L&T Spring 2025 Strasbourg, Blanes, Clermont-Ferrand

May 21, 2025

We’re off.  Thanks to our reliable Julie’s Taxi Service we arrived at Sea-Tac 3 hours ahead of departure time,

I usually start these blogs with horror stories about no space-available, cancelled flights that result in lost vacation days, lost luggage, et al.  Well, this time, Teresa bought us guaranteed employee-discount seats.  Still not free, but way less than full fare.  It takes the pressure off of trying to get to our first destination on time.  We will be coming home on a pass.  Haha.  Scroll down for that story.

We consider ourselves pretty experienced travelers, but we were pleasantly surprised with online check-in.  Usually this works OK on a domestic flight, but not so on an international flight.  Well, during on-line check-in I was able to scan our passports.  So, when we got to the airport, we only had to go to an automated bag-tag kiosk to get bag tags and then deposited the bags at the counter (again with no lines).

Teresa also upgraded us to something below Business Class.  Apparently, the meals did not get upgraded.  We had ecologically-friendly meals – no plant or animal gave up its life for the meal.  I’d describe it to you, but it was unrecognizable.  Even more interesting, both looked the same even though Teresa ordered different meals.  I’ll explain it to you later.

May 22, 2025

We’re in Paris after a looooong 10 hour flight.  Now we are waiting for our train to Strasbourg.  Slight panic: Teresa left her trip binder with all our reservation numbers at home.  We’ll have to wing it until Julie can scan the whole book and send it to us.

Jet lag gets harder as I get older.  That’s why I retired early!

We arrived at the Strasbourg station at about 10pm and walked a half a mile to our apartment-hotel.  One of the nice things about revisiting our favorite towns is we know where to go for food, supplies and fun. So we went to a favorite little Doner Kabob place and split a Doner Kabob meal and a glass of wine.  Let me be clear right from the start of this blog, some people have commented that it seems that all we do on these trips is eat and drink.  That is correct.

Quick “nap” and we will rent a car and go visit Teresa’s Aunt Marie in Folkling for lunch tomorrow.  No time to rest; rest when we get home.

May 23, 2025

Woke up early enough to get breakfast and to go to the mini-mart for essentials (wine for us and something to bring to Marie).  The mini-mart didn’t have red wine.  I reported the store to the French authorities, and the place was immediately shut down.  A store in France with no red wine?  What a national disgrace.

Then proceeded to the rental car office that we have used a million times.  No problem, right?  Well…they changed their procedures since the last time.  Now a code is necessary to enter the garage.  But apparently it is a SECRET code since they didn’t tell me.  So, I had to tromp back to the office for the code and then back to the garage.  What should have taken 15 minutes took 40.  Now we were running late.

Good news, Marie is healthy, and the food was delicious and lots of it!

Returned the rental car without incident and I am happy to say that I won’t be driving anymore on this trip.

After a hard day of eating and drinking, it was time to stroll out for dinner.

Salmon Flam Kuchen and a Chicken Caesar Salad.

Strasbourg is very flat, so the bicycle is king.

May 24, 2025

Another of Teresa’s cousins, Chloe, and her boyfriend Jordan, gave us the royal tour of the city center today.  A great town to walk around.  Plenty of scenery, shops and restaurants.

My regular blog followers may remember Chloe and Jordan from a canal trip a few years ago.  Delightful couple.

After they departed, we trekked down an unfamiliar street searching for place to have dinner, and were rewarded with a slew of new restaurants to try.  We found a definite winner.  We had White Asparagus (Spargle in German) with prosciutto, and Fettuccine with burrata and arugula. We shared a half-liter of white wine from the Languedoc region that we have boated through many times.  Five stars. Happy tummy.

May 25, 2025

Now that Chloe taught us how to use the bus and trams, we solo navigated to the city center to the big Catholic cathedral to meet with more of Teresa’s cousins to join us for mass.  (Did you hear that the Mars lander sighted more of Teresa’s cousins living there?).

Did I say that it was a big cathedral?  My mistake: it is a ginormous cathedral.

