To this…

And then returned home to this…

Not long after we moved, we spend a weekend with close friends in Galway, on the west coast of Ireland. For those that may have forgotten, Galway is even more wet that Dublin. During our visit, our hosts extolled the virtues of their jackets – the L.L. Bean Weather Channel 3-1 coat. This coat was created for the Weather Channel folks when they were out in the field. It seemed ideal for travel in Ireland (and in Europe). My mom was visiting Dublin not long after that, so I had her order one for me.

Some of you may remember the green jacket that makes me easy to find in a crowd. (As opposed to Will’s silly black outerwear, which he uses to slip away, unnoticed, into crowds of style-conscious European tourists.) Often, I would wear just the fleece layer, taking advantage of the versatile three-in-one nature of the jacket. On the right, you can see me sporting the green on a pleasant late-spring day in the Netherlands.

Many stops in Ireland, particularly in the West, required both layers.

In Lisbon, with little threat of rain, I could tuck away the hood.

I turned out to be wrong about Lisbon, and out came the hood.

It was a great day when I found gloves that matched!

I love my green coat. There is no other way to say it. After four years of hard wearing, however, it is starting to show its age a bit. I had thought to replace it last year, but the only coat L.L. Bean offered at the time was not as good. When I discovered that my beloved coat was discontinued, my theory was that the price of the jacket was keeping people out of the market, so they introduced a cheaper, but not as nice coat. But that would not do for me at all.

Luxembourg’s climate is more dry than Ireland’s, so I found myself wearing just the fleece layer more and more often. About a month ago, I realized I was really wearing out the fleece lining. While I wait patiently for L.L. Bean to realize the error of their ways and bring back my beloved coat, the important thing is to wear out all parts of the coat, evenly. So I needed to find a fleece to wear. A sacrificial fleece, you might say.

Enter Jack Wolfskin. We have come to realize that Jack Wolfskin is L.L. Bean, Lands End and The North Face all rolled into one, for Europe. It is dominant like Crayola crayons. Everyone wears Jack Wolfskin.

Will did an unscientific survey of his photos from the Gala Tour de France and he says, “Of visible logos on plain sportswear, about three-quarters were either the words ‘Jack Wolfskin’ or their distinctive wolf-paw.” So there you go.

Take a randomly-chosen person wearing sports outerwear in Luxembourg (or Germany or Belgium for that matter). Like the one on the right, for example.

Intrigued by the ubiquity of the brand, we stopped one of the several Jack Wolfskin shops in Luxembourg. I found a lovely fleece in a burgundy color — on sale! Now I feel a little uneasy without my green, but I certainly feel more local.

By mid-July, I had given up on L.L. Bean. I had moved on to other brands, including The North Face and Jack Wolfskin, resigning myself to purchasing one of their coats this fall. Not a bad fate, but frustrating — like trying a new email application. Nothing works like the old coat. The good coat!

Imagine my delight and joy when, researching this very blog post, I discovered a miracle — L.L. Bean has reintroduced my jacket! My only concern is that the “fleece” lining seems to be shiny, but I think I can learn to live with that. My beloved green is no longer an option, so I’ll have to choose among Periwinkle, Colonial Red or Coastal Blue.

As you, dear reader, will inevitably be seeing many, many photos of the jacket, I ask for your input. What color do you think would be best for the next four years of photos?

We like Zwolle, a lot.

The Bugle accepted no promotional considerations from the tourist board or anything. Will just thinks that a public declaration of our fondness for Zwolle is appropriate at this time.

Zwolle is an old place, inhabited well before the Ancient Romans came. It was granted city status in the 8th Century. It was a prosperous trading town and joined the Hanseatic League in 1407. Here’s one way to consider its historical role: Amsterdam was established in the 13th Century and thrived, in part, due to trade with the more prominent Zwolle.

The oldest part of Zwolle is bounded by a star-shaped moat, crowded with boats of all sizes. The moat connects to the typical Dutch canals surrounding the city, making the whole place feel like the ideal Dutch town.

