Thenomads

Writers' Week in Ireland, June 2011

2011-06-01T16:01:00.000-07:00

Adare (Ath Dara)

Our group: Ann and Frank Little, Marie, us

Gallarus Oratory, 800 AD

South Pole Pub

At Staigue Fort

Our favorite hotel: Cashel Palace Hotel

A favorite site: Brownshill Portal Tomb

Gardens at Powerscourt Manor

We arrived early at Shannon Airport, after a dismal Continental flight with terrible food and freezing temperatures. We picked up the car and got on our way. We headed to Tipperary, but missed the turn and spent a couple of hours on country roads. When we finally arrived, we were disappointed: there really wasn't much to see. But it was a long, long way! We drove on to Adare (Ath Dara) and realized that we had visited this charming town on our first visit. This time we were booked into Dunraven Hotel which turned out to be a real find. It was a lot less expensive than Adare Manor and we found it to be very welcoming. We checked into our large room with a big king-sized bed plus a single bed and a nice sitting area with couch and chairs, large modern bathroom, and a view to the gardens. We had lunch at the Blue Door, housed in a quaint thatched cottage across the road: Caesar salad with bacon, tomatoes, and olives for me and pasta with salmon and smoked salmon for David. We walked around the town and discovered the Trinitarian Abbey, founded in 1230, which is now the Catholic Church; it was destroyed in 1539 under Henry VIII, and then restored in 1811. We walked down to the Maigue River and found the Augustinian Priory, founded in 1315; it is now mostly in ruins but houses a school. Across the river were the ruins of Desmond Castle, thought to have been built before 1226 by the Normans.
We had an early night and a good, long night's sleep. Wednesday morning we enjoyed our first full Irish breakfast, with eggs, bacon, fruit, scones and jam, in the nice breakfast room at the hotel. Then we started off to Listowel where the Writers' Week would take place. We drove into town but didn't immediately find where we were to go. We happened into the John B. Keane Pub, which just happens to be a gathering spot for the Week; there, a couple of American visitors and the publican Billy Keane, son of John B. Keane (a well-known playwright, novelist, and essayist who was born here and sied in 2002), helped us contact Paddy Walsh who would show us our "digs" for the week. We had a quick lunch, stopped at the Listowel Arms to check in with the Writers' Week group, and then met him back at the pub at 3:00 PM. He showed us over to the house, gave us the keys, and insisted on supplying us with milk and other items.

That evening at 6:30 we went to the opening session of the Writers' Week in the Listowel Arms. There were the usual speeches and some entertainment by The Listowel Singers and a televised welcome by the author Colm Toibin, President of the Committee. By the end Marie had arrived and we all went for a bite to eat in the restaurant in the Arms. Her friends Ann and Frank Little and Denis showed up later in the week and we all chipped in for food and drink at the rented place. Marie insisted on paying for the rental herself.

We spent Wednesday through Sunday at the Writers' Week, seeing many interesting, inspiring, informative, and amusing speakers. The highlight of the week for me was an interview with Richard Dawkins in a standing-room-only session in a circus tent. He was so calm and reasonable with the (few) religious people who questioned him. David and Marie had gone back to the house for a nap and never showed up for the session. Other sessions included David Sedaris, Alice Sebold (whom I didn't bother to see), Michael Holroyd (whom I'd never heard of but fell in love with; he's married to Margaret Drabble, lucky her!), John Lynch (who lives in Nice), Kevin Barry and Gerry Stembridge (both very funny), and more.

On Friday night David and I drove over to Ballybunion where Noel Nash was singing. We had discovered Noel in New Orleans in the 1980's and followed him for years but we hadn't seen him in about 15 years. We were a little nervous to see and hear him again, hoping he hadn't lost anything in the intervening years - he hadn't lost a thing. He was wonderful. We had a light supper at the Cliff House Pub in Bally bunion and then stayed to hear him sing and didn't get home until 2 AM!

On Sunday we drove to Ballyheigh to visit more friends of Marie's. WE took a long walk on the beach, watched a bit of the French Open, and just visited with Paedar (pronouced Pother), his wife Althea, Eugene and Marcella. Then back to the Listowel Arms for the final event, a storytelling contest.

On Monday, everyone else left and we took a 2 hour drive through Tralee to the Dingle Peninsula. David had decided that he couldn't drive at all, so it was up to me. I drove very slowly, 20-30 kph under the limit - I'm sure infuriating to all those driving around me but also infuriating to David who thought I was still going too fast ("I thought I was going to die!"). In all, we drove 1440 kilometers. The views on the Dingle Peninsula were beautiful, even on a somewhat dreary day. We drove over the Conor Pass with its very narrow, one lane roads, hampered by the fog. Our first major stop was at the poorly marked Gallarus Oratory, a small stone chapel built without mortar, using corbeling (stones overlapping to finally form an arch) in about 800 AD. There was no entrance fee and there was even a docent to explain the purpose and the building method.

Afterwards we stopped for lunch at the Smerwick Harbour Hotel along the way. We had the ubiquitous vegetable soup and brown bread and then grilled plaice with vegetables. Then we went on to the equally difficult to find Kilmalkedar Church, built in the early 12th century. We were amused by some of the signs along the roads - GO MALL, meaning "slow down", and "Traffic Calming" meaning also to slow down.

Our last stop of the day was at the South Pole Inn, started by Tom Crean who survived three explorations of the Antarctic, the last one on "The Endurance" with Shackleton in 1914-1917. He returned home to Kerry and started this inn with his wife. He died in 1938. We had seen a one-man show by Aidan Dooley who portrayed Crean and the scarcely believeable dangers encountered.

On Tuesday we left the rental house in Listowel and headed to Killarney. There we found a place for lunch, The Caragh. Again vegetable soup and brown bread for me and Brussels pate with Cumberland sauce for David; then roast pork with stuffing, potatoes, and salad for both. Then we found the Victorian House Hotel and checked in for two nights. That evening we just had drinks in the bar and headed to bed.

The next day we were up early for the big Irish breakfast and then off for our day touring the Ring of Kerry. Our first stop was the Ross Castle ruins, right in Killarney. It was built in the 15th century by O'Donoghue Ross clan, and it was one of the last castles to surrender to Cromwell in 1652. Then we headed west to the Ring of Kerry. One of the first charming villages was Glenbeigh, passing by McGillycuddy Reeks, a mountain range meaning "black stacks". We continued on to Cahersiveen where The Barracks stand, an old RIC Barracks burnt down in 1922 but restored.

A major focus for us was to visit several of the Iron Age stone forts, built in about the 9th - 10th century. They were built in rings with small houses enclosed within and perhaps space for animals, as protection for wealthy landowners of the time. We also saw castle ruins.

We drove out to Portmagee, an old fishing village at the westernmost tip of the Ring. There we found the recommended Fisherman's Bar and ordered vegetable soup and brown bread and a plate of brown crab to share, with beer. The crab were out of this world! Then back over high hills to the main part of the Ring with sea views, standing stones along the way, quaint villages. We stopped in Waterville at a craft shop to find something for Julie and Andrea and found a rosy red Irish cardigan for me.

Then on to Staigue Fort, up a very narrow dirt road where it was difficult when we met another car. It's another stone fort, but this one is thought to be from 500 BC or even earlier; it is quite similar to the later ones.

We stopped in Kenmare and found the stone circle there, an unusual egg-shaped "circle" consisting of 15 stones with a large center stone of approximately 7 tons. It is from 2200-500 BC. Then back to Killarney for the evening where we had dessert in our room and hit the sack.

The next day we drove to Blarney Castle. We'd been there before and wanted to revisit the gardens; we have yet to kiss the Blarney Stone. The grounds are lovely although a bit hokey with the labeled "Witch's Kitchen" and the like. Then we drove up to Cashel where we had decided we would have lunch. There was a sign in the parking lot to the Guinness Bar in a hotel in town and we opted for that. It was terrific! The hotel was gorgeous and we headed downstairs to the Bar where we ordered Guinness beef stew for DAvid and bangers and mash for me. David of course had Guinness, which apparently was started here.

The hotel was Cashel Palace Hotel, built in 1730 as the bishop's palace, in a red-brick Queen Anne and Early Georgian building. The bishop had an agent, Richart Guinis, who grew hops with which he brewed the first "wine of Ireland". He and his son Arthur went to Dublin where they founded the Guinness Brewery. We loved having lunch here and decided we would have to stay for the night. We checked in - 140 E for night including breakfast - and they upgraded our room. It was gorgeous, with 15 foot ceilings, a fireplace, two floor-to-ceiling windows, a sitting area and huge king-size bed with lovely fabrics and antiques (an armoire, a dresser, dressing table), and a fabulous bathroom with a tub on a marble pedestal and a separate shower, and another window with views of the gardens from the tub. In the garden there are 300 year old mulberry trees. The public rooms are gracious and comfortable with a couple of sitting rooms and a large and elegant dining room.

We walked around the town and viewed The Rock of Cashel, built mostly in the 12th and 13th centuries, which was the seat of the kings of Munster. We didn't go inside - which was probably a mistake, but we were tired. We walked a bit more and then just relaxed in our beautiful room.

The next morning, after a marvelous breakfast, we headed on to Powerscourt. We got a bit lost but it ended up being a blessing as we saw a sign for a dolmen. We turned in and parked and walked into a field where there stood the Brownshill Portal Tomb, an amazing dolmen from about 4000-3000 BC. The major stone is estimated at 150 tons! We're sure it is the biggest one we've seen.

Then on to Powerscourt where we were booked in the Powerscourt Arms, which turned out to be pretty basic. Oh, well. We slept there and had breakfast the next morning. We had plenty of time so drove over to Bray and visited an internet cafe to see if there was anything important.

We had a reservation at the Gordon Ramsay Restaurant in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel on the grounds of Powerscourt. We were still early, so headed to Powerscourt Manor Gardens. We were amazed to find that the house, which was a shell when we were last here, is now filled with a cafe and shops. We visited the gardens but were disappointed to find that the rows of Monkey Puzzle trees is no longer in the area where visitors can go.

Then back to the restaurant for a wonderful meal, starting with a glass of champagne. David had a "log" of chicken livers for starters with apple in several forms - can't even remember what I had; then we both had fish with asparagus. It was excellent but nothing like the Gordon Ramsay Restaurant we went to in London.

After lunch we drove up to Dublin Airport and found our Hilton Hotel - not an upscale Hilton at all. We turned in the car and got back to it. We didn't need any dinner. We had a good night's sleep and then took the shuttle to the airport, had breakfast, and boarded. Home to Evanston.

A River Cruise, Prague to Paris

2011-04-15T19:08:00.000-07:00

April in Paris

Porta Nigra

Bernkastel

View of the Rhine from Cochem Castle

Hilltop Castle along the way

Karlstadt

The Residenz, Wurzburg

St. Vitus Cathedral at the Castle compound, Prague

At the Bar in the Hotel de Pariz, sampling Paris Cake

After a month taken up with selling our condo in Nice and all of its contents, we left Nice for three nights in Prague, a place we'd never visited. We arrived at the Hilton that the tour had booked, an ugly glass building in this city famous for its architecture, and not even located in the city center, but in an industrial park on the outskirts. The view from our window was of KPMG - I thought I was there for a Board Meeting. And breakfast at this hotel was $35 each!

Prague is often compared to Paris and it is a beautiful city. We visited the National Museum on the Old Town Square where there was an Easter Festival going on, with lots of booths selling foodstuffs, decorated eggs, and other items. The famed Astronomical Clock at the Town Hall wasn't working but it was interesting to see. There was even a wedding taking place, with the happy couple carried off in a horse-drawn carriage. We had lunch at a restaurant on the square, with fatty ribs for David and a delicious hot dog for me. Then on to Wenceslas Square where thousands gathered in 1989 to cheer the end of Communism. It's really a long shopping street, not a square. Lining the street are the Art Deco and Art Nouveau buildings which Prague is famous for. The Square is named for Good King Wenceslas, who apparently wasn't all that good, wasn't a King, and wasn't called Wenceslas, but Vaclav!

Then we walked back towards our hotel, stopping at the elegant Hotel de Pariz where we sampled the Paris Cake, made from a 100-year old recipe. It has a chocolate base, filled with chocolate mousse and peach slices, and covered with a marzipan coating. One piece would have been more than enough but we struggled through two. Then we managed to take the subway back towards the hotel and finally found our way back. We met one of the people involved with Viking, and we complained about the hotel choice. Oh, well.

The next morning our Viking tour began. We went for a visit to Prague Castle which includes the Gothic St. Vitus Cathedral, started in 1344. Then we returned to the city and saw, again, the Old Town Square, and visited the Jewish Ghetto area. It is thought that the Jewish community arrived in Prague before the Czechs themselves.

After the tour we headed to U Flecku, a restaurant founded in 1499. It was recommended to us by Velta Lazda. We were seated in a non-smoking room (in the Czech Republic, there is still smoking in restaurants!) and were soon joined by a large lively group of Italians, three Russians at our table, and others. The Italians gave big tips to the accordionist and we all had a great time singing. They came around with aperitifs - David thought they were free but they weren't - and then we ordered. The food wasn't outstanding but we had such a great time there. It's a huge place, seating about 1200 people indoors and out.

Afterwards, we walked back to the center of town and stopped at the beautiful Obecni Dum, the Art Nouveau Concert Hall. We again had afternoon tea and cake. Prague is famous for its cafes and during our three days we tried three of them including Obecni Dum, Hotel de Pariz, and also the Slavia Cafe with its afternoon piano music - we loved the old pianist and he came up and shook our hands during his break since he could tell we really appreciated the music.

After our three days in Prague, we boarded a bus. Our first stop was Nuremburg, 1000 year old city in Bavaria, where we viewed the Imperial Castle which is at least 900 years old. Building of the walls was overseen by a Maltese - and we KNOW how good they are at building walls! We then visited the Nazi Parade Grounds and the Documentation Center, part of a Coliseum which Hitler demanded be built. Nuremburg, of course, is where the war crimes trials were held following WWII.

Then back on the bus to Wurzburg where we had a tour of The Residenz. We had visited the gardens on our earlier visit but I don't think we went inside. The Residenz was home to the prince-bishops who ruled the area. Prince Bishop Friedrich Carl von Schonborn ruled in Wurzburg from 1729 to 1746 and was the primary force behind creating this magnificent palace. Balthasar Neumann was the architect; it was completed in 1744. The Grand Staircase, with frescoes showing the four known continents painted by Tiepolo, has a stunning unsupported vault of 18 x 30 meters. The rest of the palace is equally imposing. We also revisited the gardens with the blooming cherry trees and sparkling fountains.

Finally we boarded our river boat and were shocked to see our cabin. It was tiny. There were two very narrow single beds - I almost fell out of mine one night! Luckily the beds are quite high, offering storage underneath. We had dinner on board that night and found that the wine service, which was included, was very generous. But we would discover that the food was very average and quite disappointing.

We sailed along the Main (pronounced Mine) River, stopping along the way in charming little towns with half-timbered buildings. The day that the rest of the crew went to Heidelberg, we had a picnic on the river. The boat supplied us with some picnic fixings and we purchased wine and a Linzer tart. But we forgot the glasses and ended up drinking right from the bottle!

A major stop was Mainz, which dates from 38 BC when the Romans were here. We visited the Cathedral of St. Martin and St. Stephan (11th - 13th c). Then we viewed a demonstration of printing at the Gutenberg Museum showing the moveable type printing press.

Then we entered the great Rhine River. We stopped at Rudesheim, another charming village. That evening we had dinner with Commander Darrel Smith and his wife Ginger to celebrate his birthday. Afterwards there was folk-dancing in the main lounge.

The next morning we had to be up very early, as we were entering the stretch of the Rhine that is lined with castle after castle. It was pretty chilly at 6 AM but warmed up as we sailed along. WE stopped at Cochem and visited the castle there, with our great guide, Klaus. The castle was built in the 11th century and rebuilt in 1866 and is furnished from that period. Views back to the town were spectacular. Then we walked around the town itself which lies on the Mosel River.

The next day we were on to Bernkastel. The villages get more charming as the days go on. But they do sort of run together. Buses picked us up at our final stop and took us to Trier, the oldest German city founded in 15 BC by the Romans. We visited Constantine Basilica, built by the Romans in about 326 AD - it looks new! The other important site that we visited there is the Porta Nigra, built before 200 AD as one of the four main gates to the city. The blackened color is not original but due to pollution.

Then the buses too us on to Luxembourg where we visited the American cemetery where Patton is buried. Afterwards we were on our own for lunch in the city of Luxembourg. Finally some good food - Salades Nicoises, instead of heavy German food! Then back to the buses for a final ride into Paris where we stayed 2 nights at the Crowne Plaza, a handy location within an easy walk to the city center. David and I went out for supper on the arcaded Place des Vosges, the oldest planned square in the city (1600's), with Bev and Ronnie whom we had gotten friendly with on the boat.

