Kathy and Dave's Excellent Adventures

05/05/2026 – We’ve been to WWII battlefields, now it’s time for WWI battlefields

We breakfasted at our favorite little bakery, then headed out of Strasbourg for our drive back to Paris.  We made a very important stop in Verdun, site of a huge battle during World War I – The Great War.  Verdun was a 10-month long stalemate which cost the lives of 300,000 soldiers from both France and Germany, plus another 400,000 wounded.  The stalemate was not solved until the US arrived with its troops, tanks, and planes in September 1917.  Within 4 days, the Franco-Anglo-American alliance pushed the Germans back across the mountains and headed toward Germany.  By November 1918, the German people had had enough and threw their government out.  The new people in charge signed an armistice on the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month of 1918.

The memorial in Verdun was done very well and truly showed the extreme hardships of the war – on the soldiers who died, the soldiers who were wounded, the families they left behind, the children who were orphaned, and the local residents who lost everything they had.  Such a sad and tragic event that one has to wonder what the real goals were of all this fighting.  Dave surmised that the tragedy was caused by new, modern, and very lethal weapons which had outstripped the old, stale, and useless defensive tactics which had not kept pace with the offense.  The war put a large dent in the population of Europe, especially the males.

We drove somberly to our hotel near the Charles de Gaulle Airport and waited for our flight the next afternoon.

05/04/2026 – “Take the last train to Strasbourg, and I’ll meet you at the station…”

Okay, that’s not how the song by the Monkees actually goes, but it was kind of appropriate.  We decided to be daring and take the train from Strasbourg to Colmar, a charming town 30 minutes down the rails.  We are train rookies, so this was out of our comfort zone.  But the huge – and we mean huge! – train station was right across the street from our hotel.  After eating a pastry we had picked up last night, we walked over and looked at the ATM-like machines which dispensed tickets.  We stood there looking at them and stood there looking at them.  We tried pushing some buttons, but being train newbies is difficult enough without being train newbies who don’t speak the local language, too.  We thought there had to be a ticket booth with live – if not fluent English-speaking – humans working it.  And at the very end of the huge terminal, there it was.  We stood in line and spoke with an agent who was very helpful.  We got tickets to Colmar and back for the same day.  The agent advised us that we only had 7 minutes before the next train left.  We went to find our train and could not figure which of the various tracks was our train.  We asked a railroad worker, and we thought she said Track 6.  But, as we passed underneath the various platforms, we did not see one for Colmar. After a series of confusing starts and fits, we found a train, asked the attendant if this was the correct train to Colmar, and boarded.  Phew, we still had a couple of minutes.  There were the usual overhead announcements, which we did not understand.  We noticed that the train had not left yet although it was now several minutes past the time to depart.  We then noticed several people leaving the train.  Then, we finally noticed that many of them were surrounding the agent asking many questions.  We finally slunk off the train and found out the train had been taken out of service.  Wah, wah, wah…

We went back to the main terminal and asked some security officers which train we should take now.  They did not know, but it wasn’t because they were unhelpful or rude.  The track for the next train to Colmar had not been announced yet.  We found that out when speaking with a man from Taiwan who was also trying to board the train.  After speaking with him for a while, the Track number for our train flashed on the screen and we took off for the area.  Dave wanted to stop and ask someone, “Pardon me boy, is that the Colmar choo-choo?”  But he was afraid that someone would tell him, “Yes, yes, Track 29!”  That would be bad because there were not 29 Tracks!  We eventually ended up in Colmar about 30 minutes later and high-fived ourselves!

We exited the station and were trying to determine what we wanted to do in this town.  We overheard some people speaking English and they were staying at a hotel in the historic section of town.  We decided to follow them.  Bad idea.  They did not know where they were going.  So, Dave pulled out his phone, asked them what hotel they were staying at, entered it into Google maps, and started guiding these people from Australia to their hotel!  Ten or fifteen minutes later, we dropped them off at their fancy hotel and started wandering around the old town.  The man had told Dave that the restaurant at the hotel was a Michelin 2-star restaurant, so… they would be eating in a pub elsewhere!  Dave later looked at the prices for their restaurant.  They started at 135 euros and went to 150 euros for one meal!  The pub was probably a great idea.

We wandered around Colmar enjoying all of the half-timbered houses and buildings and the canals/streams.  Colmar was the home of Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, the builder of the Statue of Liberty.  We got some drinks and sat on a bench in a park and watched the storks roosting in the sycamore trees.  While sitting there, we chatted up a couple seated next to us.  Turns out, they are from Niagara-on-the-Lake, just over the Canadian border from where we live!  Small world after all…

After having our fill of the charming town, we headed back to Strasbourg on the train with no issues whatsoever.  We walked back into town to find some dinner.  Kathy had a very traditional Alsatian dinner with sausage, pork, and sauerkraut, while Dave had a nice chicken dinner in a mustard sauce.  It was a nice way to end our last day in Alsace-Lorraine.