The area inside the moat is crowded with pedestrian-only retail areas and historical sites. Lots of little shops to catch your eye, some outstanding restaurants, frequent markets, and lots of possibilities for people-watching.


There’s an impressive number of long-standing buildings, with great stories attached to each one. We recommend “Footprints from a Distant Past” available in English from the VVV (which means Tourist Information bureau) attached to the Grote Kerk (which means Big Church, so you can’t miss it).

Zwolle’s apparently commonplace residential areas and suburbs are something special for us, too. The bicycle-road network is standard Dutch, with complex intersections that privilege bikes over cars (and over walkers). If you just tool around the outer parts of the city, you’ll see teenagers holding hands while they bike to school, families traveling in an amazing variety of work-bikes, and a host of little details that make Zwolle distinctive.


And if you’re tired of people, it’s a short trip into the countryside. You’ll feel safe on the bike trails — and the orientation system means you’ll have to work to get lost.

Since we show our love through photos, we put a photoset on Flickr with descriptions and stuff.

By the way, if you’re in the mood for springtime photos from the Netherlands, consider revisiting our post on the Keukenhof from last year!

Morocco’s unofficial second language is French. (Arabic is the first language, and the Berber family of languages are second, officially.)

Anita says that it is like Florida for France, with all the French retirees in campervans for long vacations, and in the resorts for slightly shorter trips. That certainly appeared to be true in Agadir, a city rebuilt for the purpose of foreign tourism.

My first diagnosis was from a supervisor at one of the resort’s restaurants; she simply assumed I was German.

The next evening, a bartender started counting the ice cubes in my pastis in German. He was beaming with pride that he’d switched to my native language on his own. I chuckled, and that must have given me away.

“You’re German, yes?” he asked in English. When I said that I was American, he erupted with joy. “All my time working here, you’re the first American!”

He was a little unclear on the details (“Chicago is close to Boston, yes?”) but his next words were invaluable. “You speak French like a German you know.”

I’m not sure what to make of this. It’s good to know but I’m racked with curiosity. Is it my pronunciation? The rhythm of my sentences? Can I blame Luxembourg? Or my American Midwest French teachers?

The last full day of our time in Agadir, I stopped to chat with the security guard on the boardwalk. He said, “Too cold for the beach?” and I replied that it was much warmer than I was accustomed to.

“You are German? Germans never mind the cold,” he laughed. I couldn’t help but correct him, especially when he didn’t recognize the name of Chicago. (That was a first for me.) Then I went back to my chaise next to Anita at the pool. I closed my eyes and couldn’t help contemplating how I pronounced the ten words I’d spoken before his guess.

On the day of our departure, Anita introduced me to a Parisian couple that she’d befriended the day before. I attempted to verify my Germanic accent and maybe get a few details.

I can’t say that I was surprised when I received a Gallic shrug in response. A pair of shrugs, actually, and just as William Gibson described them: “that complexly French way that seemed to require a slightly different skeletal structure.”

Three full days in Morocco, each day a similar diagnosis of my French pronunciation. Good to know, but I’m feeling a bit self-conscious now that I’m home.

Corfu was the first actual Greek island on the itinerary. It was also one of the largest, and one of the least Greek! It lies very close to the coasts of Albania and Greece, but its history lies closer to Venice and Dubrovnik.

You’ll learn that, and more, from the photoset on Flickr devoted to our day in Corfu. If you’d rather just look at the pretty pictures, we recommend the slideshow. And, of course, there’s always the set of leftover photos.

What? You want a preview before you commit?

Fine…

The ship arrived in sight of the island’s Old Town and two massive Venetian fortresses

Corfu was the most “real” of all the islands we visited on the cruise — it was not given over to tourism and clearly had a life of its own.

It was Sunday, so many of the tourist attractions were closed. But that allowed us to find beautiful things off the beaten track.

