Baden-Baden, Day 6

David and I were very excited about our full day in Baden-Baden. We planned to sleep in and skip the casino tour in the early morning, then we were going to go on a full day of shopping and sightseeing. So, we slept in, had breakfast, showered and got dressed only to see that it started pouring down rain just as we were getting ready to go out.

So, we relaxed in our room for a bit and then decided that shopping didn't really require one to get that wet, so out comes the umbrella and we headed down to the internet cafe first and then to the post office and then to the shopping mall. I bought a new purse because my old one was tearing up my clothes--the strap on it was so rough that it was leaving a "bumpy" stripe down the front and back of my shirts (I was wearing it over my shoulder) and David got a small back pack for times when we needed more than just a purse.

It had stopped raining, so we headed out to lunch where we had food that was both good and bad--the ribs were excellent, the potato dumplings awful. A little more shopping and then they skies opened up again, so we headed back to our room for a nap and more rest.

Around 4pm the skies cleared and we decided it was finally time to head up to the mountain. You can ride a funicular up to the top for some amazing views, so that we did. There is even a tower that you can climb for an even higher view--so that we did. We rode down, had dinner at a wonderful Italian place, and then wandered all around town and down the river afterwards. One of the things I really love about Europe is that it seems that the sun doesn't set in the summer until around 11pm so that gives you long afternoons to get things done. So, even though our morning was a wash, we were able to get everything we intended to get done in the afternoon.

There are hot springs in Baden-Baden and David and I did not do the spa experience. Most of the spas are clothing free, and I just wasn't comfortable with the fact that I was on tour with 24 other people who might also be using the spa...can't get the American out of me that much.

My opinion of Baden-Baden is mixed. It's a very pretty town and while we did have a very nice day relaxing and shopping, I would have rather spent it back on the Rhine or in the Alps. Perhaps that's because I did not do the spa experience, and had I, I would have seen why the town is on the tour. As it is, I don't have any strong inclinations to go back to Baden-Baden, but I have to say that my time there was fun, even in the rain.

Burg Eltz, Triere, and Baden-Baden--Day 5

The 5th day of our trip was a travel day. We left St. Goar to go see another castle nearby. This one was on the Mosel River--Burg Eltz. The Eltz's still inhabit a portion of the castle, so we were only able to tour part of it, but I found it to be really neat. It's built DOWN in a valley next to the side of the river and consists of three separate dwellings connected by an inner courtyard. The furnishings and paintings are all original to the castle and provide a good sense of how wealthy powerful people lived between the 14th-19th centuries.

After leaving Burg Eltz, we traveled a short distance to Triere where we had a picnic with the group. Then we walked into the old town and toured two separate churches (on our own). Triere is the oldest town in Germany and has a healthy sampling of Roman ruins, so was architecturally interesting.

Then we were back on the bus for the several hour haul into Baden-Baden. Baden-Baden is a spa town with a casino. Apparently this is where Germans go for paid health treatments. There is a lovely littel river right in the middle of town and mountains nearby. We arrived just in time to change clothes and meet our group for dinner. The Butlers shop was right next to our hotel and was too tempting to not take our picture under.

One of the things I really like about a Rick Steves tour is that the days we have to travel by bus are always broken up by visits to small towns or other interesting sights along the way. It helps break up an otherwise long and boring day and you get to see into the lives of ordinary people. You certainly wouldn't do this on another tour company.

Tencel Shawl--SOLD

Tencel is a fiber made from tree pulp. It is very soft and feels like silk. It has a lustrous quality as well that makes it very nice for drapy fabrics like shawls or scarves.

This shawl is woven using a shadow weave pattern in cream and green with a medium orange highlight. See the close up for the pattern. It is lightweight and silky and would be perfect for a fall evening. The fringe is twisted for a formal feel.

It measures 13x83 and sells for $60.

An Elegant Alpaca Scarf--SOLD

This alpaca scarf was made using the remaining variegated from the previous scarf mixed in the warp with a complementary grey. Because the variegated has the grey color in it, it blends in very well and sometimes disappears, creating an almost handpainted texture.

The pattern is a complex twill that forms two different directions of diamonds, so that the pattern (see the close up picture) almost looks like a cross.

