In my last vacation-related post, I said I’d tell you about our visit to the village of Gruyeres. I lied. Not intentionally, though. It’s just that as I went through the pics, I realized I had other stuff to share. So bear with me…
First, just for the record, I do realize I may be posting more pics and/or info than you care to see. I am aware of this, really. But this blog has become as much of a diary for me as it is a means to share info with the world. You can always just skip it if it overwhelms you, right? I rarely ask folks anymore if they have seen my blog.
Anyway, the last time we were in Europe — September 2012 — we spent most of our time in Italy. I never finished blogging about that trip, which was fabulous, but also mentally exhausting for me as it happened within a month of my mother’s death. It took me awhile to get my brain on the proper path, and I just never caught up on those posts. So I never told y’all about our first visit with Tammi and Martin in Switzerland.
L-R, Me, Mike, Yves, Annelies, Martin, and Tammi
Annelies and Yves had driven down to Italy from Belgium. They spent time exploring on their own while Mike and I enjoyed touring the Swiss and Italian Alps on a pair of rented motorcycles. Then we all joined-up for a week or so of exploring together. Near the end, we drove into Switzerland to see Tammi and Martin, who had just returned to CH from the US in early 2012.
In case you have been wondering, Annelies, Tammi, and I all used to work for the same company. When discussing the visit with Tammi in 2012, she told me there were cows everywhere and promised to introduce me to the “neighbors.”
Our drive through the mountains.
In all, it was about an eight hour drive from Fara Vicentino, Italy (NW of Venice) to Tammi and Martin’s place in Ecublens, which is in southwestern Switzerland. Annelies even let me do some of the driving. So I really can say I drove across the Great Saint Bernard Pass.
Approaching the Great Saint Bernard Pass.
The scenery really was quite spectacular. We were all anxious to get to our destination, though, so we didn’t stop to take many pics. Here’s a collage of images captured by Annelies while I drove… (Click on this or any image for a larger version.)
Amazing Scenery
We were all very happy when we finally reached Ecublens.
L-R, Annelies, Tammi, and Me
That night, we went out for dinner, during which we consumed quite a lot of bread, cheese, wine, and beer. It was a real Swiss fondue meal. The next day we all just hung out and chatted.
Enjoying the patio.
Looking roughly north from Tammi’s driveway.
Then Tammi took Annelies and I to meet the neighbors, as she’d promised. The dogs came along, too, on what was a very unseasonably warm day.
L-R, Annelies, Zoe, Tammi, and Sasha
Some of the neighbors.
Some of the other neighbors.
Their neighbors were cool.
And now, for the 2014 visit.
Commune d’Ecublens
A community Web site describes the town as follows…
The town is located in the district of Glâne in the canton of Fribourg.It is crossed by the main road leading from the town to join Rue Vaud Carrouge (VD).In the north lies the Vaud commune of Moudon, west of the Borgeaud of Carrouge, Mezieres and Vulliens.Towards the east the towns of Fribourg Promasens (Street) and Mossel and south, still the Vaud communes, those Châtillens and Oron-la-Ville.
Ecublens is located on the left bank of the Broye, which boundary between our village and the town of Rue.
Here’s a map for you…
It’s a very small — just over 300 residents in 2013 — and picturesque place.
I told you all about our wonderful dinner on Friday — Raclette! — in a previous post. So I’ll just skip right to Saturday morning, which is when I went out to see the neighbors.
Heather and Timo had left at the crack of dawn for their flight back to the US. I was a bit disappointed to see that it was foggy, but still enjoyed the stroll. It is a lovely, lovely place.
Dewy Spiderweb
Fog
House/Barn Duplex
I hadn’t noticed in 2012 that many of the farm buildings were actually housebarns. How cool is that? A house/barn duplex. As it turns out, they really are called “housebarns.”
Some of the neighbors produced milk for Gruyeres cheese.
Cows in fog.
Wider view of one of the housebarns.
Spiderwebs
The fog was slowly clearing as I meandered through the village.
A view from the edge of the village.