And the lovely, strange things that makes traveling marvelous. This studio made some interesting choices in its storefront. (Click on the photo to embiggen.)

Our Sunday visit also showed us the community’s religious celebrations. Many of the churches were decorated for some event.

We spent a lot of time at the Old Fortress, for its high viewpoint and its own lovely decay.

Click on the panorama to see it at full size.

The best spot of our visit combined the local community with a tourist attraction: the Liston. We watched families and couples stroll up and down the arcades, greeting one another and playing with the children.

The island is large, and we stayed within its major city. Albania is a short ferry away. There are more glamorous destinations in Greece, but this place offers so much, so close.

The photosets weren’t enough Corfu for you? You might like an overview of Corfiot history with an emphasis on military campaigns. John’s Corfu World will show you some photos of Corfu from long ago. Or you might enjoy some video:

• A Greek version of Beach Blanket Bingo devoted to Corfu, from 1972.
• In a more recent video, you can follow two lifeguards with a waterproof camera around the Old Fortress, but beware the Blair-Witch camera work.
• The comprehensive documentary, KERKYRA 2008 – The film by Mihaly Szabo is shot in HD and 25 minutes long.
• Szilvia Liptak directed the inevitable sequel, Kerkyra Movie 2009. The discontinuity of narrative with its predecessor is stylistically of-a-piece with Liptak’s camerawork, which is edgier than Szabo’s.
• One of the famous musical parades down the Liston.

Regardless of what the UN thinks, Dubrovnik was an ideal stop for us. It’s a gorgeous walled city with lots of historical significance, from the first millennium to the present day. We walked around the high city walls and then descended into the Old Town for more.

We have lots of photos to share — as usual, in two photosets on Flickr:

• The main photoset, with plenty of descriptions and commentary
• The leftover photos, which fill in some of the details

Here’s a preview of what you’ll see:

The Franjo Tuđman Bridge, leading to Dubrovnik: our first perspective on the city as we docked in Gruž, about 3km from the Old City.

The tiled roofs of the Old City make it instantly recognizable.

The city’s history is marked by sieges, from the Venetians to the Ottomans, to the Yugoslav army and navy in 1991. Almost all the roofs were destroyed in the Siege of 1991.

We did find time to relax in sunny Dubrovnik, sharing the Market Square (Gunduliceva Poljana) with some of the locals.

As usual, we’ll release photosets on Flickr with extensive captions — one or two days at a time. We wouldn’t want to overwhelm you! To begin, you can enjoy our pictures of the first two days, as we travel to Venice, board the ship, and thrill to the sailaway down the Guidecca Canal. You’ll see parts of our Crown Princess cruise ship, the city of Venice from dozens of high angles, and a few other treats.

If that description isn’t enough to tempt you, here are a few samples from our massive photographic record:

Of course, there is a photoset of leftover photos, for those who just can’t get enough. Also, future photosets will be added to the Cruise 2010 collection page on flickr.

The BBB&B favorite guide Rick had a walk through Baden-Baden that hit all the major (and some of the minor) sights. The photoset will take you through the details, but I thought I would give you a preview of some of the lovely things.

Blooming flower beds

Beautiful buildings

Snacks!

And, of course, sun and smiles

After we finished Rick’s walk, we decided we could use a short break and possibly a light refreshment. We found a lovely place near the river which seemed to be perfect – in the sun, with good beers and wines and a nice atmosphere.

It wasn’t long, though, before some deep, dark and menacing clouds floated above. The Ladies of Baden-Baden had a decision to make: stay at our table under the umbrella or make a run for it through the gentle rain. As we were debating the decision, large drops of rain started to fall – in earnest. It was an outrageous downpour. Under our umbrella we were safe and dry, but had we tried to leave we would have been soaked through instantly. Jaime took a long look at the rain and declared it a “tantrum.” She was confident that the weather, much like a difficult two-year-old, was simply throwing a fit. She predicted a quick end to such terrible weather. Sharon and I had faith in her declaration and we decided to wait out the rain – with a second drink and a delicious lunch!

