Day Trip - Metz

Christina and I are at it again! For our first day trip of the school year we drove to Metz. Although we've been there numerous times, it is one of our favorite destinations. We weren't looking for exploration with this trip, just time to have a proper catch-up after the summer holiday. We shopped, both looking for boots, had a leisurely lunch and ended with a stop at an Algerian bakery.

This was a huge highlight for me. The pastries were so beautiful, the shop so quaint and the owner and his kids were friendly. We each selected 4 pieces to take home. Just like a child, I went for color and shape. It didn't occur to me until later than Eva wouldn't be able to eat any of the treats as they were all inundated with nuts. The owner gave us each a honey soaked pastry on our way out the door. A delicious ending to a great day.

Botany Castle

You know how you go into an experience assuming it's going to be about one thing and then it turns out to be about another? Well, that's how it went on Saturday afternoon when we decided to check out a little village in France. I assumed our visit would be about seeing the village and the castle. Wrong. It was about the plants.

It started when we passed this cool tree with leaves that looked like Chinese lanterns. Anyone know what kind of tree that is? The girls scavenger instincts came out and lanterns were carried up to the castle grounds.

Up the path to the castle we passed a hazel nut tree. Eva found a cluster with 4 nuts!

Around the castle we ran into our next specimen; a tree with long beans hanging from it. Around this time I fished out a plastic Cheesecake Factory bag from my purse so the girls had a place for their treasures. The bean tree was absolutely beautiful. The light coming through its branches even more so.

Back into the village and nearing the car we saw this interesting plant. Unfortunately there was nothing to collect from this one.

We'd love some help identifying our booty. Any botanists out there?

Our trip wasn't about the quaint French village. But it was about something equally wonderful and that is great by me.

Just in case you're curious -
We went to Rodemack, France. 20 minutes from Lux City. It is listed as one of the 139 most beautiful villages of France. More pictures here.

Sunny Friday

Friday the girls and I set out to visit Malbrouck Castle. It is located in a tiny little village in France called Manderen. Manderen is only about 35 minutes from Lux City but in that short drive we actually drove through 3 countries - Lux, Germany and then France. Crazy. Only possible in a teeny country like Luxembourg.

What brought us to Malbrouck was not so much the Castle itself, but the art exhibit that was showing there. It was the work of Niki de Saint Phalle. Are you familiar with her? She is responsible for the large, colorful sculptures of very curvaceous women (among other things, as I learned.) The exhibit covered her career as a artist; starting with her collages, then moving to drawings, sculpture and even film. She used to be a fashion model, which I find so interesting - a woman with a "model" body creating such rotund and generously sized women in sculpture.

Niki de Saint Phalle refers to her curvaceous women as nanas. She began creating them after witnessing the pregnancy of her friend. The nana came to symbolize maternity and femininity - and every woman. Luxembourg has a blue nana, placed right near the post office in the center of the city. She is referred to around here as The Blue Lady.

The girls were happy to go see more sculptures by The Blue Lady artist. Their color and whimsy easily captured the girls attention. We also packed a picnic lunch. Picnics will get them to go anywhere!! The Castle's courtyard held our favorite works. There were 3 large, mosaic (she was influenced by Gaudi) nanas glittering in the sun! There were also 4 totem pole statues. I always get excited seeing a bit of American history in Europe. de Saint Phalle was born in France but moved to the States, living in California and on the east coast.

The only down side to this exhibit was the rule about photography being prohibited! I tell ya, those mosaic nanas in the courtyard were begging to be photographed! I resisted. I followed the rules. Sigh. Here you can see a short video of the exhibit (scroll down a bit.) Better than nothing, huh?

If you are a local, I highly suggest this exhibit. Better hurry, though, it's over at the end of August.

Picking Raspberries

My favorite berry. On Sunday we were so fortunate to stumble upon a U-pick in Redu, Belgium. We filled our baskets and our mouths. Hooray for berries. Hooray for summer!

A different Bouillon

We had such a fun weekend! Sunny skies, warm temperatures and friends visiting from the Pacific NW. On Sunday we took them to Bouillon, Belgium to see the chateau and raptor show. It was a completely different town than when Christina and I visited. It was swarming with people and energy, definitely not the sleepy little town I remembered.