The next day Viking Tours took us on a 3 1/2 hour bus tour of the city, hitting all the highlights, including a visit to Notre Dame Cathedral and a stop for photos with a view of the Eiffel Tower. Afterwards, David and I had a nice lunch and walked back to the hotel. The next day we tried to visit the Musee d'Orsay but there was a two-hour wait. Instead, we just walked along the river, had lunch, and returned to the hotel where we got a cab to the Hilton at the airport. We stayed there that night and flew home to Chicago the next morning. What a lucky trip it was, weather-wise, with sunny days and temperatures in the 70's every day. And we met such interesting people, not your average Kansas housewives!

Two Weeks in Malta

2010-11-11T08:12:00.000-08:00

Auberge de Castille

Marsaxlokk waterfront

The local transportation

Ginna at Hagar Qim Temples

We really loved Malta when we were there for one day on a cruise a year ago. This year we decided to stay for two weeks and planned our stay en route from Evanston to Nice, our winter home. The weather was perfect, with only a bit of rain and that fell at night. We stayed in a 2 BR, 2 BA rental right on the Grand Harbor in Birgu (Vittoriosa) across from Valletta. We never tired of the view, watching cruise ships come in each morning and leave each night and all the freighters coming and going.

But we were there for more than a beautiful view. We really wanted to see the ancient archeological finds, structures built as long as 6000 years ago. The first settlers, 5600 BC, were farmers from Sicily. Then, around 4000 BC an unknown group came and started creating temples and burial grounds. We visited Hagar Qim, with its 20 ton megalith, and Mnajdra Temples in their magnificent site overlooking the sea; the Mnajdra are aligned with the solstice. We visited the Tarxien Temples, one of the newer sites, only about 4500 years old. The same day we visited the nearby Hypogeum, probably Malta's most famous site, a three-level underground necropolis where they also held religious rites - there are still ochre spiral decorations on the ceilings. (No photos allowed). It's located in the town of Paola and was discovered as they were building in the city. At the Hypogeum we met a fellow American, Molly Poiset, and she drove us home and we all went to a local place, del Borgo, for wine and a cheese platter. But the oldest temples are on the island of Gozo, Ggantija, so named for the giants who were thought to have built the complex; this is the oldest man-made structure on earth, about 1000 years older than Egyptian pyramids. It's not in great shape but it awe-inspiring to view.

Were we sick of these ancient sites? Not at all and we went to two excellent museums, one in Valletta and one on Gozo to see the artifacts that were recovered from the sites. We were enchanted by the many figures of obese females, mostly without heads, supposed to be fertility goddesses. Also at the museums were artifacts from the Roman, Phoenician, and Medieval times.

In the 1500's, the Knights of St. John were expelled from Rhodes and were given the islands of Malta by the King of Spain. The capital of Malta at that time was the Phoenician-founded city of Mdina but the sea-faring Knights prefered to be by the sea and settled in Birgu, a small village on the Grand Harbor. They built palaces for their Inquisitor, the various "langues" (nationalities) of Knights, a Treasury, and so forth. But in 1565 they were attacked again by their great enemies, Suleyman and the Ottoman Empire; they repulsed this Great Siege and then proceeded to build an even finer city, Valletta, with greater fortifications, across the Grand Harbor. The Grand Master's Palace and all the auberges for the "langues" are magnificent, especially the Auberge de Castille. And the whole city is of a piece - there are no intruding modern buildings. Even the McDonald's is in an old palace. And there is the deceptively plain St. John's Co-Cathedral with its interior Baroque decoration, overseen by Mattia Preti, and which holds the largest Caravaggio produced, "The Beheading of John the Baptist".

One day we went up to Mdina, "The Silent City" and "The Noble City". Here is the original Cathedral of St. Paul; when the Knights built the new cathedral in Valletta, they were made "Co-cathedrals". The Cathedral here is equally impressive with beautiful polychrome inlaid marble tombstones covering the floor. The town is also picturesque, although hardly a "Silent City" with all the tourists who flock here. Outside the walls of Mdina is the Domus Romana, with its mosaic floors, statues, and glass from Roman ruins.

All over Malta are sites that remind us that St. Paul was shipwrecked near here and spent several months on the island. In Valletta there's the Church dedicated to the shipwreck; in Mdina there are catacombs, and the Cathedral dedicated to him. There's St. Paul's Bay, where he came ashore. Paul helped cure the father of the Roman magistrate of a fever and the magistrate and many islanders became Christian. It is still a very Catholic country: the parliament was debating, while we were there, whether to accept divorce or not!

We spent two days on Gozo. We arrived fairly early in the morning, the first day and walked up the steep hill in Mgarr, where the ferry landed, to The Grand Hotel where we booked a room for that night. They kindly let us check in right away and then arranged for the next HOHO bus to pick us up at the door. We rode the bus to Ggantija for our first "hop off"; then we boarded the next bus to Victoria, the capital of the island. We walked around the "Il Borgo" section of the city with its narrow winding passageways. In that area we found the charming restaurant Il Panzier; they weren't sure they could take us on this Sunday but finally did let us in after we promised to order something simple. Everything is cooked to order. From our table we could watch Alessandra and Valentino (husband and much-younger wife) working away. We shared an antipasto misto for a starter: about seven different little bowls of vegetables, each cooked in a different way - cauliflower, peppers, eggplant, beans, and so on. For a main course we each had a pasta, both delicious. For dessert we ordered figs which were served with pistachios, perhaps a bit plain for our tastes. But we loved sitting on the terrace and we loved the family and we arranged to come back the next day for another lunch!

We rode the HOHO around the rest of the island back to Mgarr where we got back to our hotel. We certainly didn't need any dinner that night! It was early to bed and then up early for the huge buffet breakfast that was included in the price - meats, cheeses, salads, eggs, bacon, sausages, cereals, fruits, breads, jams: everything you could think of. Then we took the free bus from the hotel back up to Victoria where we explored the Citadel and the fine archeological museum there and Basilica St. George. Then it was time for our second meal at Il Panzier - we were welcomed back like old friends! Since we'd had such a huge breakfast, we didn't need a huge lunch, so we skipped the entree and just had the main course - an asparagus Napoleon for me and baked scallops for David - and tiramisu for dessert. Again, wonderful! I dread the thought that we might never get there again. Then it was time to take the bus back to Mgarr and get the ferry back to Malta and the bus to Birgu and "home".

One day we took the bus to the fishing village of Marsaxlokk, the town where the Turks arrived during the Great Siege. We'd read that it was a good place to find souvenirs but we didn't really see anything. But it was a great place to have fresh fish along the sea, with the colorfully painted boats, many with a "good luck eye" painted on the bow, bobbing in the harbor. We chose the Cafe de Paris and had lampuka, the local fish that is something like mahi mahi, and King Prawns. The wine came in the smallest glasses ever but we kept ordering - I think each glass was one euro! The sun was shining and we sat under an umbrella and whiled away several hours.

Other days we visited various sites/sights around Valletta and Birgu. We loved the Teatru Manoel, the 3rd oldest theater in Europe, which was built by the Knights and where they played the parts with castrati playing the female roles. We finally got to see the Grand Master's Palace which was closed last year when we were here. We enjoyed the Barracca Gardens with the great views of the Grand Harbor and Birgu opposite. And we enjoyed many wonderful meals, trying the local Gozo cheese, local sausage, bragioli (beef rolls with stuffing which my mother-in-law used to make), lots of fresh fish and many salads, sitting in the sun. We met up with Linda and John Cordina, whom we had met last year in the Piemonte when we were all up there truffle hunting; they own one of the famous restaurants in Valletta, Caffe Cordina, which has been in John's family since 1837. We stopped there several times for afternoon gelato! Another day we took the bus out to the Classic Car Museum near St. Paul's Bay.

Our favorite place was del Borgo, the place in Birgu where we went four times. It was great whether for a full meal or a snack or for dessert. For our last meal we went to De Robertis on the top floor terrace of the Castille Hotel in Valletta with its views of the Grand Harbor. We had a wonderful meal with Maltese antipasto misto and then pasta. We were too full for dessert!

Traveling around Malta is an adventure. Almost all buses leave from the Valletta station, a huge parking lot with over 100 buses, arranged in no apparent order. Each bus, many of which date from the 1950's, is decorated by its driver with family photos, religious symbols and sayings, and so on. The drivers must have the right-of-way since all they do is blast the horn and keep going. Anybody in the way better just get out of the way! And of course they drive on the "wrong" side of the street.

It's a great place to visit and two weeks is plenty to see everything. Longer would be nice to have more time to relax, have picnics, and just enjoy the wonderful weather!

Almost a Week in Lyon, April 2010

2010-04-09T08:24:00.000-07:00

Place Bellecour in Lyons looking up towards Notre Dame de Fourviere

Easter dinner at Ostellerie de Vieux Perrouges, sipping some spiced wine

David posing with Paul Bocuse at the Fresque des Lyonnais

The Roman bridge in the Luberon

It was pouring rain early in the morning but had cleared by the time we got on the road at 9 AM. We got up to Grignan, in the Drome department, at noon or so, passing through some lovely towns such as Suze les Rousses. We had lunch at a casual place in the center of town, Le Grenier a Sel - should have had a bit more patience and looked for the place I had listed, Poeme de Grignan which looked really nice. We found our hotel, La Demeure du Chateau, but no one was there! We called them and were told that Bernard, our host, was down in Gigondas shopping for wine and would be back by 5 PM. So off to tour the castle, called the Chateau de Grignan. It is unclear exactly how old the castle is but it was owned by the Grignan family until the 1500's and then taken over by Adhemars who expanded and improved it. Madame de Sevigne, an aristocrat of the court in Paris, traveled to Grignan in the late 1600's to visit her daughter who was married to the Adhemar of that time. She is famous for letters that she wrote to her daughter over a period of 30 years.

After stopping for a drink, we headed back to the hotel and were shown our large room by Bernard. The room included a balcony looking to the southward to snow-capped Mt. Ventoux, the highest mountain in the area. There was also a sitting area for reading, a very modern bathroom, and a very comfortable bed. We had a bottle of wine while watching the sunset and talking about many of the great hotels we've stayed in.

Bernard joined us for breakfast and we had a wonderful conversation in French and English about travel, skiing, hotels, and so on. The breakfast, included in the price of 89 E, was wonderful breads, croissants, jams, cheese, and coffee. Then off to Montelimar and the A7 for the rest of the trip to Lyon. It was 10 deg. by 10 AM. We called Jean-Claude when we arrived and he quickly came over and showed us around Aurelie's apartment - large but not really to our taste but great as an exchange. JC fixed us lunch - a Lyon specialty of quenelles, dumplings which we found quite boring. Then he left for Nice and we took the bus, just a block away, into the main square in town, Place Bellecour, to find the tourist office. We ended up taking the HOHO bus, since it was such a nice day and we weren't sure how long the weather would hold out. This gave us a great overview of the city. The main part is positioned on a peninsula called Presqu'ile (lit. "almost an island"). Across a bridge is the Old Town with Fourviere above. We exited the bus at Fourviere to view Notre Dame de Fourviere, a church built in 1870 to thank the Virgin for protecting Lyon from the Prussians. The architecture is a strange mix with Egyptian symbols; there are four main spires with another off to the side, making the building look like an upside-down elephant! But the mosaics inside are spectacular.

We bought a carnet of bus tickets and then found our way home, stopping to do a bit of food shopping. Couldn't find much in the local shops. The next day was forecast as a rainy day so we headed to the Beaux Artes Museum where we wandered around viewing the very nice collection of impressionists and more. The Museum itself is a beautiful building, on Place des Terreaux where there is also the Hotel de Ville. From the museum we headed to Le Jura, one of the really authentic "bouchons" serving traditional Lyonnais cuisine - mostly offal. I had a terrine de veau to start, a nice serving of two slices served with cornichon pickles and greens; for the main courses, David had a "gateau" of foie de volaille while I had the andouillettes (pigs intestines), both served with potatoes. For dessert we had gateau lyonnais and tarte praline. At the table next to us there was a lovely family, a couple with their 10 year old daughter. They were native Lyonnais, spoke only French, and had been coming to the restaurant for three generations. They assured us that we had chosen well. A sign in the restaurant stated: Une cuisine de qualite ne connait pas le mot presse. I liked that. The family mentioned the grignottes au marc (cherries in French grappa) and we ordered some; they were great.

Then on home, stopping at a horrible Carrefour in the Part-Dieu shopping center; a madhouse!

Sunday was Easter and we'd made a reservation at Ostellerie de Vieux Perouges, a restaurant in a medieval town about 26 K from Lyon. It was forecast as a rainy day but turned out beautiful and not cold at all. We found our way easily to Perouges and parked in the lot outside the town. We took a quick look at the church of Mary Madeleine, built in 1440. Then on to the restaurant for a wonderful lunch. We were seated right in front of the huge fireplace, with a nice fire glowing. Comfortable chairs and beautifully dressed table with waitresses in traditional dress. We started with an aperitif of spiced wine, served from an ancient looking bottle. David started with a salad with foie de volailles with grilled apples while I had the cured salmon. Then we both had the lamb shanks with a 1/2 bottle of Tavel rose. Neither of us touched the potatoes and we even put a lot of the lamb, enough for a meal, in a zip-lock bag; just too much food! There were two desserts and we expected to choose, but instead were each served both! The first was a Gallette de Perouges, a thin sugared pastry, topped with cream served in a huge crock and more sugar. The second dessert was grilled bananas with ice cream and chocolate sauce. Coffee for David with chocolates! We were stuffed. We drove home and tried to find the Parc de la Tete d'Or but it was difficult driving, so headed home instead.

Monday we had expected to take the walking tour of the Old Town but it was fully booked. So we bought a book showing the location of the Traboules, hidden passageways and staircases which were built in the 18th century to facilitate the transport of the silk in rainy weather. We explored many of them and other appealing buildings and sights in the Old Town. At the north end of the Old Town we viewed the charming Eglise St. Paul which was consecrated in 549 AD! Then we crossed over the Saone to see the Fresque des Lyonnais, paintings of famous persons such as Paul Bocuse, Lumiere, Tony Garnier, pictured in the trompe l'oeil windows and balconies of a building along the river. We stopped for a couple of aperos in the sun and then headed home for the leftover lamb slices on bread we bought along the way. A great meal.

In the afternoon we took the Tram C1 to Parc de la Tete d'Or which is a zoo, a rose garden, a lake, botanical gardens, and more. It was a beautiful afternoon and we explored and then sat on a bench and worked on a crossword puzzle. In the zoo we saw elephants, deer, water buffalo, a giraffe. There were also puppet shows, a couple of Merry-Go-Rounds, and more. A lovely place.

Tuesday we headed up to Fourviere. We took the same bus from near our place to Old Town and then took the funicula up to the top of the hill and walked to the ruins. There's a large amphitheater which still has concerts; it originally held about 11,000 people and now holds about 4,500. Next to it is the smaller and more intimate Odeon where the Romans held musical concerts. We spent an hour or so there and then walked back down to Old Town and found an Italian restaurant to have our last lunch. After lunch we went back to the Lyon Cathedral to watch the animation of the 16th century clock, with the Angel Gabriel announcing to Mary that she would be blessed with a child.

Wednesday we were on the road by 8 AM, heading to the Luberon area of the Cotes de Rhone area, just east of Avignon. We had a bit of trouble finding the right roads, but eventually did. The weather had finally caught up with us and it was a gray and threatening day. But we passed through charming LaCoste and went to Bonnieux where we had hoped to eat at Le Fournil. Sadly they were fully booked so we just went to the Brasserie in town which had amazing views over the surrounding valley.

Then we went on to find the St. Julien Bridge, a beautiful three-arched Roman bridge, built 2000 years ago. There was no mortar used in the construction and the bridge was in daily use until 2005! Then on to our hotel, La Ferme de la Huppe (89 E for the least exp room), named for a local crested bird (hoopoe, in english). It's in an old farmhouse and is very charming with heavy beams (a foot in diameter) and lots of nooks and crannies. But it's not a place for people who must have TV as we could find no channels in English. We sat in the bar in the evening and shared a bottle of wine and talked with the owner who is Italian from the Piedmont; her husband does more of the physical work but she and her daughter manage the restaurant. We had a very comfortable night and a good breakfast (although rather expensive at 14 E per person!) and left for home. We were home by 12:30, in time for lunch. Such a pleasant week!