Jaime was right. Within 20 minutes the rain had spent itself, much like an exhausted toddler. The clouds passed and we were again left with a sunny sky and a beautiful day. The only lingering down-side was our abuse of the word tantrum for the rest of the visit. But it wouldn’t be a road trip without a little tantrum, now would it?

After our long repast, we finally ventured to the car. We headed into the Black Forest for a while, before turning towards Luxembourg. Will was happy to see us arrive safely home, with a plan to stay local for a few days. Next up: exploring Luxembourg!

[Ed. note: As expected, we haven't even gotten the May photos and posts up before our 4 July deadline. The staff continues to be "under water" from dealing with necessary business travel, World Cup games and holiday parties. The remainder of July looks promising for the staff to get caught up on some of the outstanding items, unless the Netherlands wins the World Cup. If that occurs the staff makes no promises as to when you'll see a cruise photo. Hup Holland!]

Monster Ark is ridiculous, but not in a good way. It is shoddily made, terribly scripted, blindly dumb and tragically dull. Even for a straight-to-TV movie it lacks depth, intelligence and charm. … It basically becomes a vomiting cliché-ticking mixture of Tomb Raider and Indiana Jones, which it shamelessly and liberally plagiarizes from. The film manages to insult anyone religious, the entire U.S. Army, all archaeologists, every pioneer of CGI and its audience’s intelligence.

(By the way, the review is worth reading on its own. Take a look when you have a moment and keep it mind that it does not exaggerate, in any way, the awfulness of this program.)

As children of the USA, both of us understand how such a movie could be made and distributed on the Scyfy channel. The mystery is how it winds up in Europe. Who paid money for this? Mind you, they are showing it after they had an opportunity to see it.

Okay, maybe it’s a freebie that was thrown in with the syndication of Firefly or the very popular Battlestar Galactica. But then why run it as a feature movie on one of the few nights this month without World Cup matches?

What makes this a Mystery of Life in Europe is that the high-profile broadcast of Monster Ark is the rule rather than the exception. Stuff like this is easy to miss in the American entertainment landscape, but here it is as unavoidable as summertime roadwork. Furthermore, many other broadcasters go through the trouble and expense of overdubbing the dialogue, which was tedious and stupid to begin with. Why oh why?

By the way, watch for Sharktopus, also directed by Declan O’Brien, in production now. I’m not kidding. Who is this guy?

Sharktopus. It will undoubtedly be a feature presentation across Western Europe by 2011.

But not for long! We had one weekend to “turn” the guest room for Sharon and Jaime, our friends who were making a second trip to see us. In order to make the most of their visit, we decided on a three phase approach: I would pick them up in Frankfurt on Friday and the three ladies would enjoy a Germany weekend. We would return to Luxembourg on Sunday night and I would return to work on Monday, allowing three days of Luxembourg sight-seeing with Will. Since most of Europe had a holiday on the Thursday of their visit, I would faire le pont, which meant we could go to Bruges, Belgium. In their 10 day visit, we packed in five countries and a lot of sight-seeing.

My hope is to get caught up on photos from their visit — and our Greek Island adventure — before the 4th of July (which means we will clear the backlog by Labor Day). Wish us luck! Today, I will tell you about the first part of our Germany adventure: Munich and the castles.

Day 1 – The airport and Munich

After a short delay, both Sharon and Jaime had arrived and we were able to escape the airport. The drive from Frankfurt to Munich is about four hours, which was enough time for some short naps for the travelers. Since we were in Munich for a brief time, we did exactly what you must do when you only have one night in Munich: you drink!

We started our adventure at the Viktualienmarkt. We wandered a bit, taking pictures of the Maypole before settling in for a snack and a beer.