The highlight of our visit to Bouillon was, without question was our paddle boat ride. We chose a boat with a pink dolphin as it's mascot. There were other animals to choose from - swans, flamingos, ducks, and even a dragon! The boat had exactly 6 seats and a fabric awning, perfect for us! It was such a fun activity for a hot, sticky afternoon. After our ride we indulged in some refreshingly cool, sweet gelato. As delicious as our trip to Bouillon.

Redu, Belgium

Last Thursday my friend Christina and I were able to sneak away for another day trip. This time we went to Redu, Belgium just 100 km away from Luxembourg City. Redu is a small, sleepy town nestled in the Ardennes forest. In 1984 Redu decided to position itself as a Book Town. Book Towns originated in Wales, UK. They are small rural towns where many used and specialty bookshops are located.

Redu has more than 20 book stores. Sellers have books in various languages - French, Dutch, and English being the most common. There are book stores that specialize in comics, science & nature, and even detective novels. There is a small antique printing press inside one of the book shops. Another business makes and sells artisan paper. For a nominal fee you can tour their paper making area. There are lots of charming little cafes and a chocolate shop.

Unfortunately for us the town only really wakes up on weekends and during the summer. Since it's business is built on tourism many of the shops can only afford to be open when there are lots of tourists. We did find a few book stores to poke around in. We spent most of our time in the shop of a cheerful, quirky man who sold vintage prints and paintings. He introduced us to French artist, Raymond Peynet who did charming drawings and also made dolls. The shop keeper shared his personal collection of books and prints of Peynet's with us. He radiated passion for art and for life. Before we left he insisted we try his organ grinder. He entertained us with a tune as well.

If you make it to Redu remember to go on a weekend, preferably in the summer. Bring cash, there isn't a bank in Redu and many of the sellers only accept cash. Oh, and make sure your car is full of gas as there isn't a gas station close by. Learned that one the hard way.

A break

into real time for a minute. Had a wonderful day trip today, must tell you about it while it's fresh in my mind. I simply love these school day get-aways, definitely a perk of being an expat. Can't imagine stealing away at home, back in Seattle to explore.

The destination today was Saarburg. A darling little town on the Saar river in the Rhineland state of Germany. Perhaps the most special feature of this town is the Leuk rivulet that flows right through the Old Town. There are small metal bridges over the Leuk that connect a "piazza" on either side, giving Old Town the title of Little Venice of Saarburg. From one of the iron bridges you can see the Leuk cascading into a waterfall, crashing some 17 meters. Very impressive, indeed!

We climbed 107 steps up the tower of Saarburg Fortress to enjoy the view of the Saar river valley. We perused the cute shops lining Old Town. We lunched by the side of the Leuk. {Insert satisfied sigh} Another great get-way!

P.S. I'm honored (and honestly quite surprised) to be in the top 3 of a blog post competition on Expatica Luxembourg. If you're so inclined, click here to vote for me (scroll down and go to page 2.) You have to register with the site to vote. Only takes a sec, tho. Just sayin'

P.P.S Prague posts are on their way (unless something earth shaking aka blog worthy happens in real time again. )

Day Trippin'

Ah, at it again. Managed to squeeze another day trip in before spring break. This time a friend and I headed to Bouillon, Belgium. It is a picturesque, small town about an hour away from Lux City. Bouillon sits right near the French border in the Ardennes region of Belgium. It boasts an enormous castle, Château de Bouillon, that holds daily raptor shows.

We arrived in town, got our bearings and headed to a charming boulangerie for a brioche and a coffee creme. After that we visited the castle and stayed for the raptor show! The star of the show was an enormous condor, although I preferred the owls. There was a barn owl and 2 eagle owls. All the birds wowed the crowd by flying frightfully low over the stands. After the show we had delicious warm goat cheese salads for lunch, stopped by the boulangerie to buy some bread, and then headed back to school to pick-up the kids.

An absolutely wonderful day.










p.s. you can find me here today.