05/03/2026 – Strasbourg:  French, German or… something else?

We got up early in the morning and walked a short distance to a nice patisserie for an authentic French pastry and a cup of Café Americano for Kathy and a tiny bottle of orange juice for Dave.  Or was it authentic French?  Dave saw something in the lineup of baked goods that had a name that looked a lot like what he used to have as a kid from a German lineage family:  Kugin.  Anyway, the breakfast was good and Kathy said it was the best coffee she had so far in France.  Next up:  a food tour in Strasbourg.

We met our guide, Ricardo, and his dog pal, Cosmo, at the appointed location for our food tour at 10:45 am.  There was another couple from Phoenix, AZ, on the tour (she was originally from Brazil!)  Ricardo did a great job taking us from place to place, telling us about the Alsatian food and history.  This is despite the fact that he was originally from Mexico, lived in Montreal, and now lives in Strasbourg with his Alsatian wife of 10 years.  We first tried some authentic local dried meats (think salami) and bits of pretzel.  All items were hand crafted in the shop from local farms (or, in the case of the venison sausage, from the local woods!)  They were tasty.  Kathy tried the local wine and hand crafted beer.  Next up was a cheese shop with two kinds of local cheeses.  One was good; the other reminded Dave of hay.  Oh, well, not everything can be a hit.  Next was the main course at a restaurant at the bottom of a wine making store.  Both of us had the spaetzle, which was really good.  Kathy had another taste of wine.  The last two stops were for dessert.  One had a local specialty that was called a bundt cake (because it is baked in a bundt-like pan), but tasted more like a cinnamon bun without the cinnamon.  The last stop was for a tarte, which was a very, very thin pizza dough, topped by cheese and apple slices.  When it came out, the waiter poured some kind of flaming liquid on top of it.  It, too, was very good.  Ricardo gave us gastronomy lessons as well as local history lessons all along the walk.  And Cosmo eventually warmed up to us, especially Kathy, whom Cosmo sat at her feet at times.  Finally, it was time to go our separate ways.  We went back to the hotel for a nice little nap before wandering around the city of 270,000 people some more.

Still full from our tour, we were not hungry for a big dinner later.  We sat down at a nice café and had another tarte, but with cream, cheese and “chunks of bacon”.  It was okay, but the French do not know what bacon is supposed to be.  We walked some more and pondered how we were going to spend our final day in Strasbourg tomorrow.  Soon, we ended up back at the hotel and settled in for the night.

05/01/2026 – Okay, can we just forget that yesterday happened??

So, we started off the day bright and sunny.  It was a beautiful day, nice and cool, and we decided to walk to the local McDonald’s to get breakfast.  This!  This is what broke our day.  Deciding to get an egg a’muffin while in the land of croissants and pain au chocolat apparently upset the travels gods to no end.  It was a good breakfast, not exactly to US standards, but good and Kathy loved her coffee.

We walked back to the Chateau after breakfast, brushed our teeth, and started off for Besancon – a lovely 3.5 hour drive according to google maps.  Immediately, there was a problem.  We didn’t get one block when the car’s Automatic Braking Control System warning started going off.  I didn’t really care if the system did not work – I have driven millions of miles without one.  But…. the alarm.  The ding-DONG of the bell.  It started off small, then it grew after all.  DING-DONG! DING-DONG!!  Then?  It would stop for a minute or two.  We thought we could make it to our next location with the alarm ringing in our heads.  But it got more and more incessant.  The nearest AVIS car rental agency was 40 minutes away… of course, in the opposite direction of where we were headed.  Three and a half hours was now at least five hours.  We tried determining what made the system angry.  Was it when cars were ahead of us?  Next to us?  When we were going fast?  When we slowed down?  It did seem to stop when we went very slowly.  DING-DONG!  And the tiny light on the dashboard would light up.  We made it to the exit for the Avis car rental and were headed down the off ramp when Kathy looked up.  Was it a bird?  Was it a plane?  No!  It was the seat belt alarm!!  In the back seat!  The light on the roof near the rear-view mirror flashed every time the Automatic Breaking Control System tiny light on the dash also flashed.  What the…?  Kathy rearranged the bags in the back seat and… voila!  Silence!!  The tiny light on the dash was just a ruse for the car wanting us to seatbelt our bags.  Aaaarrrggghhh!  We took the roundabout at the end of the off-ramp all the way around so that we were now making a U-turn and headed back past Saumur and on to Besancon.  Kathy had appeased the travel gods.  Or so we thought.  Turns out, she only appeased the car gods.  The travel gods had more up their sleeves.

