.

Some Thoughts After The Trip

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I had been told over and over that, “No one cares!” when it comes to clothing. In other words, people simply don’t really remember if we wear things over and over, and even if they did they don’t care. In addition, being as it was cold, “No one will see what you are wearing!” That was definitely true. There wasn’t one day when I didn’t wear either my long down coat or my raincoat. So whatever was beneath, aside from my pants, was rarely seen.

So where am I going with this? Bring less! It’s just not necessary to have a lot of clothes. And yes, I knew this already. And yes, I started with less and then tossed some things in. Totally ridiculous.

While I loved wearing my merino wool jumper that, too, was unnecessary. Still, I really love it and it makes an event feel more special (as if the things we went to weren’t special enough already!). But because I brought the jumper I had to bring a second pair of shoes. The shoes I brought were nice, but they took a ton of space on the bag. (Hmmm … maybe I need some of those travel shoes I see advertised. Anyone try Vivaia? Something else? I can always add insoles that give a bit of support, since flats so often are bad for my feet. I also should have brought thicker tights — probably wool. What I brought wasn’t really good for cold weather.

But I must mention the shoes I wore every single day (even if I put on the nice dress shoes later). My Bog Sweetpea Ankle Waterproof Rain Boots were THE BEST! I think I maybe should have gotten a size smaller, but I double-socked anyway, since it was cold, so they were fine. I’m frequently between size 10 and 11, and these didn’t come in half sizes. So better bigger than too small.

I could have done with two pair of pants rather than three. I could have done with fewer turtlenecks as well. And even one less sweater. (I wore a cashmere sweater over a merino wool turtleneck.)

BUT … the big, important, wonderful thing?

Merino wool is fabulous! Trust me. It really is. The 100% wool or close to it pieces show no wrinkles. They don’t get stinky as fast (or at all, at least for me). They are moisture wicking, they kept me warm, and they are so darn comfortable!

Other thoughts, not related to clothing:
Dear Patty, when you packed the extra phone screen protector box, which weighed next to nothing, but then rethought it and took it out you did a dumb thing.

Yes, I dropped my phone. Yes, the screen protector I had meant I didn’t break the screen. But then I had a cracked screen protector for the remainder of the trip. Now could I have gone in to a store to get one? Of course. But do I do things like that? Of course not. So next time I will just bring the darn extra box.

Just because you aren’t on a long walking holiday doesn’t mean you should leave the battery pack at home. You just might need it and it’s so small it’s no biggie to pack.

I’m sure I’ll think of other things I would do differently. But, really, I had very few things that I should have changed.

So here we are, at home. Last night I finally slept fairly well. This is the first trip I’d gone on where sleep was questionable close to 100% of the time. I have no clue why. But it does make me ponder a sleep aid. I just hate the thought of that, though.

I unpacked and put things away yesterday. Dan is working on that today. We are both taking it very easy today. Time feels very, very strange.

And I want to go on another adventure!

Home

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Our flight was a bit bumpy (the pilot had warned us before we even took off), but otherwise uneventful. Toward the end he told the flight attendants to go to their jump seats and told us the final service wasn’t going to happen. That really was no biggie since I’d already decided I would tell them I didn’t want anything.

And so we landed. Got outside. And met up with my sister. (THANK YOU, Carolyn, for picking us up!)

Once home I did my typical unpacking. Has to be done immediately or I don’t rest well. Things got put away, and then mail was opened. I don’t open everything, but I open personal mail and packages, and that meant mostly Christmas cards (and even one birthday card), a book about Maria Callas (sent for free so I can read and review), and a few other things.

Dan wasn’t feeling great, so he hit the hay early. I’ve now managed to stay up until 10:35 our time and, to be honest, it does not feel like it’s 1:35 AM, which is what it would be in NYC. So I guess that’s a good thing. Maybe I’ll adjust easily.

So it’s over ‘n out for our wonderful adventure.

I guess it’s time to plan the next. 😊

Many thanks to readers who went along on our journey!

Goodbye New York, Goodbye Vacation

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We had a ton of time to get our breakfast downstairs and come back and pack. Nothing exciting there. Then we decided to opt for a car rather than deal with our luggage, get to the Penn Station, and get a train to the airport. Maybe it was wimping out, but at the end of a trip I’m just not up for any stress and lugging these wheeled cases around is a nuisance. I look forward to using our packs next time if at all possible!

