karen

Whoa! Nothing from my text posted! I'll try again with smaller pieces.

karen

We (two couples) are just back from another 3-week adventure, branching out beyond France this time - itinerary worked out well and we were very happy with all the lodging. Flew British Airways because of frequent flyer miles. Good flights and staff. Landed at Schiphol and took taxi into Amsterdam to the Canal House Hotel. Great place, lives up to the nice reviews concerning location, charm, breakfasts, etc. Yes, the Westerkerk bells peal nearly continuously (or so it seemed!!); however, each time I was reminded of Anne Frank listening to them…Visited the Anne Frank house early evening during dinner hour - no lines and had the place to ourselves. Strolled the western canal ring, used canal boat as a taxi to the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh museum, ate at nice neighborhood restaurants (from a pancake house to "Christophe" a Michelin 1-star place around the corner). Took train to Haarlem one morning. <BR>Picked up a rental car and we were off. The drives between lodging places were mostly not very long, which helped us not be exhausted 3 weeks later! Drove past the bulbfields (no more blooms - just foliage ripening) to Delft. Visited the churches, walked along the canals, shopped for antiques. Stayed in a business-oriented hotel called "Dish Hotel Delft" just across a canal from the Old town. This strategy worked well, with easy auto access, free parking at hotels, and one just has to walk across a bridge to the old cobblestone, one-car-wide-streets of the medieval towns. Modern facilities and great big breakfast buffet. Many breakfasts we came across can last thru lunch… <BR>Next we headed southwest to Zeeland province - not many American tourists ever include this. We went to a little village near the North Sea called Ouddorp because one of us (Pieter) had evidence that his ancestors were from there - and a great-grandpa had visited in 1910, (at age 60) taking photos, which we had with us. We found the street, the buildings, the windmill, and even, it appears, the house where the man was born in 1850. All this with help from local people who stopped to aid us as we stood on corners with photos and maps! Everything lovely and tidy. Spent the night in Renesse (near Middleburg) at a beach resort near the dunes! <BR>Headed south via the extensive waterworks that hold the sea at bay, past the Delta works and to a ferryboat on our way to Brugge. <BR>

karen

Part 2 (Belgium) <BR>Hotel in Brugge for 2 nights was Hotel Egmond. WONDERFUL. Right near the Beguinage. Lovely, quiet, nice rooms, garden terrace, great hosts with good advice on touring and dining. Did much of our touring mornings and after mid-afternoon, to avoid the tour busses and big crowds. (Used a laundromat while the crowds were elbowing their way around the streets!) Sampled our share of Belgian beer, dined well at "Lottenburg" restaurant, rode a canal boat, etc. Visited the Groeninge museum early and again had it uncrowded (the Memling paintings are currently there, as well, as their usual building is being renovated) Enjoyed the place very much but you really should stay a night or two, as daytrippers only see it with the crowds. <BR>On to Brussels, with a stop along the way in Ghent, particularly to see the Van Eyck "Adoration of the Mystic Lamb" - presented with good audio explanation. In Brussels, we stayed at Hotel Welcome. Again, good location in the old fishmarket district, now teeming with fish restaurants, with easy walk to the Grand Place. The hotel's restaurant, "La Truite d'Argent" was especially good - fine food and staff. We are glad we stopped in Brussels, to see the Grand Place and visit the Beaux Arts Museum (although the sudden closing of certain galleries "due to lack of personnel" was annoying) but we really much prefer small towns and countryside. <BR>So: on to France! We headed south toward Reims and Champagne region. We stopped at Waterloo (another ancestor had been in a Scottish regiment there!) and were pleasantly surprised by the media presentation in the visitor center. We didn't climb the Butte de Lion due to high winds and blowing rain (our only bad weather of the trip was Brussels and this day). Crossed the border, found an ATM and got our francs ready. <BR>

