Walkabout Tours

14/12/2024

Day 4. I’ll be honest, it wasn’t my favorite. But that’s why I’m here—to research and to learn all I can so I can help you make good choices on your travels.

I took the train from Strasbourg into Germany to visit a couple of different towns. First was Freiburg, which felt small. Their market had some nice, handmade things though. It was freezing that morning so I stopped and got a hot chocolate (with maybe a little Irish Cream in it). Big hit!

I haven’t talked about the mugs yet. One very popular Christmas market tradition is that of the Gluwein (or “vin chaud” if you’re in France). It basically means hot wine, which is spiced, and you can find it everywhere. In each city, there are different mugs with the town name on it that you can either keep or return for your 3 euro deposit. Some people love to collect them, and others just return them. It’s up to you! I would have kept my Freiburg mug, but I had no other bags and nowhere to put it, so I returned mine rather than carry it around all day.

After Freiburg I took the train to Karlsruhe, which is the city my grandfather grew up in. I’ve just always wanted to see the town, so that was interesting. It’s an industrial city—there’s not much to see, and the Christmas market was pretty small. The booths were beautifully decorated, though. And I had a delicious bratwurst sandwich on gluten free bread, so high marks for that!

I ended up returning to Strasbourg earlier than I had planned, so I had a little more time to explore. I found an incredible gluten free bakery and had a great dinner at a cute spot before heading to bed.

I still have a lot to think about when it comes to Christmas markets. But if you’re thinking about coming to the Alsace region, I definitely recommend it. There’s a lot to see and do here and some of the villages are truly charming. ❤️🎄🍾

12/12/2024

Day 3: Today I left Colmar and drove to Strasbourg, stopping first in Obernai because it was on the way and I had heard it was cute. I only had about 40 minutes there and I wish I had had more time. Obernai was absolutely charming! There were several small markets scattered throughout the town. And the shops looked very nice. If you have a chance to visit Obernai, do it.

Then it was off to Strasbourg. I had to return my rental car and drop my things at my hotel, and then I took off walking. Strasbourg markets itself as the “Capital of Christmas “ and it certainly is! There are 7 or 8 different markets throughout the city, some really big and some really small. The one around the cathedral is huge! I had a great time strolling for a while and will go out again later when the lights are turned on. Strasbourg is lovely at any time of year, but it’s magical at Christmas.

12/12/2024

Day 2 was a marathon! Depending on how you look at it, I visited five different villages (although I didn’t get out of the car in two of them!).

First stop, Ribeauville. The market is only held during two weekends in December, and I came during the week between the two so all of the market stalls were still up. Wow! This town has probably the most stalls of all the towns I visited, so I can see why people say this is their favorite market. I can only imagine how crowded it must get though!

Second stop was a town I had been to twice before, Riquewihr. This is SUCH a charming village (and the smallest I visited), and it holds happy memories for me as I visited here with my mom and sisters several years ago. I felt like the market, although smaller, had more authentic items than I had seen yet. This town is supposed to be one of the villages that inspired Beauty and the Beast (check out the well!), and I can see why.

Next I drive to Kaysersburg, but the market wasn’t running so i just drove through. It’s a charming town, close to the mountains, so I’d love to come back someday.

Next I drove to Eugesheim, where I walked around a bit and got some lunch. I felt like the market was pretty small there. But there were at least 20 wine tasting rooms (!) since all of these villages are on the Alsace wine route. 🍷

My last “stop” was about 35 km south to Mulhouse. I had heard that they specialized in Christmas fabric, so I wanted to check that out. But upon arriving I quickly realized that Mulhouse was a much larger city than I thought. I drove around for about 20 minutes and never could find the market! By this time I was getting tired (ha!), and it was getting late in the day, so I decided to go back to my hotel in Colmar and walk around one last time to take in the festive atmosphere. Glad I did. Colmar is very beautiful and extra special at Christmas. I highly recommend a visit here!

10/12/2024

Hello from Colmar! It’s literally been a planes, trains, and automobiles kind of day. (The 1.5 miles was just in Charles de Gaulle airport!)

