Previous years-in-review – 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009 2022 marked a busier travel year, including a return to international travel. 5 countries visited: return trips to the Spain, UK, Belgium and France, plus our first trip to Poland. 6 US states visited: return trips to New York, Florida, Illinois, Washington and Oregon wine country, plus our first visit to Hilton Head, SC 34k total air miles on American, Southwest, ... continue reading...
Euro Christmas Markets 2022: London Christmas lights
London has many famous shopping districts, and each sets up unique light displays. On this trip we checked out quite a few in central London including the following. Regent Street Carnaby was great, with quite a bit of variety - definitely our favorite. South Molton Street shopping district (all-blue!) / New Bond Street Oxford Street Covent Garden was busy! Nicely decorated, especially the Christmas tree. St Christopher's Place Southbank ... continue reading...
Euro Christmas Markets 2022: London sights
Nov 30 After an overnight flight to London we needed to stay awake until the afternoon, so we decided to visit some favorites for a few hours. The V&A museum always has new pieces on display, and the sculpture hall was just as good as we remembered. Next, we checked out the stained glass, followed by the beautiful and overwhelming jewelry and gems collection. After the museum we walked up to Harrod's to check out their window displays. Running on fumes, we went back ... continue reading...
Euro Christmas Markets 2022: London food & drink
Wednesday At the suggestion of Leandra's cousin Courtney, we tried Coppa for dinner as it was an easy 15 minute walk from their flat. I ordered the bucatini carbonara while Leandra went for the flat iron steak. We split a bottle of rose for the table. No photos because we were too busy catching up with Courtney and her boyfriend! Tuesday (following week) Before heading to Gordon's wine bar we decided to grab a light snack, so Leandra suggested the Port House, a small tapas place near our ... continue reading...
Euro Christmas Markets 2022: Lille sights
Sunday The main train station, Lille Europe, had some nice indoor and outdoor art. I went back out after lunch to explore the fort area but couldn't see much. Instead, I headed back to the center, enjoying the Vieille Bourse interior and some small bits of street art scattered about. Monday The St. Maurice Catholic Church was free to enter (as were most cathedrals in Lille) and rewarded us with lots of beautiful stained glass and a unique nativity scene on the main ... continue reading...
Euro Christmas Markets 2022: Lille Christmas sights
Most of the Christmas decorations were centered around the Grand Place, with a Ferris wheel and a tree (with most of the lights working) as the central draw. As you moved further from the center, other stores had some of their own lights and decorations. The Bruges market was mostly food and drink, so we were pleasantly surprised with the options that Lille provided. On both visits there was a wood smoke scent in air and general joviality. Several stalls were selling food including ... continue reading...
Euro Christmas Markets 2022: Lille food & drink
Sunday After dropping our bags off at the apartment, our first destination was the Marché de Wazemmes which closes at 3p on Sundays, and wouldn't be open on Monday. It took about a 15 min walk from the city center, and there were lots of clothing, flower and kitchenware vendors outside the market shouting for your attention. Inside (where it was not much warmer) there were lots of food options. After walking through the aisles once we decided to have lunch here and bought some ... continue reading...
Euro Christmas Markets 2022: Bruges sights
It was quite chilly while we were in Bruges, but that didn't stop us from enjoying the canals, street art, and seasonal Christmas decorations around town. We started our first night walking north through the old town, where we were treated to a wonderful sunset. From there we continued north in search of a Roa mural. The next morning we walked along the main canal toward several street murals toward the east. The Christmas market was fairly small, ... continue reading...
Euro Christmas Markets 2022: Bruges food & drink
Friday Our favorite pub in Bruges, De Garre, was absolutely packed so we decided to try another fave, t'Poatersgat, instead. We had about 30 minutes before it opened so we killed some time looking for two murals I had marked on our map on the north side of town. We returned at 5:20pm to a still closed bar with no signage explaining why. Frustrated, Eric suggested nearby Cafe Rose Red and we luckily got a table where we could hang out until we had to vacate our spot at 7pm for a reservation. ... continue reading...
Euro Christmas Markets 2022: a night in Ghent
Our first two trips to Ghent had been day trips from Brussels in 2012 and 2014, and each time we really liked the city. For this visit we originally considered a day trip from Bruges, then decided we needed at least one night in Ghent, so we made it our first stop. After checking-in we headed out to Waterhuis aan de Bierkant, a beer bar that we had visited on each of our previous trips. I started with the house beer, then a Bush Noel, and Leandra choose the St. Bernadus Christmas ale. After ... continue reading...
Euro Christmas Markets 2022: introduction
In 2020 we had planned on a Thanksgiving trip centered on European Christmas markets, as it had been 6 years since we were last in Europe late in the year. Of course, all of our 2020 plans were wiped out, so we made an extra effort to get in a pre-Christmas trip this year. After finding a good deal on the direct flight to London, we crafted a trip that had us on our first Eurostar train to Belgium, with stops in Ghent (1 night), then Bruges (2 nights), followed by Lille, France (2 nights in a ... continue reading...
Shelton Vineyards
Our drive back from the mountains took us near the North Carolina Yadkin Valley AVA, so we figured it would be a good opportunity to try out a winery. Shelton Vineyards had both red and white wine, plus a restaurant that was open for lunch, so it made for a nice stopping point. We each ordered a 5 taster 'tree' - Eric went for whites, and Leandra choose reds. Seating inside the tasting area was surprisingly limited, and given the recent rains much of the seating on the large patio ... continue reading...
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