karen

Part 3: France <BR>Stayed at a fabulous and reasonable B&B just outside Reims, in the village of St. Thierry. Owned by Evelyne and Remi Harlaut. Just 3 rooms and Evelyne cooks a terrific dinner - while Remi pours aperitifs of his own brut champagne! They have a website www.champagne-harlaut.fr Evelyne is studying English and looks forward to practicing it; the gardens are beautiful and just over the wall are their grapes! <BR>Now comes the one rant: A chef at a fine restaurant in Brugge encouraged us to dine at "Royal Champagne" a Relais & Chateaux property south of Reims, overlooking the town of Epernay. Lovely spot, had aperitifs on the terrace, ordered dinner, all very nice and then it went vastly downhill. Never have we ever, in the world, had such poor service. The food was fine, whenever we finally got it - but there was a point where we sat with nothing in front of us for 40 minutes and then only 2 dishes were brought - getting cold while the other 2 hadn't shown up. Five minutes later we really complained. We got "sorry, sorry" but never an explanation or anything to make up for it. We know that you don't rush dining and have many lovely 3-hour experiences but there was something wrong all night here and no one kept us informed. We wished we'd dined with the Harlauts again at the B&B instead!! <BR>Toured the Reims cathedral and puttered along the wine route in the back roads of the region. The weather turned warm as we headed east to Alsace! <BR>Two nights in Strasbourg at the Hotel du Dragon. Once again, just across the canal (a bridge walk) to Petite France and a few minutes to the Cathedral. Great place, highly recommend it. Easy parking for car, helpful staff, quiet, etc. Took another canal boat ride, explored Petite France, etc. Ate at a winstub "Zum Strissel" that was excellent and splurged at "Au Crocodile" - a 3-star Michelin legendary restaurant. Fabulous food and perfect staff. We had walked by early in the day to check out the location; while reading the posted menu, the chef came out on the doorstop - we told him we'd be there that evening and he struck up a friendly conversation. <BR>Next three nights in Turckheim. Just 5km outside Colmar. We'd been advised to stay outside Colmar for easy access to wine route village exploration, etc. This was perfect. (We went into Colmar to visit the Unterlinden Museum, which is wonderful.) Turckheim is pretty and quiet and not crammed full of tourist shops. Drive right through the medieval portal and into the town square. We stayed at the Hotel des Deux Clefs, smack in the center across from the Hotel de Ville. Nice helpful staff. We meandered along the Route des Vins, doing a little tasting and a little winebuying (especially from Domaine Sipp-Mack in Hunawihr - highly recommended). Toured Chateau Haut-Konigsberg, etc. Our last two nights were in Thann, the southern end of the Route des Vins. Not too frequented by tourists - we had lodging connections through my brother who has traveled there on business several times (nearby it is industrial, with fine chemicals produced there). We stayed at a lovely place called Hotel du Parc, owned by a couple and he's the chef. The renowned "Rangen" vineyards are in this town - high end Riesling and Tokay Pinot Gris. <BR>A quick trip (45 minutes) to the Basel-Mulhouse airport (jointly French/Swiss) was easy. We like returning from a regional airport near our last night's stay - simple car rental return and not crowded. Airline was Crossair (BA codeshare partner) and very nice - to Heathrow and then home. <BR>It was a great trip but it's always nice to hear the INS agent say "welcome home!" <BR>Thanks to anyone who helped with information while we planned this trip. I'm happy to answer questions here or direct email. <BR>

Thyra

Karen, <BR>I can't thank you enough for the first parts of your posts. We are going to Amsterdam and Brugge in April... and I had already decided on the Canal House! Your review nailed it!

Heather

Thank you for the wonderful trip report, Karen! <BR> <BR>Hopefully, next Fall, I'll do a return trip to Alsace and will keep your notes, including the recommendation outside of Reims.

Jody

Kare. I was sorry to hear the rant ablout Royal champagne, we have stayed there sevral times and have always had wonderful service, I am praying it was only an OFF night for them as I would be really disappointed if their service had deteriorated. Sorry it had to happen to you though. We too have stayed at the welcome in Brussels and enjoyed Truite d'argent several times. Once it was our anniversary and I had mentioned it to sophie,at dessert time our plates were decorated with "Bonne Anniversaire-35 " . I heard they had renovated , was it nice?

kam

We have also stayed at the Royal Champagne and had two dinners with them. Service and food could not have been better. Deux Clefs is a wonderful choice if you want a small town. We prefered Colmar itself. Great part of the world, want to return, next time will come trough Belgium as you did!

Diane

Just returned a few weeks ago myself and also stayed at the Egmond Hotel in Bruges. I thoroughly enjoyed the hotel and the location. In Alsace, we stayed in Ottrott at L'Ami Fritz. If anyone is interested, you can see my webpage with a trip narration and photographs: <BR>http://www.travelswithdiane.homestea...ip2001pg1.html <BR>

Lori

So sorry to hear about your visit to Royal Champagne. We've also stayed and dined there several times with no problems--haven't been there since 1999, though. Maybe it was an off night?

ana

On what days you were in Brugge and on which it was less crowded?

karen

Jody: They are still renovating at Hotel Welcome - the end of the hall was boarded up with blueboard; our friends' room had trim carpentry installed and not finished and no closet rods yet! But the rooms were fine. <BR>Ana: We were in Brugge for a Thursday and Friday (departed Saturday). I don't think any day is better than others; it's the MIDDLE of each day when all the tour busses and daytrippers clog the streets (as they do at Mont St. Michel)

ana

Thank you for your reply. <BR>Is it possible to drive into center of Brugge and find parking space or leave the car far from the center?

karen

I did not notice any parking areas while walking around; our hotel was just inside the portals to the old town - so we did not have to negotiate much of the medieval streets, nor think about it once we'd arrived at the hotel. I recall some parallel-parked cars along streets but I wouldn't want to be part of that traffic. Sorry, can't help you with parking for day-trippers.

John

Ana, there five enormous underground car parks located on the periphery of the old town, with something like 4,000 spaces. They are inexpensive for day visitors and a short walk from the middle of things. Don't even think about trying to park on the street in the medieval bits.