Another housebarn.
My favorite street sign. Playmobil!
Looking roughly north from Tammi’s driveway.
View from their patio terrace.
Barn
Gruyeres Cow
Looking north. Lausanne is to the south. Trains run about every hour.
Another Gruyeres Cow
Cute Housebarn
Neighboring village (that’s where we had fondue during our 2012 visit).
View from the patio terrace.
Lovely, right?
I would never get tired of that view. When it isn’t as overcast, you can actually see the taller, snow-capped peaks in France on the opposite short of Lake Geneva across from Lausanne.
My next post will highlight the village of Gruyeres. Honest.
It’s that time again… the very first day in a brand-new year.
One of the cool things about having a blog is that it makes it REALLY easy to look back on major, and not-so-major, events.
I had to laugh when I read my pal Fuzzy’s annual re-cap and saw that she said “…it often feels like I never go anywhere and I never do anything…” She does a lot of fun stuff. I found it funny because I feel that way often, too. And I also did a lot in 2014. I didn’t ride my motorcycle nearly as much as I’d hoped to, but I got around.
As much as I appreciate being able to work from home, I think it makes me feel like I never go anywhere. On a day-to-day basis, my scenery doesn’t change much. Not that I’m complaining. I just want y’all to understand where that “I never go anywhere” feeling comes from.
For me, 2014 was an interesting year. More ups than downs, fortunately, but some of the downs were pretty low. Fuzzy and I really are kindred spirits in many ways. She said something else that rang true for me, too… “Much of 2014 was spent learning lessons about dealing with people and dealing with myself.”
Some of those lessons were harder than others, but I learned. I know I am not perfect. I try to be a good person, I do. (Of course, “good” is relative.) I can’t make everyone happy. Honesty is not always the best policy. People are complex creatures. I just need to live my life the best way I know how, for better or worse.
Anyway… here’s my look-back at 2014.
There were a few things I said I’d be doing that actually happened.
1. Hubby, Mike, and I took his Mom out to Washington State to visit Amy and her family (February).
2. Eric, our youngest kid, and his wife moved to Spain. But not until the end of September.
3. Hubby and I enjoyed another visit to Europe with our friends (September).
There were some things I’d hoped to do, but didn’t. Like get out on my bike more. Perhaps 2015 will be my year.
And there was a LOT of stuff I didn’t anticipate or plan. I hope you enjoy the re-cap.
January
Let the Cleanup Begin
We suffered a broken pipe at the WV Place. It was an oogy mess. Really.
It could have been much worse. It was sheer luck that Hubby discovered the break when he did.
The place actually cleaned up much better than we’d expected. There was only one broken pipe and it was really easy for Hubby to fix. Also, the contractor we found to do the major, labor-intensive repairs, eventually did a great job. It just took him a while to get around to doing the work (weather was the biggest factor).
February
On the whole, February was a quiet month.
The biggest event was that trip to Washington State to visit Amy and her family. You can read about it here (Part 1) and here (Part 2).
Then there was the visit with my girlfriends, Carol and Tracey. We’ve known each other for close to 40 years. The older I get, the more I appreciate these gals.
Friends are the family you choose. Good ones are worth keeping. It takes effort, though. There have been ups and downs over the years, of course, as we all lead different lives and have grown into people with very different interests. But our hearts will always be connected. We live in separate states, have widely varied responsibilities, schedules, hobbies, etc., but we make sure we stay connected.
Speaking of connected, my friend Brad came for a visit at the end of March. We’ve been friends since high school. We are both horrible at keeping in touch, but that connection runs deep and will always be there. I hope we are able to get together again soon.
April
I had a very nice surprise in April when my employer invited me down to Texas for a sales meeting. I hadn’t been back to Texas since joining the company in January of 2012. I’d never had a chance to explore much, so I stayed a few extra days and moseyed around the state a bit. It was lots of fun. It helped chase away those winter blues, too.