Even though they were jet lagged and groggy, the travelers did great. Beer count: 0.5L each for Jaime and Sharon

Next up was the Hofbräuhaus, a required stop for all tourists in Munich. We enjoyed the Bavarian meats and spätzle, plus the great beers. After dinner, the lack of sleep (or the amount of beer) was beginning to get to both travelers, so we called it a night. While we barely saw Munich, we enjoyed our time tremendously. Beer count: 0.5L for Sharon and 1L for Jaime.

Munich beer total: 1L for Sharon and 1.5L for Jaime. Well done!

Day 2 – The Castles and Austria

Saturday morning found all of us well-rested and bright-eyed. Our plan for the day: drive to the village of Hohenschwangau and attempt to visit both Hohenschwangau Castle and Newschwanstein Castle, time permitting.

We found Hohenschwangau without trouble. After a quick check of the time, we purchased tickets for both castles, with a visit first to the older, smaller castle of Hohenschwangau and then to the newer and larger Newschwanstein. We even had enough time for some photos between the two castles.

A taste of what we saw:




After our afternoon of castles, we had just enough time to “dip our toe” into Austria before turning north to our end of day destination: Baden-Baden. We were on a schedule, as we had to check into our hotel by 9pm. What we didn’t realize is that the GPS assumed we would drive the normal speed of 120-130 kpm. I’ve found I am comfortable on German roads at a much greater speed…. and we burned a full 30 minutes off our travel time over the original estimate. I’ll take your guesses in the comments at my average and maximum speeds during our time in Germany…..

For more photos, take a look at the photoset!

Coming soon: Baden-Baden and tantrums!

[Editor's Note: Sharon is a founding member of the Friends of the Bugle. Due to our recent crisis in content-generation, the Bugle's editors foresee an expanded role for Friends of the Bugle. To learn more about this exciting development, please contact us!]

I was a guest of the Bakker Bugle B&B just a few weeks ago. I could tell you how much fun we had traveling & enjoying time with our friends & their hospitality, as well as Belgium beers, wine, and food, but instead here is a snippet of what Will & I did one day……

We decided to walk around the city center in Luxembourg City, then the crazies came out… but this isn’t about them…it’s about us. We strolled through the park near the B&B and found a fading smiley face.

Minutes later, a strange girl handed us a free hat & pen without so much as a credit card application. As we walked farther, we saw a balloon plaza with the same emblazoned emblem of TANGO. Not only is it my favorite dance, but also a communications company in Europe. But this was no ordinary balloon….it was gigantic & Helium filled!!

Our two magnificent balloons were tied to my purse & I proceeded to carry them for at least the next hour. Wind, sharp street signs, tree branches, French tourists, crowds tried to deter me from goal, which was to arrive home safely with balloons intact — for my joy & the delight of others.

On our last stop before home…..I decided to sit for a minute on the new space-saucer-shaped bench. To my dismay Will continued to snap photos….which resulted in a stop-animation/ short-French inspired
film that I like to call Balloons Bleu.

I have to say I was really impressed with the outcome…. it was way more entertaining than my accidental digital shorts which were odd but funny. [Ed. - Thanks to FotoosVanRobin and Atelier Vanessa Maurer for the CC-licensed photos.] Click on the image below to see the award-winning compilation.

So what were the balloons for? Pure enjoyment and the promotion of the advertisers for the night marathon… but more about that later.

Here are some additional topics for further blog posts on my trip to Luxembourg. I’ll write more based on popular demand….

1. Homonyms and other problems when trying to speak English
2. Can cheese really be too stinky?
3. What’s wrong with day old croissants?
4. Hoegaarden is not what it sounds like
5. How much wine is too much?
6. What’s wrong with a nightmare-athon?
7. I never knew that Anita was a cat person!
8. Tantrum! Tripoint! Tantrum!
9. 1 flush 2 flush, red flush, blue flush
10. Land pirates!
11. Ducks are great but swans are evil spawns of satan.