Two rainy weeks near Rome, Jan. 2010

2010-01-11T01:06:00.000-08:00

Temple of Athena at Paestum

Etruscan tumulus

The Roman Forum in Rome

Proseco at the Hassler Hotel Bar

We left Nice early in the morning of Sunday, Dec. 27, heading towards Rome. We stopped in Lerici, a lovely town, complete with its own castle, on the coast for lunch at the Jolly Bar. The pasta zucca served simply with olive oil and parmesan cheese was wonderful. After Lerici, we ran into a bit of trouble - the roads were closed due to the terrible rains. We had to head east toward Lucca, then took a long local road south to Pontedera to find a road west back to Livorno and then south to Cecina. By then it was dark. We couldn't find a hotel in Cecina - closed for the season or for renovation, so continued south to the little town of La California. Still nothing. We drove on a ways but there was nothing so went back and headed east towards Siena. Stopped in a little town but there was no hotel; stopped at the police station and he mentioned a hotel in La California. We returned there and asked at a couple of places but when we finally found it, it too was closed for the season. Headed south again and immediately south of town we saw a lighted sign (that hadn't been lighted before) for rooms! Down a dirt drive to a big old house: would it be "Psycho"? No, it was a very nice young Italian woman and her mother (or grandmother?) living there. They turned on the heat in our simple room and we headed into town for an evening snack served by a young fellow who "loves Americans". Then back to bed. What a relief!

We were on the road by 8 AM, stopping for breakfast along the way. Arrived in Fregene by 11:30 to find the villa locked. We'd told Picci and Sandro that we would be there before noon, so waited until noon and then called them - they were at the Monday market and would be there soon. They showed us around again (we had seen it in November before our cruise) and showed us how everything worked and they left. We went out for a cafeteria-style (tavola calda) lunch at Luna Rossa, owned by Massimo and Gabe, where we were to eat quite often. Then back to unpack and settle in. It was pretty cold in the villa. Villa sounds quite large but this is not: it's 3 bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and 2 bathrooms, but all the rooms are tiny. Fregene, of course, is not high on the list of towns to visit in Italy, but it is a very nice seaside village where Federico Fellini used to have his vacation villa. There are many restaurants along the beach, but most were closed at this time of year. There is a beautiful pine forest, planted at the direction of Pope Clement IX in the 1660's. The forest is surrounded by narrow, crooked streets with grand and not-so-grand villas. A block and a half away is the bus to Rome.

Because of the rainy weather and more in the forecast, we decided to head down to Paestum where we wanted to again visit the wonderful Greek temples. We found a decent hotel in Paestum - I'm pretty sure we were the only guests - and immediately went out to find an open restaurant. It's nice to travel off-season because one avoids the crowds - on the other hand many hotels and restaurants are closed. But we were successful and enjoyed our grilled salmon and a side of grilled vegetables that the Italians do so well. Then on to the site in the light rain. It was worth the trip - the temples are magnificent. And there were more Roman ruins around them than we'd remembered. The Temples date from around the VI century BC; the Romans had taken over around the III century BC. We also visited the excellent museum, which I'm sure we didn't visit the last time. The artifacts that were recovered are wonderful. Then back to the hotel for a glass of wine (which they served with about 8 pieces of marzipan; I'm sure they were leftovers from some wedding held at the hotel).

The drive "home" was in the rain and dark. We headed right up the block to Luna Rossa for lunch again. Later in the afternoon the sun was out and it was turning into a beautiful day so we headed up the block to the wine bar where we sat outside and enjoyed the weather. Walked to the beach for the sunset.

We had read in the New York Times about a tiny perched village, Calcata, that was "rescued" by artists and artisans, both Italian and foreign, and we were eager to visit it. The town had been condemned in the 1930's and left to crumble until the late 60's and early 70's when the artists arrived to patch it up and open galleries and shops. Our exchangers had recommended a drive around Lake Bracciano, so we combined the two for a day's outing. Calcata was a bit of a disappointment: the setting is spectacular but the shops were nothing special and the one decent restaurant in town was closed for lunch. We drove back to the Lake and headed for Anguillara Sabazia where we chanced on Il Vecchio Salus. No tourist joint, this! Many locals were there, enjoying a New Year's Eve Day meal. David ordered the pasta con vongole (clams) which was spicy and delicious; I had thought to order a pasta also, but saw an antipasta tray go by and changed to that. It was local cured hams, grilled vegetables (eggplant, peppers, zucchini), and several cheeses: mozzarella, "formaggio stagione" (literally cheese of the season but a kind of pecorino), and ricotta fresca "fatto a casa" (made in house) that was delicious. I spread the ricotta on everything! We enjoyed a local white wine with the meal and then were offered a "crema di limoncello", also "fatto a casa", or a grappa. I loved the limoncello. Buon Ano a Tutti!

When we got home we again walked to the beach to see the last beautiful sunset of the year. There was heavy rain later and we decided against going up to the wine bar as we had planned; we stayed home and read and had wine and fruit tart for supper. The next day it rained all day and was very cold. We had more fruit tart for breakfast and spent the day reading, going over maps, and so on.

Saturday, Jan 2, was still grey but promising so we took the 8:40 bus to Rome and the subway to the Villa Borghese. We walked through the park to the Villa Guilia, the museum dedicated to the Etruscan culture. WE spend a couple of hours visiting the museum with its amazing artifacts - luckily half the museum was closed or we could have been there all day! Afterwards we got on Bus #3, the only one nearby and it took us in strange directions; finally got off and on another that took us to Termini, the Rome train station. We walked to Trattoria Monti, which had been recommended by so many, only to find it closed until Jan. 6. But there was a nice looking alternative just across the street so we went there. Very nice, with white linens, pleasant atmosphere. We started with verdure (vegetables - broccoli, spinach, cabbage), this time steamed and served only with olive oil; outstanding! Then roast lamb for David and pasta, fatto a casa, served simply with parmesan and black pepper. Molto buono. Just made the 3:10 bus back to Fregene.

Sunday, Jan. 3: Another decent day, with the sun actually shining! We headed up to Santa Severa to visit the 14th century castle there. The castle was under the control of the Anguillara family from the 15th century. It is under renovation but there was a gentleman who showed us around the grounds and through the collection of fossils and rocks, mined locally. Then, one of the highlights of our trip, on to Cerveteri to see the Banditaccio Necropolis, with tombs dating back as far as the IX century BC. I was expecting a couple of tombs, but instead we found tumuli (conical earth mounds) stretching on for over a mile. The mounds stand on rock bases, often decorated with moldings, and with stone supported entryways. Inside there is a burial chamber, often with stone funeral "beds", and other chambers or nooks for storing household necessities; the tombs are meant to echo their homes. One tomb still has paintings of household items on the columns, showing the tools of everyday life of the Etruscans. The area is very peaceful and is dotted with graceful Umbria pines. This area was a center of Etruscan culture, named Caere (present-day Cerveteri); it's 'golden age' was the 7th-6th centuries BC. These people traded with cultures as far away as Egypt, Phoenicia, and Syria; their ports were by Santa Severa.

Monday, Jan. 4: My dear friend (college roommate) Barbara Myers and her daughter Melissa were to be in Rome for a week; they arrived on Sunday and today we went in to the city to meet up with them. We sat in the bar opposite the Spanish Steps and watched for them; when we spotted them, I raced down and brought them inside, out of the rain (again!) and cold. We enjoyed a few cappucini and by 11:30 the rain had stopped. We went out to find the free walking tour to the Forum and Colisseum, which we all enjoyed. Then lunch. It was getting late so David and I headed to the Metro to catch our bus but we knew we would be too late for the one we wanted. We stopped in at St. John Lateran, one of David's favorite churches in Rome, and then to the Metro. Got out at our station but the next bus had already left - we had the times wrong! Had to wait more then another hour for the next. Home late and tired.

We met up again with Barbara and Melissa on Friday to celebrate Barbara's birthday. This time we took the train into the city and a cab to the Hassler Hotel where we all met in the beautiful, dark wood paneled bar for a glass of prosecco. Very nice. Then on to Trattoria Monti where we had lunch. David and Melissa were very happy with their meals but Barbara and I were not. For a place recommended by Fred Plotkin and in the NYTimes, and even by friends Bruce and Roxanne, we were expecting something excellent. But so many things were deep fried - even my lamb chops, even the artichokes! - that is was disappointing. Even the radicchio flan and the parmesan flan (they are known for their flans) I found to be too rich; nicely flavored but too much of a good thing. I couldn't even finish mine, which is very unusal for me. Dessert of amaretto ice cream with decadent chocolate sauce almost made up for everything else.

David and I drove one day up to Fiano Romano, north of Rome, to search for the Roman ruins at Lucus (meaning 'sacred wood') Feroniae which we finally found. There's a small museum of the recovered artifacts and an overgrown area of the exposed village. There must be dozens if not hundreds of these places around Italy where there isn't enough money to continue to dig and not enough importance to draw a large audience; but there were two people "manning" the museum! Afterwards we drove across the countryside to Morlupo where we found a very nice restaurant Il Campanaccio - a little off-putting as it is right next to a gas station, but inside it is very attractive with nice white linens, beamed ceilings, and walls hung with copper and brass kitchen implements. For an entry David ordered the pasta with peas and sausage; I had the brasaole with bitter greens and parmesan. Then David had the branzini (fish) and I had veal scalloppini with wine, each with a side order of artichoke (carciofi), prepared in a way we'd never seen: we each had one whole one that looked like a sunflower, roasted to a dark brown with crisp outer leaves. Excellent! For dessert we shared a "millefeuille", which turned out to be three flaky biscuits layered with vanilla cream, and drizzled with dark honey. A wonderful meal!

We ended up heading home a day early, on Saturday, Jan. 9. We'd had enough of the cold and rain, David had come down with a cold, and we were tired. Not that the weather was any better in Nice - it was even colder! The drive home was long (8 hours) through at times heavy rains and very dark grey skies. A long day. It's good to be home!

Cruise from Rome to Barcelona, Nov. 2009

2009-12-05T06:38:00.000-08:00

The Duomo, Belltower, and Baptistry in Florence

Florence with the Ponte Vecchio

Mount Etna at sunset

Coming in to Valletta

Relaxing in Piazza Umberto I, Capri

We set off from Nice on Nov. 21, taking the bus to the Nice airport for our flights on Swiss Air. It's always a gorgeous flight north, with exceptional views of the snow-covered Alps. Swiss Air, unlike its American counterparts, always offers a bite to eat, free wine, and a delicious piece of Swiss chocolate. We had lunch in the Zurich airport and then another flight to Rome, enjoying the snack served on this flight, complete with the chocolate. Yum. We finally got our luggage (took 40 minutes) and found the shuttle to our hotel in the town of Fiumicino. The hotel was nothing special, but it was inexpensive (a rarity in Italy) and convenient. The town of Fiumicino is fairly ugly, certainly not worth a visit.

The next morning we were picked up by Picci and Sandro, people we are planning an exchange with over New Year's, and they drove us to the fancy seaside village of Fregene so that we could see our "villa". It's small but charming, and decorated beautifully in all blues and white. They showed us favorite places to eat and made other suggestions of things to do. Then they dropped us at the train station in Fregene where we caught the train up to Civitavecchia, where we would board the Azamara Journey. Boarding went well, the easiest boarding procedure ever! We were greeted with a glass of champagne and shown to our cabin where we enjoyed the champagne on the balcony. The bags arrived quickly and we settled in. Then we explored the ship - a great library, nice dining room, and so on. It's exactly the same ship as the Oceania ship we cruised on from Istanbul to Athens two years ago, and we were glad to be back on a smaller ship - it carries 600 passengers.

At 6 PM, Cruise Critic (internet site) had a reception for its members - more champagne and really great hors d'oeuvres. About 30 people showed up, Brits, Canadiens, and Americans mostly. Then on to dinner in the main dining room. Azamara gives the choice of being seated with other people which we greatly enjoyed throughout the two weeks, meeting new and interesting people each night. We had a good dinner of shrimp cocktail; salad; and dessert - I skipped the main course. And to bed.

Monday morning we got the tender to Sorrento and then the hydrofoil to Capri. I'd read all sorts of warnings that the hydorfoil might not be running this late in the year, but there was no problem. On the dock, we got talked into a tour of Capri by Jerry (seemed very "New York" but was born and raised in Naples) - he called us all (about 12) "Jerry's Kids". Mostly hung out with four Canadiens. We drove in a tiny bus up the windy road to Anacapri where we saw the town. We took a chairlift ride to the highest point with beautiful views, but I was panic-stricken! Will NEVER do that sort of thing again. I couldn't look at the views to the sea, but instead just stared at the mountain or closed my eyes. But the views from the top were great. Afterwards we all had lunch in Anacapri, just pizza and wine. Then back down to Capri where we walked through the town to the most famous square, Piazza Umberto I, which Oscar Wilde said was the perfect setting for a musical drama. We walked down to the gardens, again stunning views, and then back for a glass of Campari and orange in the square. We thought Capri was very nice, but really no nicer than Amalfi or Positano. Perhaps a bit over-hyped. We took the fun funicula (with me singing the song, "Funiculi, funicula, joy is everywhere, funiculi, funicula" - it was written about this funicula) to the port where we caught the hydrofoil back to Sorrento and the tender back to the ship. It had been a rather gray day when we started out and pretty chilly on the chairlift, but sitting in the piazza and getting back to the ship was the prettiest part of the day. A soak in the hot tub and dinner (bananas Foster for dessert!) and bed!

The next morning we were on the tender by 9:30 and spent the day in Sorrento. The Duomo is beautiful with the inlaid wood that the area is famous for all around. And where there wasn't inlaid wood, there was inlaid marble. We bought a couple of bracelets and some napkin rings with the inlaid woods in intricate patterns of many types and colors of wood. After walking all over the town, we treated ourselves to Campari and orange in the main square.

There was a beautiful sunset as we sailed away from Sorrento. We ate in the buffet and brought dessert back to the cabin to enjoy with some wine we brought on board. There was MSNBC with Keith Olbermann on the TV! We were amazed.

We were supposed to head next to Taormina, then Malta, then Tunis. But then we would have arrived in Tunis on a religious holiday when they cut the throats of goats and lambs so the cruise ship changed the itinerary. Sadly we would arrive much later in the day so the all-day tour we had arranged was canceled and we had to choose just one of the three things we wanted to see (the Bardo Museum, Carthage, and a pretty town of white and blue cascading down to the sea). We chose the Bardo, famous for its mosaics; we spent about an hour or so there with our guide and the mosaics were wonderful. But then we spend 1 1/2 hours at the souk - we could easily have driving to one of the other sites, but they think we need to get our shopping in. Almost everyone hated this. It would have been better to hire a cab for the day but I wasn't sure if we could do that in Tunisia. The day had started out grey and rainy, but cleared by the time we started our tour.

Tunisia is only 60 miles from Sicily and has 10 million inhabitants with a quarter of them in the capital, Tunis. The southern part of the country is Saharan while the northern part along the sea was part of the "breadbasket of the Roman Empire". The Phoenicians were here in 1000 BC, then Romans, Vandals, Carthaginians. Carthage was founded in the 7th century BC, capitulated in 202 BC, and was totally destroyed in 149 BC by the Romans in the 3rd Punic War. In 44 BC it was REfounded by the Romans! In 698 the Arabs arrived in Tunisia; 1200 was the "Golden Age of Tunis" and the Great Mosque was built. In the 1600's they were under Ottoman Rule; in 1881 the French took over and there are beautiful buildings in the "New City" of Tunis from this time. They gained independence in 1956. It is one of the most liberal Arab states, is fairly stable, and is often a mediator between the Arab States and the West.

The next morning we sailed in to the harbor of Valletta, the capital of Malta, an island which had gained its independence in 1964 and became a state of the EU in 2005. Everyone had told us we must be on deck for this and we were - it's quite a sight, with its high stone walls and beautiful architecture and old buildings. We headed into town on our own, a fairly easy walk from the ship. The town was a bit congested, partly because of a visit by the King of Spain, so there were parades and many people lining the streets. The town itself reminded me a bit of Dubrovnik with its marble paving and beautiful buildings. We went to the cathedral, St. John's Co-Cathedral (so named because there was already a cathedral in Mdina, a town nearby) built in the 1500's. We toured the church and then decided it was time for lunch.

The Caffe Cordina was nearby. We had met the owners when we were in the Piedmont in October and were hoping to see them again. Sadly, Linda was busy with a school meeting, but John was there. This restaurant was started by his family in 1837! It moved to Valletta in 1944; the premises were originally a Treasury Building for the Knights of St. John and later a Grand Hotel. There was much damage to it during WWII. There is a beautiful vaulted ceiling with paintings by Guiseppe Cali depicting the leaders and the eras in Maltese history. We enjoyed our lunch which John insisted was "on the house".