After mass, Teresa’s cousin, Michel, led us across the square to a restaurant where he had made reservations for lunch.  What a famous place!  They had pictures on the wall of several famous people who had eaten there, including, Winston Churchill, Marilyn Monroe, AND Pope John Paul II!

Another spectacular meal.  This time I had roasted chicken in a light cream sauce and spätzle, a German pasta noodle thing.

On the way home we went to the train station to figure out how to get a train to the airport tomorrow.  Easy-peasy (I hope).

May 26, 2025

OK, we deserved an easy one, and today was it.

In nice, cool weather we walked with our suitcases for 10 minutes to the train station; walked for another 10 minutes to the correct boarding platform; waited 15 minutes for the next train; got on the train and in 11 minutes arrived at the Strasbourg Airport.

At the airport, we arrived at the baggage check-in as the agents were opening up.  No line at the security check point and got to our gate with two hours to spare.

But…the best part was when we arrived at Barcelona Airport. EasyJet has its own little terminal, FAR from the hectic main terminal, and we got our bags in 15 minutes then approached the automatic exit doors and were greeted by a guy with a sign with TERESA LINDO written on it.

Since we arrived in the middle of the day and traffic was light, we got to Blanes in one hour.

Now that’s the way it’s supposed to work!

One of the reasons we like Blanes:

May 27, 2025

Another reason we  like Blanes.  There is an open market six days a week right out our front door:

The old church where mass is still celebrated.       

Lunch was a little leftover pizza from our first night here and a very fresh salad with tomatoes and garlic from the open market.

For dinner we took a walk to the Texas Steakhouse Restaurant (another favorite) and had the BEST garlic shrimp appetizer and split some baby back ribs.  Fabulous and amazingly inexpensive.  The long walk helped shed some of the calories (I hope).

On the way back we stopped to snap some pictures of Blanes from the shore.

May 28, 2025

Read ‘em and weep, Seattleites:  Sunny and 74 degrees.  I’m wearing shorts and a polo shirt.  Lovin’ it.

Our humble abode:

Another one of our favorite places is the take-out chicken rotisserie place that is only about five blocks away.  If you can live with the whacky hours, it is great.  They open on Wednesdays at 11am, but if you show up at 11:30 the chickens are not done yet.  Try 12:30 and you’re in business.

ALERT:  We are now transitioning from a travel blog to a foodie blog.  Please set your computer settings accordingly.

OK, we’ve all had Costco rotisserie chicken, but did it come with potatoes cooked in the chicken drippings???  This place also served a takeout plate of roasted onions, eggplant and red bell peppers that I had to buy.  To find out more about this place, check the Weight Watcher’s website, under Places Not To Go.

This made for a great lunch, with leftovers that Teresa has planned for Arroz con Pollo and then chicken soup at the end of the trip.

As a certified Wino, I usually buy wines from the bottom shelf in Seattle markets.  Here, on vacation, I buy wines from the middle shelves.  These are wines that would be $$$ in Washington, so they are really top shelf.  As was this simple wine (the bottle was emptied for the sake of the photograph).

The view out my bedroom window with the old church on the left.

A rare moment when Teresa stops to just admire the view.

Needed a few minor necessities and needed a stroll.  Blanes is mostly flat, so going for a walk is easy and pleasurable.

We had a great debate about dinner plans, so we decided to stop for “Patatas Bravas,” a local favorite (spicy potato cubes).  We never decided on a dinner product, so we just kept ordering tapas.  What a winner.  After the Patatas Bravas we had an order of calamari and an order of octopus (we are in a fishing village).  That was dinner – and the best restaurant meal so far.

Julia Child, eat your heart out.

May 29, 2025

The temperature is supposed to get to 76 today.

The local kayak and sailing schools were out this morning.  Not much wind for the sailors.  That will change by this afternoon.

There is a coastal cruise boat that travels up and down the towns along the Costa Brava.  This is how it docks.

