Black Forest and Rue du Vin
We took a short overnight trip while Nancy and Rachel were in town. We love, love Alsace. It’s got such character and is so well taken care of. Plus, we can speak German there since almost everyone is bilingual.
The town we love most is Eguisheim. Our hotel this time was great!
Auberge Alsacienne
Eguisheim, Alsace, France
The Black Forest is a nice area in Germany with picturesque scenery, fun festivals, and famous cake. This trip we visited Freiburg, and Staufen. Both were great, and we happened to come on a fest day. The Musik and Wein fest was a treat for our guests. Any time you can experience festivals with the Germans, it’s a great experience!
Prost!
Ribeauville
Getting hooked up by friendly Jean, the linen man in Ribeauville. Even Addy scored!
Rue du Vin
May flowers and storks, so pretty!
Eguisheim
one of the many wine caves in Alsace
Staufen, Germany
Staufen
Adelaide accompanying the orchestra.
Grandma buying strawberries in the Black Forest.
Freiburg, Germany
Cathedral (Münster) in Freiburg. We got to hear the choir practicing for their evening performance.
Original 13th century stained glass windows that were protected during the WWII. Our kids had fun picking out the different townsmen's symbols. The town baker donated this window.
Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, the local speciality. Yummy.
Freiburg
Black Forest
Paris and Burgundy
Paris, sigh, and Burgundy, another sigh, we love you so! It was so great being back in Paris with my man. We haven’t been together since our honeymoon. And this trip, we were able to bring the kids, and Nancy and Rachel too. We had an amazing 4 day trip driving into Paris for 2 days, and then 2 days in Burgundy. Seriously, if you like beautiful landscapes, quiet quaint towns, and red wine then this is the place for you. This is our third time visiting and this trip we had great weather and were able to bike all around the vineyards. We got a great recommendation from a bike store in Beaune and spent one of our most memorable days yet in Europe. We met some 10th generation winemakers. Had great Frenchy-French food. And spent quality time with the fam. Which could have been spent anywhere, but let’s face it- everything is just better in France. It’s a good thing you can say whatever you want on blogs. No one will disagree with me!!
Here is our hotel info from one of the cutest places yet- just a few kilometers outside of Beaune.
Hotel Le Home
Beaune, France
Bourgogne Randonnees
Bike shop in Beaune. Fantastic customer service and great trips by Florent and his wife Sarah.
Email me if anyone needs tips on good wine tasting places.
Here are pics…
Tuileries Gardens in the Spring
Checking out Miss Mona Lisa
antique shopping on the Rue Cler
6 years later on our fav bride, Pont Alexander. This time, no sunrise shoot, and many more wrinkles. Oh, and a few more kids.
Lovely Sainte Chapelle in Paris. My favorite European Cathedral.
Cam reflecting on the light patterns produced from the glass windows.
carousel in Montmartre
play time while we shopped for art
Having a picnic in the Trocadero park at sunset.
landscapes in Burgundy
Exploring the personal wine cellar of the most adorable man ever, Vincent LaHaye.
taking a break from all the bike riding
We left with our baskets full, yay!
biking through the vineyards
Addy was not impressed with the 10th generation winemaker, or the cave that was built in 1695.
Burgundy
crazy girls!
Provencal Easter
France is such a diverse country. My favorite area is the South of France. We took a quick trip to Provence for Easter. PJ had 4 days off, and there happened to be a biannual antique fair in l’Isle-Sur-la-Sorgue. Providence? Oh yeah. Husband was reluctant to say yes to the trip considering the whole antique fair things, but as always, he was up for the adventure. We maxed out space in the Burban, brought only the essentials, and spent the weekend in l’Isle. Love the Luberon region, the towns have such character. We were able to squeeze in Rousillon, Gordes, Uzes, Bonnieux, Arles, l’Isle-Sur-la-Sorgue, and Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Loved it all, and loved the Brocante!!
We had to balance the shopping with play for the kids. A highlight for them was definitely the Easter egg hunt at the Pont-du-Gard. We got a lot of stares, but also a lot of smiles. We made our mark on the rocks with Cam’s jelly bean drool. What a memorable experience!
On Monday, we took a detour to a fabric store on the way home. I wanted to get French fabric for photo backdrops. Unfortunately, the store was closed so we decided to stop by Arles instead. The town was absolutely packed with locals who were waiting on the running of the bulls through the town into the Roman Arena. What a coincidence and a great adventure! Our kids were loving it. Great end to an awesome French trip.
Will post pics of my Brocante goodies when I get them all up and hung. Until then, here are some fun family pics…
Gordes, photo by rockstar Caden
Antique market at l'Isle-Sur-la-Sorgue
Country French awesomeness
having fun in France
Gordes, France
Gordes
Rousillon
Easter at the Pont du Gard
the egg hunt
my poser, Adelaide
Cam loving the hunt
Crazy hail storm on the way back to the car.
Running of the bulls in Arles!
French boys chasing the bulls.
Arles
street performer in Arles
Incredible wine town of Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Our week in Dordogne, France
PJ and I were watching a special on TV and saw a segment on the Dordogne region of France. We both said “we have to go here”. A week in August was booked with 2 nights in Burgundy to break up the drive. What a trip. Our kids loved every day. We got to taste wine, enjoy fabulous food, play in the river, visit castles, and spend real quality time with our kids. Trips that involve cooking in the apartment, breakfasts at “home” and water activities are generally the most relaxing and memorable. This one was no exception. I could go on and on about how fun it was. Here are some of our favorite memories…
Addy and Cam rocking out to the iPod mix.
Our hotel in Beynac
Swimming at the hotel pool on the side of the mountain. Our children were heard all over the town.
Lovely Beynac.