Post and picture links are provided below, if you’re interested:
The biggest event in May was Hubby’s unveiling of Grandfather’s Clock. If you haven’t seen that post yet, you should take a look. It’s all about the clock that talented Hubby of mine built completely from scratch, using black walnut harvested by his grandfather. There are lots of pics, too.
Oh, and I shared a video in a separate post., which includes even more images. It’s Mike’s finest woodworking project to date. It’s also one of the reasons we didn’t do much on weekends… he spent MONTHS making that heirloom.
I finally got some motorcycles rides in, too.
The most memorable for me was my long-anticipated yet sorta impromptu meetup with my friend, Rachael (aka FullyGalore). I wrote all about that meeting here. I’ve been following her blog for quite a few years and had been wanting to meet her in person for a long time. We really are kindred spirits. But she lives on Long Island, which isn’t exactly close or easy to get to from Virginia.
I compiled a neat little video using some of the footage I captured while riding with Dottie. Watch it if you dare. It made me want to get out and RIDE. Like now. But with temps in the mid-30s and no heated gear, I decided to just finish working on this blog post.
The biggest event in June was Meg’s 15th birthday. We don’t usually celebrate our furkids’ birthdays. Heck, we don’t make much fuss over birthdays in general.
But we never thought Meg would make it to her 15th birthday. That’s like 105 in dog years.
Her health had slowly but surely been declining, so we felt that since she’d made it that long, it was a milestone we just HAD to celebrate. She got cake and ice cream in addition to that awesome hat.
Oh, and our eldest daughter Shannon got her motorcycle license!
We finished of the month in high style with a sorta last-minute trip to Texas. My company celebrated it’s 15th anniversary that month. Since we had a pretty good year, they decided to fly all of the remote employees and their spouses in for the party.
Hubby hadn’t been to Texas since before we were married. He’d spent a lot of time there early in his career since the company he was working for built the Marriott Rivercenter hotel.
It’s funny how things turn out. July started as virtually a blank slate, other than work. But cool stuff can happen unexpectedly.
I FINALLY finished another major furniture makeover. See for yourself.
I squeezed in a brief motorcycle ride AND our Canuck friend Alain stopped in for a visit. We met him back in 2010 when we did our first motorcycle tour in Europe. He was part of the group, and is one of the nicest and smiliest folks you’d ever want to meet. I hope we get to see Alain again soon.
I also enjoyed a morning ride with Dottie, which is when we discovered the Blue Ridge Country Store, which isn’t really a store, but the coolest yard decoration ever.
That ended up being our very last road trip together on matching motorcycles because shortly afterward, Hubby bought himself a brand new touring motorcycle.
Then we went on a trip to Europe. It wasn’t quite two weeks long, but we packed a lot of stuff in. I still haven’t finished posting about the trip, but here’s what I have so far. The first six posts were either written while traveling or shortly after we got back to Virginia. I tried to at least keep y’all somewhat updated, but I didn’t have a ton of time what with traveling around, limited Wifi, and spending times with friends we rarely get to see.
We were a little scared about going, due to Meg’s health, which had been declining even more rapidly since her birthday in June. But she was still hanging in there when we got back.
Then, at the end of the month, Eric, our youngest, and his wife, Kelsey, moved to Spain.
Our “Hasta Luego” Lunch at El Toro
On September 15, I learned that my moto-blogging buddy, Bob, had passed away. It was very sad, and hit me harder than expected, which is why I didn’t do a blog post about it until early November.
That pretty much covers September.
October
The month started off nicely on Mike’s birthday weekend with a visit from our friends, Kathy and Barry. They came down from Maryland for the day. Kathy and I enjoyed a shop hop/wine tasting event while Mike and Barry went for a motorcycle ride. Sorry, I don’t have any pics to share. Did I mention that my new camera had broken and was at the shop for repairs (under warranty, thankfully).
We also managed to squeeze in some local riding. Together, but on separate bikes this time.
The last weekend in October, when a previously planned trip for me had to be postponed, I did a long, solo ride on Saturday.
It was awesome.
Then, on Sunday, Dottie and I did a much shorter trip into West Virginia.