Teresa and her cousin, Leanne, planned a nice “linner” (lunch-dinner) at a restaurant by the beach.  ANOTHER of Teresa’s cousins, Mary Jo, and Leanne’s husband, Douglas, joined us for a long linner of mussels, paella, scallops, and about 50 other things – all delicious. The house white wine was good enough to serve at the White House.

Did I mention that Teresa has a lot of cousins?

The premier chef of all the lands was directed by higher authority to produce dinner.  HA!  No problem.  Leftover potatoes from the rotisserie chicken place, a fresh bratwurst from the market and a fresh zucchini from the open market.  Turn on the stove; wait for the bratwurst to cook and then throw in the rest.  Except for STEP ONE, it went great.  After 45 minutes of trying to get the NEW induction stove to work, we called the rental agent.  He came in 15 minutes and figured out that this pan did not work with a convection stove.  We were the first people to use the kitchen after the big remodel.  After substituting a different pan, we were in business.  I guess we have had worse problems on vacations.  This was just a “blog” moment?

May 30, 2025

Amazingly, no great plans today.  This could almost qualify as a vacation day.

Warming right up though, so I went for supplies and food items early.

Teresa made her famous chicken curry wraps for lunch, and I think she is actually planning to make dinner here in our apartment too.

With all the daily grub, I have been trying to go for a lot of daily walks to work off some of the calories.  It’s not hard to convince myself to go for a walk when the weather and scenery are this nice.  It’s also a pretty flat town so strolling is easy.  Of course, I negate the benefits when I stop for a glass of vino tinto during the walk.

It’s really nice out, so we took a long circuit of the town center when the mid-day crowds are off in siesta.  Had to stop twice to refuel.

May 31, 2025

Went out for my usual morning trek for supplies and groceries.  I can’t believe we have been in France and Spain for a week and have yet to buy a baguette.  Well, I cured that problem today.  Teresa made a great sandwich out of it, and then we went down the slippery slope of having bread and wine after lunch.  Lots more walking required after lunch.

Last romp around the town for today and, unfortunately, Teresa found  a gift shop.  Fortunately, Lon found a bar nearby where he could wait.

June 1, 2025 (Sunday)

Remember the old saying:  Don’t judge a book by its cover?

This is the exterior of the Catholic Church in Blanes:

This is the interior:

June 2, 2025

A fishing trawler returning to the marina.  Judging by the “welcoming committee,” they had a good night of fishing.

Today, I hope, will be a slow day as we prepare for another Teresa-thon tomorrow.  We will be taking a hired-car to Girona at 7:15am, to catch a 4+ hour train to Lyon.  From there we will take a 2-and-a-half-hour train to Clermont-Ferrand to meet with…WAIT FOR IT…another cousin!  All-in-all, a 10-hour travel day.

Mondays are open market days.  This is different from the fruit and vegetables open market that is open 6 days a week on a different street.  This one runs along the waterfront for almost half a mile. Clothing, leather goods, kitchen utensils, toys, swimsuits, et al.  I have had good luck with the leather goods; not so good with the clothing.

Teresa bought a few pieces of jewelry at the open market and the sales lady said something really funny.  Unfortunately, I am not allowed to publish it on this blog.  However, if you happen to ask me about it sometime, I cannot tell a lie….

June 3, 2025

Our driver arrived early (and chatty) and we were ready.  I seemed to remember the taxi trip to Girona being about 35-40 minutes away.  I guess that was to Girona airport, but the train station must be on the other side of town, so it took a little over an hour.  Not a problem; we were plenty early.

Our train arrived three minutes late.  Our ferry system could learn a lesson here, but I guess trains don’t have to worry about low tides.

We had first class seats that entitled us to more leg room and comfy seats.

Except for the tunnels, the train ride was quite picturesque through the less-inhabited, pastoral countrysides of northern Spain and southern France.  The train was travelling between 170 and 185 mph, so pictures out the windows didn’t work.

For a part of the trip were paralleling the Canal du Midi that we have traversed many times by boat.  It was fun to see it from a different angle.

Spent a long hour transferring trains in Lyon.  Didn’t see any lyons, but thought I saw a giraffe maybe.

