The Dore Clan paid us a lovely, fun and laughter filled visit last month. We did a very thorough loop of our region, as well as spending a few days in fantastic Paris. See map above.
It all started with their arrival (with their many suitcases, thanks to me) at Luxembourg Airport. PART 1: LUXEMBOURG, DELFT & BRUGES!
Even though I'm sure they had very little sleep, they rallied, stayed awake and did a tour of Luxembourg Ville.
Peter even let us dress him up to look "more European" (aove). What a sport. We felt this look was a little "too much" so we went with the ensemble that Peter had planned, below:
Our first stop was Delft, about 3.5 hrs from Luxembourg. Birthplace of Vermeer (ironically, none of his paintings reside here), and home of famous Delft china. I learned that the Delft china came about in response to the popularity of true Chinese china that was imported into the Netherlands. The Dutch basically ripped off the idea from the Chinese, built their own factories and brand(s), made it world-famous, and not you can buy rip-offs in China. What goes around comes around, huh?
Alaina and I thought her scarf was a fabulous contrast to the blues in the tile installation in the Delft tile showroom.
Taking a clog for a spin in the town center.
Our favorite restaurant of the trip.
Alaina outside of the hotel, taken from our room, which was on a canal.
Delft architecture and the canal.
After Delft we took a 45 min drive to Kinderjik (or something like that) where you can see 19 preserved and working windmills. a UNESCO world heritage site. at one point in the drive we were surprised to discover that we had to take a ferry to cross a small river. it was the quickest and easiest ferry ever. we drove on and 30 seconds later it took off. we drove right off and went our our merry (and somewhat shocked by the whole surprise of needing a ferry) way.
windmills just sitting in the fields. They looked so bizarre (and beautiful)... it felt like we were on another planet.
The grey, wet and clammy but beauitful Nordsee!
Nordsee soft-serve!
waffles!
french fries!
We also saw the only michealangelo statue that is outside of Italy - the madonna and child. It inspired Judy to pray, Alaina to watch, and Dave to look intently, and then check out the rest of the cathedral.
on our way out of Bruges and back to Luxembourg!
Judy and Dave making sandwiches for our next leg of our trip: the Alsace!
By this time the gang was getting a little tired of all the driving. But they were excellent sports!
Our first stop was the AMerican Military cemetery in Sainte Avold, France. As soon as we arrived they asked if we had family buried there. Judy told them about her cousin, Joseph Serocki. They then had a guide take us to his site where he rubbed sand from Omaha beach in Normandy (so the name on the cross really stood out), gave us a flag, told us the history of the cemetery, and some WWII history, played a recording of taps and a 21 gun salute, gave us some family folders with info on Joseph and the cemetery, and sent us on our merry way. IT was all so very impressive and moving.
Then we drove into the Alsace region, took the Route de Vin, and stopped in this amazingly beautiful little town called Middlerbergheim. We did some wine-tasting at a winery called Boeckle. This family-run winery has been in business for over 300 years, in this very same house. we drove into the courtyard and parked next to family members stacking crates of wine bottles. the son took us inside for a tasting . the wine was delicious and very reasonably priced! i especially liked the (pink) pinot noir cremant (bubbly wine) that we drank a few days later.
Some Alsatian scenery.
Outside the walls of Riquewir.
Inside the walls of Riquewir...
Sampling some tasty tasy homemade gluewein - wine with fruit, brandy and spices, heated to toasty cozy perfection.
Tasting wine at Boeketl (photo out of order - sorry!)
After an amazing dinner at our inn in Orbey ( I had trout that was caught only 1 km away from the inn - best in my life, I even loved the skin!), we stopped in Nancy. We strolled in the main plaza by the palace and checked out a really interesting art installation. Artists recreated portions of the art nouveau archtecture in Nancy, out of plants and vegetables. This one was made entirely of root vegies and squash. it was gorgeous.
we had some of the BEST pastries EVER! and i know good pastries now, we live in the heart of fabulous pastry-land! Here peter is feeding Judy some delicious custard pie. i think he felt inspired by their recent anniversary. :)
Our next stop was Metz, another beautiful city, on the Moselle and (some other?) rivers. there are over 20 bridges in this small city, and a magnificent cathedral that is has one of the largest height to width ratios (so it's amazingly tall and skinny) of all cathedrals in Europe.
Judy having a laugh after almost getting stuck inside an auto toity.
Peter was a bit tired but excited to be on the train, and Alaina caught up on her Rachel Zoe shows.
Judy found a fabulous art deco hotel for herself and Peter.
at ponte alexander ....
relaxing at the Tuilleries ...
an Irish-coffee break.
on and around Champs Elysees...
Back at the hotel, making a plan for the next day.
Peter really taking in the scenery, taking photos and just being generally really happy to be in Paris.
The frequent map-reading.
Musee d'Orsay!
The Metro!
Arche du Triumph!
and something else, can't remember the name .... ;)
Alaina seeing her first sparkling Eiffel tower after a couple hours of very fun shopping!
Judy tackling chopsticks at a Japanese restaurant.
Rain did not stop the fun...
Judy being a great sport after getting lost on her way to Nils' and Alejandro's apt.