The start of security was a breeze: no ID necessary, but simply a scan of our faces. Then it was time to put our luggage, bags, and coats in the trays. But there was all of one line for that, so all lines (1K, Premier, TSA Pre, and the rest of the travelers who have none of those) merged into one. It’s just not a busy enough day, I guess, for them to bother to have more of the conveyer belts running. Since we were so early for our 4:30 flight it wasn’t a problem. I was just surprised by that one line.

As usual, we had a lot (too much?) time for the lounge. I’m absolutely fine with that, though, since I stress out if I’m not early. (Will I ever learn to relax about getting to airports? I doubt it!) I had the vegetarian chili for lunch, and I have to say it was actually very good. (Some people suggest skipping food on the plane entirely and just filling up on lounge food, due to the questionable quality of some plane food. I can understand why, but eating on the plane makes things go faster so I still go for it.)

The lounge was fairly quiet, unlike any other time I’ve been here. Finding seats was no problem at all, and it was nice and quiet.

It is now 30 minutes to boarding so I will close this out and post it. (The lounge has since filled up, and it’s not as quiet any longer. People are walking all around to find a seat. I guess I can be glad we got here when we did.)

When we get back home I’ll write (most likely something very short) about the rest of the journey and then I’ll also be blogging about things I want to do differently (probably tomorrow). In truth I think this all went very well, but there is always the “Why did I bring that?!” and the “Next time remember to bring this!” stuff.

So bye for now!

Final Full Day

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This morning it was the typical Hotel Belleclaire morning: wake, dress, go down and get coffees and the pastry of our choice (and going wild by adding orange juice to the mix). Then back upstairs for showers and sitting around until nearly noon. We just didn’t have the energy to do much at all.

Nearing noon we got ready to take the train up to Brandon and Lia’s. But first lunch at LPQ (do others call it that, or is that just Dan?), and a stop at the wine store to pick up some bubbly.

Our train ride was longer than expected. We sat for a while at a couple of stations and then quite a while longer at another. Thankfully our time was flexible. I don’t know how those who deal with the subway daily deal with delays like this if they have set schedules, but I am assuming they have to allow for incidents and leave earlier than is usually (?) necessary.

Finally we arrived at Brandon and Lia’s place. And the elevator wasn’t working. So up from L to floor 6 we went. (Even so my watch isn’t happy with what little I did today!)

We first dropped by the place where they are living, but then went to their own space and opened the champagne. I just really wanted to toast to new beginnings and all. There is so much to be done still, but if anyone had seen what it was like after the fire they’d notice a huge change for the better. Still, it’s going to take time.

This is the entrance and lobby … undamaged.

This is their place:

Eventually we went to an appliance store. Unfortunately we couldn’t go to the one that would have had more appliances and, even more importantly, more affordable and smaller appliances. But still, it was good to see things and for Lia and Brandon to get clearer ideas about what they want.

Back to their place we did more research on appliances. (Anyone know what a “speed oven” is?) Planning a kitchen in a small space can be fun but also a challenge.

Next up was a getting a car and going to a restaurant Brandon had read about. We arrived and as we started to go in Meghan and Jameson arrived as well. It was an Albanian restaurant, and the food was really great.

As I write this I’m thinking I might need to get new clothes … or start walking faster and for a longer time. I’m sure I’ve gained a lot of weight on this trip.

After dinner Dan and I said our goodbyes to all and headed back to the hotel. Tomorrow we pack, hang for a while, and then go to EWR and head home. I’m sorry the trip has come to a close, but it’s time to go home. I guess. Maybe.

Christmas Day

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After we stood in quite the long line for our coffees and bread of choice (I think Dan had a croissant. I know I had a brioche.) we sat and enjoyed our treats. We get vouchers for each day we are here, but so does everyone else in the hotel. I’m not sure Mille Fuelle was prepared for the crowd that showed up nearly all at once.

After going back up to our room and dressing warmly we went out and the flexible goal was to get to Bryant Park, because I had read its Christmas market was open today, and it appeared all the others weren’t. So off we went, on a little over two mile walk.

