The Daily Diary of a Wandering Restaurateur
Getting There is Half the Work
Back in the 60s, I vaguely recall that one airline's ads touted that "getting there is half the fun." Perhaps
that might have been true at the dawn of the jet age, but now I suggest that getting there is easily half the work!
So far, this trip has been a real exercise in planes, trains and automobiles. It began at 6:20am on Tuesday morning
when we left for Sea-Tac airport and ended 26 hours later when we finally arrived at our apartment in Colmar.
In between we rode three shuttles, went through six airline terminals to catch three different planes, and took two
cabs and one train before finally picking up our rental car. Being here for the next two weeks will be great. Getting
here ... not so much!
There's good news and bad news. The good news is that there are at least five different Christmas markets in Colmar so
the whole town -- and particularly the historical center where we are -- is an amazing light show at night. The bad news
is that because the markets are pedestrians only, half the roads in the city are closed to traffic from 10am to 10pm.
This fact certainly confused our GPS which naturally wanted to take us directly to our address. Every time we had to
detour because of a street closure, it re-calculated and tried to run us back through the market area.
We finally gave up, found a spot we could identify, called our hosts and had them come lead us around to someplace where
we could park overnight. It seems that 90% of the parking in Colmar is paid, most of it in 2-4 hour maximums during the
day. So the first order of business (after 12 hours of sleep!) was to find the car and move it before our time expired
... not that easy given one way streets and no grid system of roads. Complicate that with the fact that I had no map other
than the GPS which was basically useless since I had no idea exactly where I was or where I was going.
Parking issues aside, the good part about being in the middle of town is that pretty much everything we need is within
easy walking distance. Once I found a slightly illegal spot to park the car, I went off hunting and gathering and managed
to find most of the supplies we needed to stock the kitchen for the next few days. Much as I enjoy checking out
restaurants around the world, the idea of having to get dressed and presentable before getting a bite to eat in the
morning is not high on my list, so having a kitchen makes travel that much easier.
As is usually the case, our first full day in Europe was mostly about taking it easy and re-balancing. I went out a time
or two for minor errands, Margene curled up on the couch and spent the day reading. No rush. No worries. Tomorrow we might
just get out for some more intentional exploration ... or not!
The weather looks to be overcast for the next several days, but no measurable rain anticipated. So the photos of the old town have a certain surrealistic edge to them ... until the sun goes down and the whole town lights up. Look for more evening photos now that we are relatively re-adjusted to jumping nine time zones!
© 2016 Restaurant Doctor
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