The Bugle Corporate Suite attempted to avoid discord arising from the exclusive nature of the award by not revealing the identities of the recipients. A lack of internal security just days before the cruise led, sadly, to the intrusion of union representatives into the issue.

During the absence of the two gifted and valued employees, union leaders unilaterally commanded Bugle staff to engage in workplace retribution. The legality of those tactics is under review by corporate counsel. It is lamentable that the direct effect of those tactics was that no posts were published to the Bakker Bugle Blog during the past several days.

The Bugle does not anticipate any long-term interruptions in our quality of service. Indeed, we are delighted to begin to share with you the content voluntarily produced by our two outstanding Shooting Star award winners: Will and Anita Bakker.

Through their extraordinary commitment to the Bugle 24/7 Workplace Vision, they experienced magnificent sailways, like this one through the Giudecca Canal of Venice.

As a direct result of a cooperative approach to the Bugle’s In Step with Your Superiors program, they walked the same ground as the Ancient Olympians of Sparta.

Due to their completion of the Six Tasks to Save Your Job, they ate with the most elegant of dinner companions in the exotic town of Rhodes.

And, of course, they recharged their batteries — preparing for June’s Unpaid-Overtime Challenge — on the spectacular black sand beaches of Santorini.

You can look forward to more posts based on the genuinely enterprise-sustaining work done by our finest and most agreeable employees, as they work to regain the Bugle quality standards that have been regrettably relaxed during their well-deserved (but non-precedent-setting) reward.

As you might expect, we have some photos on Flickr to share with you.

There are close-up shots of springtime foilage.

Chickens!

And much more. As usual, we created a primary photoset with descriptions, and then dumped some of the extras into a leftovers photoset.

• Alsace in April (Don’t forget to click “Show Info”!)
• Alsace leftovers

• Anita’s photoset of the Keukenhof Gardens (Don’t forget to click “Show Info”!)

As some of you know, the B&B staff insist that guests who arrive in the morning spend much of the day away from the seductive comforts of their rooms. Still, we didn’t want to take our jet-lagged guest too far. So we made the natural choice for an urban destination: Trier. A lovely city, but most of all, a lovely place to sample the local white wines.

Sunday, we drove just a little farther, to the Mosel (or Moselle) valley. The valley is renowned to be as beautiful as the celebrated Rhine valley, and more devoted to wine. Ideal!

The weather was not ideal, but we were fortunate to arrive at the most attractive towns during the sunny periods. For example, Zell, the home of the Black Cat wines.

We got to the larger town of Cochem before the sun set and our bellies started rumbling. Take a look at our photoset for much more, and descriptions, too! (These links lead to slideshows. To see the descriptions, click “Show Info” in the top-right corner.)

• Trier and the Mosel Valley, April 2010
• Leftover photos from Trier and the Mosel Valley

Only one guest has been affected by the air travel restrictions across northern Europe. The BBB&B has made all our facilities available to her, in order to make her prolonged stay as serene as possible. Our laundry facilities and our kitchen will help her cope. Remember as you plan your summer holidays that our laundry and kitchen are available to all guests at all times!

In the local community, the Bakker Bugle has organized relief efforts for families with members stranded far away from Luxembourg. We’ve provided pet-oriented nutritional aid and home security operations for those who have opted to travel across the continent to retrieve their loved ones.

At the time of publication, it looks like nobody is flying into or out of northern Europe until late this week. But somebody is enjoying some extra time in Luxembourg! (And it is unusually quiet without Cargolux 747s landing every hour.)