And Lisa HIrsch, this one’s for you!:

At the same time, Brandon was on his way down from his place, and shortly after we arrived at the Christmas market he did as well.

As to the Christmas market: it just doesn’t have the magical feel that, for instance, the Nürnberg one did. Plus, as Dan pointed out, it’s so different when you can’t buy gluhwein and walk around with that.

But since Brandon connected with us we left that spot and aimed toward Grand Central Station, just to have a look-see. (Yes, we’ve been there before, but it’s still fun to see it.)

More walking as we were deciding where to get a bite.

We had a bit of food and drinks at PJ Clarks.

Then it was time to get back to the hotel to gather up some things before going to the Bronx. Our walk back included a bit of Central Park.

Brandon suggested getting a car to get to Jameson and Meghan’s and I was quite fine with that. Yes, it costs more, but sometime it’s just the easiest thing to do.

Jameson and Meghan had food set out when we arrived, and we sat for a good amount of time eating and drinking. Oh … and watching (sort of) White Christmas.

Eventually Trivial Pursuit came out. I’m really not great at that game — especially anything in sports or geography. And I didn’t win. Hats off to Lia!

Then it was another car home. The roads are fairly empty and the drive both ways was so much faster than it frequently is. So now we are back in our room, and we plan on a very slow and easy morning because later on we have much to do. It will be the final full day for this trip. Sad, but true.

And now … goodnight!

The Rest of the Story

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Sooo … now that I’m awake it’s time to write about last night before I forget!

We took the subway (the 1 and the Q in case you are curious — and even if you aren’t) to get to Timothy and Margaret’s. Really about the easiest bit of train use ever as the timing was pretty good. A wee bit of confusion at one point, but only because there were signs in different places for the Q. But we arrived at their lovely house in Brooklyn safe and as sound as we are capable of being.

What a spread those two put out! We ate so very well. We met two new friends as well: Aron (Aaron?) is from Turkey and studying here and I’m absolutely amazed (and humbled) by his English, as he didn’t speak English when he arrived. We also met a friend of Brandon and Lia’s, Mathilda. (I could be misspelling her name as well.) I think, if I heard correctly, she is from Italy. So the table was full. So was my heart. It had been a while since I’d seen my brother and sister-in-law.

Oh the food! They made salmon in what I would describe as a loaf, but I don’t know if that’s really how it’s described. Soooo yummy!

After dinner we sat in the living room (or do they call it a parlor?) and exchanged gifts. That, too, was great fun.

And just like that it was after midnight. Meghan, Jameson, Dan, and I shared a Lyft. We were dropped off first, and then they headed up to the Bronx.

Today Dan and I will do some wandering before we go up to Meghan and Jameson’s to meet with them, Lia and Brandon.

December 24 in NYC

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We managed to stay in bed until 7:00, although Dan didn’t sleep well. I think I’m adjusting to the time quicker than he is.

I was happy to see white stuff falling from the sky when we went downstairs to get our croissants and coffee. What a nice day before Christmas treat to see snow!

While there we also picked up little boxes of macarons for tonight, along with some lovely looking bread.

After breakfast we made a quick trip to the wine store (you can’t buy wine at grocery stores in New York) to get bottles for both tonight and tomorrow. And yes, we chose California wines.

Then it was back to the hotel to drop those off, and prepare for a walk to Central Park.

By the time we were out and about the snow had stopped. There was a lot of slush and spots with ice so we did have to be more cautious. No way do I want to take a spill!

Pictured below: snow covered Christmas blow up decorations and plants. Just because SNOW!

The park was lovely. Trees dusted with now. Water looking icy. And lots of people out and about enjoying it. Dogs, too. The dog I’ll post below had little booties on, and I saw one other who did that, while others were “barefoot”. Maybe dogs don’t care about cold feet?

We wandered quite a bit, and Dan did a good amount of photography. I, as always, used my iPhone.

After the park we walked south past stores beyond our budget. And again, just did a lot of walking.

I was so hoping to find a sweater at a less costly store somewhere that would work for tonight and tomorrow — I didn’t think so much about dressing for Christmas. But, well, it just never happened. (I do have a red turtleneck, but I have to wear more layers so it’s barely seen. Oh well.)

Lunch was at a diner-type place, was too much food, and overpriced. But hey, it’s New York!