The alpaca scarf is very soft to the touch and wonderfully cuddly warm. Its dark colors lend a more formal air, so this scarf would be perfect for wearing to work or on a night out.

It measures 7.5x78 inches, exclusive of fringe and sells for $55.

St. Goar and Bacharach--Day4

Day 4 of our vacation was a very physically demanding day. We started with a hike up to Burg Rheinfels which overlooks the Rhine River and sits atop the town of St. Goar. I don't remember how many hundreds of feet we climbed, but it was pretty steep and quite a long hike...but man the views were amazing. The castle ruins were ok. We toured as a group with a castle tour guide, but the magic and awe of a castle ruin just don't do much for me.

After the tour we were free until after lunch so we hiked down through a vinyard, went into town and bought some necessities (toothpaste, advil, etc.) and ate a picnic lunch on a bench beside the river. We had ham and cheese sandwiches (they had boiled eggs on them, which I thought was weird until I ate it), strawberries and apple and rhubarb kuchen. The rhubarb kuchen was so sour that you couldn't eat it but the two bites that David took were so funny that I wanted him to keep trying to see if it got better.

After lunch we rode the train to a few towns over, Bacharach. There we took a tour with Herr Jung. He used to be the head schoolmaster for Bacharach and, while he's in his 70s, is still very agile both physically and mentally. We walked all over town from beside the river to the train tracks, through the city walls, on top of the city walls, inside the old town, down some really tight alleys and finally up, up, up into the vinyards (where I had an asthma attack becuase of all the hay lying around everywhere). Then we walked UP into the vinyards we it felt like we were on top of the world.

When the tour was over we had a little over an hour to do whatever we wanted to. David and I went down to the river to watch the boats go by. There were a flock of black birds eating bread from our bench neighbor. A few minutes into this interesting event, David said, "Look, that bird is carrying an egg." And just a I turned my head, the egg dropped on the ground and proved to be hard boiled. This caused such excitement among the birds that they were squawking and going crazy over eating that boiled egg. It was really funny.

We then met up with our group for our Rhine River cruise. It was really cold and windy outside, but there weren't any available seats inside, so we just had to tough it out. Once back in St. Goar we ate dinner with Marie and Carolyn and then headed back to our room for an early night and to ease our sore muscles.

I really enjoyed the Rhine River. I thought it was such a beautiful place and wish I'd had at least 2 or 3 more days to go explore more town. It would be so easy by train or bicycle to go from town to town and see castles and beautiful scenery everywhere. It will definitely be on my future travel itineraries.

Alpaca and Soy Silk Scarf--SOLD

Alpaca is wonderfully soft, fuzzy and warm, warm, warm. Soy silk is luxurious, silky and shiny. Together they make a beautiful fabric that is perfect for a wam winter scarf. This alpaca is variegated in earthy shades: smoky blue, green, brown, rust, lavendar and beige. The soysilk is a mixture of "white" and natural. (the white isn't pure white but is more of a creamy color...when mixed in a warp it give the feeling of an antique fabric).

The pattern I chose is a simple twill that creates two very different looking sides, so the scarf is essentially reversable.

The scarf is 8.5x58 and sells for $70.

Train ride to Frankfurt, Day 3

Day 3 of our trip was really a travel day. We left our hotel fairly early and went to a patisserie across the street and bought some croissants and other patries (for lunch and breakfast) and headed to the train station. The Paris Metro is so easy to navigate even during the morning rush and with two large backpacks, that we were at our destination in plenty of time to sit on a bench and eat our breakfast.

As always, the train to Frankfurt left on time. We were riding on a German high speed train that at one point reached a speed of 372 km/hr. We were cruising.

Our train ride was interesting because of our neighbor across the aisle. He was an Iranian man who had traveled to Paris and had a mishap trying to check into a hotel so was going to see his friend in Amsterdam instead. He was so lonely that it didn't matter that David and I were both reading, he was talking to us as much as his limited English would allow. At one point, he asked what kind of music we liked and pulled out his cell phone and started to play different songs...VERY loudly, which was really weird on this nice quiet commuter train.