November
Things started getting sorta hectic in November.
We lost Meg on November 13. She’d fought the good fight, and was with us much longer than either of us ever expected. When her health had finally deteriorated to the point that I knew she was in pretty much constant pain, I knew it was time.
It was the right thing to do, but it was very, very hard. Even though we’d known for so long that it was coming. We both miss our crazy old girl.
I did travel to Rehoboth, Delaware with another friend from childhood, but haven’t done a post yet.
Meg’s passing, Thanksgiving, and the scattering of Meg’s cremains, among other things, sorta set me reeling.
So the month of November was a bit of a blur.
December
December started off with a bang, too.
First, we went to San Diego December 5 through 9 to visit with Shannon for her birthday.
Amy flew down from Washington to join us, so it was a mini-reunion with 66.6% of our offspring.
It was a lovely visit. I haven’t done a post about that trip yet — I was too busy getting ready for Christmas — but captured some cool pics I’d like to share. I’ll do a post one day.
December 15 was a busy day…
Eric and Kelsey came back from Spain. They hope to return in the Spring. I haven’t seen much of them — they were sick, too — but am glad having them back on the same continent.
It was the day of my annual Chickmas gathering with Carol and Tracey. This year it was at Carol’s house in Southern Maryland.
AND it was the day everything we were shipping needed to be boxed, wrapped, and delivered to the post office or UPS store.
Tracey, Carol, and Me
On December 17, Shannon flew here from San Diego to join us for Christmas. She was here through December 27.
My Dad and mother-in-law were here for Christmas, too (Dec 23-27). Hubby and I both fell ill with bad colds mid-way through Christmas Day.
The holiday was hectic, but good. We had a very low-key New Years’ Eve — we both needed that! –and I’ve spent quite a few hours today compiling this annual re-cap.
It’s for me, just as much as it is for you. I find l looking back at previous year in review posts is kind of interesting, too.
I also forgot to share this image of a house with a thatched roof, which I took specifically for my mother-in-law (her sister visited Belgium years ago and told her about thatched roof homes).
House with thatched roof.
And then there was this spider. There are lots and lots of these spiders in Annelies and Yves’ garden (yard).
Orb weaver spider.
Oh, and this brick barn. Everything is built with brick in Belgium, even barns.
Brick Barn
Those images were captured on our afternoon excursion to secure provisions for our upcoming road trip to Switzerland. We were to leave once Yves got home from work.
Ready to be packed.
The Master Packer of Trunks
Yves really does excel at packing a lot of luggage and other stuff into small spaces.
In total, the drive to Tammi and Martin’s house, which is about 20 minutes northwest of Lausanne, Switzerland, was expected to take about eight hours. We decided we’d do about half of the driving on Thursday evening, so we’d have more time with our friends in Switzerland on Friday. Annelies planned a route that took us south through Belgium, into and out of Luxembourg, to Metz, France, where we spent the night.
Rather than eat at home, we decided to grab a quick meal on the road. That’s how we ended up at Burger King in a highway rest stop in Luxembourg.
They speak French in Luxembourg, so I decided to muddle my way through ordering. I was doing okay until the cashier asked if I wanted mayonnaise or mustard. What an odd question to ask about a burger. So I told her make it the normal way. You know, make it however it was usually served. She looked confused by that so I figured I’d make it easy on her and choose the mayo. It was only after my dinner was placed on the tray in front of me that I realized she was asking if I wanted ketchup or mayonnaise for my french fries!
Belgians claim to have invented french fries (pommes frites), and they typically eat them with mayonnaise, NOT ketchup. We got quite a few chuckles out of that whole experience.
Burger King in Luxembourg
Next is one of my favorite captures from that drive…
Minions, as seen at a rest stop in Luxembourg.
I’m still kicking myself for not buying that bearded minion.
The rest of the trip to met, while stormy and dark, was uneventful. And we rose bright and early the next morning to continue our drive to Switzerland.