Arriving from a long 3 hour paddle down the river with mandatory stops to fight pirates.
One of the many adventures our GPS took us on. Always in France!
Random French guy walking his horse down the river.
Sarlat
My beautiful Cambria.
Adelaide dancing on the hill.
Burgundy, France
French countryside and the moo cows.
Little town where we stayed called Orches.
Burgundy landscape.
Not sure why I like these so much. I think it's because you don't ever see them in SoCal...
Dordogne, France
Took me long enough to post these pics! What a fantastic trip this was. The area was prettier than we imagined. Photos do not do it justice. We stayed at a hotel in Beynac called Hotel du Chateau Beynac. Amazing service and hotel right across from the river. Our family of five stayed in the attic suite. Fully stacked kitchen and 2 bedrooms. Love it!
Here are some pictures…
Early morning boat ride on the Dordogne River
Beynac, France
Cote d’ Azur
Our family spent 12 fun-filled days in the Cote d’ Azur and Provence for Spring Break. We stayed in a little town near St Tropez called Port Grimaud.
The South of France is a beautiful area with many different landscapes. From hilltop towns, to sun-drenched beaches, lavender, to palm trees, it has it all!
We can’t wait to go back. Until then, Au Revoir…
Cote d’ Azur
We spent Spring Break in the Cote d’ Azur, France. It was the best trip ever! And the first Cummings/Kling adventure. We spent 12 days in the South of France, or the Cote d’ Azur, and Provence. The area is so diverse with every landscape imaginable. Upon Brigitte’s recommendation, we stayed on the beach in Port Grimaud, an adorable little town about 10 minutes from St Tropez. From there we took day trips to Provence, Nice, Cap Ferrat and Villefranche, St-Paul-de-Vence, Monaco, Porquerolles, and lastly the Cotes du Rhone.
France has many memorable pastimes. Every town it seems has its own unique market. Some selling Provencial goods like French linens, soap, lavender, olives, clothes, and olive wood cooking utensils. Others sell fresh produce, flowers, and gourmet snack foods. I sampled 2 markets in Provence: St. Remy, and Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. My favorite market was in St. Tropez. I couldn’t get enough of the city.
A morning in any town in France will likely start out at a bakery, or Boulangerie. A croissant and baguette are necessary to purchase “to-go”. The next stop is a cafe perhaps a few steps down the street. No coffee is served at the bakeries. This would take away from the business of the cafes. And this is a serious Frenchism. It is a time to slowly begin the day. Cafe Creme, croissant, and newspaper is all you need to relax and enjoy the French ritual. Oh, and people watch. This is an art in itself. Brigitte showed us the cafes with good market watching views. Then in the afternoon when the sun is on the harbour side, the happening cafe in St. Tropez is Senequier.
We spent a wonderful day in the area between Nice and Monaco. Some of our favorite scenic spots were Villefranche-sur-Mer and Cap Ferrat, Nice, Eze, and St-Paul-de-Vence. The drives connecting each town were incredible. The colored shutters, steep streets, and medieval towns were nothing like we have ever seen. We had a wonderful lunch at Le Cosmo Cafe on the water. Just below where we were eating there was a large film crew preparing for the final day of shooting for the Hollywood move ‘Five Killers’ with Ashton Kutcher, Tom Selleck, and Katherine Heigl. Pretty cool!
My favorite moment was on an island near Port Grimaud called Porquerolles. We took a ferry ride to the island, rented bikes for the day and rode from one end to the other. The scenery was breathtaking. We stopped for a picnic lunch on our private beach for the day. April ended up being a great month to travel. No crowds!! I was riding my bike down the rocky path thinking “I’m on an island. In France. On a bike. How crazy is this?” Most importantly, our kids loved it even more. Caden was in his element on the island. They were pretend pirates for a few hours at the ‘Caribbean’. Addy of course as Elizabeth Swann, and Caden as Jack Sparrow.
I got to experience a few great modern art museums in the South of France. Most notably, the Fondation Maeght, in St-Paul-de-Vence. The long, winding roads were well worth the views from the hilltop town.
We stayed our last night in Gigondas in the Cotes du Rhone. It was a quiet, beautiful village nestled in between countless vineyards and great views. We tasted wine at the local caves and stocked up on some of our favorites. Our second to last day in France was Easter. We cooked a big meal the evening before at our apartment. So on Easter we decided to eat pizza at a Rick Steves recommendation in Beaumes de Venise. I brought plastic eggs just in case filled with some treats for the kids. With not a lot of time left in the day, I thought it would be fun to have an egg hunt in the vineyard while we waited for the restaurant to open. (Most restaurants in France open at 7:30pm) SO, Katherin, Brigitte, PJ and I hid the eggs all over and the kids were off! I’m always wondering what the locals think of us while we are traveling. The Suburban on the tiny streets of Provence was a sight in itself. But we managed just fine despite all the stares.
The French are great people, and the Cote d’Azur is a treasure! I of course took way too many photos. Here are some that made the cut…
Au Revoir!
Rue du Vin
Rue du Vin is a small region in Alsace, France. Strasbourg, the northern town on the route, is only 1 hour from Stuttgart. The route is covered with small, adorable towns, castles, vineyards, and great architecture. We stayed in Colmar for 3 nights and used it as a base to explore 4 different towns. Our favorites were Equisheim, Riquewihr, Ribeauville, and Colmar. We also got to visit the Haut-Koenigsbourg castle, which our kids loved.
We wine tasted in a few really unique caves along the rode in several towns. We came home with some tasty white wines from the region.
We went in January, and it was COLD! I would recommend visiting in the Spring, or Fall for small crowds, and pretty scenery. You can even take a drive up to several castles from Eguisheim.
Happy travels!
Wine tasting caves in each little town.
Colmar, France