Afterwards we tried to visit the Palace of the Grand Knight but it was closed. When the Knights of St. John were expelled from Rhodes, they came to Malta in 1530. By 1798 they had become dissolute and were expelled by Napoleon. On the outside wall of the palace is a commendation from the British Government, praising the bravery and fortitude of the Maltese during WWII when they indured 154 days of bombing. Instead we headed for the Archeological Museum. There are digs on Malta dating back to 3600 BC and even earlier but we wouldn't have a chance to see them on this visit. But we saw many of the artifacts recovered from them, including captivating pudgy women figures, all beheaded. Later we walked more around the town, admiring its lovely architecture, and then back to the ship. (Someone we met on the ship had hired a cab for the day and had seen all the digs, Rabat, Mdina, and Valletta, all in the day - a much smarter idea. Of course this was very off-season so they didn't need to get the tix for the digs 2 weeks ahead of time).

The day in Malta was Thanksgiving and we had a wonderful turkey dinner (or other choices) on the ship. It was very festive and nice. I'd been surprised that so many Americans would leave home on this holiday but they all seemed very happy to be here!

The next day we arrived near Taormina. We were tendered ashore and took a bus to the city itself. We figured we had been in Taormina 17 years earlier but we really didn't remember much of the town. It's really lovely, perched high above the sea with pleasant piazzas, sweet little churches, interesting shops. But of course the main focus is the Greek/Roman Theater, built in the 3rd century BC by the Greeks and then refurbished by the Romans. It is as beautiful as we remembered. Afterwards we strolled along the main street to Piazza IX Aprile where we had a couple of Campari and oranges and enjoyed the views of the sea far below. I could have sat there for days!

The views of Mt. Etna from the ship and from Taormina were spectacular - we have photos of it at sunrise and sunset and in-between.

When we sailed away from Taormina, our Captain took a northwesterly route and circled Stromboli, a small Italian island with an active volcano. The volcano was black against an ink-blue sky and at the very top the fire was burning like an eternal flame. The Captain turned off the ship's lights for a few moments so that we could really appreciate this magnificent sight.

That night we went to a concert in the theater onboard ship. There was a wonderful pianist playing Chopin, Bach, Listz, and Tchaikovsky. He was excellent and had a great personality and told wonderful stories about the composers, as if he knew them personally. It was the best entertainment we had onboard.

We had a day at sea and then docked at Livorno. We disembarked and took a bus, arranged by the cruise line, to Florence. There was a race in the city, so many streets were blocked off. But we made our way to the Uffizzi, where we picked up the tickets we had arranged for weeks before. We spent a couple of hours there and then had lunch at a restaurant recommended by our guide Trudy on the bus, Ristorante Ponte Vecchio, which was very good. David had the pasta with wild boar and I had the pasta stuffed with pear and cheese which was very rich but delicious. We had a bottle of Vermentino (Tuscan wine) and had chocolate cake (for me) and cheesecake (for David) for dessert. By the time we'd finished there really wasn't much time for anything else - we rushed down to Santa Croce but didn't have time to explore it, then rushed back to the Duomo and the Baptistry where we were to meet the group. No one was there and we were getting worried and decided to try to find the bus on our own - thank heavens, we bumped into Trudy! They were about to leave without us!

The next day we could not anchor by Portofino as scheduled because of very high seas with heavy rains. We had to go on to Genoa where it rained all day and we spent the day reading and relaxing. Our next stop was Monaco. David decided it would be a good idea to take all our purchases to Nice and drop them at home instead of lugging them home on the ship. Other than that, we didn't do much in Monaco where we have been so often. That night we had dinner in one of the specialty restaurants on the ship, Aqualina. We had foie gras to start, salad or soup for the 2nd course; I had lobster tail while David had Osso Buco for our mains; and Grand Marnier Souffles for dessert.

Toulon, west of Nice and east of Marseilles, was our next port. We walked around the city, visiting the lovely opera house where we had attended an opera years ago and the Cathedral Ste. Marie de la Seds. There is a walking tour, following all the many fountains around the city, so we followed that route.

Next we arrived at our last port, Barcelona. Again, the weather wasn't very nice so we spent the last day packing and reading and taking it easy. We had a wonderful dinner the last night, finishing with Baked Alaska. The next morning we walked off the ship at 7 AM with our luggage and took a cab to the airport for our 9:45 flight to Zurich and then home to Nice, arriving on a gorgeous day in mid-afternoon.

A Weekend in the Piemonte, Italy

2009-10-27T02:00:00.000-07:00

Lunch in Alba...

Lunch at Felicin

The Piemonte Countryside, with snow-capped Alps

Our hotel, Castello di Sinio:

We picked up Marie and Anne at about 10 AM on Saturday and headed up to the Piedmont area of Italy. We were extraordinarily lucky in our choice of weekend: after several days of depressing rain, the weather had turned warm (70's) and sunny. We arrived in Alba at 1:30 and quickly looked for a place to eat. We chose Vineria dell'Umberto on Piazza Savone, recommended by Fred Plotkin in his book "Italy for the Gourmet Traveler", always a good guide. After a bit of trouble seating us (an Austrian family came and took two tables without putting their names in), we were seated at a sunny table on the terrace. We ordered a bottle of Nebbiolo which was superb; David and I each had the pasta with sausage, Marie had the pasta with porcini, and Anne had a polpe (squid) salad. For dessert we had the local Martina pears poached in Barolo (there were 3 on the plate but our dear waiter brought another since there were 4 of us); with it we had a bottle of Moscato d'Asti which everyone loved. We had a fun time talking with the two charming Italian girls next to us, Tiziana and her friend from Rome.

The countryside is beautiful, even more than Tuscany. The area is surrounded about 288 degrees by snow-capped mountains with views of Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn! But the valley has its own micro-climate which is warmer and sunnier. We had picked the perfect weekend with golden sun shining on the red and gold trees and vines.

We headed to our hotel, the Castello di Sinio, built in the late 1400's for the Marquis Francesquino. It was a little tricky to find but we finally succeeded. We were poorly welcomed by the German manager, Claudia, who sort of threw a half glass of Prosecco at us and showed us to our rooms. The rooms were smallish but with high beamed ceilings and high double beds and nice bathrooms (showers only) and gorgeous bed-linens and lots of pillows. We settled in and agreed to meet in a couple of hours in the lobby for a drink. We had a devil of a time trying to find a restaurant for the next day that could take us - every place was booked! But finally we found one and hoped it would be good.

When we met downstairs we really felt in the way as the staff was very busy serving a formal dinner. Instead, we decided to walk down the hilly roads to a pizzeria in the village - staff looked relieved when we left! How bad could this pizzeria be? We were in for a real treat. The wine list told a lot about the place, with at least 15 Barolos and many other local wines. When Marie pointed to one of the less expensive Barolos and asked, "Is this a good Barolo?", the waitress replied "Tutte Barolo e buono!" The owner/hostess came to decant the wine. We loved the tradition of that. We ordered one pizza - asparagus - and a salad of celery, cheese, and walnuts. It was plenty for all of us. The pizza was among the best I've ever had with a fresh tomato sauce and lots of good Parmagiana on top. For dessert we shared a semi-freddo (sort of ice cream) with chocolate and nuts. Then we climbed back to the hotel and fell into bed.

Sunday morning we met Denise, the hotel owner who completely made up for Claudia, very friendly and informative. The four of us met in the charming breakfast room with its stone walls and red drapery. The buffet was large and inviting but we didn't eat much since we had the reservation for 12:30 so that we would be able to get back for the truffle hunt at 3 PM.

We drove to Monforte d'Alba past colorful vineyards and sweet towns and rolling hills with the snow-capped mountains in the distance. The countryside reminded me a bit of the southwest of France, with a castle on every hilltop! We noted the restaurant in Monforte and then continued on to Barolo. There we found an antique VW show and a Sunday market. We roamed the streets, visited the castle and churches, bought olive oil, cheese, and such, and just enjoyed the gorgeous day. Then back to Monforte for lunch at Felicin.

Nino greeted us at the door of the restaurant and told us he really couldn't take us until 1 PM. Oh, dear, what would we do? WE couldn't do justice to such a meal in a hour and a half! We went to the piazza to have an Aperol (aperitif of orange-y liqueur with prosecco and dressed with a slice of orange - very colorful and delicious) and think things through. Well, we would see. We were back at the resto at 1 PM and seated at a lovely table near a window with a view of the hills; nice linens and Concord grapes and a vase of red chilies dressed the table. Nino offered a white wine to start and we drank a couple of glasses of this with the bouche amuse of cured ham and the three (!) appetizers. All the menus included the three, so we could have those and then decide if we wanted both a first and second plate or only one.

The first appetizer was marinated hake served on a pancake made of ceci (garbanzo beans) and topped with a tomato relish. The second was a slice of chicken on a bed of pureed fagioli (beans) topped with an onion jam. The third was vegetables - Brussel sprouts, radicchio, broccoli, and so on - topped with zabaglione and tiny, home-made potato chips. It was impossible to decide which was the most delicious! Each was outstanding.

By then we knew that we would never make it back for the truffle hunt at 3. WE called Denise and told her and she contacted Beppe who was understanding. It would be an insult to our hosts and an insult to this meal if we hurried through it. We would sit and enjoy every bite and every sip.

For the main course the darling wine-steward ("What a charming man and what a great arse!) guided us to a Barbera d'Alba from the Giuseppe Mascarello e Figlio Winery, which we decided we would have to find. It was exceptional. Anne had a vegetarian plate with cheese, DAvid had the wild boar, and Marie and I had the "Stinko di Vitello" (Veal shanks) done in Barolo and served on pureed potatoes. Again, everything was delicious. (I'm running out of adjectives).

Then on to the dessert. We decided to order two of the Dolce Misti (mixed desserts) which included panna cotta, a chocolate cake, ice cream on top of another cake with chocolate sauce, and hazelnut ice cream which I thought was the best. David and I each had a glass of a Moscato-like dessert wine and Marie and Anne had their coffee. With the coffee came even more sweets - macaroons and chocolates and white chocolates with nuts and orange peel. When we raved to Nino about how much we had enjoyed the meal, he said, "Oh, you were lucky!"

We checked out the rooms above the restaurant - this would be a very nice place and a very nice town to stay in for the next time. Then we walked around the town and up in to the Old Town that gave wonderful views over the countryside. An idyllic day.

Back to the hotel - no one could even think of eating a bite that night. We were all early to bed. Monday we all met in the breakfast room and did justice to the terrific buffet of scrambled eggs in a pastry cup, a vegetable "flan", French toast, ham and cheese, cereal and lots of fresh cut-up fruits, breads and cakes. With coffee, cappucino, or hot chocolate, this was a feast. We finally checked out and had a long chat with Denise, exclaiming over the wonderful time we had had.

We drove through more charming villages, stopping for an aperitif in Castiglione Falletto on a terrace overlooking the countryside with vines below us and castles in the distance. We finally found the Mascarello Winery - not at all the beautiful place we were expecting, but a very utilitarian place for processing the grapes. And no one was there! We went for lunch at a store-front bar which turned out really fine - no one here does "ordinary"; we had a bottle of Dolcetto with salads for Marie, Anne, and David, and sandwiches for me. Then Massimo brought us desserts, including his own peach/amaretto cake made with his own peaches, his own eggs, his own flour. He was so proud of it and it was delicious. He even called over to the winery to be sure someone was there. Mauro Mascarello told us his wife would be there in a half hour so we waited and tasted and bought.

Then the long, long drive home in the dark, arriving at Nice at about 8 PM. Everyone should have weekends like this. So refreshing.

Cruise to the Baltics and St. Petersburg, May 2009

2009-05-30T11:28:00.000-07:00

Sailing away from the White Cliffs of Dover

Nyhavn Canal, Copenhagen

Schwerin Castle, Mecklenberg, NE Germany

Kadriorg Palace, Tallinn, Estonia

St. Catherine Palace, outside St. Petersburg

The Hermitage: the highlight of the whole cruise

Beautiful light while sailing in to Stockholm

The Lauredis drove us to the airport on April 27 where we caught our Easyjet flight to Luton. It was rainy – such a nuisance. Took the bus to Victoria and then walked to the Hotel Corona where we’ve stayed before. Immediately headed for the Tate Britain for lunch. What a beautiful place, nice linens and good food and service, but the most amazing thing is the mural, painted by Rex Whistler in the 1920’s. It covers the walls all the way around the four walls. Whistler was a young artist in England who entered WWI and was killed in Normandy.

For lunch David had grilled kidneys and sea bream (sole) with apple/rhubarb crumble for dessert while I had poached salmon with a watercress/radish salad, pasta with tomatoes and spinach, and a maple syrup/pecan parfait for dessert. We wandered around the museum for a bit – I loved the primitives of 17th century England – but then back to the hotel where we were in bed by 7 PM! Exhausted.

Luckily, the rain had cleared by the next morning and, after breakfast at the hotel, we walked the luggage back to Victoria Station and got our train to Dover. It was a nice 2 hour ride. A taxi to the port. We’d planned to head back to the Castle, but the check-in process was terrible. Ran into the Brewers and Bremers and finally were aboard. We all had a glass of champagne and then lunch in the Buffet which was chaotic. Finally got our staterooms and it was time to unpack. We all met for dinner in Tango Tapas – everyone seemed pleased with their food, although I thought it was just so-so (lobster tacos). David and I went to listen to Constantine, the pianist whom we very much enjoyed, and then to bed.

We set sail at 4 PM and it was beautiful seeing the White Cliffs as we sailed away. The next day we were “At Sea” all day long. B’fast in the Buffet, lunch in the Buffet, and dinner in the French Bistrot – my cassoulet was just OK, Ingrid’s lamb chops looked the best. David had two appetizers – foie gras and onion soup. Dessert for all the “girls” was a chocolate Napoleon that was great. The Brewers followed us up to the Star Bar for more piano music with Constantine. Then bed.

Thursday, April 30, it must be Copenhagen. Denmark is a Constitutional Monarchy; it is a Capitalist State and a Welfare State. The country includes Greenland and the Faroe Islands and is part of the Nordic States which also includes Sweden, Finland, and Norway. Denmark has more than 1400 islands, making for very expensive infrastructure. Germany is to the South; all other borders are water. During WWII, Denmark tried to protect its Jews, sending many to Sweden. They surrendered in 1940 in only 2 hours. Denmark is part of the EU, although Greenland and the Faroe Islands are not. The population is 5.5 million; they are active in NATO and the UN. They have the highest level of income equality and offer free education through college and of course free health care. Their VAT is 25%. A survey has shown that it is the happiest country in the world; it is also the least corrupt and has very low unemployment.

We were terribly lucky to have an absolutely gorgeous day – clear and sunny, about 70 degrees and a beautiful blue sky. At the port are the beautiful windmills, producing electricity. We met a lovely couple from Arizona and had an interesting chat with them, then headed into town. We walked about 5-6 miles. At first we recognized nothing and were rather distressed, but it was a lovely walk past The Little Mermaid and the Kastel Church with an interesting statue out front. Then we reached a beautiful square, cornered by impressive palaces where the royal family live – and with a statue of Frederik V in the center; down the street was Frederiks Church, also called The Marble Church, built 1749-1770 by Frederik V. Finally we found many things we remembered – the church that had had a restaurant that we liked (no longer a resto), Stroget Street – the pedestrian street for shopping and Illums Bilinghus (where I’d hoped to find a bread basket like Anne Marie has, but no such luck), several churches, and of course Nyhavn Canal, where we ended up for lunch at Havfruen. We both had the smoked salmon plate and shared a nice Pinot Blanc from Alsace; then for dessert we shared the Old Danish Cheese (served with minced red onions and radishes, Hansen’s golden rum, Maille mustard, on dark bread) and a glass of brown aquavit. Fun. Afterwards we walked to the Kong’s (King’s) Gardens; we’d thought to go to the Botanic Gardens or the Statens Museum for Kunst, but were just too tired and just headed home. En route ran into a nice couple from Texas, heading back also.

Once on the ship, we headed for the hot tub and took a good soak. Now David is sleeping and I’m trying to catch up.

Dinner with the gang in one of the free restaurants – monkfish for both of us and it was delicious. Pineapple cream cake for me and warm apple bread pudding for D – both really good. And then to bed!

The next morning we docked at Warnemunde where we had scheduled an excursion to Schwerin (pronounced Schver EEN) Castle. On the bus our leader, Margitta, gave us a lot of information. In this Mecklenburg area, there were Germanic tribes 4000 years ago. Then the Slavic tribes arrived and ruled until the 12th century. Still there are many towns with names ending in “-ow” or “-in”, which are Slavic endings.

In the 12th century (1160) the Duke of Lower Saxony, Henry the Lion, came and conquered the last Slavic king, Niclot. Henry had his daughter married to Niclot’s son who became Christian. There still is a Slavic and Germanic mix in the population.

In 1348 Albrecht I was the first Duke in Schwerin and had the first castle built. It was reconstructed in the 16th century. The Mecklenburg Dukes intermarried with European nobility, including George III of England and the Tsars. They abdicated in 1918 and lost all their property. In 1969 the last Duke died and his son ended the family in 2001 when he died.