Sunrise over Metz, France (from our hotel window)
Because we took Yves’ company car, Mike and I weren’t allowed to drive (we’d taken their personal car to the UK), and were relegated to the back seat. I didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to where we were, I just sat back and enjoyed the scenery. It was quite beautiful, really, especially as we crossed through the mountains west of Alsace, France. Colorful villages with the painted buildings I LOVE, old stuff (castles, churches, etc.), and vineyards.
I told Mike I wanted to return to that area via motorcycle one day. It was quite picturesque.
As seen in a small town/village in France.
As seen in a small town/village in France.
As seen in a small town/village in France.
We stopped at a genuine French patisserie for breakfast, which made my day. The pastries were delightful.
A bit later, we stopped at a rest area for a potty break. The French know how to do road food. (Click on the image for a closer look.)
French Road Food
And we drove right through the heart of France’s Alsacian wine region.
As seen in the Alsacian wine region of France.
As seen in the Alsacian wine region of France.
As seen in the Alsacian wine region of France.
As seen in the Alsacian wine region of France.
As seen in the Alsacian wine region of France.
As seen in the Alsacian wine region of France.
There were vineyards everywhere. And it was harvest time. 🙂
If only we’d had time to linger…
Honestly, though, we were all anxious to see our friends, so we pushed on.
As seen at a rest stop outside Basel, Switzerland.
Soon enough, we were overlooking the lovely valley where Tammi and Martin live.
Ah, Switzerland.
The tall mountains in the background are on the opposite side of Lake Geneva, across from Lausanne.
We were all very happy to reach our destination that day.
L-R, Annelies, Heather, me, and Tammi.
That’s cherry beer we are drinking, NOT red wine on ice.
L-R, Martin, Tammi, Annelies, me, Mike, Yves, Timo, and Heather
Oh, and we can’t forget their sweet, crazy dogs.
L-R, Zoe and Sasha
View from their terrace.
We all enjoyed sitting on their lovely terrace, drinking, and chatting. In fact, we did that for hours. Later that night is when they served us Raclette, which I wrote about previously.
Mike and I are truly blessed to have such friends in our lives.
In my next post, I’ll tell you about what we did on Saturday, including our fun, impromptu visit to the nearby medieval village of Gruyeres.
I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas. It was a bit of a bust around here. Just a bit, though. We thoroughly enjoyed a visit from Shannon, who was here December 17 – 27. We got to spend time with my Dad and Mike’s Mom, too (they were here December 23 – 27). We were supposed to have a post-Christmas party on December 26 — our son and his wife, and my brother, sis-in-law, and nephew were going to come — but then Mike and I both got walloped with colds halfway through Christmas day. So, sadly, we had to cancel the after-party. It was during that party-that-never-happened that I’d been planning on taking pictures of everyone, so I have very few pics of the people who were here. Sigh…
Instead of a Christmas post, I’ll just get back to the vacation re-cap.
We made it back to Annelies and Yves’ house in Belgium on Wednesday evening, just in time for dinner. By Thursday, Mike and I were both ready for a down day, so we just relaxed around the house while Annelies worked.
At one point, I decided to go for a stroll around town. I wanted a closer look at the brick work I’d been admiring. As the below excerpt from a book I found on-line explains, Belgians are artists with brick.
Annelies and Yves currently live in the town of Zaffelare, which is part of the municipality of Lochristi, located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. Here’s a Google Maps link if you’re curious.
Neither of them think their town is particularly remarkable, but I find it quite charming. Especially when you look at the architectural detail, which I think they probably just take for granted.
It appears very well-maintained, too. There were lovely flowers everywhere, and the streets were very clean.
I found it a charming mix of old and new. There were a number of older, brick buildings being renovated and some new buildings being erected near the town’s center.
There’s even a small castle! (Kasteel van Zaffelare)
I thoroughly enjoyed my walking tour, and I collected quite a few images to share with you. Some of those images are included below. If you like, you can view all of the images I captured during my walk by following this link to my Zaffelare album on Flickr.
