Chapter Sixteen: My Sincerest Apologies To Colmar
May 17, 2025Mai Tai Tom Stays On Track Through Belgium, Paris and Strasbourg
Chapter Seventeen: Epilogue … Au Revoir and Auf Wiedersehen
One last stroll around Strasbourg and then we caught the train to Paris and our airport hotel.
We did have a furry companion who traveled with us on the final leg of the journey.
And what a journey it was! Belgium had not been on my radar at all, but thanks to Kim’s suggestion, we enjoyed our week-long stay in a country we came to embrace, whether it be the places we saw or the people we met.
I had been told by some that Brussels was “nothing special,” but I recalled I’d heard lots of people say the same about Milan. If I was able to do the trip over, I would add at least another day to this magnificent city.
And yes, I will always remember … it’s “Belgian frites!”
Bruges had quite an advanced billing to live up to, and it more than met our sky-high expectations. Captivating sights, superb meals, and it’s a magical place at night. I still have dreams of the Rosary Quay during a spectacular blue hour.
Our quick day trip to Ghent to see the Ghent Altarpiece, the most stolen piece of stolen artwork in history, was a trip well worth taken.
Antwerp was a late addition to our schedule, and it too oozed with historical charm, and it also provided us with our favorite dining experience of the trip in the fig tree shaded courtyard of Restaurant ‘t Hofke.
Surprisingly, although we love Paris and have been there on numerous occasions, on this trip it just had a different feel. Tracy said she missed “la joie de vivre” that we experienced on so many previous trips. Although people were cordial, the mood seemed a little subdued to us. I surmised (whether correctly or incorrectly) that after the Olympics and the Paralympics, Parisians were just exhausted by tourists. For us, maybe it was the bicycles that constantly whizzed closely past with no concern for traffic lights or pedestrian safety.
That said, Paris always has its moments, from exploring a recently opened palace (Hôtel de la Marine) to the interior of Hôtel de Ville during Les Journées du Patrimoine …
… to sipping wine in the courtyard of the wonderful Musée Carnavalet. Actually, sipping wine anywhere in Paris is a magical moment.
Strasbourg was quite a surprise. This was also a late addition to a trip whose plans changed innumerable times. Besides our favorite hotel (Le Bouclier d’Or), after hectic Paris I found Strasbourg to be a great place to wander and enjoy its ambiance (well, except for a few brief invasions of cruise ship passengers).
Speaking of ambiance, Colmar, you won me over with your beauty. It took a few trips, but you wore me down with your picturesque charm, lazy canals, planters and window boxes bursting with flowers, plus a couple of fascinating museums. I hope I can make it up to you someday.
At the beginning of this trip report, I said I might need to reevaluate places we travel, but upon further reflection the few negatives of our trip were far outweighed by the positives we always experience traveling, which conveniently keeps with our longtime motto:
Enjoy The Journey! Attitude is Everything!