Mecklenberg (which was part of what was East Germany) is now one of the Federal States, associated with the Pomeranian area which is nearer to Poland. There are over 2000 lakes in the area, connected by rivers and canals. A major crop of the area is rapeseed, used for cooking oil and now being converted to use as fuel for trucks.

The Hanseatic League was founded in 1329 in Lubeck, just to the west of where we were. It was a merchant league of the cities on the Baltic Sea, connected by the Via Reggia, which is now a modern route. The symbol of the League was the Griffin, a combination of a lion and a dragon; this is still the symbol of the area today.

Route 20, the road we took to Schwerin, was built with great regard for the environment. There are special bridges built for the wildlife so that they may get from one side to the other without danger. There are many windmills along the route – about 50% of Mecklenberg’s power comes from windpower. These windmills are built in Rostock, one of the few industrial ventures in the State.

Our tour bus dropped us off at Schwerin Lake where we boarded a small boat for a sunny and pleasant ride over to the town of Schwerin. As we approached, the Castle took our breath away. Such lovely views from the lake!

Schwerin has a good strategic position; it is surrounded by seven major lakes. The Castle is on an island next to Fortress Lake. In the area there is much boating and sailing, biking, and swimming. Tourism is a major industry; there is little manufacturing.

The Cathedral in Schwerin is 13th century Gothic. The Castle was last redone in the late 1800’s and today is the seat of the State Parliament of Mecklenburg West-Pomerania. We toured the beautiful rooms with their wood inlaid floors, silk wall coverings, and painted and decorated ceilings. One of the things we were shown was a pair of painted porcelain urns, a gift from the Russian Tsar. How were such things transported in those days of rough travel? They were packed in wooden crates filled with butter! Much of the ceiling and wall decoration, which looked like plaster, was actually papier mache! The gardens surrounding the castle, with the views of the lake, are lovely. We saw Ginko trees, Plane trees, a weeping beech with branches joined. Then back to the bus and the ride home. It really would have been nice to have more time here to see the full gardens and the rest of the town.

We rushed up to the Buffet on the 12th deck for a quick lunch – my usual salad and a cookie for dessert. David went off to have a soak in the hot tub and I walked in to Warnemunde where they were celebrating May Day with a street fair. I walked out to the sand dunes and watched the waves coming it – the wind had really picked up. I saw the old lighthouse and the new ones and checked out the interesting architecture of the town. Then back to the ship. Met the group for dinner at the Tsar’s Palace.

When the ship left Warnemunde, there was music coming from the outdoor restaurants below and lots of people there waved us off. Then 3 tour boats, with their lights shining, escorted us out of the harbor, tooting their whistles. It was such a gay send-off!

Saturday, a long day at sea. We all met for a “Jazz Brunch” at 11 AM – the music was a bit too loud but the food was good. Kir Royales to start; a buffet of appetizers – smoked salmon, cured salmon, asparagus wrapped in roast beef, Caesar salad, lovely Roquefort, and so on. Then eggs Benedict for me; David had an omelet. The Brewers had Chateaubriand! They really love the red meat. Peach cobbler and apple cobbler for dessert were yummy.

Then some needlepoint, some reading for most of the day. Tennis on TV. Met for supper – turkey with stuffing (just OK), cranberry sauce. David had fish. Not much entertainment going on tonight. Sunset from our room.

The Norwegian Jewel had its maiden voyage in 2005. It’s 965 feet long and travels 24 knots/hour. It carries 2400 passengers. Yuck! Never again on such a huge ship.

The next morning we sailed into Tallinn harbor to the sound of a band, all in bright blue uniforms, playing to welcome us. Not far away, we could see the many spires, onion domed roofs, and tiled roofs of the Old Town. It looks a charming place. We changed a bit of money and disembarked. There was a hop on/hop off bus right there by the ship and we got on (about $17 each). We rode around, seeing the town, and got off first at Kadriorg Palace, built as a summer residence by the Russian Emperor Peter the Great in 1718 and named for Catherine I, his wife. Nearby are many old wooden houses – seems strange to see wooden houses in a city. Tallinn has a population of about 400,000, a third of the total Estonian population.

We passed the Park and Swan Pond with its picturesque gazebo in the middle and walked up to the Palace, which is now a fine arts museum, although there is not a lot to see. The main hall, with a painted ceiling and beautiful ornamentation, is an exquisite example of Baroque architecture. Then we walked a bit in the gardens and then through the park to the sea, where we found another of the HOHO buses – this time a green one which goes out to the Pirita section of the city. (Clever idea here - there are 3 different colored HOHO buses, each following a different route; the ticket entitles you to ride on all). We went through nice parklands and saw the tall television tower, past the Song Festival Grounds and the Olympic housing, and St. Bridget’s Convent ruins, from the 15th century, destroyed by Ivan the Terrible in 1577.

Then on to Old Town, first in the Lower Town which dates back to the Middle Ages. The Lower Town was inhabited by burghers and artisans. We had lunch at Olde Hansa Medieval Restaurant – service is amazingly slow, so don’t go if you don’t have a lot of time! We were lucky to find a table outdoors on this beautiful sunny day. We talked with a nice couple from Virginia Beach – he was a pilot for TWA and she was originally German (I think). The food finally arrived – the highly recommended mushroom soup to share with a nice glass of Chilean Merlot. Then pork for David and sausages of elk, boar, and bear for me accompanied by a sort of cranberry sauce, sweet sauerkraut, and onion “jam”. Delicious.

Then off to explore the Old Town. Near the restaurant is the Town Hall Square with its beautiful and colorful buildings. There are many restaurants here with lots of locals and tourists enjoying the sunny weather.

Afterwards we made the long climb to Toompea or the Upper Town where, traditionally, the German aristocracy lived. It is named for the cathedral located on it: German “Domberg” or “Cathedral Hill”. Here we visited the 19th century Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, a Russian Orthodox cathedral with its many onion domes. It is named for the duke who attacked SE Estonia in the early 13th century. It was designed in 1894 and completed in 1900.

There are so many churches in the city that it is surprising to learn that the general population quite ignores religion. Toompea Hill was the site of a 10th century stronghold and has remained the seat of the ruling power and church authorities. Estonia declared independence in 1918 and remained independent until the Soviet occupation of 1940. The Nazi occupation began in 1941 and then the Soviets returned in 1944. On August 23, 1989 they joined hands, literally, with Latvians and Lithuanians – 2 million people – forming a human chain stretching from Vilnius to Tallinn, and demanded secession from the Soviet Union. Estonia finally became independent again in 1991.

Across from the Cathedral is Toompea castle, built where the wooden fortress stood until the 1219 Danish invasion. For seven centuries, the castle was the seat of power for the rulers of the land. Now it houses Estonia’s parliament. One corner of the castle is Pikk Hermann tower with the blue, black, and white tricolor flag which flies each day.

The Dome Church (Toomkirik) (Lutheran) is nearby. It is also called St. Mary’s Church and is probably the oldest church in Estonia. It was founded in 1219 by the invading Danes. Its exterior is Gothic and dates to the 14th century, but the interior, which had burned in 1684, is newer. It is hung with numerous shields.

Then back down to the Lower Town where we passed several guild halls and saw more of the massive city walls. Then back to the ship where we both jumped into the hot tub. Met a cute young couple of newlyweds from Florida. Then dinner by ourselves in the Buffet. The ship left port and started on its way to St. Petersburg. Finally, our major focus of the cruise.

Monday. We met the Brewers at 8 AM and went down to the 5th floor, as near as we could get to the exit. Many others had the same thought, but we finally got off around 9 AM and met our tour, with only a slight delay for David going through Passport Control (for some reason the person at the gate had to leave two times while he waited to get through! Would he be sent to Siberia?). Our guide, Julia, met us and guided us to the bus and our driver, Kostya. Our first stop was Peter and Paul Fortress and the church, with its 400 foot spire, where so many of the Tsars/Emperors are buried, including the remains of the last Tsar, Nicolas and his wife Alexandra and their children. We also made a “photo op” stop along the Neva River, the main river through St. Petersburg and drove a bit on the main street of the city center, Nevsky Prospect. At one end is a statue of St. Alexander Nevsky, who was the ruler of Russia and a hero in the defeat of the Swedes and Germans in the 13th century.

St. Petersburg was the Imperial Capital from 1711 until 1918, founded by Peter I in 1703. Its first name was St. Petersburg, named for the Apostle. Then in 1914 it was renamed Petrograd; “grad” means “city” in Russian. In 1924 it again was renamed Leningrad, then in 1991 it was named again St. Petersburg.

The population is made up of Slavic (or Russian) tribes. The city has 85 rivers and canals, making 45 islands. Our guide tells us that in St. Petersburg they say that you must have 45 friends, one on each island, so that if you get stuck by the bridges opening you will have somewhere to sleep. There are 22 draw bridges (and 800 bridges in total) in the city, open only from 1:30 AM – 4 AM to permit boats to pass. They are lit at night and are quite a sight. St. Petersburg does not have ideal weather with only 60 sunny days a year, but we were extremely lucky to arrive on one of them. They celebrate Victory Day of WWII on May 9th.

We passed by Moscow Square with the large “House of Soviets” dominating it. Victory Square celebrates the siege of Leningrad.

Then we arrived at Catherine’s Palace, one of the summer palaces, in Pushkin, the town named for the most beloved of the Russian writers. Catherine’s Palace, built by Bartolomeo Rastrelli, is the most stunning blue with much white and gold. We toured the rooms, which are dazzling with the golden ornamentation, reflected even further in the many mirrors and shining chandeliers. The rooms have beautiful blue Delft stoves. There were game rooms decorated in silk, one in red and one in blue. When invitations went out, it was specified which room they would be gaming in. If it was the red room, people brought rubies to gamble with; if the blue room, they brought sapphires! And the most amazing and most famous room, the Amber Room, with walls covered in amber. (No photos allowed).

Afterwards we headed to Peterhof Palace, built in the early 1700’s, where we explored the 2,500 acre Park, the gardens surrounding one of the oldest summer palaces in the region. The Palace was, again, designed by Rastrelli. Sadly, we were too early for the many fountains to be working but we could see how stunning they would be. There are golden statues leading down a waterfall, called the Great Cascade, to a canal that runs out to the Gulf of Finland. Samson, the symbol of Peterhof, is the main statue in the fountain. We passed by the Orangerie and another fountain, this time of Triton. We walked to the small favorite palace of Peter the Great, Mon Plaisir, flanked by Catherine’s yellow palace and the boathouse. Julie told us that the pansies in the garden are called “Anne’s Eyes” in Russia.

We stopped by Peter and Paul Cathedral, near Peterhof, for photos and then headed back to St. Petersburg. We passed Putin’s Palace where many international meetings were held and also the green Triumphant Gate at the entrance to the city. And so back to the ship, where we had to go through Passport Control again and on to the boat. And into the hot tub!

For supper David and I went to the Buffet. I had a big salad and David had some chicken; we found a table on the outside deck and shared a ½ bottle of wine. For dessert we had warm cherry cobbler with a bit of ice cream on top and a cookie each. Afterwards we played a couple of games of ping-pong – each winning one. Then a long walk several times around the deck and finally down to bed.

Tuesday we were to meet Julia at 8 AM; we were all there early. We got off to an early stop, with a “photo op” at St. Isaacs and a statue of Nicholas I. Then it was on to the Hermitage, partly housed in the Winter Palace which was the Tsar’s official residence fro 1720 to 1727. AlloTour had gotten early admittance, so it wasn’t very crowded while we were there. Julia gave us a good tour of the highlights of this huge place with 3 million pieces. She tells us if we spent one minute at each piece we would still be there in 11 years. We saw works by Da Vinci, Tiziano, a famous statue by Canova that was owned by the Yusupovs (more later), Raphael, Michangelo, Sisley, Cezanne, Matisse, Gaugin, Monet, Picasso, and more. There are also copies of Raphael’s Loggias, beautiful frescoes forming a hall. The museum’s rooms themselves are stunning. I bought the option of taking pictures – the only one in the group – and I can’t imagine not doing that. Some day, I’m sure, no one will be allowed to photograph the art! No flashes, of course.

The Hermitage, also known as the Winter Palace, was built by Bartolomeo Rastrelli in the mid-1700’s. Peter the Great began the use of the Palace as an art museum. Catherine II had vast collections and she placed them all in the building next door where only she and “the mice” would see them, giving the name of the Hermitage, indicating the privacy of the collection. In 1837 a fire destroyed the Winter Palace but the imperial collections were saved by throwing them out the windows. In 1839 it was decided to open the collections to the public.

Then it was on to the Cathedral of Blood Spilled with its amazing mosaics covering every inch of wall space. Alexander II was killed on this spot and his son had the church built to honor him.

Next we headed to a restaurant for lunch. Sadly, it was Greek – not that we don’t like Greek but I was looking forward to sampling some typical Russian foods. We had a salad; mushroom soup, fish stuffed with mushrooms with a cream sauce and rice with carrots; and cake with a lemon sugar sauce.

The Russian language had the same alphabet as the Greeks so I was able to sound out a few simple words: CTO (pi) for Stop, KA(phi)E for café, etc.

After lunch we went to St. Isaacs Cathedral, the largest Russian Orthodox Church and the third largest in the world after St. Peter’s in Rome and St. Paul’s in London. The gilded dome is a beacon that can be seen all over the city. The outside is quite sober looking, with dark columns on each side. The bronze doors reminded me of the doors at the Duomo in Florence. Inside there are paintings and mosaics everywhere.

Our last stop was Yusupov Palace, the home of a very old and very wealthy Russian family of princes. Their money came from mines. It’s a very personal palace with French tapestries and Sevres chandelier and clock in the Reception Room; a Blue Bedroom with pink plaster decoration on the ceiling; a square room with a dome called the Rotunda; blue, red (called the Imperial Room), green galleries, each named for the color of the silk on the walls – in WWI these rooms were hospital rooms for soldiers; a squarish ballroom, although not as fancy as others we’ve seen; a concert room where the orchestra for the ball would be housed along with tables for a meal – the chandeliers in this room are of papier mache because the curved wooden ceiling could not support heavier chandeliers; many more rooms of art and sculpture and even an ornate theater with box seats above for the family.

Felix Yusupov, who was married to a Romanov, was the last owner of the Palace. In December 1916 he invited Rasputin, the mysterious man who had such influence over the Royal Family because he seemed to help Alexei their son who had hemophilia, to his home where he tried to poison him. That didn’t work so he shot him three times. Rasputin tried to escape, so the group of men in on the plot shot Rasputin more, beat him, and dragged him to the Moyka River where he finally drowned.

After this visit, we headed to a place for shopping. I found a beautiful box of a St. Petersburg scene for a souvenir (something similar on the ship was twice the price!). Then we headed back to the boat where there was a long line to get through Passport Control, then to get on the boat. But it was all right because a band was there to entertain us for the whole time and until the ship moved out around 7 PM. Then dinner in the Tsar’s Palace (that seemed appropriate) for all of us. A good dinner of salmon, but dessert, as most have been on this cruise, was disappointing. Very little entertainment tonight – sat with Bremers for a while in Bar City listening to guitarist. We gain an hour tonight, which is good.

Wednesday morning we arrived in a rainy Helsinki. During the Viking times, the Finns were not Vikings, but were disorganized tribes of Finna, Tavastians, and the Karelians by the 11th century. Finland was a part of Sweden for over 700 years until 1809 when the Tsar won it as reparations in Sweden’s defeat. During the Russian Revolution of 1917, the Finns tried for independence. Today the Finns speak Finnish or Swedish. The first woman President was elected for her second 6-year term in 2006.

The Finns have a passion for the outdoors and are environmentally aware. Their diet is influenced by this, including wild game and fish, berries including cloudberries, excellent rye and sweet-sour breads.

The population of Helsinki is 1.2 million. Helsinki is also called “The Daughter of the Baltic” or “The White City of the North”.

David went down for breakfast but I slept in and he brought me juice and a banana. A lazy morning. At 11:30 we had a quick early lunch and then headed into the city. We decided on the HOHO bus which we took to Stop 3 for the Temppeliaukio Church, designed by Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen in 1969. It’s a low church, surrounded by beautiful boulders. The entrance door is bronze (I think) and you come into a round space, with a 24 meter-diameter copper strip roof. The struts are spaced apart, letting the sun shine in and there is plenty of rock exposed. We’re not usually interested in modern churches, but this one is a major exception.

Then we walked back to the train station which was designed by Eliel Saarinen in the Finnish National Romantic style (Art Nouveau) in 1917. Next back to the Esplanade, a lovely street of beautiful buildings divided by a grassy walkway in the middle with a couple of restaurants at either end. We stopped at Kappeli for a Daim cake (chocolate and nuts and someone said corn but we didn’t detect it) (pron. “dime”) and a glass of wine. Kappeli looks like the Tavern on the Green, but is nothing like it – really a cafeteria but pretty. We sat in one of the glassed-in rounded areas at the corners.

