France: Riquewihr

Bike: 31 miles, 1800 feet of climb

Accommodation: Hotel de la Couronne (Booking.com); standard double room, private bath, free wifi

Breakfast: Artisan boulangerie near the house where we stayed

Lunch: Bread and cheese picnic on the road

Dinner: La Grappe d'Or, Alsatian food with a modern twist, quirky indoor dining room with large window open to a quiet side street, the best food we have had on the trip so far, quiet, friendly family staff, good wine, I had duck with orange sauce and au gratin potatoes, Ken had pork tenderloin with spaetzle.

Okay, this is why we love biking in Europe. The weather was almost perfect (a little warm in the late afternoon), we rode a combination of dedicated bike paths, small highways, and agricultural roads--all paved, through vineyards and farm fields, with little villages every few kilometers. We took our time, stopping to just enjoy the scenery, eat, and get cold drinks.

By the time we rolled into Riquewihr in the late afternoon, we were ready for a little sightseeing and off-the-bike time. The staff at our hotel helped us store the bikes in a locked garage and showed us to our small but very comfy room. After we were cleaned up, we decided we wanted  a really good meal, which meant waiting until the restaurants opened for dinner between 18:30 and 19:00. That's always a little hard for us, because we are starving after a long day outside, and we don't normally stay out past 20:00.

So, we had a couple of hours to pass in town. Riquewihr is the place to wander. It is absolutely lovely, and full of nice shops. Of course, we checked out the menus and ambiance of the restaurants too, and picked out one that looked perfect. We returned when it opened at 18:30, and had the most delicious dinner. The perfect end to a perfect day.

France: Obernai

Bike: 25 miles, 500 feet of climb 

Accommodation: Agréable chambre au premier étage d'une maison (Airbnb); host Dominique. private room with private bath in house, wifi, washer/dryer, shared kitchen. At 200 meters you will find a bakery, tea room, caterer. It is 500 meters to a small supermarket.

Lunch: La Halle Aux Bles in Obernai, typical Alsace food; we had potato cakes, salads, and pork stew. The outside patio was large and nice, service was good, food was medium quality and price.

Dinner: Yogurt, fresh fruit, and cold drinks on the terrace.

We took our time reading, packing, and eating breakfast in the morning, leaving Strasbourg about 10:30. The bike ride mostly followed the Canal de la Bruche, which originally connected Strasbourg to Soultz-les-Bains. We are on the Alsace wine route, and in a cattle-growing area; we went through vineyards and stockyards, and fields of corn and wheat. The whole day was a very gentle climb toward the alps, which we could see in the distance. (In just a few weeks, we will be riding up into the alps--at least along some of the valleys and lower passes.)

While we ate a late lunch in the main square of the Old Town, workers set up a band shell and lights for a concert. It was Saturday, and the towns along the wine route often host festivals to draw crowds on the weekends.

Our host, Dominique, and her two dogs met us at the door of her house, helped us store our bikes in the garage, and showed us to our room. After showering and making ourselves pretty, we walked to a nearby grocery store and bought supplies for a light dinner. We contemplated going to the concert, but for some reason, we were tired and just looking forward to an early night with our ebooks and maybe some videos.

France: Strasbourg, Day 2

Accommodation: Studio Charme Coeur de Ville (Airbnb); host Jean-Marie

Walk: from the apartment to the Strasbourg Cathedral, around the Old Town along the canals, and back, 4 miles

Dinner/dessert: a waffle and a crepe at the shop below our apartment (the aromas finally lured us in)

This was our rest day. We did laundry, I worked on the blog, and Ken cleaned, oiled, and pumped up our bikes. Actually, everything was in pretty good shape, but it was nice to relax, reenergize, and reorganize after two-plus weeks with the kids.

About five o'clock, we got a little restless and headed out for an evening stroll. We ended up at a great outdoor store, and I bought a new shirt. After more than 10 years of travel, some of our clothes are getting a little tired. A couple of my shirts are so thin, I'm not sure they'll make it through this trip. Anyway, it was fun to actually go in a store, try things on, and buy something new!

We love old churches, and the Strasbourg Cathedral did not disappoint. We wandered along the canals that circle Old Town, and found some beautiful spots for photos. Strasbourg is a lively city but somehow not too crowded or big; we enjoyed poking around in shops and just taking in the scenery and people.