But I made it! Checked into my lovely hotel (thanks for finding it for me!) and took off to find the markets. It wasn’t hard—there are so many!!! And some of the best are practically right outside my door. I’ve been to Colmar before, but for some reason (jet lag? the dark? the markets blocking the streets?) I just couldn’t get my bearings. I walked for a couple of hours, stopping only for a delicious potato and sausage meal. Got back to my room at 6, thinking it was 7, and now I’m just trying to stay awake for a while.

About the markets: my main observation from Day 1–it’s crowded! 😳🤪

Tomorrow I’m going to head out early-ish and visit some of my favorite smaller villages, including Riquewihr. Can’t wait to show you!

23/10/2024

We’ve had the most beautiful fall weather this year. Can’t help myself—I just keep taking pictures on my daily walks! Keeping this as a reminder of my favorite season. 🍁🍂🍃

What season do you enjoy most? Drop a comment and let me know!

18/10/2024

Hi there! I want to share a quick introduction today because there are so many new people here! Thanks for joining me in this little corner of the world.

I’m Shelly, and I love travel. My first trip overseas took place when I was in college—I studied at Oxford University one summer and fell in love with England and all things travel. It was on that trip that God showed me that he is everywhere, even in places we might not think we can find him.

And this is what got me excited about travel. Every time I travel I see God’s hand at work in the world. He puts me in the path of other believers in some incredible ways.

Like the time I met a young man in the Lyon train station who grew up in a Muslim home and straight out asked me if I knew Jesus! (I wrote about that incredible conversation on my blog.)

Stuff like this happens to me all the time, and it’s one of the reasons I love sharing my adventures with other women. I truly believe that there are wonderful people everywhere!

Walkabout got started five years ago—you can read about it in my previous post—and I have been loving every minute of creating this small business. (OK, the Covid part wasn’t that fun, and I almost gave up, but thankfully I didn’t.)

I’m a wife of almost 40 years to my college sweetheart, a mom of three adult daughters, and Nana to two sweeties whom I adore.

I’m so glad you’re here. If you’re interested in a future Walkabout trip (I’m always dreaming up new ideas for places to go!), the best way to stay in touch is through my newsletter/email that goes out most Fridays. You can sign up on my website under the “Connect” tab.

Now I’d love to hear from YOU! Tell me one thing you love about travel or one place you’d love to visit.

17/10/2024

This was the post that started it all. October 16, 2019. So much has happened since then!

I am continually amazed at what God has done over the past five years.

• Seven trips
• 47 women (2 repeat clients)
• 3 countries
• Countless stories & laughs 😁

Next year we will add 3 more trips and 18 women to the list.

I pray that God gives me many more years to do this work. It feels like I finally found the thing (at my age! Go figure!) that combines all of my passions. I’m never bored, never upset, never anxious about anything. I just love what I’m doing.

My other prayer is that the women who come on my tours feel blessed and ministered to while they are with me. It is such a privilege to serve women in this way.

I hope you’ll join me on a Walkabout tour one day! Tours for 2025 are already sold out, but I’d be happy to put you on our waitlist. And the best way to be among the first to know about our 2026 trips is to sign up for my newsletter. The link is in my bio.

07/10/2024

On Day 6, we traveled to Arles, another of Van Gogh’s hang outs. Sadly, life was not great for Van Gogh in Arles. He wanted to start a sort of artists’ colony or commune, but kept getting rejected by others. Van Gogh’s volatile personality made it hard for him to make friends.

Our fantastic guide, , showed us some of the more famous Van Gogh spots and also explained a bit about the important Roman history in Arles. In Arles, Van Gogh painted his famous “Yellow House” painting. Sadly, the house was bombed during WWII, but standing on the square where the house stood brought goosebumps, knowing that this was the very spot Van Gogh would have painted it.

The Arles Amphitheater is slightly smaller than the more famous coliseum in Rome, but it is still an important part of the community. Today, bullfights and community events take place in the Amphitheater and are well-attended by both locals and tourists. Another Roman site in Arles is used for concerts and theater productions.