First is one of my favorite buildings. I love how the builder used different colored bricks to add detail. Up close, I was delighted to discover some of the bricks featured a ceramic glaze.
Brick Details
Green and White Glazed Accent Bricks
Pub
If I remember correctly, this is still being used as a school.
Church (even the steeple is brick)
House
House
Older building undergoing renovation.
The Castle (Kasteel van Zaffelare)
Castle Close-up
House
Modern Brick Facade
Interesting Detail
Steeple Fashioned from Black Bricks
Random Statue
I was also impressed by the Belgian builders’ use of different varieties of brick and stone. The following picture is a good example of this variety.
Look at that variety of brick.
Cool Flowers
I also noticed a lot of stained-glass windows, as seen in the image below (second storey window). I find the bump-out in that building interesting, too. Also, check out the window shades, which are sort of like little garage doors over the windows. These shades are very common on homes, and often have electronic open/close mechanisms (like on garage doors).
Leaded Stained-glass Window Detail
Another shot of my favorite green-glazed bricks, but this time with a bonus reflection.
I just love those green-glazed bricks.
Interesting variety of brick and stone.
Cool Details
Unique structural support.
Showing its age.
Mix of old and new. Note the closed window shades on the left.
Gaudy gold lion.
Variety of materials.
Cute, newer, modern cottage.
Variety of materials.
Pretty Flowers
Old and New
As I made my way back to the house, I was treated with this nice view of the sky while walking down Annelies and Yves’ street.
Annelies and Yves’ Street
Shortly after I reached the house, Mike and I went to the store for lunch provisions and more beer to take along on our upcoming road trip.
Lunch!
As soon as Yves returned from work, we’d all be piling into the car and heading south through France and into Switzerland for our planned rendezvous at Tammi and Martin’s house. I’ll save that for the next post.
I am woefully behind on posting about our European vacation. Heck, I’m behind on blogging, period. It’s been hectic around here, and I just haven’t been motivated to post.
But here goes…
From Gloucester, I’d thought we could wend our way through the countryside, see a couple more cathedrals, and finish the day off in Brighton, a seaside resort town. But since we’d lingered longer than anticipated in Stow-on-the-Wold AND Gloucester, and still had a three-plus-hour drive ahead of us, time was getting tight. And by then, we were both kind of cathedraled out. One can only see so many of those absolutely amazing places in one short span of time before they start blending together. So I told Hubby to just let the GPS plot the fastest route to Brighton and off we went.
Fast routes are rarely scenic, and they’re not always fast either. The GPS took us down past London — on the southwest side — and then south on the M23 past Gatwick Airport. It was nearing rush hour, so traffic was rather heavy.
Our hotel was actually in Hove, a town to the west of Brighton. It appeared to me that the two sort of blended together. As it turns out, Brighton and Hove were merged in 1997 to form the borough of Brighton and Hove. Then, in 2000, the conjoined towns were officially granted city status. So I guess you could say we stayed on the Hove side.
We were both a bit loopy from hunger and fatigue, so after we checked into our hotel, we set out to find a pub.
There were two reasons I wanted to go to Brighton. One, to see an English seaside town, which I pictured as looking much like Wildwood, New Jersey or Ocean City, Maryland. You know, with a boardwalk, souvenir shops, tiny restaurants galore, small hotels and motels, etc. The second reason was to get real, authentic fish and chips.
The best fish and chips we’d ever eaten.
It took a while, but we finally found Hove Place. And, as you can see in the image above, we secured some fish and chips. They’re commonly served with mushy peas, which I loved, too. Hubby, not so much.
The fish-and chips were seriously the best we’d ever eaten. As is to be expected when dining in a seaside, UK town, right?
Hove Place Collage (click for bigger image)
After that lovely, delicious dinner and two very large glasses of beer, we crashed back at the hotel.
The next morning, we looked around Brighton a bit before heading east to Dover, where we were scheduled to get a 2:00-ish ferry back to France.
Brighton was not at all what I expected. It’s not a cute, quaint seaside town, it’s a bustling city — with tall buildings and everything — that sits beside the water. And we had to cross mountains to get there. The city itself is quite hilly.