Walking back to the hotel we saw crowds, but never like we saw in Madrid (or even Munich and Nürnberg). And we saw one big tree and Kennedy LINCOLN (thanks, Lisa, although Dan says, “You could say they were both the right presidents. The upcoming one is the wrong president”!) Center, both from a distance.

Then it was shower time for me and nap time for Dan.

**It is now 1:23 AM. We are just home from Timothy and Margaret’s. What a wonderful time! But I am so tired I dare not try to write about the evening. I will write again tomorrow morning.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Goodbye Europe, Hello NYC!

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We woke early today and, miracle of miracles, we both woke before our alarms went off. (More of a surprise with me than with Dan.)

Packing was quick. Deciding to check luggage after all was rather speedy as well. Roller bags are just not as pleasant to deal with in the overhead bins, and it also meant I didn’t have to consolidate my purse with my Cabin Max bag. I do, however, feel a bit of a failure when I do checked luggage. Go figure.

Our drive to the airport was easy, but communicating to our driver wasn’t. She initially thought we were going to terminal four, even though we said one a number of times. She then dropped us off at the far end of terminal one and we had a bit of a walk. It wasn’t really a problem, being as we were there much earlier than necessary. We were so early, in fact, that they hadn’t opened the luggage check area yet. That opened only a few minutes later, though, and we were second in line so that was quite speedy. Then it was a walk to the the A gates.

Not speedy was finding the lounge! We had mixed messages when we looked online. One suggested the lounge I thought we should go to was closed for renovation. Dan’s info said we should go to B6, but we couldn’t even find B6! Eventually we saw a sign and, sure enough, “my” lounge was where we were to go. It was quite nice, and I loved that we could go outside. Had the weather been warmer we would have sat out there.

After a few hours (that, for me anyway, seemed to speed by) we saw on the board that we should go to our gate. So off we went.

I’m sure we could have left the lounge 10 or 15 minutes later, but I do like getting to the gate on the early side.

This plane’s seating is different than we’ve experienced before. We can’t sit together, as no Polaris seats are in pairs. Because of this we chose window seats. Dan is in 7L and I’m in 9L (8L didn’t have a window). It’s rather fun to look outside — something we’ve not done on an international flight since we moved to Polaris. (I like to have the map on the screen so I can see where we are.)

(The final image is probably over Porto.)

One reason to get Polaris is, of course, so we can put the seats back and actually sleep, but first … dinner. Or what they call lunch. Seemed more like dinner to me, and it was actually quite tasty.

Soon after eating I decided to try and sleep, and I think I slept for over an hour — perhaps even two hours. Then it was the typical just hang, do whatever … and look out the window when we finally saw land again. First it was Canada, and later Massachusetts.

The landing was maybe the smoothest I’ve ever experienced. After landing we saw a lot of emergency vehicles. Hmm. We figured some plane must have had an issue. And, indeed, one did. Ours! We were informed that a tire had some sort of a problem and we were stuck for a while as they had to decide if the plane could proceed to the terminal or if it needed to be towed. Finally we moved again (no towing), and arrived. Going through passport control was SO easy, because we have Global Entry. Gotta love it. Luggage was retrieved and we opted to use Lyft rather than take the train.

Maybe that wasn’t a wise choice. Traffic was ghastly. But so it goes. We finally arrived at the Hotel Belleclaire. It’s rather funny that this is the smallest room we’ve had on this trip. Maneuvering around is a challenge. I am somewhat convinced that I get smaller rooms here when I book through Expedia. I had written to the Belleclaire to see if they would match Expedia’s price, though, and they never replied. (Their site says that they will match a price. Hm.) But we arrived safe and sound and I won’t complain. We unpacked, rested a bit, and then went out to meet family.

And it was COLD. Funny that this is probably the coldest weather on the trip. Who knew?

Next up: meeting with Brandon, and later Jameson, Meghan, and Lia. We ended up eating at Amsterdam Ale House, which is sort of a go-to place when we stay at the Belleclaire. Only one photo, shot by Dan., and it’s not exactly his masterpiece, but how wonderful to be with these four tonight!

At this point it is 3:48 AM in Spain. I think I’m handling the time change fairly well, but tomorrow will tell the real story!

G’night!