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Europe 2024
  • Ali and Jeff Carithers
  • Ali and Jeff Carithers

Europe 2024

Una aventura de 18 días de Ali and Jeff Leer más
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  • Inicio del viaje
    9 de abril de 2024
  • Ali and Jeff CarithersEurope 2024Ali and Jeff Carithers
    1

    Geranium, Copenhagen

    10 de abril de 2024, Dinamarca ⋅ 🌬 55 °F

    We arrived in chilly, windy Copenhagen.
    The architecture, Danish design, flowering trees and spring flowers are all lovely and interesting.

    Yeah, yeah, yeah….. Sorry. This leg of the trip is
    all about the food. Our friend was able to get reservations (months ago) at 2 world renowned
    restaurants here and amazingly invited us to
    join him.

    Tonight we dined at Geranium. I didn’t know quite what to expect so I went in completely unawares to be cast into a magical, ethereal dining space that was quite light and airy with light woods, delicate flowers painted on the walls and sunlight streaming through etched windows. When I requested a glass of champagne, a cart was brought over to discuss my desired perfect glass of bubbly. The wine list was next and it resembled a NYC telephone book ( do those still exist?).

    What followed was 17 delightful and flavorful courses that were each just a few bites, Each was meticulously prepared and were completely delicious. The almost 4 hours spent there were
    relaxing and enhanced by the knowledgeable and warm staff.

    I will let the photos speak for themselves.    Leer más

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  • Ali and Jeff CarithersEurope 2024Ali and Jeff Carithers
    1

    NOMA, Copenhagen

    11 de abril de 2024, Dinamarca ⋅ 🌬 54 °F

    First of all, today was the anniversary of Jeff and my first date 35 years ago! Who knew that April 11th, 1989 (also my parent’s wedding anniversary),
    was going to change our lives and bring both of us more joy and excitement than imaginable. We are so fortunate.

    Okay, back to the food. I warned you. Tonight’s dining experience could not have been more different from last night. The drama of going into this restaurant was overwhelming as we passed greenhouses, test kitchens and gardens that were lovely even in their early spring apparel. The dining experience here was themed “Ocean” and that became evident in many creative and subtle way through the decor as we were led to our table. Beautiful drapings of seaweed and beams that were covered in hundreds of oyster shells set the rustic scene that included candlelight and servers and chefs that moved seamlessly through the space as though they too were moving through the ocean.

    Any subtlety ended there. There were about 14 courses. I can’t tell you for sure because my head is still whirling from the spectacularly created presentations of boldly prepared food that all related to the ocean. The presentations were based around rustic plates/bowls with different combinations of rocks, rattan trays, shells and seaweed. Each dish was a piece of art to be enjoyed aesthetically before diving into the experience of eating. The imagination that went into each course was overwhelming.

    Again, I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

    We are forever grateful to be able to share both these dining experiences with our two friends.

    By the way, there were two of us that couldn’t/wouldn’t/didn’t eat the fish eye. They brought us beets instead.    Leer más

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  • Ali and Jeff CarithersEurope 2024Ali and Jeff Carithers
    1

    Reffen, Copenhagen

    12 de abril de 2024, Dinamarca ⋅ 🌬 54 °F

    We started the day with a visit to the Juno
    bakery for a warm cardamon bun. WOW! I think it was the best Danish I’ve ever had.

    A very fun afternoon and evening with our friends Emma and Nils who live in Copenhagen, and Franz (visiting from Germany). Franz was Jeff’s German brother when he was an exchange student in Germany during high school. We had a traditional Danish lunch, rode on the electric boat on the river and had a great tapas dinner.

    We also visited a street food area that was made up primarily of shipping containers that were made into food vendor spaces.    Leer más

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  • Ali and Jeff CarithersEurope 2024Ali and Jeff Carithers

    Bordeaux, France

    13 de abril de 2024, Francia ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F

    Well, Jeff and I had an exciting day of travel to Bordeaux, France. We left Copenhagen for a change of planes in Paris before reaching our final destination. Just as soon as we touched down in Paris, we immediately took off straight up again. The aborted landing was more of a thrill than either of us needed at this juncture.
    We swooped around and landed again. Apparently a plane had not cleared the runway the first time we landed.😬😱

    Anyway, alls well that ends well. Jeff and I had a fun evening in Bordeaux which was absolutely teeming with people. Most of the city is a Workd Heritage sight and there is some incredible architecture.    Leer más

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  • Ali and Jeff CarithersEurope 2024Ali and Jeff Carithers
    1

    Beaulieu, France

    14 de abril de 2024, Francia ⋅ ☁️ 79 °F

    Today was a travel day for us to arrive at the start of the walking portion of our trip. Jeff masterfully guided us on and off 2 trains and we arrived to Beaulieu, France on an 86° day-quite unusual for mid-April! It is a lovely French village where we quickly found an outdoor bar on the Dordogne River to have some drinks and contemplate why we need to walk miles and miles on our vacations while other people enjoy sitting on the beach drinking pretty drinks with paper umbrellas. Oh well, maybe we will discover the answer this week.Leer más

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  • Ali and Jeff CarithersEurope 2024Ali and Jeff Carithers
    We walked up the mountain from the small village below.

