Hello everyone! I already posted a review of my buddy read of Heidi, that I did with Lisa at Boondock Ramblings, but I wanted to share a bit more about it.

Heidi is one of those books that transport you to another place and time. Spyri’s descriptions of the fir trees, the mountains and their sunsets, the goats, the wind through the firs, the wildflowers, made me feel homesick for a place I have never been. I would love to visit the Alps one day, and maybe I will, maybe I won’t, but I will always have Heidi to fall back on when the urge hits me.

In honor of my newfound love for this beloved classic, my family and I visited a Detroit restaurant named Alpino that specializes in Alpine fare, with dishes representing different areas of the Alps. It was a splurge, as it is a bit pricey, but it was definitely worth it. Plus, it serves fondue which I thought Wyatt would love, and I felt the experience would be a neat one for him.

I always include in the comments box of the online reservations system that we are arriving with a child who uses a wheelchair. I feel like this gives us the best outcome, as they are ready for us and have an appropriate table space reserved. The staff at Alpino were definitely ready, and the hostess even came out to hold the doors open for Wyatt, which never happens. They had a table on the end all saved for us, and were extremely accommodating.

We had three courses, and did a lot of splitting of food. We knew it would be a lot, if we wanted fondue and appetizers (they sounded the best to us), plus dinner, and a dessert. That is quite a bit of food for us, and we are not used to eating out in the first place. We started with of course, the fondue – I ordered the fondue for two for Wyatt and I, and Billy tried the raclette, which also sounded amazing. The fondue came with potatoes, olives, gherkins, apples, and sourdough bread, and the cheese was so creamy and delicious, a mix of emmentaler and gruyere. The raclette was French raclette cheese, speck ham, apricot mostarda on einback brioche. We probably could have left it at that, and just had dessert, but I felt we needed to try an entree. So Billy and I split the arctic char, which was mustard and rye crusted Alpine lake trout. It was good, very light and tasty, and I was glad that Billy and I split it. I would not have been able to eat our huge dessert, and who wants to skip dessert for trout? Not me.

The dessert choices all sounded amazing. I couldn’t decide which to choose! We ended up asking the server which of our two finalists she preferred and she said 100%, hands down, the rosette.

I am so glad we went with her recommendation. It was delicious! The rosette is a vanilla fritter, with caramelized pear butter, vanilla ice cream, pear relish, and toasted wildflower honey. It even sounds decadent doesn’t it?

I am already planning a return trip with my bestie and her daughter, maybe for a lunch, so Wyatt and I can split the fondue again. He liked the bread and cheese combo the best, while I was all about the potatoes and olives. Billy of course ate some as well, and he agreed the potatoes were the best.

We didn’t end our Heidi Experience Weekend here though! On Sunday, we watched the movie Heidi as a family. We tried the 2015 version first, but it was subtitled, which doesn’t bother me, but it did Wyatt and Billy. Billy is dyslexic and he says it pulls him out of the movie too much, and I understand that. So we picked another version, this one from 2005 and starring Max von Sydow, Dame Diana Riggs, and Geraldine Chaplin. Emma Bolger played Heidi and she was so cute. She had the sweetest little Irish accent lol, which was fine, she played the character so well. It took a few liberties from the story but overall it was not a bad version. I think Geraldine Chaplin was amazing as Mrs. Rottenmeier, and of course Riggs and Von Sydow were amazing as well. The setting was beautiful, the color amazing, but not as amazing as the way it all looking in the few minutes of the first we started, from 2015. I am going to end up watching that one by myself sometime soon just for the cinematography alone.

Oh! So there is an English version of the 2015 movie! We must have chosen the wrong one! I don’t know if I can get the guys to watch another version, but I will.

Then Cat from Cat’s Wire Jewelry also recommended a version that is a Japanese animation version, and I am guessing we will watch that as well.

I really tried to make this an immersive type experience! Lol. I think it is something I am going to do more often.

And with that, I will say goodbye for now, and I hope that whatever you do today, that you do something that makes you smile!