Yesterday we stopped in Luxembourg for lunch. Luxembourg is a small country – you could fit 8 1/2 of them into Idaho County. It is the only remaining Grand Duchy in the world. I dare you to try and name another. They are extremely wealthy there due to their loose banking policies. It is a great place for shady folks to park their ill gotten gains. The Jong Il family (as an example) reputedly have more than US$4.5B parked here. Per capita GDP is more than $80k a year and it shows. The land is attractive, well kept and gives off the impression of wealth. We walked down to the pedestrian center of town to find something to eat. Being Sunday, if the store were to open, it would not open until 2:00pm. We had limited choices for lunch around 12:30 (we were all hungry and were not going to wait..). Many outdoor cafes were open for lunch, but the prices were far too high – making the other locations we’ve visited seem cheap. Per person prices ran from €25 to €35.

As a result, we finally broke down, put aside our prejudices and the result:

A Big Mac’s a Big Mac, but they call it “Le Big Mac.” (Pulp Fiction joke, for those like my mom who will not get it.)

It was still too expensive.. and I got into a fight with the girl at the counter who did not give me enough change back. (She shorted me €10). It is not easy for me to fight in French.. In the end, I won however, when the manager came by and found the missing €10 note sitting on the ground where the girl had dropped it.

Afterwards, the weather being marvelous, we walked about.

This city, like so many others in the area, started out as a Roman fort.  It is perched on the edge of precipitous cliffs that drop into the narrow valleys of the Alzette and Petrusse rivers. This leaves many deep gorges that have been spanned by many bridges. The views are beautiful.

Finally, some room to run around! That is Isabella, if you look very closely.

Adam said, “Stand there, it’s a great view.” Little did I know he was making a joke at my expense. My family makes fun of me for seeking out the art scene everywhere I go.

Afterwards, the drive continued south to France.  Today, we had breakfast in Germany, lunch in Luxembourg and dinner in France.