I quickly checked out one of the NCL recommended stores for “wooden jewelry” but nothing of interest. We walked up to Senaatintori (Senate Square). There’s a statue of Tsar Alexander II; the Finns and Russians had close ties in the 19th century. Dominating the square is the stark white Tuomiokirkko (Lutheran Cathedral), high up a series of stairs. It was designed by Carl Ludwig Engel and built in the mid 1800’s in the neoclassical style.

We then walked a couple of blocks east to view the charming red brick Uspenski Cathedral on Katajanokka island. It was built as a Russian Orthodox church in the Byzantine-Slavonic style in 1868, designed by Aleksei Govnostayev of St. Petersburg. It is very attractive with the typical onion domes soaring above the street-level.

I walked past the Kauppatori, the main market square with stalls offering crafts, knitted goods, furs, and so on. Then past the Havis Amanda, a mermaid and dolphin fountain which is the symbol of Helsinki, designed by Ville Vallgren in 1908. This statue is the symbol of Helsinki. I found Stop 6 for the HOHO bus while David took a cab back to the ship. We got back around the same time.

The group met for dinner in Mama’s Kitchen, the Italian resto on board. Everyone liked it a lot – most had the Osso Buco. I had the Veal Marsala, which was pretty good. The only decent dessert was David’s Tiramisu; everything else was a waste.

For almost the entire cruise we have not been able to touch anything because of the Swine Flu. In the buffet, we have to wait on lines for plates, then wait on lines for food, then wait on line for drinks. It’s so terribly annoying. Even Ingrid, whom I think of as a person whom nothing bothers, is going crazy!

Thursday we sailed in to Stockholm, passing by so many islands with pretty houses and boat houses and boats. Sailing in and out is stunning with beautiful views and silvery light. A great way to arrive in the city. We docked in a terrible area, very far from downtown. We took a public bus into the city and the driver didn’t even seem to know where we should get off for the Old Town, Gamla Stan. Finally, we found our way and it was quite a walk. We walked a bit in the Old Town, but David really wanted to see the National Gallery so we went over there and spent an hour or so. They didn’t have a whole lot – especially after being in the Hermitage. Then we made our way back to the bus and then the ship, where we hurried to the Buffet for lunch. A huge salad for me and peach bread pudding for dessert. Yum.

That night we just had dessert for dinner and then met the others afterwards for a talk. Off to bed.

Friday is the first of the two remaining days at sea. We had an early breakfast. We met the Brewers at 10 to talk about their trip to Paris, then nothing until lunch at noon. Met everyone for lunch in the Buffet – a huge salad and bread pudding (not so great) for me. Afterwards the Bremers and I went to the art auction for a couple of glasses of champagne, then on to the Trivia contest, where we did fairly well: 11 out of 20; the winners got 15/20. But fun. Then into the hot tub, although it’s pretty chilly out there!

Late afternoon I played Scrabble in the game room; I won the first game and did fairly well in the second. Fun. Then a bit late to dinner with the group in the Tsar’s Palace. Lobster and grouper for dinner which was pretty good; crème brulee with chocolate ganache for dessert was delicious. David had the duck and apple crumble. A late night drink in the Atrium listening to the chamber music group. Flat moscato d’asti.

The second day was taken up with packing and getting ready to head home. We all met for a “dress up” dinner in the Bistrot for the last night – lamb chops and chocolate dessert again, but the food has gotten tiresome and I was feeling a bit like a migraine was coming on.

Sunday morning I was still a bit woozy. David went up for breakfast, we finished packing, and we walked off the ship – that really is an easy way to disembark. We got a cab to the train station, got on the bus (rail work ongoing) to Canterbury where we got the train. Luckily the weather in London was good so we walked to the hotel where they took pity on me and gave us a room early. I went right to bed and pretty much slept through until Monday morning. After b’fast at the hotel, the shuttle picked us up at 9:15 and got us to Heathrow by 10:30. Back to Chicago early, landing by 3 PM and a cab home, exhausted but feeling a lot better. Laundry, shopping, and finally to bed.

A Mediterranean Cruise from Barcelona to Morocco, Canary Isl, Madeira, Malaga

2009-03-25T05:29:00.001-07:00

Photos: View of Cathedral at Las Palmas, Enjoying lunch in Funchal, Roman theater and Alcazar in Malaga, Cathedral in Malaga, Having a drink in Rick's American Cafe, Mud-walled town of Taroudant with Atlas Mtns behind

On February 5, 2009, we left chilly Nice for a bit more warmth on a cruise on the western Mediterranean and into the Atlantic Ocean. We spent one night in freezing and rainy Barcelona at the Hotel Inglaterra, well situated for exploring the Old Town and for getting around. We spent a day seeing a few things in Barcelona that we had missed on our other visits, particularly Parque Guell with its magical Gaudi designs and the famed Picasso Museum. The next day we took a taxi to the port where we boarded our NCL cruise ship, the Jade; we set sail that evening as we settled in on this huge ship of more than 2,000 passengers. We had dinner in one of the main dining rooms: David had short rib sauce on pasta and I had the grilled salmon.

After a day a sea, we came into port in Casablanca, a city of 4 million, our first visit to Morocco. We were disappointed - there really wasn't much to see except the quite modern Hassan II Mosque. We did find Rick's American Cafe, started only in 2003 by an American who knew that people wanted to see the place famous from "Casablanca" the movie. It's done up very well and we enjoyed a nice drink there; it would be a great place to go for a meal. We had dinner in our Stateroom with some wine we had brought on board (not allowed) - just things we'd brought in from the buffet earlier in the day.

Our speaker on the cruise ship, Dr. Gene Young, explained about Morocco, the land of the "Moors". There are cave paintings from 40,000 years ago in the Atlas Mountains; the Phoenicians were here in the 6th c BC for the salt and crops. The Romans, calling the area "Mauritania", used it as part of their "breadbasket". They were followed by the Vandals and Visigoths. In 716 AD the Islamic Conquest took place, changing the style of the country completely. Because the Koran prohibits art of living things, their art is made up of geometric patterns and calligraphy, hence the beautiful tile work in Islamic buildings and walkways. Morocco was the jumping off point for the conquest of Spain.

From the 1400's on, there was a strong European influence. France was granted autonomy over the country in 1906. During WWI, Morocco sided with the Allies, but their Independence Movement was put down after the war. They finally gained independence in 1956.

Besides the Islamic people, the other population of Morocco is the Berber people who came from Libya in the east. From their name comes the designation of the "Barbary Coast".

We set sail again that evening and came into Agadir the next morning. An "agadir" is a fort-like place to protect the women and children and store valuables during times of attack; the town now, having been totally destroyed in an earthquake, is a modern seaside resort. This was the only place we had arranged to take one of ncl's excursions: a day trip to Taroudant, advertised as a "Little Marrakesh", a mud-walled town with a "souk" (open market). It was somewhat interesting, but really after you've seen one Arab souk you've basically seen them all. We passed by the snow-topped High Atlas Mountains (up to 1800 meters) on the way. On the trip back we stopped to see the goats feeding up in the Argan trees, quite an amazing sight. These trees grow only in this area and the oil, rich in Vitamin E, is used in cosmetics and even on foods by the locals.

Our next port was Las Palmas on the Grand Canary Island. This was a lot larger place than we were expecting, nothing like the charming towns of the Greek Islands that we visited last year. We took a local bus to the Vegueta, a World Heritage Site, where we found the interesting cathedral, the Governor's Palace where Columbus stayed during his voyage to the New WOrld, and Placa Ana where there are statues of dogs (canis) that the Islands are named for. We walked through the pedestrian zone with its pastel colored buildings and then got a bus back to the port area.

The Canaries were the only islands with a native population at the time they were discovered. The population is related to the Berbers. They were enslaved, converted, or killed by the Spaniards. The Portuguese, taking control in the 15th century, used the islands for crops (sugar, wheat), shipping, whalers and fishermen (cod). The islands became a tourist center in the 1800's. Las Palmas is the major port.

The canary bird is native to the Canaries and was named for the islands. They are yellow and brown finches.

Next we arrived at Funchal (meaning "leek"), on Madeira, which we loved from the first moment. The old town is charming. We did a hop-on/hop-0ff bus ride around the town, then got off to see the 15th century Cathedral in the main part of town. But we walked back to Old Town (Cidade Velha) for a wonderful meal of sea bass, local wine (Seical, Porto Muniz, Vinho Branco 2006). Then we sampled some aged Madeira, while sitting under the awning during a rain shower. A really lovely day.

Our next day was again at sea, a warm day that we spent sunning on our balcony. Ate in the buffet for breakfast and lunch. Lazy day.

We landed at Malaga which I thought would not be so interesting as I had been there twice before. But when I'd been there, I had stayed in Fuengirola the first time and Nerja the second. I guess I never really explored Malaga. Arriving by ship is the perfect way, as the ship docks within a 10 minute walk of just about everything you would want to see. We first visited the magnificent Cathedral, called "La Manquita" (the One Armed One) because the south tower is missing its full height: they gave the money to the American Revolution! The pink and blue tinted marble on the exterior is exquisite and inside there is a pink marble altar by Juan de Salazar of the Annunciation.

Next we found the Roman theater that is still under excavation. Above it looms the Alcazar; we climbed up the pathways to explore this Moorish fort with its gardens and fountains. Then we headed over to the new Picasso Museum; Picasso was born here so it is fitting that there is finally a museum dedicated to him, although we thought it wasn't as good as the one in Barcelona. In the basement are the remains of Phoenician walls from the 6th c BC!! We returned to the plaza opposite the Cathedral and ordered a glass of wine, sitting in the sun on this beautiful day.

We spent another lazy day at sea, again sunning ourselves before returning to Nice, which has been so chilly and rainy this winter. We docked at Barcelona, took a couple of buses to the city center and then the airport, and made our way home.

A Freezing Week in London, Jan. 2009

2009-01-16T09:40:00.000-08:00

Gordon Ramsay Restaurant

We left Nice and the temps in the 50's and flew up to London for about a week at a home exchange in the Barbicon. This is a very conveniently located complex, although very modern and not really to our taste. We had a 2 BR, 2 BA apartment, but it was quite chilly, with little hot water. The first night there we met up with American friends, Laurie and Mal Lindner, for a quick dinner at Carluccio's. The next day I woke up with a migraine and spent the next day and a half in bed. David met the Lindners for dinner and "A Little Night Music", which everyone loved. The next day I dragged myself out of bed in the afternoon and got ready to meet them for dinner at Caprini - just soup and an avocado/crevettes salad - and "Complicit" which we expected to be good since the cast was Richard Dreyfus, Elizabeth McGovern, and David Suchet (Poirot) and directed at the Old Vic by Kevin Spacey. But it was terrible. The script was impossible, boring, and barely comprehensible. Too bad.

The next day we went to the Sisley exhibit at the National Gallery. It was small but wonderful - mostly his British paintings, not much from France. Then we had a reservation for lunch at Gordon Ramsay, the highlight of the entire week, in celebration of our 21st anniversary! It was fabulous. I'm pretty sure we were the only people who arrived on foot (after a long walk from the tube station) - everyone else came by cab, as far as we could see. We had to call to make a reservation from Nice several weeks ago and then received a form we had to fill out with our credit card info, so that if we didn't show up they could charge us a chunk of change (100 pounds per person!). But it was worth all the hassle. We started off with a bouche amuse of pumpkin soup with truffle oil splashed over it. There was one tiny ravioli with cheese and pumpkin filling. Yummy. And a choice of at least 6 breads and sweet or salted butter. And we ordered a 1/2 bottle of Chablis. The service was extraordinary, mostly french. Our head waiter was from Dijon, so was delighted to learn we were from Nice. Not snooty service at all, but very friendly and actually quite fun. About 5 people serving us. Next came our starters: David had apple and artichokes on chicken livers piled on toast. I had Ox Cheek broth; the bowl was served with a beautiful green leaf in the center with 3 tiny cannelloni (pasta) filled with veal sweetbreads placed on it and surrounded by a few tiny baby vegetables; the waiter poured the broth over all. Both delicious. For main plates, David had the partridge with game chips (I don't know how they made these but they actually had tiny leaves in the center of the chips), spinach, baby carrots. I had daurade, a fish we have often in Nice, with an artichoke butter sauce and baby veges. Excellent. For dessert (well, the first dessert), we both had the chocolate tart with lavander and milk glace, beautifully presented and really yummy. We decided against any coffee but they brought us a 5 " high silver tree with chocolate balls covered with silver (all edible) on the branches AND a beautiful pot with frothing dry ice - I thought maybe a genie would appear but instead it held strawberry ice cream balls covered with white chocolate. Well, we needed something to go with that so shared a glass of sauterne, which was just the right amount. We loved every minute and every bite. Quite the celebration! (There was a special 44 pound menu for lunch, plus wine so with the stronger $ it wasn't so bad.)

Friday we met up with Sheila Rossan and Alfred whom we know from Nice. We had dim sum - ordered too much but it was fun and good. Then back to their place for a chat and on to the Tricycle Theater to see "Loot" which was a riot. It starred David Haig whom we recognized from "Three Weddings and A Funeral". All the cast were terrific.

Saturday we got together for lunch with Linda and Jack Beattie at San Francesco on Catherine Street - a nice area. It was freezing for lunch, as Linda and I sat with our backs to the windows. But we warmed up with warm avocado with crevettes with a cheese sauce and then chicken with spinach, a bit of a let-down. AFterwards we went over to Somerset House to see the special exhibit on Turner which was interesting, but also saw the rest of the amazing collection of Impressionists. A lovely afternoon.

The next day, thank heavens, we flew back to Nice. We were so glad to get home!

Egypt - a magnificent tour

2008-11-17T05:12:00.000-08:00

Faluccas sailing on the Nile

Ramses II at Abu Simbel

A row of ram sphinxes at Karnak

The Sphinx and Great Pyramid

We left Nice on November 7, 2008, en route to Cairo via Zurich. The flight north is always beautiful, with the meringue-covered Alps below. We changed to the flight to Cairo and arrived there by 3 PM. We found a taxi to the Intercontinental Hotel in Giza, where we had been advised the group was staying. Much to our distress, we found that they had no reservation for us and no idea where our tour was. I accessed my email but found no further information from GoAhead Tours; on their site our trip not only did not show the hotel – it stated that our trip would commence November 10! I was panic stricken! The staff at the Intercontinental was extremely kind, with the Bellman even offering us his home phone number, saying that he would come and get us if we could not find our group and we could stay overnight at his home (a home of two rooms and eight kids – now that would have been an adventure)! Finally I had the staff call the second hotel where we were to stay upon our return to Cairo at the end of our trip, assuming they would have a local number for our Tour Director. We discovered that the group had been moved to that hotel, the Safir Dokki. Not a good beginning to the tour. There was construction going on in the lobby, not helping with the general attractiveness of the place and the second night there was noisy work on the elevators from 1:30 to 3:30 in the morning! We hardly slept!

We finally met up with our group and the Tour Director, Hesham. We weren’t happy at all, but finally calmed down and had dinner with the group and with Ken and Betsy Thorp who were also taking the tour. Most of our meals while in Cairo would be at The Palms (or as they labeled it, The Palm’s), the restaurant in the hotel where everything is buffet style. The food was good but not outstanding.

The first day of the tour we woke by 5:30 and were on the bus by 7 AM, heading to Saqqara. The first stop was at the Museum Imhotep, a true Renaissance Man (although long before the Renaissance) who was a great architect, a writer, a scientist. After seeing the interesting artifacts in the museum, we headed to the Step Pyramid which was the first pyramid built about 4600 years ago! Before the pyramids, there were mastabas (Arabic word for “bench”) for burials, rectangular structures of stone or mud which looked like the bottom layer of a Step Pyramid. But King Djoser wanted something bigger so Imhotep kept adding levels to his tomb, creating the Step Pyramid.

The Egyptians believed in two bodies – one in heaven and one on earth – and one spirit. Ba, the Spirit, would climb the steps of the pyramid after death to join with Ka, the body in heaven.

We then headed for the Great Pyramid of Cheops, built around 2560 BC, the only remaining of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was 30 years in the building with 23,000 workers (not slaves). The average weight of a block was 2.5 tons! It was the tallest man-made structure in the world for 3800 years. Nearby are the other two, somewhat smaller pyramids of Giza, and several even smaller ones. The Thorps and I took a fun camel ride; my camel was named Michael. Getting on and getting off is a bit tricky but I very much enjoyed the ride back towards the three pyramids. Then we visited the Sphinx, with its head of a man with its royal beard and a lion’s body, probably built around the same time as the Great Pyramid. Then home for a luke-warm shower, dinner and bed, absolutely exhausted.