It was still cool to see. We explored Brighton a bit the next morning. After finding a car park — aka parking lot — we headed for the water, which was a bit more challenging than anticipated since we were in the middle of a city. But we did it.
Brighton Pier (est. 1891)
We were hoping there’d be restaurants or cafes on the boardwalk, but since there wasn’t a boardwalk, we had to head back into the city.
Look what we spotted in a little alley…
Homemade Scones!
Since I’d never had a genuine English scone, we HAD to go inside.
The Mock Turtle Tearoom
I’m so glad we did. It was super-cute.
Inside The Mock Turtle
Inside The Mock Turtle
I snapped pictures while we waited for our breakfast to be served.
Inside The Mock Turtle
Inside The Mock Turtle
Inside The Mock Turtle
We both ordered scones and coffee. They were DELICIOUS, and were served on transferware to boot.
Scones!!!
A very happy ToadMama.
After that lovely English breakfast, we strolled around a bit more. Here are some of the fun images I captured.
Hubby waiting while I walked on the beach.
Looking west.
Look what I just happened to see on the stony shore.
Carousel
Finally, a bit of the seaside tackiness I love.
Doughnut Groyne
I thought that might have some sort of maritime significance, like a thing ships tied off to, but it’s just art, known as the Doughnut Groyne.
Disco Ball on the Beach!
I had to laugh when I saw that, which immediately reminded me of the song, Shiny Disco Balls.
Here’s a collage of images for you…
Collage (click for a bigger image)
It wasn’t long before we had to set off for Dover, which was a couple hours away. The drive was interesting, but mostly unremarkable except for some sheep.
Baaaa!
Before too long, we were at the ferry terminal.
Waiting to pay our ferry toll in Dover.
Boarding the ferry.
I used to think the Washington State ferries were big, but they got nothing on these English Channel behemoths!
If you like to see the full collection of pictures from that day, CLICK HERE to get to my Flickr album.
Next up… a walking photo tour of Annelies and Yves’ charming village in Belgium.
I’m a bit behind on my posts about the Europe trip. While this one is sort of about the trip, it’s more about a delicious dinner idea you simply must try. Our Swiss friends, Tammi and Martin, fed it to us for dinner one night during our recent trip while we were visiting their home.
I knew immediately that I HAD to try it here at home. The only question was, would we be able to find the right cheese, or a suitable replacement.
Here’s a group pic from our visit…
L-R, Martin, Tammi,Annelies, Me, Mike (aka Hubby), Yves, Timo, and Heather
I have the coolest friends. Really. I love these folks.
Anyway, back to dinner. It was called Raclette. It’s pronounced like rock-let. Essentially it’s melted cheese and stuff served over boiled potatoes. Not just any cheese, Raclette cheese. It’s actually a type of cheese, suitable for melting. Martin and Tammi thought maybe Gruyere might be a good substitute. Or any similar cheese that melts well.
Everyone figured it was probably available on-line. It is. It’s actually available through Amazon. But when I was searching, I found The Swiss Bakery, which sells on-line, but also happens to be sorta close to here.
Anyone who likes and buys good cheese knows, cheese ain’t cheap. Gruyere, which I tried first, is $20-$25 per pound at our local supermarket. The Raclette sold by The Swiss Bakery is “only” $17 per pound. And two people can easily eat half a pound of the stuff.
There are different tools you can use to melt the cheese. I’ve been planning to get a table-top raclette grill, AFTER I was sure I could get the cheese.
Since I had no plans for yesterday, and it was too cold and windy for a motorcycle ride (in my opinion), I drove my car to The Swiss Bakery for cheese.
Wanna guess what we had for dinner? LOL. It was darn good, too.
Here are some pics from that first dinner Martin and Tammi served.
Martin & Tammi’s Raclette Set-up
There were eight of us, so they actually had two grills.
Raclette in Switzerland
Raclette on my plate.
It was fabulous, really.