    Loubressac, France

    15 de abril de 2024, Francia ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F

    We completed our first day of walking and it was quite an introduction to this “department” in France called the Dordogne.
    The walk today was slated to be 15 miles (yes, you read that correctly), but we opted to get a ride part way to shorten it to 10 miles. The first 5 miles or so were easy and we strolled by bucolic farm fields, cattle and horses with foals. The spring flowers, blooming trees and wildflowers were captivating between their visual beauty and the heady fragrances. We had smiles on our faces as we stopped to have our baguette and cheese for lunch, all the while ignoring the cliffs that were always looming in front of us. I said, “I think we are going to go to the top of those” and Jeff agreed, saying, “I’m sure we are”. .. We did.

    The climb was quite steep and rocky, but the concerning part was that there was an impressive drop off next to the path. That is quite a challenge for 2 people who are both afraid of heights. So as we are cautiously climbing up a rock scramble, we see that there are other groups of hikers going up and down this treacherous path. Are they nuts? Oh no, we’re the ones who are nuts. We actually enjoy pushing ourselves a bit and did notice that most of the hikers were easily at least 20 years younger than us. As we looked at the route notes that guide us on our hike, we saw a term called a “balcony trail”. This is a narrow path with a steep drop off on one side. I was leaning so far to the land side while walking I think I am stuck that way.

    In any case, we were tired upon arriving at our destination, but mostly mentally from focusing so hard. We managed to down a bottle of wine and dinner without incident.    Leer más

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  • Ali and Jeff CarithersEurope 2024Ali and Jeff Carithers

    A day in Loubressac

    16 de abril de 2024, Francia ⋅ ☁️ 48 °F

    We are often frustrated to arrive in a beautiful little village in France or elsewhere, tired after walking all day and needing to leave the next morning to get to the next destination. This time we asked OnFootHolidays to customize our trip so that we could have a full day here in this lovely village.

    It was an easy day walking around the village and not paying attention to the opening and closing times of the very few places to get something to eat. A yummy lunch of apricot yogurt and potato chips.    Leer más

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  • Ali and Jeff CarithersEurope 2024Ali and Jeff Carithers
    1

    Walking the French Countryside

    17 de abril de 2024, Francia ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F

    A nine mile walk today brought us to Carennac, France. Today was probably the most varied and beautiful walk we have ever done. It was enough walking to be pleasantly tired at the end of the day, but not thoroughly exhausted.
    France has a wonderful complex of trails that run through both public and private property, The company we work with, OnFootHolidays, sets everything up including hotels, meals and most importantly, route notes. Because we are walking alone, we have only ourselves and our route notes/maps to depend on. Directions such as
    “Ignoring the immediate, doubling back road, take the other option past a house with a blue-painted balcony”. We have learned (the hard way and more than once), that you pay very close attention to the notes!    Leer más

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  • Ali and Jeff CarithersEurope 2024Ali and Jeff Carithers

    Carennac, France

    18 de abril de 2024, Francia ⋅ ☁️ 43 °F

    Again, we are taking a day off to explore this lovely French village. Our delightful bed and breakfast , La Petite Auberge, is tastefully done and very comfortable. One of the owners is a chef and manages to stuff us with fabulous food every chance he gets. The locally sourced food is so good. And since we are in cheese-making country, there seems to be cheese at every turn-and I’ve never met a cheese I didn’t like. Even with all of our exercise, I’m afraid we are consuming way more calories than we are burning. Oh well, homemade jams, croissants, yogurts and burrata cheese will not likely be showing up at our table at Spring House Farms anytime soon.
    Oh, and the two rescued dogs seem to have taken to Jeff and I and act quite put out if petting stops.    Leer más

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  • Ali and Jeff CarithersEurope 2024Ali and Jeff Carithers

    More walking in the French countryside

    19 de abril de 2024, Francia ⋅ ☀️ 63 °F

    A hard 9 mile walk on a spectacular day. Not a cloud in the sky and in the 60’s which is quite a difference from when it sleeted yesterday!
    Our walks here have a large range of walking surfaces. There are trails, tracks, rocky tracks, asphalt and just rocks. We experience deciduous woods, farm fields, cliff edges and small villages.
    There is always something new to see. Jeff is always game for whatever is happening, but even though I can walk on flat ground forever, I dislike going up a steep incline and I need lots of breaks so I don’t start whining. Often we can walk for hours and never see another person.
    Our luggage is transferred to the next place we are staying and each day, the hotel or inn provides with dinner, breakfast the next morning and a packed lunch before we leave.
    We love this type of vacation and we joke that after walking all day, it is guilt free eating and drinking at dinner.
    Tonight we stayed in Meyronne in a castle from 1100. It was a very interesting and our room had huge angled rafter beams that were perfect for hitting your head in the dark.    Leer más