France: Strasbourg, Day 1

Accommodation: Studio Charme Coeur de Ville (Airbnb); host Jean-Marie. Studio ideally located in the central island, close to the cathedral and Petite France, just completely renovated, preserving the charms of the past, exposed beams, stone wall, designer bathroom, and well-equipped kitchenette. The accommodation is very quiet, though right on a main street with shops, restaurants, bars, and museums nearby. Includes wifi, washer, and dryer. Pedestrian-only area, no parking.

Drive: 350 miles

Lunch: Yogurt and fruit at a travel plaza

Dinner: Cheese, bread, salmon, and fruit in our apartment

A very long day. Meghan and Konur had to be at the airport by 6:00, and Giverny is about one and a half hours west of the airport. We woke at 4:00, and packed up as quietly as possible to avoid disturbing the guests on the ground floor below us. Meghan and I stood outside the car at the squeeze points along the stone walls, and Ken inched his way through without scraping any more paint off the car.

That little obstacle over, we aimed the car toward Charles de Gaulle, with Ken behind the wheel and me minding Google navigation. We dropped the kids off at Terminal 2E on the dot of 6:00, gave them both a big hug, and hopped back in the car for our five-hour drive to Strasbourg.

We were concerned about possible flight delays, wanting to be close enough to the airport that we could return if they were delayed overnight, so we stopped in a little town about an hour from the airport, bought croissants, and watched the Delta app and messages from Meghan. They made it through check-in and security, and were waiting at their gate by 9:45, so we got back in the car and hit the A4. Although their flight ended up being delayed by about 45 minutes, the Delta app eventually said they were in flight, and we started to relax just a bit.

We sailed through the toll booths, using a combination of cash, credit cards, and even Apple Pay. We try to learn a few new tricks on every journey; Apple Pay is still pretty new to us.

We found the Enterprise office in Strasbourg with no problem. When we parked at the inspection location in the parking ramp down the street, the agent asked about the front bumper, and we said, yes, we had done that. She also asked about a missing piece on the rear wiper; I pulled up the photos I had taken at the station in Angers, and sure enough, it was missing when we picked up the car. The agent wrote up a damage waiver on the missing piece, resolving us of any claim for that. And she wrote up a damage report on the bumper, explaining that both reports would be sent to the Angers office and we would receive an invoice from them via email.

We put our bikes back together in the parking ramp, took them down the elevator, and rode out on the streets of Strasbourg--a large, busy city.

We found our apartment with no problem, followed our host's instructions to ask the woman at the waffle shop on the ground floor to open the courtyard door, located the key to our apartment, and let ourselves in.

The studio apartment was small but had everything we needed. Still buzzing from the long hours of driving, and a little wound up after the weeks of traveling with Meghan and Konur, we took warm showers, drank a lot of juice and water, unpacked, and headed out for a little exploration of our street. It didn't take us long to find local fromage, baquette, and fruit for a light supper.

I think those are the French alps in the distance.

Supper in our Strasbourg apartment.

The street outside our apartment.

Meghan and Konur on the ground in Minneapolis!

France: Giverny

Drive: 220 miles

Accommodation: Apartment 90 square meters in Giverny (VRBO); host Valerie. Two bedrooms, four beds, living room, kitchen, two bathrooms, about .25 miles from Monet's house and gardens.

Lunch: Les Nympheas, Giverny

We ate our bagged breakfasts at 7:00, took the bikes down to the street, and walked to the car rental agency by the train station. Our SUV was parked out front, and the agent walked through the rental process. He had some trouble with the smart key, but everything else looked good.

We took the bikes apart and squeezed them into the back. Konur and Meghan wedged themselves into two of the rear seats, with not much room. And we took off for Giverny, three and a half hours away.

By 13:00, we were parked on the edge of Giverny and walking into town. We found a pretty restaurant with tables in a big garden and had a big lunch. Konur had fun until the wasps decided they just had to have his ice cream. We moved him inside, away from the stingy things, and he finished his dessert in peace.

We wandered through Monet’s house and gardens for a couple of hours. It really was magical. Then we returned to the car and drove to our apartment on the edge of town. We had private parking in the courtyard, but it was a very tight squeeze getting the car through the stone gate. We thought we had made it, but when we got out of the car, we found the black paint had been scraped off the left front bumper. Ken (the driver) was upset with himself. We were all a little worried about getting back out without doing more damage in the morning. Oh, well. At least it was just the car. All the people were fine.

We had a lovely big apartment with a sofa in the living room (Konur’s favorite; whenever there’s a sofa in the living room, he claims it for the night).