Raclette is traditionally served with cornichons (fancy, itty-bitty dill pickles) and cocktail onions, and accompanied by white wine. Apparently — according to Martin who is a chef and knows these things — the cornichons, onions, and wine all work together to help digest the cheese.
And that’s important. Simply put, picture eating a plateful of hot, melted cheese followed by a cold glass of water. The water would turn that cheese into a giant lump of goo in your gullet.
You start with boiled potatoes. You chop them up on your plate as your cheese melts, adding butter or not, depending on what you feel like. Raclette is also served with toppings, a lot like pizza toppings, that you can add to your cheese as it is melting. Diced bacon, dried beef, sliced grape tomatoes, olives, chopped leeks, diced onions, pepperoni, etc. Once the cheese is melted, you scrape it off of the little melting-tray onto your potatoes and voila, a nice little plate of deliciousness, prepared by you exactly to your liking.
Mike, Heather, and Me
Raclette grill in use.
For yesterday’s Raclette test here at home, I just put a cast iron frying pan under the broiler. Once it was hot, I removed it from the oven, laid the cheese, in 1/4″ slices, into the pan, added some diced green onions and dried beef, and then put it back under the broiler. By the time I’d put the boiled potatoes onto our plates, cut them up, and added butter, the cheese was ready. It melts well, so that part goes really fast.
Of course, I basically had a giant pan of melted cheese to portion out evenly between two plates, which is harder than having your own little Raclette tray, but I managed.
Here’s what my improvised Raclette looked like…
Improvised Raclette
I served it in a pie plate to make it easier to eat in front of the TV. A regular plate would have been fine had we been dining at the table.
I wanted to get some air-dried Swiss beef — bundnerfleisch — but that’s hard to find locally, so I settled for Bresaola, which I found at Wegman’s. You could also use American dried beef, but the American version is much saltier. And drier. Prosciutto would work, too. So would pepperoni.
I’d really like to find some Speck (an Italian bacon from the South Tyrol region of Italy, which is rubbed with a mix of salt, pepper, juniper berries, other garden herbs, then dry cured, lightly cold smoked over beechwood chips, then stacked in aging cellars, where it is slow dried). Speck is similar to Prosciutto, but I think it’s better.
You can read a bit more about Raclette here, if you like.
Guess what I did before writing this post?
Raclette Grill
I ordered that Raclette grill I’ve been wanting. LOL.
You should try Raclette for yourself. But remember, the cheese is important. While the experiment with Gruyere was tasty, it wasn’t nearly as good. The Raclette is just a bit more-flavorful. Although boiled potatoes covered with melted Gruyere was far from the worst thing I’ve ever eaten, and I would eat it again in a pinch. But, if you REALLY like cheese and want to enjoy a more-authentic Raclete experience, buy some Raclette cheese. It’s worth it.
I had to laugh when I read my 
March
Friends are the family you choose. Good ones are worth keeping. It takes effort, though. There have been ups and downs over the years, of course, as we all lead different lives and have grown into people with very different interests. But our hearts will always be connected. We live in separate states, have widely varied responsibilities, schedules, hobbies, etc., but we make sure we stay connected.
I had a very nice surprise in April when my employer invited me down to Texas for a sales meeting. I hadn’t been back to Texas since joining the company in January of 2012. I’d never had a chance to explore much, so I stayed a few extra days and moseyed around the state a bit. It was lots of fun. It helped chase away those winter blues, too.
The biggest event in May was Hubby’s unveiling of 
The most memorable for me was my long-anticipated yet sorta impromptu meetup with my friend, Rachael (aka FullyGalore). I wrote all about that meeting 
The biggest event in June was Meg’s 15th birthday. We don’t usually celebrate our furkids’ birthdays. Heck, we don’t make much fuss over birthdays in general.
Oh, and our eldest daughter Shannon got her motorcycle license!
It’s funny how things turn out. July started as virtually a blank slate, other than work. But cool stuff can happen unexpectedly.
It was awesome.
Things started getting sorta hectic in November.
