London -> Basel
Highlight
- A relatively late start to another beautiful day, although it was colder and mistier today.
- Visited the Markplatz for the morning market – which was small and wasn’t really happening. It’s good if you want to do some basic shopping, but there was nothing on offer in terms of choice.
- Visited the Town Hall which was quite magnificent.
- Started on the green walk. Highlights were going to the peaceful and more suburban St Alban, crossing the Rhine on the current powered boat, and enjoying the scenery along the side of the Rhine.
- Stopped off for some shopping for the Basler Läckerli honey biscuit. We got a sample of it at the official store, and it was really yum, but we decided to check out the prices at the supermarket before we committed. We found a 1.5kg bag on sale for 11 CHF, which was cheaper than buying the 500g bag. There was no way I was going to buy the small bag, so we ended up with so much biscuit we didn’t bother trying to buy anything else.
- Had a very indulgent lunch at Les Quatres Saisons. We were the only ones there besides an old couple. The food was wonderful and they were very generous with the servings, so much so that I was so full I couldn’t even fit in dessert. The waiter was funny too, but I don’t think she meant to be.
- We emerged back into what had turned into a warm afternoon 2.5 hrs later. We waddled slowly through the orange walk, the highlight of which was seeing the cactus in the very small Botanical gardens and the cool Spenditor (gate). And this time we got to go inside The Cathedral afterall. It was very nice, but of course I have seen better.
- The gray walk already covered a lot of ground from the previous walks, but takes the narrow routes and stairs. It was not altogether unpleasant, and it was interesting seeing the parts at different parts of day, bursting with activities, instead of the dead town of the weekend. We couldn’t resist stopping by Gigen confisurie as we saw lots of people going in there. We picked out 3 different pastries item – palmier (comparable to the best from France), marzipan slice (yum), raisin and nut log (very Asian in feel and yum)
- The walks over, we spent the last hour or so wondering around some shops. It was quite interesting as there are some unique shops around, and not (much of) the Euro high street store you find in every city. We weren’t planning on buying anything else as our bags were loaded full, but ended up in Manor department store where they had a watch sale, so Slokky picked himself a Casio Baby-G for 50 CHF (I know it’s not even Swiss!) and I got myself a black diamante Reis for 89 CHF.
- We needed to use up our francs, so ended up getting cheese and chocolate from Coop before heading off to airport.
- A very smooth ride home, no delays and no incidence.
Food
- taste test bread
- Läckerli biscuits
- Les Quatres Saisons:
- olive puff pastry, tomato puff pastry
- bread assortment
- venison with vegetable terrine
- langoustine with asparagus
- apple, foie gras terrine
- Bouillabaisse with toast and langoustins
- saffron mussel soup with scallop
- lamb with carrot and mashed potato
- veal with parsnip mash and brussel sprout
- cheese with grapes and walnut and fruit bread: crème fraise, maulbier, Gorgonzola, Gruyere, camembert
- 3 desserts: raspberry and fig compote, chocolate crème brulee, passionfruit, mango and raspberry sorbet
- tea and espresso with petit fours
- pistachio macaroon, raspberry lemon tart, tuile, milk and dark orange peel, Läckerli biscuit, chocolate with nuts, alcoholic chocolate
- glace chestnut
- palmier
- chocolate spice cake slice
Basel
Highlight
- Caught the tram out for breakfast at Confiserie Bauchmann. The food was fine, but I was appalled at the smoking in the restaurant, especially for breakfast!!
- Went to the train station, where it was very busy, a mass of activities with everyone taking advantage of the weather and the weekend.
- The lady at the tourist office talked us into going on a cable car.
- Caught the train to Liebsel , then a crowded bus to W
- There was a fair and everyone seemed to be out and about. We didn’t hang around as we wanted to get started on our walk.
- Caught a long cable car ride, then did some walks. There was no maps and no English, so we just wandered aimlessly, but it was very nice walking, except for the cow poo and the annoying bells that kept ringing and ringing.
- There were a few restaurants along the way, but we decided to save our stomachs for dinner instead.
- Walked to Passe , the highest point, and did a loop around. Nothing in particular to see, but it was nice to get away into nature.
- Caught the cable car down, taste tested some apples, picked up some cake, biscuit, chestnuts and cheese from the fair, before a long bus ride back.
- Wandered around the the few restaurants that actually open on a Sunday, and settled on the dingy pub place near the station. As usual, dirty, but the food delivered. We were very full. I still can’t believe we ate a whole pot of cheese.
- Strolled very slowly back via the Rhine Bridge.
Food
- C Bauchmann breakfast:
- hot chocolate
- orange juice
- milk bread
- salty bread (pretzel)
- croissant with jam and butter
- bircher muesli
- milk chocolate bread
- marble cake
- taste test apples
- roasted chestnuts
- chocolate aniseed biscuit
- Steinbock dinner:
- traditional fondue with bread
- liver traditional style with rosti potatoes
- mint tea
- Feldschlosschen beer
London -> Basel
Highlight
- The weather was great, we caught lots of public transport.
- We got to our hotel at 6pm, so everything was closed, but we went on 2 of the walks (red and blue). The highlight was the cathedral, but it was under renovation.
- Faltz, overlooking the river and the cool building with funky shops, but too dark to do anything.
- Dinner was very good. Very formal but good food that you can smell. The best was the duckling. They gave us 2 pre-desserts and petit fours because they forgot they had already given us one, so bonus!
Food
- Cheval Blanc dinner:
- bon bon
- trio of bitterbollen, fish and caviar, tomato terrine
- tuna
- artichoke nad foie gras
- duck breast and mash
- duck liver and spring rolls
- petit fours:
- coconut macaroons
- raspberry tart
- passionfruit terrine
- flapjack
- chocolate cake
- iced coffee mousse
- millefeuille
- raspberry, milk chocolate
- cappuccino
- mint tea
Oslo
- green hills
- pine trees
- blondes
- harbour
- lakes
Peak District 2
- lambs
- baby lambs
- fog
- old people
- green fields
- stone cottages
Eindhoven
- bikes
- canals
- cafes
- beer
- brown
Malmo
- hairdressers
- trolls
- babies and prams
Copenhagen
- people walking dogs
- canals and boats
- colourful houses
- lamp shops
- design shops
- cafes with outdoor tables and blankets
- babies and prams
Chester
- old tourists
- old black & white buildings
- old English pubs
- tea rooms
Manchester
Rotterdam
- funky buildings
- McDonalds
- architecture
- boats
- docks
Cambridge
- tourists
- old buildings
- colleges
Stockholm
- McDonalds
- design shops
- harbour
- babies and strollers
- kids
- H&M
- hairdressers
- hot blonds
Leads
- shopping centres
- constructions
- new buildings
- young people
- restaurants, bars and pubs
- hairdressers
York
- old building
- castle walls
- shops
- tea rooms
- people
- pubs
- churches
Lille
- dog poo
- beggars
- homeless
- furniture store
- specialty beauty products
- sales
- clothing store
- dressed up people (but only from the afternoon)
- joggers
Paris 1
- food shops
- grand parades
- baguettes
- dogs on metro, in supermarkets, in baskets
- tight parking space
- grand architecture
Peak District
- lambs
- rolling hills
- people walking, decked out in walking gear
- cobble stoned streets
- churches with graveyard
- coffee shops and tea rooms
- Bakewell tart and Bakewell pudding
San Francisco
- Walgreen
- fog
- cars
- Chinese
- buses
- fat birds
- cable cars
- bagels
- information
Valencia
- garden
- pastries
- bars
- cafes
- tapas
- cool structures
- bus
