Nov 21 – This is our day to head south to explore the Garden District, where the New Orleans rich moved in the 1800s to get away from the crowded French Quarter. It is here that Ann Rice lived and placed many of her Vampire stories, and here that Peyton and Eli Manning grew up.
Some of these historical mansions have plaques indicating their age and the style in which they were built. Many contain more than one style, and are considered ‘transitional’.
Nov 20 – Today we ventured beyond where our feet could take us, further north to City Park. Our mission was to master the transit system and visit The New Orleans Museum of Art.
Our hotel concierge showed us how to download the Le Pass app, which magically integrated with Google Maps. Type in your destination, and you pay right in the app. A single ride is $1.25, but we paid for a 24 hour Jazzy Pass so we could hop on and off as needed. The fare is the same whether you choose a bus or a streetcar, so who wouldn’t choose a streetcar?
Nov 19 – Another sunny day with a high of 80 degrees. Fine shirtsleeve weather, breezy and not hot enough to make you sweat. We walked through the French Quarter again today, taking note of the buildings that hug the streets.
Nov 17, 2025 – We usually use this blog to record international adventures, but a trip to New Orleans feels like an opportunity to experience a different culture, so I think it qualifies. Want to come along?
Jim booked us a direct flight, which takes about two and a half hours. Easy breezy! We left home in the afternoon and expected to be in NOLA for a late supper.
Without the excruciating details, let’s just say our plane did not pass muster, and the airline had to dispatch another from Louisiana. Our friendly representative cautioned, “I’d rather be on the ground wishing I was in the sky, than in the sky wishing I was on the ground.” Wise words.
Eight hours later, we were airborne at 1am. Our plan to hop on a city bus to get to our hotel had to be amended, as buses don’t run at 3am. One taxi ride later (the cabbie wisely quoted the exact same price as Uber) we were able to rest our weary heads. We are here!
July 17 – One more trip to the train station for our last journey south to the city of Mainz, also right on the Rhine River. We’ve had our own Rhine River cruise, without a boat!
July 15 – Happy birthday to our dear daughter Jae! We packed our bags once again and walk the one minute walk back to the train station. Today our journey is just one hour south to the pretty little town of Rüdesheim, which is right on the Rhine River.
July 13 – Back on the train for the two hour ride south to Koblenz. This is a much smaller city, that sits at the Deutches Eck, where the Moselle River meets the Rhine.
July 11 – Now that our hiking is done, what should we do with our remaining time? Rather than a long travel day back to Frankfurt, we decided to stop in four German cities along the way. Today’s goal is Cologne, or in German, Köln.
July 10 – All good things must come to an end. Today is our last hiking day. 12.75 miles planned.
July 9 – Returning to Valkenburg gave us a sweet sense of deja vu – this is the town where we holed up for eleven days while recovering from COVID way back in 2023. We stayed longer in this town than just about anywhere we’ve ever been. We walked every corner of Valkenburg while regaining our strength.
Here is where we learned to love Albert Heijn supermarkets – Jim has carried his Albert Heijn discount card in his wallet for two years, and was so happy to use it again!
So we didn’t feel the need to explore this lovely town, filled with sidewalk cafes and bustling with tourists. For us it felt like coming home.