Even though I'm sure they had very little sleep, they rallied, stayed awake and did a tour of Luxembourg Ville. 
Peter even let us dress him up to look "more European" (aove). What a sport. We felt this look was a little "too much" so we went with the ensemble that Peter had planned, below:
Our first stop was Delft, about 3.5 hrs from Luxembourg. Birthplace of Vermeer (ironically, none of his paintings reside here), and home of famous Delft china. I learned that the Delft china came about in response to the popularity of true Chinese china that was imported into the Netherlands. The Dutch basically ripped off the idea from the Chinese, built their own factories and brand(s), made it world-famous, and not you can buy rip-offs in China. What goes around comes around, huh?
Alaina and I thought her scarf was a fabulous contrast to the blues in the tile installation in the Delft tile showroom. 
Taking a clog for a spin in the town center. 
Our favorite restaurant of the trip. 
Alaina outside of the hotel, taken from our room, which was on a canal. 
Delft architecture and the canal. 
After Delft we took a 45 min drive to Kinderjik (or something like that) where you can see 19 preserved and working windmills. a UNESCO world heritage site. at one point in the drive we were surprised to discover that we had to take a ferry to cross a small river. it was the quickest and easiest ferry ever. we drove on and 30 seconds later it took off. we drove right off and went our our merry (and somewhat shocked by the whole surprise of needing a ferry) way.
windmills just sitting in the fields. They looked so bizarre (and beautiful)... it felt like we were on another planet.
The grey, wet and clammy but beauitful Nordsee!During our trip we sampled many local treats ... like:
Nordsee soft-serve!
waffles!
french fries!
We also saw the only michealangelo statue that is outside of Italy - the madonna and child. It inspired Judy to pray, Alaina to watch, and Dave to look intently, and then check out the rest of the cathedral. 
on our way out of Bruges and back to Luxembourg!PART 2: ALSACE & LORRAINE REGION!
Judy and Dave making sandwiches for our next leg of our trip: the Alsace!
By this time the gang was getting a little tired of all the driving. But they were excellent sports!
Our first stop was the AMerican Military cemetery in Sainte Avold, France. As soon as we arrived they asked if we had family buried there. Judy told them about her cousin, Joseph Serocki. They then had a guide take us to his site where he rubbed sand from Omaha beach in Normandy (so the name on the cross really stood out), gave us a flag, told us the history of the cemetery, and some WWII history, played a recording of taps and a 21 gun salute, gave us some family folders with info on Joseph and the cemetery, and sent us on our merry way. IT was all so very impressive and moving. 
Then we drove into the Alsace region, took the Route de Vin, and stopped in this amazingly beautiful little town called Middlerbergheim. We did some wine-tasting at a winery called Boeckle. This family-run winery has been in business for over 300 years, in this very same house. we drove into the courtyard and parked next to family members stacking crates of wine bottles. the son took us inside for a tasting . the wine was delicious and very reasonably priced! i especially liked the (pink) pinot noir cremant (bubbly wine) that we drank a few days later.
Some Alsatian scenery.
Outside the walls of Riquewir.
Inside the walls of Riquewir...
Sampling some tasty tasy homemade gluewein - wine with fruit, brandy and spices, heated to toasty cozy perfection.
Tasting wine at Boeketl (photo out of order - sorry!)
After an amazing dinner at our inn in Orbey ( I had trout that was caught only 1 km away from the inn - best in my life, I even loved the skin!), we stopped in Nancy. We strolled in the main plaza by the palace and checked out a really interesting art installation. Artists recreated portions of the art nouveau archtecture in Nancy, out of plants and vegetables. This one was made entirely of root vegies and squash. it was gorgeous.
we had some of the BEST pastries EVER! and i know good pastries now, we live in the heart of fabulous pastry-land! Here peter is feeding Judy some delicious custard pie. i think he felt inspired by their recent anniversary. :)
Our next stop was Metz, another beautiful city, on the Moselle and (some other?) rivers. there are over 20 bridges in this small city, and a magnificent cathedral that is has one of the largest height to width ratios (so it's amazingly tall and skinny) of all cathedrals in Europe. 
Judy having a laugh after almost getting stuck inside an auto toity. Part 3: PARIS!
We hopped onto a TGV (super fast train) that took us from Luxembourg to Paris in 2:20 hrs.
Peter was a bit tired but excited to be on the train, and Alaina caught up on her Rachel Zoe shows. 
Judy found a fabulous art deco hotel for herself and Peter. 
at ponte alexander ....
relaxing at the Tuilleries ...
an Irish-coffee break. 
on and around Champs Elysees...
Back at the hotel, making a plan for the next day. 
Peter really taking in the scenery, taking photos and just being generally really happy to be in Paris. 
The frequent map-reading. 
Musee d'Orsay!
The Metro!
Arche du Triumph!
and something else, can't remember the name .... ;)
Alaina seeing her first sparkling Eiffel tower after a couple hours of very fun shopping!
Judy tackling chopsticks at a Japanese restaurant. 
Rain did not stop the fun...
Judy being a great sport after getting lost on her way to Nils' and Alejandro's apt. 
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