We finally reached our destination in Frankfurt and gladly shed our neighbor and headed to St. Goar where we were to meet our tour group. My funny thought changing trains halfway there was "look at that old antique train they have on display." That antique train was our final mode of transportation and we barely made our connection since I wasn't hurrying to it as everyone else was.

St. Goar sits on the Rhine River and is a gorgeous little town. Our hotel looked right over the river and we have a room on the upper floor with a phenomenal view.

That night we met our tour group for dinner. It was unremarkable bratwurst, sauerkraut and potatoes, with a starter of cream of asparagus soup. Our dessert was strawberries on a custard.

Paris, Day 2

Paris, Day 2, was busy with lots and lots of walking and climbing. We started our day with a visit to Les Invalides and Napolean's tomb. Napolean's tomb is in the bottom of a large domed building. Inside, you walk to the center of the room and look down upon his red marble casket (doesn't it look short, the girls asked? The outside of the building is rather romaneque with all the colums and marble, and the dome is gilded in gold.

There are several other tombs inside the building, and after visiting a few and walking around the parks outside, we left for Sacre Coeur. We ate lunch at a place called "The Post Office." I had a roasted chicken and potatoes and David had roasted duck with garlic potatoes. We had planned to ride the funicular to the top, but the line was extremely long and we decided it wasn't that bad of a hike to the top, so off we went taking a few flights at a time and resting. The grounds are gorgeous with gardens and before you know it you're at the first landing with a commanding view of Paris.

We then hiked back down all those steps and went to the Tuilleries Gardens where we enjoyed looking at lots of statues and people watching. My favorite is the view from the end of the gardens looking back through the main fountain, past the Place de la Concorde, down Champs Elysees, and ending at the Arc d'Triomphe.

After getting back to the hotel and resting for a bit, we decided to check out our train schedule for the next day. We couldn't get the schedule to come up, so we decided it would be best to go to the main train station and purchase our tickets, just in case something funny was happening. We rode the Metro over there, bought our tickets and came back to the hotel and showered. (only after meeting up with our group did we find out that there was actually a French train strike which was why the our train schedule wasn't showing up on-line!)

We ended our day with a nice dinner at the restaurant just down the street from our hotel. I don't have any idea what we ate, just that it was quite delicious.

A Green, Purple and Beige Scarf--SOLD

This scarf is made from cotton and soy silk and is very thick and cozy. It qualifies as a "scrap scarf" because I used up the variegated soy silk as the color has been discontinued (I can't imagine why because it is really pretty). The pattern is called Dornick Herringbone. As you look at the scarf from different angles, the pattern emerges and disappears.

It measures 8.5x66 (exclusive of fringe) and sells for $52.

Aaah Paris!

I love Paris. It's my favorite city in the world. It's pretty. It has a phenomenal Metro system, amazing museums, and parks everywhere you turn. Parisians love life and their city and they treat all its public spaces as their backyard. Cafes are a treat--a place where you sit outside even in bad weather. The food is amazing, people friendly if you know the "code," and sites just about perfect no matter which one you choose.

This year we only had two days in the city...and the first was our arrival day so we were pretty jet-lagged and miserable. We arrived around 11 in the morning, rode the RER (train) into the city and walked to our hotel, where we were luckily able to check in and have a shower. Then we went to a cafe on Rue Cler (one street over from our hotel) and had lunch. David got a chicken curry salad and I got a pasta dish. We were the last meal served because we arrived very late for Sunday brunch.

After our meal we walked over to the Eiffel Tower and enjoyed the city at play. Children were racing little pedal cars and riding in wagons pulled by mules. We watched teenagers drinking wine--even at a young age they know good wine. And we took pictures of our favorite landmark in Paris--the Eiffel Tower.

We hung out for a little while and then started the walk back to our hotel. I won't say that we got lost, but I do think we took the long route back "home." We had another shower just for good measure, collapsed into bed and were asleep by 5:30.

One thing I find amazing about our little hotel right in the center of Paris is that it was completely quiet. Even sleeping with the window open, we didn't hear much street noise, so though our room was really really small, it was nice to have a quiet place to retire at night.

Linen Towels

These linen towels are a gift for David. Linen is a challenge to work with, but the results are really pretty. I made 7 towels, one I'll give to Gaye for a bread basket napkin and the others are for my sweetie.