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  • Ali and Jeff CarithersEurope 2024Ali and Jeff Carithers
    1

    Rocamadour, France

    20 de abril de 2024, Francia ⋅ ☀️ 59 °F

    Another 10 mile walk brought us to Rocamadour.
    It is literally a city that hangs off a cliff. We have said so many times during this trip that the people who built these incredibly fortified towns must have always been scared to death because they were pretty impenetrable and often have 360° views around them. Anyone coming for an attack would have been seen in plenty of time for preparation.
    Our walk today was mostly through tiny villages and farmland. Thankfully, the uphill climbs were relatively brief and Jeff kept up good conversation during them to distract me.
    Rocamadour is very much of a tourist site today.
    Most of the buildings were built in 1105. It has become a pilgrimage to visit the stations of the cross while traversing the zigzagging route down the cliff side.
    Rocamadour is famous for its cheese and foie gras.    Leer más

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  • Ali and Jeff CarithersEurope 2024Ali and Jeff Carithers

    Paris

    21 de abril de 2024, Francia ⋅ 🌙 46 °F

    No pictures today. Just 2 weary travelers after a long day in 2 taxis and 3 trains.

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  • Ali and Jeff CarithersEurope 2024Ali and Jeff Carithers
    1

    Todi, Italy

    22 de abril de 2024, Italia ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    We flew to Rome this morning and drove north to Todi, Italy in Umbria to visit our dear friend Robert. His home is a renovated structure built into the city wall that was once in ruins. It is now a gorgeous home with beautiful architectural details and absolutely spectacular views over the Umbrian countryside.
    The town is interesting and lively and the food is fabulous.    Leer más

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  • Ali and Jeff CarithersEurope 2024Ali and Jeff Carithers

    Todi, Italy

    23 de abril de 2024, Italia ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F

    A wonderful 10+ hours of sleep and a great shower this morning (I don’t even know where to start with describing some of the bad shower situations we’ve had on this trip) started the day off perfectly. As much as we love the walking part of our trip, it was nice to have a day where we went the big distances in the car.
    A visit to Deruta yielded many painted terra cotta treasures in lovely traditional designs.
    Jeff has assured me that the numerous pieces that we purchased will fit just fine in our carry-ons.
    Next was a visit to Perugia which is a much larger city than Todi. Many interesting architectural features, but the highlight was a larger than life underground old city that had barrel-vaulted ceilings and enormous spaces. There are shops in some of the rooms and it is quite busy. The city can be traced back to 309bc and it developed under many different influences in the subsequent centuries. It exists on many elevations reached by lots (LOTS) of stairs.
    When we arrived back in Todi, we took the funicular (see photo) from the parking lot to Robert’s house which saves a lot of walking up.
    More exploration this afternoon in Todi including a visit to a highly decorated church here in town. We did get hailed on this afternoon. By the way, if it looks like we have the same clothes on in every picture from this trip, we do. The weather has been unexpectedly chilly the whole trip with the exception of the 2 86° days. So every day we put on everything we have and pretend it’s something fresh. We rejoice when we go through our suitcase and find something new. Using only a carryon definitely limits the choices.
    Dinner tonight was a pistachio filled pasta for me and a pasta with truffles for Jeff. I really needed a salad tonight and ordered the salad mista. Since it was only 5euros, I worried it might be too small for my tastes and thought about ordering two. Luckily I didn’t since it came in a large serving bowl!    Leer más

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  • Ali and Jeff CarithersEurope 2024Ali and Jeff Carithers

    Arezzo, Italy

    24 de abril de 2024, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 54 °F

    A beautiful, puffy-clouded sky drive to Arezzo in Tuscany today. A little bit of sightseeing, but an incredible lunch at Rob’s favorite restaurant.
    Jeff and I recognize that all this fabulous Danish, French and Italian dining is going to come to a screeching halt in 2 days when we get on the plane to fly home. I think it will be free-style dining for the next day and a half!
    Pizza for dinner tonight!    Leer más

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  • Ali and Jeff CarithersEurope 2024Ali and Jeff Carithers

    Orvieto, Italy

    25 de abril de 2024, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 55 °F

    Sadly, our last day of vacation, but we are having a day trip to Orvieto before driving to Rome to board our plane home tomorrow.
    The first good thing that happened is that we both found something to wear that was relatively
    clean and still fit after all the bread and pasta we’ve consumed.
    The Duomo in Orvieto is magnificent and highly ornamented. It was a busy city with lots of people enjoying the beautiful day.
    We parked in the tightest parking spot I have ever seen. Much maneuvering got us into a spot before we realized that we somehow needed to get out of the car. A very tight squeeze with us completely holding our breath got us out.
    We will leave Italy dreaming about the next visit here.    Leer más

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  • Ali and Jeff CarithersEurope 2024Ali and Jeff Carithers
    1

    Spring House Farms, Virginia

    26 de abril de 2024, Estados Unidos ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F

    Always good to be home again.❤️

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    Fin del viaje
    26 de abril de 2024