After the tour, several of us were walking down a small street, looking for a place for lunch, when I noticed an artist’s studio with the windows open. Julie, our resident artist, stopped to take a look and suddenly, the artist herself started chatting with her. “Would you like to come in?” she asked? We all readily agreed!

turned out to be such a wonderful and kind woman, adding to our delight with the city of Arles. We spent a few minutes in her small studio, asking questions and admiring the beautiful artwork that she creates from old books. 

I always tell the women who travel with me that the number one trait of a good traveler is curiosity, and on that day, our curiosity paid off. We never would have learned about this incredible artist or been invited into her studio if we were not women with genuine curiosity about her and her work. It was such a special moment for each one of us.

We found Arles to be a lovely city with lots of small streets, historic sites, beautiful shops, and wonderful restaurants. This is the kind of place where you could simply wander for a couple of hours and let your curiosity take over.

02/10/2024

On Day 5 we visited one of my favorite towns, St. Remy. We began the day, perusing the weekly Wednesday market, which is one of the best in Provence. It takes over almost the entire old part of the city, and offers some incredible vendors.

I bought an original watercolor from the man in the hat named Franc. Franc has lived in St. Remy since he was seven years old—he knows how special it is there.

There’s a restaurant I found on my first night in the area where I ate alone called La Maison Favier. It was so good that I went back for lunch on market day. The dessert is one I had on that first night AND on my second visit. I’ve thought about it ever since—a pavlova, topped with homemade fig jam, whipped cream, and fresh figs. Sooo good!! 😁 (Can you tell I’m a sucker for dessert?)

After our shopping excursion, we headed not far up the road to the St. Paul asylum where Vincent Van Gogh had lived during the year before he died. Seeing his room, the view from his window, his environment, is such a moving experience.

There’s something about St. Remy that gets to me. It feels like home, in a strange way. I’m sure I’ll be back again. ❤️

02/10/2024

01/10/2024

We met our dear friend, Fabio (remember him from our Lyon and Florence tours?) in Avignon and learned all about church history in both Avignon AND Lyon. (He couldn’t help himself–he just had to mention his beloved Lyon. 😁 ) 

Did you know that the Pope lived in Avignon for over 70 years? And that there is a Papal Palace in Avignon? We toured the Palais des Papes, then learned about the Roman influence in this area of France. (Actually, there is a huge Roman influence all over France, including Burgundy.) 

Later, we climbed a hill to get a fantastic view of the famous Avignon bridge that dates back to the 1100s. What we didn’t expect was the force of the Mistral winds 💨 that blew us almost backwards down the hill! Check out my hair in the picture! 😂 We had to hold each other up on the way down!

After lunch in Avignon, it was back to the house for more art and another fabulous dinner prepared by Chef Eric.

01/10/2024

27/09/2024

New blog post! Our Walkabout trip to Provence was amazing. You can read all about it here.

A trip report from our Walkabout Provence trip, September 2024.

21/09/2024

This is from a few days ago, but still fun if you want to see where we’ve been staying in Provence. 😊

10/09/2024

I found this quote recently and have been thinking about it ever since. It pretty much sums up why I started Walkabout. And why I want to keep going as long as God would have me do this.

I believe in the transformational power of travel.

I believe God can teach us many important lessons when we get out of our comfort zone.

I believe that women are empowered when they travel, either solo or with a small group.

I believe God is with us wherever we go, there is no need to fear.

These reasons and so many more are why I do what I do. And I’m grateful every day that I get to do this, even at my age! 😉😁

We have this one life, friends. What are you doing with it? 💕

21/07/2024

Getting ready for Provence! So excited to return to this beautiful corner of France in September.

10/07/2024

Are you nostalgic about a place? I sure am!

This past weekend we went to Door County, WI for a wedding. On our way out of town, we stopped at the White Gull Inn for breakfast. This inn, that room, was where we spent our honeymoon 39 years ago.

We’ve been back to the White Gull several times over the years, and to Door County too many times to count. It always takes us back to those early days when we didn’t know what we didn’t know. (You know? 😉) And it fills our hearts with gratitude for what has happened in our lives over these past 39 years.

I’m so nostalgic about the White Gull Inn and glad we stopped for breakfast. (It was still just as good as it always was. I HIGHLY recommend a White Gull breakfast!)

Now tell me, what place makes you nostalgic?