Bookclub Book Review: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Water for Elephants is a great book. It focuses on the life of Jacob Jankowski who loses his parents when they are killed in a car accident almost immediately before he finishes his veterinary education at Cornell. He finds out that his parents have lost everything they own to the depression, and after attempting to take his final exams and having a panic attack, he heads out to the train to find a new life.

He jumps on a circus train and spends the next three months traveling around the country with the Benzini Brothers Circus. His experiences her are surreal, gritty, sensual, scary and vibrant. I don't want to go into too many details because I don't want to spoil the plot for someone who hasn't read the book, but he does fall in love and that specific component must work its way out.

The story is told from Jacob's perspective both as an old man in his 90s and a young man in his 20s. I really liked the old Jacob. He is cranky, querelous and funny. He has his memory but it's not really sharp and his perspective on nursing home care are very astute and poignant.

Water for Elephants is very well written and has risen to the top of my "favorites" list. I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading other books by Sara Gruen.

"I swear, Gran and Papa are always buying a new car!"

So, Saturday we all waited all day for my parents to arrive with the surprise car for the girls' graduation gift. They pulled into the driveway while we were playing a nintendo game, and I paused the game and said, "We have to go help them bring everything in." And Elizabeth replied "Can't we finish the race first?" I said, "NO! Come on!"

So, out we traipsed to help my mom and dad and as soon as we got to the door Elizabeth said, "Did Gran and Papa buy a new car? I swear they are always buying a new car!"

Then she walked outside and said, "Why on earth would they bring TWO cars to visit us...this doesn't make any sense."

All this time Alyssa is looking completely perplexed.

My parents finally came over and told them that the car was theirs as a gift for their graduation and Alyssa was speechless and Elizabeth started shaking. They eventually got excited and couldn't be kept out of the car and are now driving all over the place! Today was a reality check when they realized how much taxes, inspection stickers and the like can cost, but they are the happy drivers of a beautiful white 2007 chevy Cobalt.

What I did after I got back from Europe until I left for the Quilting Bee

WOVE!!! It was so fun weaving gifts for everyone and seeing their faces when they opened them up. I hope everyone enjoys their gifts, USES them if they are a useful item and lets me know how they wear and tear!

Here are some pics of the things I wove and gave away at the quilting bee.


I made napkins to give as a hostess gift and to use during our 50's dinner.




















Then I made some towels to give to aunt Janice. They are made using a sponge weave pattern and are very thick and wonderful feeling.




















Then I made Aunt Carolyn a scarf in pink and turquoise soysilk and alpaca. Wonderful--shiny and so soft.

Then there were more towels for Laura.

And three scarves on the same velura warp. Alyssa's is dark green, Elizabeth's is purple and mom's is dark green and white. Mom's was finished at 9pm the night before I left. I was worried it would be dry in time, but it was.

Everyone modeling their scarves. BJ's and Kirby's scarves were completed before the trip and I can't seem to find my memory card with all the pictures on it, so I don't have a close up to show of them. They've been posted on the blog before.

And Betty modeling her placemats that were completed earlier.

Finally Doreen received some towels, which unfortunately are on the same memory card as BJ's scarf so I don't have a picture of them to share. They are also on a previous blog entry though. M&O towels, they are called. In gold, green and rust.

Where I've been and what I've been doing...

I promised pictures and desciptions of the trip and I failed in delivering that, but for very good reasons which I can't divulge until after the quilt bee. The girls and I leave REALLY early tomorrow morning for 3 days of fun family time and THEN I'll describe the trip with pictures...I promise!

Oh, and I'll also have pictures of my "secret" activities of the past two weeks :)

Spargel

More specifically Weiss Spargel...or white asparagus in English...was in season when we were on the trip and was available as a special for every single meal that we had. Many of our group dinners started off with cream of white asparagus soup (talk about wonderful!). I ate it in spaghetti carbonara, as a side dish to pork or fish, raw in salads, pickled with the saurkraut, and my favorite, deep fried as the main dish. One of our vegetarian options (which I didn't get) had asparagus with a butter sauce served over potatoes...it looked heavenly. I even saw some white asparagus desserts, but didn't try any being too tempted by the other seasonal produce--strawberries.

