• Geezers in Paradise
  • Geezers in Paradise

Where the Heart is

Ein 253-Tage Abenteuer von Geezers in Paradise Weiterlesen
  • Longues sur Mer

    19. April 2017 in Frankreich ⋅ ⛅ 50 °F

    The German casements at Longues sue Mer still have the guns in place. One of the structures suffered from a direct hit and the gun was in pieces.

  • First Belgium beer tasting

    22. April 2017 in Belgien ⋅ ⛅ 50 °F

    It was being too difficult to get out to the Beer brewing Abbys today for tasting. However we happened upon a store in Dinant that sold beer by the bottle. We picked out a selection of Abby beers for the evening. We morn the beers that feel during tasting, but they fell for a worthy cause. Excellent beers!Weiterlesen

  • For Mark Foard

    23. April 2017 in Belgien ⋅ ⛅ 46 °F

    Wish you were here ...

  • Catching our breath

    23. April 2017 in Belgien ⋅ ⛅ 50 °F

    We've been a little remiss lately about posting. We're not afraid to admit it ... we're getting tired. We had our first less than stellar Airbnb experience in Auvers, the town from which we visited the Normandy beaches. Let's just say the best part was the little goslings, though the mother goose was terrifying.

    We left a day early and had a surprise stay in Cambrai. We loved our 8th floor studio with a view of some WWI (we think) ruins. We had one of our better meals yet at a hole in the wall restaurant recommended by our host and left for Belgium feeling considerably better.

    We are staying in a little vacation home in a development up in the hills. Very comfortable. We are grateful for the pellet stove, however, because it's damp and low 50's. Maybe 40's. It's 25 minutes to Dinant which is a beautiful little town right on the River Meuse and I would not have thought to go there. We will try for some photos tomorrow.

    But we are getting tired. More and more inclined to just sit. In a few days we will have been on the road for 6 months. Hopefully we'll get a second wind as we still have over 5 weeks til we head back to the states.

    Anyway, the Belgian beer is definitely worth the trip and we're right on the Beer Trail. We're toasting to all our friends and family who are loyally keeping us company as we wander.
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  • Dinant II

    24. April 2017 in Belgien ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F

    Dinant is the closest town of significance to our holiday village in Hastiere and we are so glad it is. We visited it for a second time today.

    Aside from actually snapping some photos, we visited the amazing cathedral with a stained glass window that must be 40 feet high.

    We had a terrific lunch at a Belgian tea and chocolate salon. The carrot coconut curry soup was superb and the salad a revelation of colors, textures and flavors. For dessert I had the cherry tarte and tea; Gordon had the pear and almond tarte with Belgian hot chocolate. Once he added sugar (which they brought out with the drink) he deemed it sublime. Sorry, no pics.

    Before heading back up into the hills, actually the foothills of the Ardenne mountains, we took a minute to pick up the beer selections for the evening's tasting. Mmmmm mm mm.
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  • Neerpelt Belgium

    26. April 2017 in Belgien ⋅ ⛅ 50 °F

    A MOST eventful trip to neighboring Neerpelt. Gordon saw the first clearly identifiable barber shop since we've been here. As you can clearly see from the photos, he was channeling his inner hippie and his eyebrows were channeling their inner woolly worms. He is now a happy camper.

    We celebrated by stopping into the local tea room for lunch: toast topped with melted Brie, sautéed apples and mushrooms, thick crispy bacon, all on a bed of lettuce in a mustard vinaigrette. Wow! Lucky guess since we can't read a word of Dutch.