Arrived at the non-picturesque train station in Clermont-Ferrand just ahead of a biblical downpour.  Noah would have been proud.  Fortunately, our hotel was across the street.  Not much of a room, but I can tolerate it for two nights.

Of course we are here to visit with another of Teresa’s cousins, Anne-Therese.  Regular subscribers to this station will remember her from some of our canal trips.  She is Michel’s daughter; Chloe’s cousin; and Clementine’s (to be met later) sister.  Got that?  It will be on the final exam.

  A lovely lady, inside and out.  Nice dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant nearby.

June 4, 2025

Awoke to solid overcast and 100% chance of rain.  No problem for Teresa Tours.  She has found a three-hour walking tour of the city.  Three-hour?  I hope we pass some refreshment stands.

Clermont-Ferrand is a bigger city than I expected.  Its population is ~144,000. 

Not a very exciting view out of our hotel window.

The hotel offered a free breakfast buffet that was very nice.  Tomorrow I will bring my camera with me and take a picture of the dining room.  Cute and different.

Tomorrow we will take another train to Paris and have dinner with cousin Clementine and her boyfriend, Florian.  Teresa is Clementine’s Godmother. 

Then Friday we will start the marathon to get home.  Did I say marathon?  No, it’s more like a triathlon:  Trains, planes and automobiles.

The forecast was for rain off and on all day, so I contacted the travel agency.  It is very important to have a good travel agent, even if she is expensive.  

In a matter of minutes, she concocted a “rainy-day” program for us.  She blew off the 3-hour walking tour and came up with this instead.

Who knew that the Michelin Tire Company is headquartered in Clermont-Ferrand and has a public museum?

A reminder that they created the Michelin Guides:

A picture of the factory floor:

World’s largest tire:

On the way back to the bus stop we stopped for a little snack.  We shared a delicious charcuterie tray.

Tasted as good as it looked.

Finally got enough of a sun-break to capture the view of the hills visible outside our hotel window.

Took a train to Riom to have dinner with Anne-Therese in her new home.  She is rightfully very proud of it because she bought a fixer-upper and has done wonders.

June 5, 2025

OK, here’s the picture I promised of the breakfast area:

This thing was mounted on the wall in our hallway.  It actually had a dial tone, but I don’t know what it connects to.  The front desk?

Today’s agenda:  Walk to the train station; catch a train to Paris; taxi to the hotel; dinner with Clementine and Florian.

So far, uneventful, and so was the sandwich on the train.

Here’s our hotel in the middle of Paris.  It would have been a fun time to go for a walk, but the drizzle and wind killed that.  We did manage to sneak in a snack of steamed mussels.  Quite good!

The hotel room was nicely refurbished, but teeny-tiny, as was the last hotel.  OK for one night.

I don't know if I mentioned this, but Teresa is the third most photographed woman on earth; behind only Princess Diana and Elizabeth Taylor, and she's gaining on them.

Had a great dinner with Clementine and Florian at a really nice, authentic French restaurant just 4 or 5 blocks away.  Good thing it was only a short distance away because we got caught in a “gully-washer” on the way back to the hotel.  Clementine and Florian are a real power couple; she is an attorney, and he is in risk management at a big bank.  Lovely people.

Tomorrow we will start the final lap of this Teresa-thon.  We will take a taxi to CDG for an afternoon flight to SEA, arriving at 5:30pm.  We will be traveling on a pass, but the flight looks fairly empty so we should have no trouble.

June 6, 2025

D-Day.  Happy Birthday, Matt.

After a nice breakfast, we went for a stroll.  The weather was a lot nicer than last night.  Notre Dame is coming along.

But there is much more to do!

Our driver showed up early, so we got to CDG 3 hours and 15 minutes early.  CALL THE EDITOR OF THE GUINESS BOOK OF RECORDS!  We were through check-in, baggage check, Passport Control, and security check, and arrived at our gate in 34 minutes.

A little snack while we wait and I’m sure we will have two nice seats available for the 9-hour flight home.

THE END.