We’re also coming to understand how important air travel is to Europe. (And how easily Nature can upend our daily expectations.) Consider:

• Business and political deals relying on express document services (FedEx, DHL), some of which may be renegotiated or abandoned, if delayed
• Organ transplants, both scheduled operations and those waiting for opportune donors far away
• Perishable goods, stranded at their points of production — flowers in Holland; food all over Europe, especially seafood.
• Travel insurance, personal and derivative
• No contrails, leaving skies as blue as that dreadful week in September 2001
• Unusual professions that require tight schedules: musicians, performers, lecturers; military, both the soldiers deployed and the army of civilians who manage deployments; emergency services and NGO personnel, such as election supervisors and Red Cross volunteers
• The inevitable call-up and vacation cancellations for those who will make up for the lack of air transport: truck drivers, sailors on rivers and seas, travel agents and administrative assistants (of course), and more

Have you heard any surprising stories in the past few days?

]]> http://bakkerbugle.com/blog/2010/04/18/bbbb-guests-relax-during-travel-turmoil/feed/ 1 http://bakkerbugle.com/blog/2010/02/27/flat-stanley-comes-for-a-visit/ http://bakkerbugle.com/blog/2010/02/27/flat-stanley-comes-for-a-visit/#comments Sat, 27 Feb 2010 17:33:23 +0000 Will http://bakkerbugle.com/blog/?p=1234 We were honored by a visit from Flat Stanley. Our friend Grace sent Flat Stanley to us, and we took a little tour around the Luxembourg region last weekend. We spent Saturday border-crossing among four countries!

You might enjoy the results of our tour — we have a booklet that you can see in one of three forms:

• A very large PDF (more than 50 megabytes), also visible as a slideshow at the link
• A small PDF (with lower graphics quality)
• A photoset of the book’s pages on Flickr (best to watch as a slideshow)

We also made a teacher’s guide (PDF) with more information about most of the photos.

Finally, we’re building a photoset on Flickr with more photos than we could include in the booklet. The BCGCU 3000 is still balky, so check in later this weekend to see more photos and better descriptions.

We spent most of our time trying to find good signs at the borders, so we have an odd collection of “sights” around the Luxembourg area. We didn’t go to many of the pretty or historically meaningful attractions, but that actually made the tour very interesting for us. Anyway, it’s difficult to make even Little Switzerland look good on a gray and rainy day in February.

]]> http://bakkerbugle.com/blog/2010/02/27/flat-stanley-comes-for-a-visit/feed/ 9 http://bakkerbugle.com/blog/2009/10/02/bbbb-update-september-shakedown/ http://bakkerbugle.com/blog/2009/10/02/bbbb-update-september-shakedown/#comments Fri, 02 Oct 2009 09:26:40 +0000 Will http://bakkerbugle.com/blog/?p=923 Please forgive the staff for their negligence of the blog these past few weeks. We had an important visit from the mother company to see whether the B&B is ready to open for business. The final report hasn’t been released yet, but the initial feedback was favorable. We’re sure that our new facilities in Luxembourg will meet the high expectations set by our Dublin operation.

The September dress rehearsal also brought the debut of a new series of Bugle products — guided tours. Our premier package is a whirlwind tour through a large part of France, an excursion that includes three wine regions and almost four days in and around Paris.

Our first stop is an afternoon in Reims, with sunny skies custom-ordered to show off the graceful Gothic arches of its Cathedral, where many French kings were crowned.

On the way to the cathedral, you’ll see the grapes of Champagne, and on the way out, you’ll taste their culmination in a glass (or two) from the caves of Taittinger.

After a relaxing night in the “real Versailles” beyond the palace gates, we enjoy a mid-morning garden tour especially scheduled to avoid the hordes of tourists.

From there, we pass through the lovely Parisian suburb of Rungis to arrive at our three-star accommodations in the 7th arrondissement. The city is yours for the next three days and nights. Our clients select from a broad menu of attractions, including the Arc de Triomphe. Let us escort you through the Metro system, where all of Paris is just a few stops away!

Louis XIV went to Versailles to escape the hubbub of Paris, and we offer the same experience, as seasoned guides take you through the main palace and the captivating Domaine de Marie-Antoinette. You’ll revel in the luxurious surroundings of the last of French royalty, but we guarantee that you’ll still go home with your head!*

You’ll find yet more relaxation in the verdant fields of Bourgogne (also known as Burgundy), not to mention the wineries therein.