We arrived in Besancon around 5 pm (instead of the anticipated 3 pm arrival).  The roads got narrower and narrower the closer we got to the hotel.  We had advised the hotel of our need for parking and they said they had a good rate.  Once we got into the center of the medieval town, we were stopped by metal posts in the road.  No cars allowed.  Hmmm.  How do we get to the parking area?  We drove around a bit, then noticed a post near one of barricades that had a speaker with a push button below it.  Kathy exited the car and pushed the button.  She told the disembodied voice that we were trying to get to the Hotel du Paris.  And, magically as if Kathy said “open sesame”, the metal post lowered itself into the ground!  We drove over the submerged post and entered the forbidden zone where only foot travelers (and the way too fast bikes and e-scooters) roam.  This helped, but we were still stymied.  We drove around the area – probably the wrong way down a one-way street or two – but could not find the Hotel du Paris. We soon ended up outside the city center and again had to push the button to ask the travel gods to lower the barrier on the street. Maybe the second time around we would find the hotel.  Dave finally pulled over while Kathy got out and pretended to be one of the foot travelers.  Lo and Behold, she found the hotel and its 1’x1’ sign about 10 feet above the ground.  Ha!  Travel gods defeated!  You would think by now, with all of the traveling we have done, that we would never scoff at the travel gods, lest they get the last laugh.  And laugh, they did.  And mightily!  Kathy kept texting Dave, relaying questions that the hotel had.  Finally, the hotel replied:  your reservation was for LAST NIGHT, not tonight!  Wah, wah, wah…  Dave was very busy planning 4 trips for us this year, one trip for the grandkids coming to visit us – and then all of us going to NYC, and two trips for others, that he missed the date on this one hotel reservation.  Fortunately, the hotel had a room for us tonight, so we managed to lay our heads down on a bed at night.  But by then, it was too late to explore the area, except to walk by the house where famed French Writer Victor Hugo (“The Hunchback of Notre Dame”) had lived.

The hotel was gracious enough to allow us to keep our car in their courtyard parking area after we had checked out so that we could go visit the Museum of the Resistance and the 19^th Century astronomical clock at the old church, which were the reasons why we had picked Besancon as the stopping point while driving from Saumur to Strasbourg.  The Museum was fascinating.  It really enlightened us as to how the French were defeated so quickly by the Germans in 1940 and how their desperation, anger, and shock dragged them down and allowed the Germans to dictate how they would run the area not occupied by Germany, known as Vichy France, almost as cruelly as Nazi Germany.  It also showed the hows and whys of the French Resistance, and how different groups focused on different areas like influencing politics, disrupting the military, and helping hunted persons escape.

Interestingly, Marshal Philippe Pétain was the leader of the Vichy government, yet when Dave asked two of the young ticket agents what happened to him after the war, neither one knew.  Petain was a beloved World War I hero and after the Nazis invaded France, he entered into an Armistice with Germany.  There was much a lot of discussion within the French government as to whether it should surrender, which would allow them to continue the fight subversively, or enter into an armistice where it would collaborate with the Germans.  General Charles de Gaulle argued for surrender, but was ultimately discounted and left to fight as the leader of the Free French Forces in exile.  The Vichy government eventually sentenced him to death and confiscated all of his possessions.  Meanwhile, the French people, loyal to their beloved Petain, took a wait and see approach.  Petain not only collaborated with the Nazis, but passed anti-Semitic laws without Nazi provocation.  He had thousands of Jews, Romani (Gypsies), Spanish Republicans, foreigners, communists, and resistance fighters interned, tortured, and executed.  After the war, he was tried and convicted and spent the rest of his life in jail.

All in all, our trip to Besancon – as exasperating as it was – paled in comparison to the hardships faced by hundreds of thousands of French people not that long ago.  Plus, we got to see monkeys!  Yes, in the moats surrounding the Citadel which houses the Museum of the Resistance, they have baboons which have been imported from Ethiopia, along with other exotic animals from all over the planet.