The Europeans grow their asparagus either underground in caves, in ditches along the side of the road with holes dug out for the plant that are covered by black tarps or in rows in vast fields covered with black tarps. These coverings, of course, keep the sun from developing the chlorophyl in the plants and results in a beautiful spear that is creamy white and very very tender. Some of the spears I ate were a minimum thickness of about 3/4" and were about 10 inches long and tender all the way down. Tasty and wonderful.

My Buddy's Poem about Me

As part of the tour group experience, you get a buddy. Your buddy and you are responsible to make eye contact with each other everytime we meet back together as a group or get through a particularly crowded or hairy situation when we're together. This allows us to keep an eye out for everyone and not lose people along the way (or leave them as the case may be when the bus is ready to pull away). We did introductions one afternoon on the bus, and my buddy wrote a poem to introduce me. I thought it was charming enough to share.

Leslie Butler
The time has comethis travler said to speak of many things
Of Leslie Butler and her life
To David great joy she brings.

She's earning a PhD in seems in higher ed research.
Her dissertation yet to write,
This trip could leave her in the lurch.

She has twin girls of age sixteen, so clever and so sweet.
In just a year they'll graduate,
And that is quite a feat.

She hails from mighty Mississipp, from Texas just before
And Leslie loves to watch football
And cheer her team to score.

She quilts, she reads, cross stitches too.
Of that you can be sure.
She also weaves--makes scarves, no less, of yarn alpaca pure.

So smart she is, so clever, too,I'm sure you will agree.
And Leslie makes a great tour friend
And buddy mine, yippee!

Down Time Activities on Tour

While there wasn't a lot of down-time, when there was some, and I read. I didn't take any needlework on this trip, probably for good cause as I don't think I would have worked on it at all.

At any rate, when I did have some down time, plane time, or train time, I read and then left my books as I went along. I finished: Kiss Me Annabel, Taming of the Duke and Pleasure for Pleasure (all by Eloisa James) and The York Princess by Anne Easter Smith. I started Potent Pleasures by Eloisa James, but haven't made it very far yet. All of the books were great. Especially the James books. She is a great writer and so much fun to read.

I also wrote post-cards to family and friends. The girls will have one from every day of the trip except for one. I wrote in my trip journal and David labeled his pictures (something I did not do and hope I remember everything I saw!)

Outside of that, we slept in our rooms and visited places...pictures and more details beginning tomorrow.

A Near Perfect Vacation

I never excpected this vacation to be as near perfect as it was. David and I had such a wonderful time, saw such amazing sights, experienced some really moving tours, and ate some quite yummy food (and some not-so-yummy, too, but that's ok). Our flights were all on-time (every single one, go figure!). Sitting in first class (we upgraded with our miles) was such a great idea--roomy, attentive service, much quieter. The only thing that wasn't absolutley perfect about the entire trip was the heat the last week, but that did finally abate on our last full day in Vienna.

Then we came home and got a stellar report from the teen-sitter. The kitties were happy to see us, the house was mostly clean, the clothes washed. AND there were flowers on the counter. Amazing.

I'll have city-by-city blogs in the next weeks...as I try to get over jet lag and organize my mail and the photos it may take a few days to get started.

vienna

vienna is beautiful and I cant wait until we actually get to go out and see stuff. today we drove over from hallstadt stopping in the concentration camp of maulthausen. it was a very emotionally difficult thing to visit. terrible place.

after lunch we drove into vienna and visited the shonbrun palace. its modeled after versailles and is really quite beautiful. cant wait to show you the pics of the outside...couldnt take pics on the inside unfortunately. it may be a second stop if we have time sometime on Wed.

looking forward to coming home in a few days...

Hallstadt Austria

Hallstadt is a beautiful little lake town in the Austrian lake district. we are relaxing today and enjoying ourselves.



since i last wrote we went to murren switzerland--in the alps. loved it. so pretty. then we went to munich where it got really really hot, so David and i bought a fan and have been doing ok since. we had a nice time walking all over town and seeing lots of stuff. great museum there.



salzburg was beautiful, if hot. We went to a mozart dinner conert last night which was great.



Tomorrow we head out to vienna and then we will be coming home shortly thereafter. i think im ready! see you all soon with lots and lots of pictures!