🐐THE GAMBOL
October 16-17, 2026 • 📍Basel, Switzerland • 🚢 Rhine & Main Explorer +
🎶 TODAY’S TUNE
Show me the way to go home… I’m tired and I want to go to bed…. I had a little drink/wine/beer about and hour ago and then walked all over town…
📇 THE STORY
It really started on the 15th… Jim and I slept in as we had packed the night before. We got up, had a leisurely morning, said we weren’t going to leave until 10. I went and had bloodwork done. And we left the house right at 10. When we get on the interstate at Watertown Center, exit 44 if you are in the know, there is a rest area not long after. Jim usually stops. I usually sit in the car, even though I know the golden rule, “if the car is stopped and there is a bathroom handy, USE IT.” Jim strolled back out to the car and said, “I forgot my wallet.” Did we sing Hat, Wallet, Keys, and Phone? No… So around we turn to drive back to the house to get his wallet. And head back out. We are driving to Niece Katie and Nephew Paul’s bed and brew in West Orange.
Once settled in NJ, our hosts, Katie and Paul made us homemade pizza in their oudtoor pizza oven and a Caesar type salad with Kale and homemade dressing with anchovies! It was oh, so good. They were gracious enough to take us to the Mountain Train Station-this one is closer to their house than the South Orange Terminal, where we caught the train to Hoboken. I have never been in Hoboken before and we really weren’t there that long. From Hoboken, we caught the Path to Station 33 in Manhattan. We used the same luggage drop off we had used before, EZ in, EZ out and bam! ready to get another cup of coffee from Cultur.. Next time I will buy an award winning Chocolate Chip Cookie.
📸 THE PHOTOS
It was gray and cloudy in NY, but very warm.. we didn’t need our rain coats at all. After dropping off our luggage, we trekked to the Morgan Library and Mueseum. I thought it was a NARM museum, but alas, I thought wrong. After our quick jaunt to the museum, we arrived a few minutes early so we followed a group walking around the outside of the museum and what did my wandering eyes discover? Beutiful fun statues. Oops we had to make a detour crosing back and forth and back and forth until I got most of the statues within our block timeframe. Back around to the front of the museum and WOWEE! a huge crowd has gathered to enter the museum.. Still not 1030 yet.. so we wait.
The Morgan Library and Museum “began as the personal library of financier, collector, and cultural benefactor Pierpont Morgan. As early as 1890 Morgan had begun to assemble a collection of illuminated, literary, and historical manuscripts, early printed books, and old master drawings and prints. It was quite fascinating and their were even some historical pieces from early Mesopotamia. I am fascinated by the Mesopotamians, Sumerians, the cuneiform and such and the last 2 days have had much to do with that!!!
After walking up and down the stairs in the Morgan Library, we needed a little nourishment.. We start wandering… and what do my eyes see??? Pick n Cheese! Pick n Cheese is located in the old Lord and Taylor’s building along with several other restaurants and a large bar in the center. Since Pick n Cheese wasn’t quite opened when we showed up, so we quenched at the bar and then walked over. What is Pick n Cheese? Well for those of you who don’t remember our trip to London, I believe that was preblog and pure email days, Pick N Cheese in 7 Dials Market was a find and a cheese charcuterie extravaganza except on a conveyer belt! Okay, I don’t know about you, but that is a lovely experience, but go on a Wednesday, at least in 7 Dials Market, where it is price fixe… Picking cheese can be expensive! Check out their menu here! I have never been a mix sweet with savory kind of gal, but actually eating the maple popcorn with the goat cheese (Hootenanny) was great and for dessert we had the Whaledale with the lemon curd. All in all we had 8 plates: Oma, Big Dill Pickles (ours were of the smaller variety), Middlebury Blue with kimchee, Pawlet with sauerkraut, Lady Edison Country ham, bread and butter-because why not??, and the Bresola: beef proscuitto with pickled fennel.
After we stuffed our bellies full of cheese, we happily trudged back to Hero Luggage, then on to Penn Station to pick up the LIRR for our ride to Jamaica, the airtran, and our flight east. We had several hours to wait… so we stopped in the bar, where we met our new best friend Ben. Ben lives outside of London and travels to, well all over for work. He used to live in BC and one of his daughters was born there, then they moved to the Caribbean where his other daughter was born… now they live on the coast outside of London.. 2. hour train ride I believe he said. Ben was catching the 740 flight home. Told him he should hitch a ride on the earlier flight as we weren’t full. Which was great, because we were able to move to the exit row, which I had assumed was the bulkhead. And we met a lovely flight attendant, who kept bringing us gifts, like prosecco and chocolate. Our dinner on the plane was either chicken and mashed or spinach curry. I opted for the spinach and Jim ordered the chicken. We swapped rolls and key lime pie.. which was more like a souffle and actually quite good. I saved the second one and am not sure that I should eat it 2 days later without refrigeration… things that make you go hmmm!
✨GAMBoL glimmer
We made it through the Heathrow airport with plenty of time to spare. There was a lovely man telling us to go to A1 when we stepped off the plane, I disremembered and we had to wait around the relaxing area until gate A1 was posted…. no coffee yet. Not even on the plane. They did give us water and somekind of flapjack type snack. I didn’t snap a picture, but it was pretty good… Met up with some Viking cruisers while waiting in the line to go through security in Basel. Found our way to Bus 50, the tram, and then the hotel. Will post post pictures of our day later but suffice to say, I finally got a cup of Kaffee.
#HowFortunateWeAre #RetiredAndLovingIt #MakingOurOwnSunshine