After we left the Citadel, we stopped by the church to view the astronomical clock.  It was a apiece of art, for sure.  A technical masterpiece by Auguste Lucien Vérité, the Besançon astronomical clock is a 5-meter-high, 2-ton behemoth, combining technical research and poetry.  An astronomical clock is when a clock provides, in addition to the time, indications related to the evolution of the sky, such as the relative positions of the Sun and the Moon, the Sun in relation to the ecliptic, the constellations of the zodiac, etc.  This one has 30,000 parts and its 60 dials display 122 indications, all interdependent.  Perhaps this is why the clock was not working when we visited it.  It was still stunning nonetheless.

We got back to the car and were able to get out of the ancient city without any problems.  The trip to Strasbourg was smooth as well.  In Strasbourg, we checked into the boutique hotel and then wandered around looking for a place to eat.  Strasbourg is not exactly French; it looks too German.  But it’s not exactly German either.  It is proudly Alsatian, a curious mix of both, which probably came about due to it changing sides between France and Germany every 20 years or so for a very long time, due to the interminable wars between the two countries.  There is a small contingent of people who would love to be an independent nation, but they do have certain qualities that already separate them from the rest of France, both governmentally and socially.  Many of the older population speak Alsatian, rather than French or German, and the cuisine is a curious mix of both.  Also, by agreement when the area was repatriated back to France after World War II, they have a different type of healthcare system.  The arrangements seem to work for them.

Since we arrived in Strasbourg early enough, we decided to hoof it over to the Cathedral of Notre Dame to attend mass before dinner.  No, not that Notre Dame.  We went to mass in the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris last weekend.  This is a different Notre Dame.  It seems that most cities in France have a Notre Dame in them.  Like most of them, this one had tourists queuing up to tour the insides.  We weren’t sure how to get in to attend mass, so we asked for assistance.  Unlike most other places we have been to in France on this trip, the people of Strasbourg are not overly welcoming, friendly, or helpful.  When Dave asked a security officer where to go for mass, he just waved us over to the other side of the huge complex.  We completely encircled the grounds, but could not find the entrance for mass-goers.  After one lap, we stopped and asked some police officers – who were monitoring an anti-war in Iran demonstration – how to attend mass.  They pointed us to a line nearby.  We got in line and 5 minutes later were asked to pay the fee to climb up into the bell tower.  Not what we wanted.  It seemed that everyone we asked just pointed us to somewhere other than where they were, just to rid themselves of us.  We ended up in the front of the cathedral again and saw that the line for tourists had gotten much smaller.  We asked another security officer near the door (and near the first officer who said we had to go to the other side), and he politely opened the rope, allowed us in and advised us to go to the small chapel to the left side of the cathedral.  Once inside, we followed our ears to the music being played and found the mass.  It was standing room only, but we found two chairs, one row behind the other, and took our places.  Mass was nice and traditional.  Kathy was next to an Asian couple and noticed they were doing something fantastic!  We have been to mass in 15 countries, spoke in 8 different languages.  We obviously don’t speak most of those, so we just politely sit when they are speaking.  We know the routine of the mass schedule, so we know when to say the prayers, and we say them in English.  But for the bible readings and the sermon, we are clueless.  This couple next to Kathy, though, had an awesome idea.  The woman held her phone and set it on Google Translate!  The priest spoke slowly enough and clearly enough for the translation to occur.  Brilliant!

After mass, we sat down at a hotel restaurant in the square near the church.  We were seated next to a couple from the French Alp town of Grenoble.  We enjoyed our conversations with them and they assisted us in figuring out the waiters there.  The waiters were very busy and… shall we say… not very thorough in their work.  When the failed to provide us bread, although every other table received bread, Kathy tried to politely gain their attention.  Politeness did not work with this crew.  The Grenoble couple came to our rescue and got us bread.  When Kathy asked for a second glass of wine, they brought her a second glass… of air.  The glass was empty.  None of this ‘half full, half empty’ philosophy.  It was fully empty.  Dave ordered the chicken dish.  He mangled the pronunciation, but pointed to the item and the waiter nicely advised him how to correctly pronounce the dish.  Then… he brought Dave the pork dish.  Dave knows this because the Grenoble man next to us pointed out that Dave had the same dish that he did – and it was pork, not chicken.  But, we both enjoyed our dinners.   Then, it was back to hotel for some needed slumber.

04/29/2026 – Tourne-a-droit

Bonne soir! Another deux jours have passed and we still have managed to navigate….mostly… around the country of France. A few fits and starts, but we left Bayeaux with a full tank of gas and the excitement of the next leg of our journey – the one we missed yesterday. Next stop: Rouen – historic for its ancient clock tower and where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. This was a bit of a twister for us; we went around and about and managed to find a parking spot. Now how to pay for the parking? It is always a learning curve, but we managed to get it completed without having to ask for any help. Now it’s time to explore the area.