Sunday we were up early again and on the bus by 7 AM, heading to Alexandria. Most of the way Hesham talked about what we would see and about Egypt. We learned that Tourism ($6 billion) is the number one source of income; fees paid for use of the Suez Canal is second ($2.4 billion), while oil and natural gas is third.

We passed a salt lake and could see men working, harvesting the salt and gathering the reeds for furniture. Hesham pointed out the conically shaped structures that were dove- and pigeon-cotes; the Egyptians enjoy both in their diet and they use the guana to replace the silt that is no longer supplied by flooding of the Nile (there is no more flooding because of the Aswan Dam).

Alexandria was the capital of Egypt from 332 BC when conquered by Alexander the Great (Greek Macedonian King) until 641 AD (when conquered by the Muslims), nearly 1000 years. He founded the city when he was 23 years old. When he died the empire was split between his half-brother and his baby son who was to rule Egypt. The regent for the son was Ptolemy I. He had Alexander mummified; the sarcophagus is now in Turkey while the location of the mummy is unknown. The East section of the city is modern and rich while the West is ancient and much poorer, with an overall population of nearly 5 million. No horns are allowed to be used in the city, so it is quieter than Cairo. Egypt was the strongest country in the world for 3000 years; it was occupied from 332 BC until 1600 AD.

Our first visit was to the Catacombs, 99 steps under the surface of the city. Absolutely no photos were allowed inside. The paintings on the walls of the Catacombs are still fresh and beautiful. Special oils that left no soot were used to light the place for the workers while people fanned them to bring air. There were also plants grown to provide oxygen.

For lunch we went to El Salamalek Palace. The dining room and food were nothing special but the furnishings in the lobby and in the bar and nicer dining room were gorgeous. There were chairs made like elephants, with heads and tusks as the backs, and others with beautiful inlay. We also saw the King’s Palace where Mubarak can stay when entertaining Heads of State.

In the afternoon we went to the new Alexandria Library, a very modern building that might not appeal to everyone, but with an intricate roof that lets in the light but not the heat of the sun. The outside walls of the Library are inscribed with letters from all alphabets of the world. The internet site of the library is amazing. (www.bibalex.org) Then we went on to the Roman ruins of the city, with the ruins of a theater. So many more things are being discovered under the sea. We got home around 7:30 after dealing with the horrendous traffic. As Hesham tells us, in Egypt the marked lanes of traffic are a mere suggestion; there were five lanes of cars for 4 lanes marked! Dinner and bed!

The next day we had a wake-up at 3:30 to be ready for the bus at 4:30; we headed to the airport for the flight to Luxor, the “place of palaces” which is the site of the ancient city of Thebes, where we joined a few of our group who had gone on an even earlier flight. We immediately boarded a bus to Karnak. The remains at Karnak are simply amazing: Flaubert said “The first impression of Karnak was that it was a place of giants.”. There is a long pathway between Karnak and Luxor temples, lined on either side with a row of sphinxes in the form of rams. Hesham pointed out the columns fashioned like bundled papyrus stalks and like lotus, representing the north and the south of Egypt. The columns are covered with symbols and pictures of gods and kings, with cartouches which represent the Kings’ and gods’ names. An Egyptian temple is built from the back forwards, starting with the sanctuary. One therefore enters in the latest section at the gate and into the open courtyard with columns. Then there is a closed courtyard. Then the inter sanctuary, where only the High Priest and the King could enter, this one built around 2600 BC. The rest of the temple was built over a period of 1500 years.

Then on to Luxor Temple. The entrance, or First Pylon, is presided over by two huge statues of Ramesses II who had it built. Then there is the open courtyard, as at Karnak, then the rows of beautiful columns depicting papyrus plants leading to another courtyard built by Amenhotep III. Then, deeper into the temple, one finally comes to the inner sanctuary.

We went then to board our ship, the Moon Dancer, which would be our home for the next four nights. We settled in and then Barbara Baker (from Chicago), Camellia, and I went to the Luxor Museum. It took me a while to find an ATM since they wouldn’t accept euros – I was followed by a guy trying to get me to buy the IHT which I finally had to do just to get rid of him. He really frightened me and I was rather afraid that something might happen to me, but all was well. I finally got back to the Museum to join the others. The displays are well set out; there was King Tut’s bed and his chariot, only one of many of each I was to discover when we went to the Museum in Cairo. And of course there were many artifacts, pieces of painted friezes, and a couple of mummies (gross).

That night we had signed up with the Thorps (and many others) for the Sound and Light Show at Karnak; it was quite hokey and NOT recommended. There weren’t real people, just a tape of people talking and some lights going on and off. Pretty silly. Back home for dinner and bed while the boat sailed up the Nile!

The Nile divides Egypt in half. The West Bank is the Land of the Dead where the tombs are located. The East Bank is the Land of the Living where the palaces were; they were made of mud and did not survive.

The next day we stopped by the Colossi of Memnon, each created from one piece of stone and standing 60 feet tall. One had been destroyed but has been recreated. Then on to the Valley of the Nobles, Queen Hatshepsut’s Temple, and the Valley of the Kings.

In the Valley of the Nobles, we visited the tomb of Ra-Moses (1700 BC) who was the mayor of Thebes during the reign of Amenhotep III and his son Akhenaton, the King who turned away from the worship of the gods and toward the worship of one god, pictured as the rays of the sun. The tomb was left unfinished because Ra-Moses moved away, following his King, and the tomb was never used. The columns in the tomb represent papyrus plants, a symbol of the north of Egypt.

The wife of Akhenaton was Nefertiti. Akhenaton was the father of King Tut. After the death of Akhenaton, the belief in many gods returned (probably because the High Priests benefited) and his image was destroyed everywhere.

In all the tombs, raised relief, the most difficult and time-consuming decoration, was done when the king was young. When he was old or near death, sunken relief was used. Painting was done after his death because it was the quickest. From the date of death to the time to close the tomb was 102 days: 72 days to mummify the body and 30 days of processions. On the decoration a leopard skin indicates royalty; bare breasts indicate motherhood, although Egyptian women did not appear with bare breasts. In ancient times, white was worn for mourning (black was introduced by the Romans).

Next we visited the temple of Queen Hatshepsut (2700 BC). She was one of the few women to rule Egypt and often wore men’s clothing. The temple tomb looks amazingly modern, with perfect symmetry. She is the one who had the twin obelisks erected at Karnak. In the 1st century her temple was converted to a chapel.

Then on to the Valley of the Kings where there are 63 tombs, with more expected to be discovered. Only 8 are open at a time and each ticket allows a visitor to choose 3 to visit. There is a separate ticket for King Tut (100 LE); his mummy is within the tomb. We chose three to visit and were amazed at the freshness of the colors inside. Tombs were decorated from floor to ceiling and front to back; in the back stood the sarcophagus which held the mummy. Side rooms would have all the riches that were buried with the king. Most of the tombs had been robbed; King Tut was not an important king but his tomb was not robbed because there is another tomb almost on top of his, so the robbers never realized that there were more riches below, explaining why so much was discovered there. One can only imagine what an important king would be buried with!

That night our boat continued up the Nile while we had dinner on board and slept. It was supposed to pass through the locks on the river but there was a problem with the locks and many boats were held up for several hours. We really didn’t mind as we were able in the morning to see the locks and also to experience the salesmen in their boats – they would throw dresses and tablecloths up to us and those who bought would send the money down in a bag. Many of the bags landed in the water, but it didn’t seem to be a problem. Later in the day we arrived at Edfu where we explored the Temple of Horus, the second largest temple in Egypt. This is a Greco-Roman era temple built around 230 BC, built by Egyptians. It honors the trinity of Horus, his wife, and their son., and it has reliefs of medical instruments, prrof that the Egyptians had a sophisticated knowledge of this science. It was defaced by the Coptic Christians who had been tortured by the Romans. The Temple took 127 years to build and was in use for only 27 years.

That night on board ship was “dress-up” night. We all had to buy galabeyas to wear – they were inexpensive; some wore them down to dinner; I just changed afterwards for the big dance in the “disco”. There were three tour groups on the boat – ours, another GoAhead group of mostly really fun African-Americans from Philadelphia who were a ski group who traveled together, and a Spanish group of young people. Everyone got up and danced together.

The next day we arrived at Kom Ombo which means “a collection of gold”, another Graeco-Roman temple. This one is unique because it is the only one dedicated to two gods – Horus the Falcon and the Crocodile god. Again, as always, there is the trinity of each god, his wife, and the son. Kom Ombo is split in half, each side mirroring the other, with two sanctuaries. On the grounds is the Nile-ometer which was used to measure the height of the river to determine the rate of taxes for the year: in a good year, taxes were higher and in a bad year taxes were lower. There is also a calendar which described what the King did each day. There were 365 days, 12 months of 30 days each, 3 weeks in each month of 10 days each, with an extra 5 days left over. A slash represented a “1”, an upside down U represented “10”, and a swirl represented “100”.

From there we sailed further up the river to Aswan where we stayed another night on the boat. We immediately set off to the airport to fly to Abu Simbel. This temple was built by Ramses II with a temple nearby dedicated to his wife Nefertari. It was built far from the other temples and tombs so that Ramses II could declare himself a god with no argument from the High Priests. These are the amazing temples that were moved to create Lake Nasser which is nearby.

On Friday we checked into our Aswan Hotel, the Basma (“Smiley”). The group boarded a bus and went the quarry in Aswan where we visited the “Unfinished Obelisk”; it was damaged during the cutting and never finished. Then on to the New Aswan Dam. Then we took a boat to Philae Temple built by Ptolemy II, another Graeco-Roman temple. The columns of papyrus and lotus are especially lovely here. There was a story told by Scheherezade about a princess being imprisoned on this island by her father to prevent her marrying her lover. The lover searched and searched and finally “a little bird told him” where she was and he rescued her. The temples on the island were defaced by the Coptics.

Saturday we took check out of the Basma and went for a long felucca ride on the Nile. During the ride we saw Elephantine Island, thus called because the rocks forming the shoreline reminded people of elephants. There were lovely gardens lining the Nile and lots of interesting birds and the Mausoleum of Agha Khan. Young boys would row out in their tiny boats, just big enough for one small boy, and sing for us “Row, row, row your boat” which they had learned phonetically, and beg. We were happy to oblige. The boatmen played music and we all got up and danced. It was a wonderful ride!

We returned to Cairo by air that afternoon. We again settled into the Safir Dokki Hotel, this time, for us, a mini-suite, actually just a somewhat larger room but furnished with fresh fruit and flowers, to compensate for our earlier sleepless night. The Thorps and we found a wonderful, highly-recommended restaurant near the hotel (I’d wanted to go to the Mena House but it was quite far). We had a delicious dinner – Betsy’s shrimp was the best, I had lamb chops – while around us people were smoking their hookahs. The desserts – especially the crepes with honey - were excellent!

Sunday we were again up early and off to the Marble Mosque, also called the Mohammed Ali Mosque, built in 1830, and the ancient 11th century Citadel which surrounds it. We passed by the Garden of the Dead – a huge graveyard where poor people live and maintain it; their homes have satellites and plumbing, so not such a terrible existence.

Then we visited the Egyptian Antiquities Museum, one of the outstanding museums of the world. It is quite overwhelming, with almost too much to see. Hesham took us on a tour which ended with the area devoted to King Tut, complete with the famous mask. It’s amazing how much more there is, with several ornate beds, chariots, jewelry, jugs which had held precious oils, and on and on. And this was a minor king!

Afterwards we went to the Khan el-Khalili Market, very similar to the bazaar we visited in Istanbul, with piles of objects for sale. Hesham had warned us that most of the items were fakes, so we weren’t really interested in buying.

Then finally home to the hotel to get ready for our final dinner at The Palms. We enjoyed a wonderful meal and all said our “good-byes”. The Thorps were going on to the Red Sea extension trip, but we would be heading home the next day. It was an exhausting, exhilarating trip, with sights I’d dreamed about for nearly 60 years. Unforgettable.

A short week in Alsace Lorraine, October 2008

2008-10-13T00:35:00.000-07:00

For our trip back to our winter home in Nice, we decided to visit the Alsace Lorraine area of France, an area we had never visited although we love the wines. We left Chicago on Friday, Oct 3, about 2 hours late but made up much of the time getting to Heathrow. It felt like an old plane; I was seated next to an enormous man who hung over my seat. Felt like I had about 2/3 of a seat instead of a whole seat. Anyway, landed at LHR about 7:30 AM, went through Customs, got our luggage and took the free train to the new Terminal 5. Got our easy BA flight (there was even a sandwich snack!) to CDG at 12:05, arrived safely, picked up our car (a 4 door Skoda) and got on our way. Fumbled around a bit, but finally got the right direction to Nancy. A LONG trip – about 300 K; arrived about 8 PM and finally found our hotel, which D hated. Hotel Americain is on the pietonne, not really helpful as we couldn’t bring our car there, although we got to the corner, unloaded our luggage, and D took the car to a parking garage. I took the luggage up in the elevator. Ugly entry to hotel. Room small with basic BA, but nice view out the windows to the square opposite. Went downstairs to nextdoor Tavern for wine; D had pate campagne while I had a nice salad with greens, tomatoes, pork, etc. Then back to bed at 10 PM and slept until 9 AM!!!! Wow did that feel good.

Next morning we packed, loaded the car, and left it on the street while we went to explore the town. Place Stanislaus was our destination, a World Heritage Site, that is outstanding. Magnifique! Probably the most beautiful square I’ve ever seen in any country. All 4 corners have wrought iron gates, two with fountains, and gold highlights. The palace where King Stanislaus of Poland (Duc de Lorraine) lived in the mid-1700's is now the gorgeous Hotel de Ville and contains the Tourist Office. On one side of the square is the Opera House and the beautiful Grand Hotel de Nancy. The other two sides have restaurants and shops. All the buildings are the same style with figures atop all. The square this day was filled with garden displays, featuring Japan; wending their way through the square was a 10K race which finished at one of the gates of the city.

We had a wonderful lunch at the Grand Café Foy, deciding to eat inside since, although sunny, it was a bit chilly, although there were plenty of people outside under the heaters. Inside is beige/white/ and gold, with a leafy chandelier hanging from a frieze of cupids. We ordered a half bottle of a local white wine and a 3 course menu. David and I both had the foie gras which was served with a peach marmalade and toast points; David had the noix de porc bourguignone with delicious looking potatoes and I had the sandre (fish) with shrimp and a baked potato. For dessert David had a piece – the biggest serving I’ve ever seen – of raspberry tart while I had the baba au Rhum. 25 euro each plus the wine and worth every penny!

After lunch we headed for Strasbourg, about 160K away, a nice drive mostly on autoroutes through pretty countryside. We arrived in Strasbourg and found our wonderful hotel (with the help of a map drawn by a guy working in a bar), the romantic Beaucour Baumann, a ***, in a great location near the river, housed in 18th century buildings. Beautiful outside with flower boxes; lots of flowers leading up to the entrance. Nice lobby with sitting area and fireplace and they even get the International Herald Tribune! Our room is 414; not large but comfortable with a beautiful bathroom with a Jacuzzi (!); a small desk where I am sitting in the main room, and a TV with CNN. Very comfortable!

We left our stuff for later and went out to explore this town which we fell in love with on the drive in! There are rivers surrounding the city and the buildings are half-timbered and often leaning towards each other. We walked across a bridge and found the gothic cathedral which was started in the 12th c. and finished in the 15th. The inside is dark; they are in the process of cleaning the stained glass windows, quite a job as they take them down completely for full restoration. The outside is brownstone and covered with statues; flying buttresses line the sides. The square where the cathedral stands is large and has some beautiful buildings including the Tourist Office where we picked up a map.

The main Museum Rohan is nearby; we will visit tomorrow. We walked a bit along the river and then returned to our hotel so D could take a nap. For supper we headed back towards the cathedral, looking for a winestube. Not many open on a Sunday evening, but finally found a friendly place, where we had a pitcher of Reisling – D had quiche Lorraine while I had a Salade Nicoise, less fattening than the heavy Alsacien food. Towards the end of the meal, a guitarist came in and started entertaining. We liked him so much – terrific classical guitar – that we bought his CD. Home to bed. Slept in until 9 AM.

Monday, in spite of a forecast of rain ( it rained during the night), came with sunny weather. We headed to the covered bridge (Le Pont Couvert) and La Petite France, an area of old buildings and canals, where we wandered around for a while. Then walked back towards the cathedral to have some lunch. We went to Caveau Gurtlerhoft, in a 14th c. canonical building with a stone basement with stone coved ceilings. D had the chicken with mushrooms in gravy with spaetzle and I had a salad with bacon, potatoes, egg, tomatoes, and cheese. All accompanied by a ½ bottle of Pinot Gris. Finished up with a “crepe” of apple with Calvados to share. A bit too much but yummy.

