lately

  
Tulips and happy hour with a Main view at Stephen's house. Geese and a bear on a leash at the riverbank. First Döner boat grilled vegetable/sheep's cheese dürüm of the season. Incense swinging by the river (??). Sweatshirt pillows and Obatzda snacks for hanging out by the Main. Wonderful blooms in the park near work. (Pretty much everything revolves around the river when it's warm.)

frankfurt spring

Finally. Today is cool and gloomy, but Frankfurt has burst into color and the Main riverbank is jammed. Frankfurt is a whole different city in good weather.

three days in paris, part III: la tour eiffel

  
Kelley and I rode to the very top of the Eiffel Tower, in spite of the fact that it meant standing in lines for ages in frigid weather. It took not quite three hours in total, from the moment we got in line to the moment we got back down (possibly Easter weekend's fault, but I remember the lines for the top being nuts three years ago in May, too). And . . . it was worth it. The sun set while we were in line, so we got a view of Paris all lit up.

three days in paris, part II: sights

     
We saw a pretty decent amount of Paris in three days.

1.-2. Jardin des Tuileries.
3. In front of Notre Dame.
4.-6. Musee du Louvre.
7. In front of Ste. Chapelle.
8.-10. Place du Tertre / Sacre Coeur.
11.-12. On the way to the Eiffel Tower.
13. Eiffel Tower.

three days in paris, part I: food

  
We ate pretty fantastically in Paris: Late dinner at Les Cocottes after going up to the top of the Eiffel Tower at night (I've loved their logo since I was last in Paris three years ago and walked by on the way to Café Constant, which was also magnificent). Mussels and potatoes au gratin near the Louvre. A lingering final luncheon at a brasserie right on the banks of the Seine by Châtelet. Two very necessary Starbucks latte & muffin breaks. Surprisingly good pizza up near our hostel, on rue de Belleville. And of course many, many Laduree macarons. (Kelley very stoically returned to Laduree with me for a second visit on Easter Sunday after I was shocked/delighted to learn that cafes and also stores are actually open on Sundays in Paris, even Easter Sunday.) Even the eggplant/goat's cheese tart I bought at the train station for the trip home was excellent. Oh, Paris, you're pretty all right.

three days in amsterdam, part IV: windmills

I had visions of riding bicycles through the countryside, over dikes and past windmills, but since it was too cold to stand still outside, let alone be on a bicycle, we changed that plan from "bike tour" to "bus tour" pretty quick -- specifically, Tours & Tickets' Countryside and Windmills tour. The cheese factory tour in Volendam and the wooden clog-making introduction in Marken were surprisingly entertaining in spite of being just as cheesy as you'd expect, but the windmills of Zaanse Schans at sunset were legitimately gorgeous.

three days in amsterdam, part III: in the nighttime

Amsterdam's canals are particularly magical at night.