The clock in the bell tower of the church sounded off its twelve <dongs!> just while we happened to be there at noon – an amazing start to our journey. We got to learn a lot about Joan of Arc.  Not only was she burned at the stake, but her ashes were scattered to prevent anyone making pilgrimages to her burial site. We then wandered around the church, The Cathedral of Notre Dame of Rouen (not to be confused with the one in Paris, or a hundred other towns in France!), which was heavily bombed by the USAF during WWll. Inside we found a series of statues that were originally part of the exterior of the building. The statues were labeled which gave us a clue on who they represented. Some were missing body parts and seemed damaged from the allied bombing, while other seemed barely scathed. The stained glass windows date back to the 13^th century and were a magnificent backdrop to the worn and weary statues that had been saved after the bombing.  Now it was time to leave the beautiful but crowded city, just a lot more listening to “tourney-a-droite” or “tourney-a-gauche” (turn right and turn left on the GPS). Unfortunately, there was construction which had closed the entrances to the main thoroughfare through the city.  And the GPS until refused to acknowledge this.  After several attempts, and having to divert onto tiny residential roads, we finally found and onramp that was open.

Phew! Out of the city and we are on our way to the Loire Valley, considered the “Garden of France”. Again, tolls – lots and lots of tolls – but soon we were there. Now where was our hotel – combination hotel and spa??  The GPS unit assured us we were there, but where are we? Dave parked the car and started hoofing around looking for the hotel. The Chateau de Comtesse was hidden behind a large gate and the sign for it was hidden by vegetation. There was a buzzer and by buzzing the buzzer, we were soon let in. Instead of the hotel check in, you are seated in two very fancy chairs where a lovely lady greets you and registers you for the stay. Very POSH! Trekking up the two flights of wooden winding staircase was so much more of an experience than a very boring elevator. Our room has two doors – one pulls out and one pushes in – and we are dazzled by the historic charm of the furnishings and the stately 20-foot high ceilings and grand windows. But we still needed to eat, so time to head out on foot and explore the city of Saumur. Dinner?  Really who eats dinner at 6 pm?  Not the French! We wandered, and wandered, and finally found a Mexican restaurant. Yes, you read that right. Kathy had chicken fajitas, or the French equivalent, and Dave had olla pollo mole, which was kind of a spicy chili with chicken. Maybe?? They were good, but definitely not the traditional Mexican food of our local restaurants in the states.

Soon it was time to settle down and plan tomorrow.

04/30/2026 – Amazing Gardens and an Amazing Inventor/Artist/Sculpter

Wow, already tomorrow 04/30/2026 and we have slept soundly and are ready for our next adventure. Today’s adventures see us going to find one of the iconic and historical castles that litter the Loire Valley. We opted to try one of the top 10 castles and picked Villandry, located just a short drive from us. The castle and grounds are famous for their gardens. The building began as a fortress in the 12^th century and was added on over the hundreds of years. It has been in the same family for the last 120 years and is currently cared for by the great grandson of the couple, a French scientist and his American scientist wife, who purchased the home in 1906. The home – or castle – still houses some original furnishings and artwork from the couple. The grounds were just – wow!! Acres and Acres of lovingly tended and immaculately designed garden areas.  Château de Villandry & ses jardins (Touraine, 37) We recommend you view it yourself as words would just not do it justice.

Next on the list was a visit to Clos Luce, an estate in the Loire Valley famous for being the last home of Leonardo Da Vinci. This was way cool. Not only did we see replicas of paintings we had seen at the Louvre, but had also had rooms and rooms full of some of the famous engineer/artist’s drawings and models of his designs. The man was ahead of his time. He had prototypes of a tank, machine gun, paratroopers parachute, bicycle, transmission, and many other inventions. We noted that many of his inventions were based off of war machines, maybe they paid him more?? Included throughout the site were some of his original painting materials, including his easel and brushes from 500 years ago! Welcome to the Château du Clos Lucé – The Clos Lucé  Included in the ticket was an opportunity to wander through a park that had life-sized models of some of his most iconic inventions. Including the tank that had four guns pointed in different directions. Again, so much could be said but we invite you to check out the link and discover the wonder of Da Vinci.

Now time to go back home, or our “home away from home”, the Chateau La Comtesse  and find some dinner. Like last night, not exactly French cuisine but we did have some kind of sandwich for Dave and a wrap for Kathy.  Unlike the links above, we can’t point you to a better explanation. Let’s just say not your normal chicken sandwich or wrap. Good news!  The patisserie was open and we have dessert.  Tomorrow, we head off to visit another corner of France and learn about the resistance movement during WWll.