    This is the first place we've been that people seem to routinely use bicycles to go about their daily business (as opposed to bicycle touring or racing). We have tried many times to get a good photo without success. We kind of liked the one here, though, clearly shot through the car window, reflections and all.
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  • Kaasmakerij Catharinadal

    26. April 2017 in Belgien ⋅ ⛅ 50 °F

    This famous cheese maker is tucked away in a residential area about 15 minutes from where we're staying. It is owned and operated by our host Nancy's uncle. Fabulous cheese. We got 3 kinds: two hat incorporated Achel beer and their international award-winning blue.Weiterlesen

  • Trappist Monastery Achel-Hamont

    26. April 2017 in Belgien ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F

    This is one of the six Trappist monasteries left where the monks brew the beer themselves. It's right on border with Netherlands and Gordon had earmarked it as one we should try to visit. We had no idea it was 20 minutes from our Airbnb in Overpelt. Good beer, too.Weiterlesen

  • Driving around

    26. April 2017 in den Niederlanden ⋅ ⛅ 50 °F

    We quite enjoyed just driving around the area. Flat country, clean modern little towns, and moody skies! We barely made it home before it started hailing. Frozen mix and 31 degree temps predicted for tonight.Weiterlesen

  • Lovely stay in Overpelt, Belgium

    27. April 2017 in Belgien ⋅ ☁️ 48 °F

    We are staying with our hosts Jodie and Nancy.

    There is a small fridge stocked with good beers so we don't have to go out to sample the beers.

    Yesterday afternoon when we got back, I could not find my wallet. So we drove to the last place I had gotten out of the car, the windmill. We did nothing t see the wallet on the ground so we went and knocked on the door of the house next to the windmill. Fortunately Heather speaks a bit of German, so we found out that the gentleman had found the wallet and taken it to the police station. When we got to the police station and the officer got off the phone, he greeted us with "you must be Herr Sweet." Two minutes later I had my wallet and everything was good in the world again. I want to that the wonderful Belgiums that affirmed my belief that people are almost always good.Weiterlesen

  • Ochsenhausen

    28. April 2017 in Deutschland ⋅ 🌧 37 °F

    A great attic apartment. There was snow on the ground when we got here. Our lovely hosts Walter and Elfriede spoke almost no English so Heathers language skills are getting a real workout.

  • Visit to Ulm

    29. April 2017 in Deutschland ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F

    The Lutheran church survived the wars, hard to believe. It's the tallest gothic church in Europe. They were having a huge market while we were there which gave the whole place a positively Medieval feel.

    We walked over to the shores of the Danube to get a look at the well preserved Fishermen's quarter. A really veautiful and compact city for walking.
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  • Drive over the Alps back into Italy

    30. April 2017 in Österreich ⋅ ☀️ 52 °F

    We even drove by the Disney Castle on the way. We did get off the autobahn but there was a long line of cars on the road to the castle so we just got right back on the autobahn.

    And no, I did not take advantage of the no speed limit on the autobahn. We undid not want to arrive too early at our Airbnb, so we stuck to 100 kph. There were a few cars that passed us as if we were standing still.

    The Alps here are beautiful, and the Austrian valleys were picturesque.
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  • A rest before flying to England

    30. April 2017 in Italien ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F

    We are here on a working dairy looking out at the Dolomites until next Friday.

  • Dolomites 3

    2. Mai 2017 in Italien ⋅ ☀️ 45 °F
  • Wieserhof

    4. Mai 2017 in Italien ⋅ ⛅ 45 °F

    That's the name of the farm we've been staying at for the last few days. It's been in the family for over 200 years and the young man tending the cows on the previous post plans to continue on.

    The family is exceedingly kind and friendly. They invited us for coffee yesterday. When Maria placed a gorgeous homemade strawberry and whipped cream torte in front of us she explained that in their region they ALWAYS serve a treat with coffee because, after all, coffee is really nothing but water.

    She sent us back upstairs with fresh home-baked whole grain hazelnut rolls for breakfast. We have also been enjoying their fresh eggs and milk.

    This region of Italy is called South Tyrol, and is separated from the rest of Italy by the Dolomites. I was surprised when our hosts greeted us in German. Apparently, except for the 2 cities, only German is spoken here and the culture is decidedly Tyrolean. When we explained that we were from "the OTHER Washington," they said they knew what we meant as they also refer to themselves as "the other Italy."

    That huge stove is a wood stove and is going all day. They cook and bake with it, and it provides all the hot water for the house and radiator system that keeps everything toasty warm. Good thing. They said one month ago they still had 3 feet of snow on the farm.
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