The tour ends with one day and one night in Colmar, an extraordinarily picturesque town in Alsace. Colmar offers sights and museums for some, the famous Wine Road of Alsace for others, and quiet squares for those who want to return home feeling like they had a real vacation.

This tour is just one of the many available through the Bugle. Make your reservations soon! (Thanks to cindy for the last two photos — Will took too many and now he can’t find the good ones!)

* Guarantee not valid in all cases or for all jurisdictions. Contact Bugle legal services for terms and conditions.

]]> http://bakkerbugle.com/blog/2009/10/02/bbbb-update-september-shakedown/feed/ 2 http://bakkerbugle.com/blog/2009/08/18/the-most-useful-phrase-in-french/ http://bakkerbugle.com/blog/2009/08/18/the-most-useful-phrase-in-french/#comments Tue, 18 Aug 2009 19:03:32 +0000 Will http://bakkerbugle.com/blog/?p=872 Anita is becoming famous in some circles in Luxembourg for her French!

For months, she practiced one and only one phrase in French:
Je suis desolée. Je ne parle pas français.
What does it mean, in English? “I’m sorry. I don’t speak French.”

Anita’s pronunciation is so good (and effortless) that people don’t believe her. Usually, they switch to English (although sometimes with an intrigued look). Sometimes, they continue to talk to her in French! Once in a while, they switch to German, leaving her with no reply whatsoever.

Despite Anita’s quandaries, we recommend that everyone who plans to visit a French-speaking country take a few moments and learn this phrase. We’d like to think that it conveys a certain respect for others, moreso than “Parlez-vous anglais?”

That’s a polite way to ask someone to speak English, but it’s also a demand of sorts. It just seems a bit curt — imagine the following little skit, between an American grocery cashier and a French customer who knows little English.

Customer Marcel: Hello. I want to pay.

Shopkeeper Ned: Hello! That’s a great brand of ice cream you’ve got there. Did you see that we have it in chocolate and rocky road as well? My daughter loves the chocolate kind.

Customer Marcel: Do you speak French?

Marcel was a bit abrupt, don’t you think? I think Ned would be more inclined to try his high-school French if Marcel said, “I’m sorry. I don’t speak English. Do you speak French?” (Anita and I are thinking about skits a lot right now, since our French lessons are underway.)

We often need people to switch to English to accommodate us (or at least we need them to tolerate our bad French supplemented by charades). So we say “Parlez-vous anglais?” all the time, and we find that it works much better after we say the magic phrase.

To help you learn it, here’s a recording of Anita’s impeccable rendition:
Je suis desolée. Je ne parle pas français.

And, should you need it, her quite passable request:
Parlez-vous anglais?

]]> http://bakkerbugle.com/blog/2009/08/18/the-most-useful-phrase-in-french/feed/ 5 http://bakkerbugle.com/blog/2009/08/14/had-enough-photos-yet-colmar-alsace-france/ http://bakkerbugle.com/blog/2009/08/14/had-enough-photos-yet-colmar-alsace-france/#comments Fri, 14 Aug 2009 18:40:45 +0000 Will http://bakkerbugle.com/blog/?p=869 Just say “uncle” when you want us to do some actual writing for this blog.

At the beginning of August, we took a three-day weekend to visit Colmar, in Alsace. The town was well-recommended, and we’d enjoyed the region when we passed through it for the Tour de France.

So we have three brief photosets for you — one for each day — and the customary set of leftover photos for the die-hards. There are plenty of descriptions so that you can tell whether you want to add it to your BBB&B itinerary.

• July 31st: The three-hour drive through Alsace and a half-day in Colmar
• August 1st: A full day in the picturesque town of Colmar
• August 2nd: Along Alsace’s wine road, through the Vosges mountains, and home again
• Leftovers from the weekend

A few little pictures as a preview:





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