Home for a short nap, then off to the museums. There are at least three museums housed in the Palais Rohan. We first went through the Fine Arts Museum, but were disappointed to see that it was a lot of really old stuff – mostly religious. Just when it got to the more interesting (to us) stuff – Corot, etc – it ended. Not really any impressionists. Then we toured the Archeological Museum which covered pre-historic man, up through the Celts, the Romans, and Medieval times. Quite interesting , but mostly what we have seen many times before. We went through a special exhibit of Japanese art – mostly urns and the like. Then on to the Museum of Decorative Arts which was housed in beautiful rooms of the palace. The windows look out on the river Ill. But again, not too much that we haven’t seen before. 6 euros (senior rate) for the two of us for all.

For dinner we found a nice winestub, Au Vieux Strasbourg, for a pichet of wine and dessert: D had an apple tart and I had meringue with ice cream and too much Chantilly (which D ate). And early to bed, ready to wend our way down the Route de Vins tomorrow.

It rained most of the night Monday but we woke to a beautiful morning. I’d had a bad night sleeping , so D had b’fast downstairs while I got ready to leave. We headed out to Obernai where we pick up a banana and a pastry for my b’fast, and we walked around the darling town with its market square with a statue of Ste. Odile and its Halle aux Bles (flour/wheat) built in 1554. Then we took a slight detour and headed to St. Die des Vosgnes. A beautiful drive over the mountains, a bit scary, and getting late – hoping we would not be after 12:00 for the museum – it would be closed – and that it would be open on Tuesday. Got there around 11:30, got to the TI who pointed us in the right direction. Got to the museum at around 11:45 and were directed to the biblioteque where the manuscript is shown. Saw it!!!! This book, printed in 1507 in St. Die, is the very first reference to the newly discovered land, calling it "America" and showing it on the Waldseemuller map. Quite moving. Then saw the cathedral, the cloisters; walked back through town, again crossing the Muerthe River, got the car and headed back to Alsace. Whew! We made it!

Passed through several tiny charming towns on the Route des Vins; especially liked St. Hypolyte. Stopped for a wine tasting - Pinot Blanc, Sylvaner, Gewurtstraminer - and bought some. Walked thorugh Ribeauville – very charming – picked up provisions for supper – cheese, sauscisson, wine, pear, grapes. Lots of photos.

Then on to Colmar – difficulty finding our place, but finally there. Wow! Charming room and great bathroom – huge, with window overlooking canal. A 4*, the Hostellerie Marechal. Had a wonderful picnic supper at about 5 PM in our room and then walked around the town. Exhausted! To bed.

Wednesday, of course, we were up early. We had a light breakfast at a café in the middle of town and headed to the famous Unterlinden Museum to see the Issenheim Altar, an ancient tryptych. We followed the entry to the Medieval Art section and waded through all the religious art, finally seeing the most famous piece. It was interesting, but we’re not really all that wild about holy art. We also saw the area of period furnishings which were quite interesting, especially an ancient piano and a couple of cribs, one with beautiful inlay. The area of modern art was closed.

Then we saw the Dominican Church, with its famous triptych of Mary of the Rose Bush. And we visited the Cathedral.

Back to the hotel for our reserved lunch. The Restaurant “A L’Echevin” is quite a place, with a narrow dining room looking out to the canal where little boats go by often with tourists. We ordered un coup de Champagne to start with the bouche amuse of ecrevisse in filo dough, just delicious. Our entrée was rabbit pate with beautifully dressed greens in a pastry shell. Then pike/perch, perfectly cooked with an almost caramelized outside, served with artichauts. Then wonderful beef with mashed potatoes layered with mushrooms. All was accompanied by a bottle of Riesling, a Grand Cru, which was delicious. For dessert there was a vanilla ice cream wrapped in chocolate and raspberry ice with tart cherries. We each had a glass of a perfumed dessert wine (Gewurtztraminer from Rolly Gassman Winery) that was outstanding. What a meal. I had to go and take a nap! A long one!

There wasn't much left of the afternoon. While David visited the Bertoldi (creator of the Statue of Liberty) Museum, I check email and took care of correspondence. We didn't even consider having a dinner. We were in bed early. We had a wonderful breakfast at the hotel at 7:15, and then left for the very long drive to Annecy. It was a rainy and dreary day.

It had cleared by the time we arrived in Annecy. We had quite a bit of trouble finding our hotel (this must be a major reason why people take tours!), a 4* L'Hotel de l'Abbaye, charming but not really living up to the 4* standards in my book. The staff is friendly and we were offered a room on the 1st floor, but David complained when he learned there was no elevator, so were offered instead a larger room, at the same price, on the rez de chausee (ground floor). It was nice, but the decoration was a bit drab; there was a lot more they could do with the room.

WE had arrived around 3:30, having had no lunch. The receptionist said there were several restaurants just up the hill (the hotel is located in Annecy-le-Vieux, quite a ways from the tourist area downtown, so not really conveninent). We walked up and found only one open at such an odd hour, Cafe Brunet. They welcomed us and, when they learned we hadn't eaten, found us a nice plate of cheeses and wonderful crusty bread; afterwards we shared a piece of apple tart - there's always some fruit tart in the kitchen. We enjoyed several glasses of local wine with all of this and it was just right. It served as lunch and dinner combined.

We went to bed early, exhausted from our drive and still catching up on jetlag. We were up early, had a large and expensive breakfast (the eggs were extra, total coming to $50!) at the hotel, and set off. We had no time to explore Annecy and it was again a really dreary day, so we set out to Nice. We stopped along the way for a late lunch of lapin au moutarde avec pate, the plat de jour in a country restaurant, the only thing on the menu. It was delicious. Then finally home to Nice.

Great Britain: Carlisle and Edinburgh May 2008

2008-05-07T09:53:00.001-07:00

Photos: View of Edinburgh

Keswick in the Lake District, Cumbria England

On Saturday, May 3, 2008, we left our home in Nice for Carlisle, England, flying Easyjet. Monique and Marcel, our dear neighbors, dropped us off at the airport; we had an easy flight of a bit over two hours to Newcastle. At the airport there we had a bite of lunch, then found the Metro for the quick ride into downtown. From there we caught a train almost immediately to Carlisle. The trip was lovely, with a friendly engineer and beautiful scenery, including a bit of Hadrian’s Wall and many baby sheep prancing in the meadows and charming villages along the way.

We took a cab to Peggy Milledge’s home, a three story townhouse backing up on a gentle river where some swans are nesting. There was also a blue egret nearby. The house is comfortable but will give us plenty of exercise, although the stairs are equipped with an electric lift, which was a big help with the luggage. We settled in and had a bit of supper of some Cheddar, a pear, and a nice wine Peggy had left. We tried the TV but could only get 3 channels. Tried the computer and it was fine but found no way to turn it off! Opened the door from the living area to the garden and great view of the river and then couldn’t get the door to lock! Sometimes things in British homes are tricky to figure out! Then to bed.

The next morning we woke early to the chirping of the birds, hoping to go to the Lake District. But the weather was threatening and the forecast for the rest of the week looked encouraging, so we decided to stay in town, putting off the Lake District for another day. We had breakfast, watching the many birds at the feeders off her living room. Then we braved the right-hand drive car and went into Carlisle where we found a parking spot easily. We walked around the lovely downtown, much of which is a pedestrian zone, and through the area surrounding the Cathedral. We found our way up to the massive Castle, started in 1093, where Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned in 1568. There was an interesting display of the history of this border town.

Afterwards, having waited until services were ended, we visited the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, started in 1092; services have been held here for over 900 years. The doors lead to a sort of large vestibule. To the left is the Nave, where some of the oldest parts, the early 12th century bays, remain. To the right one enters the choir area, lined with beautiful wood Canons' Stalls dating from the 14th century. The ceiling is a heavenly gold star-studded blue. The tracery on the main stained glass window is also 14th century. The church, like so many other buildings in the entire area, is built of a beautiful brownstone.

We looked at the Tullie Mansion and the beautiful gardens with pink flowering Japanese cherry trees which are stunning, quite different from other cherry trees we’ve seen, with few leaves and mitt-sized clusters of blossoms. Another walk through town, searching for a restaurant that was open for lunch on Sunday and finally found the Gilded Lily. We settled down to a well-deserved meal, a wonderful hamburger with chips for me and chicken in gravy with chips for David, each with a delicious glass of wine.

We next headed to the train station to buy our tickets for Edinburgh. Apparently there is track work on the weekends so there is only bus service, which we opted for, at 9:30 AM. We picked up some wine, cheese, and sweets, and headed home. I tried driving this time and did all right. A bit nerve wracking.

In the late afternoon I took a walk along the picturesque river behind the house. Along the way I saw people fishing and many dog walkers. There were the Swifts (also called by one person San Martins), birds like smaller swallows who are here just for a few months, living in the banks of the river. They were swirling in formation over the river, twittering away. The sun didn’t set until almost 8:30.

Monday we were up early, having gone to bed very early. We left the house by 9 AM, driving to Housesteads to visit the Roman fort and Hadrian’s Wall. David had decided that he didn’t want to drive any more, so left it to me. Anyway, we drove through many charming towns – passing Once Brewed and Twice Brewed, Haltwhistle, and so on. We finally found Housesteads. The remains of the fort are extensive and very interesting – perched on top of a high hill, looking towards the north and the invading Barbarians (although now only sheep threaten), with bits showing the latrines, the ovens, the granaries, the barracks, and so on. There were 12 of these forts along the wall, although this is the one that is most complete. Afterwards we walked along the top of the wall for a ways; in this area it is built very high up on a cliff, with lookout posts along the way, and steep and dizzying drops to the north.

Next we headed back to Brampton. We ended up going to the tiny town of Castle Carrock, for a restaurant written up in the Michelin Guide, The Weary. The food was great – David dug into Cumbrian sausage on mashed potato with a beer, while I had country pate and tomato bisque soup with a glass of rose – but the music was terrible, as we find too often. The ambiance, also, was a bit disappointing – a too modern update to a traditional pub, for our taste.

We tried to see the stained glass windows at the church in Brampton, but sadly it was locked. Instead, we headed on to Lanercost Priory where we explored the graveyard and the church, which is still their village church and where they’ve had services for over 800 years!Then home to our exchange in Carlisle by 4:30. A long day, with lots of exercise! We’ll look forward to a light supper and an early bed again, foregoing the river walk tonight!

Tuesday we set out early, before 9 AM, for Keswick (pronounced Kessick) in the Lake District. It was a pleasant drive and we stopped before Keswick at the osprey look-out area, which Peggy had recommended, where we parked and climbed up to the viewpoint high above Bassenthwaite Lake. We could see the nest but no ospreys were in sight, but you can check out the ospreys at http://www.ospreywatch.co.uk/. We did see a lovely red squirrel enjoying nuts nearby and many other local birds. I love the names of English towns: we passed Blitterslee and Blackdyke.

Then on to Keswick itself, a lovely town, with a mostly pedestrianized downtown. We walked to the distant lakefront of Derwent Water - not sure why they built the town so far from the shore - through the beautiful gardens left to the town by the local nobility. In town there are many Victorian mansions, many now B&B's and hotels. We found a nice pub for lunch; David ordered the "Chump" of lamb with roasted potatoes while I had a Caesar salad. The potatoes were outstanding - crisp on the outside but extra fluffy on the inside. At a small cheese shop we purchased some local cheese for supper.

To drive back to Carlisle, we headed west to drive up along the Solway Firth. We stopped at Mowbray Garden Shop for dessert of Sticky Toffee Pudding (David thought it was too sugary but I thought it was divine!). We stopped along the waterfront so that David could walk in the sand, but sadly there were no shells to collect. Home to Carlisle for a light supper of cheese and crackers and pear.

Wednesday we went again to the Lake District, driving further south to Kendal, the southeastern gateway to the area, and on to Windermere. There we walked to the busy lake front, where boats were taking tourists for rides and children were chasing the ducks and swans swimming near the shore. Windermere, although very commercial, is a charming town, with streets lined with elegant B&B's; one can just picture people in the 1890's taking the sea air in their afternoon frocks and coats. Again it was a beautiful day, with lots of sun and temperatures in the 70's. We had a nice lunch in town at Hyton's: huge fishcakes for David and a salmon Nicoise salad for me. They even took pity on us and gave us a 'doggie bag' for our leftovers. We headed to one of the several ice cream shops nearby for dessert, choosing hazlenut/chocolate and chocolate/orange from the more than 30 possibilities. It was great ice cream, made with local rich, bio cream.

Next we drove 11 miles - perhaps the longest 11 miles of my life - on narrow, rock-wall-lined, windy country roads with large trucks and tour buses seemingly headed right at us. We passed stone cottages and wonderful old hotels and country pubs with tourists basking in the sun. We finally reached the northern end of Ullswater where we embarked on a steamboat excursion on the lake, a fun experience. The shores were lined with boat clubs, with many sailboats and motorboats moored close to shore.

We had hoped to visit Long Meg and her Daughters, the third largest prehistoric stone circle in England (we've seen the other two: Stonehenge and Avebury), but had to admit that we were just too tired. We headed home to Carlisle.

Thursday we headed up to Dumfries, in Scotland. Dumfries is the home of J.M. Barrie, the author of "Peter Pan" and also famous for its associations with Robert Burns. We visited the home where Burns lived at the time of his death, a small stone cottage of six rooms. He died very young, only 37 years old. We also walked a bit along the River Nift, a picturesque walk below the town, and along the High Street to the very attractive Church of Scotland Cathedral, again the beautiful brown stone.

From Dumfries, we drove down towards Solway Firth for a picnic along the water by a lighthouse. Afterwards we stopped in the Paul Jones Hotel, whose proprietor had allowed us to park in their lot, for a coffee and hot chocolate. We passed through the town of New Abbey and visited Sweetheart Abbey, founded in 1275 by Lady Devorgilla of Galloway in memory of her husband; nearby is the birthplace of John Paul Jones, the American hero of the Revolutionary War, famous for his statement, "I have not yet begun to fight." Then finally back to Carlisle.

Friday we decided to go back southward to finally see Long Meg and her Daughters, the stone circle we'd missed. It was a bit of a search, with a couple of stops to ask directions and a lot of wandering through picturesque villages, but we finally made it. It was worth the effort: a large stone circle, with Meg, a tall, narrow stone off to the side.

Then it was back to Carlisle where we had an Italian meal at Vivaldi, both opting for pasta with wine and hot chocolate cake for dessert. It was a good meal with the worst waitress we've ever had anywhere. I don't know what nationality she was - definitely not English or Italian; probably Scandinavian from her appearance. She didn't seem to understand a word we said and kept getting our order wrong, not even seeming to be aware of the dishes on the menu. But they changed the terrible music to some Vivaldi tape, as we requested, so we were happy.

Finally 'home' for the last time, with no harm done to the car. We filled the tank for $100 (!) and cleaned it up a bit for Peggy. I hope never to have to drive in England again.

Saturday we got a cab to the train station and got on our bus (the train tracks are having work done on them) to Edinburg. It was almost a 3 hour trip but with nice scenery, passing through pretty towns and lovely countryside. At the train station in Edinburgh we found a taxi and headed to our next exchange in the Stockbridge area of the city. Janet's friend Christine was there to greet us and show us the tiny apartment which is charming. We dumped our stuff and went for lunch at a nice Italian restaurant around the corner, the San Marco. David had the pasta with salmon while I had a Tuscan bean soup and a panino with tomatoes and red peppers. We headed into town where we wandered around a bit and got our train tickets to York and Heathrow. The rains finally caught up with us and we headed home for a light supper.

Sunday: Our first full day in Edinburg, a very chilly and gray day. We headed by bus to the National Gallery to see all the wonderful art: the Monets, Sisleys, Rembrants, Cezannes, and Raeburns. There were also a lot of beautiful pieces of furniture displayed in the museum.

We had a very ordinary lunch, with terrible service, in a rather touristy pub, the Deacon Brodie; he was the model for R.L.Stevenson's "Dr. Jeckel and Mr. Hyde". Afterwards we walked down the Royal Mile a bit, stopping at St. Giles Church, the church of John Knox during the Reformation, and seeing John Knox's house. Over on Princes Street, we checked out the extravagant Balmoral Hotel (in an unsuccessful search for the Int. Herald Tribune), the fanciest in town and discovered that they have a relatively reasonable lunch and also serve afternoon high tea. We'll be back!

We decided to walk home through New Town and tried a new route along beautiful George Street, seeing the two squares at either end, the Melville Square and Charlotte Square, surrounded by elegant Georgian buildings. This is a fancy street with lots of intriguing restaurants and hotels. We went past Moray Place with its lovely stone apartments buildings (Georgian? Edwardian?), built on a crescent surrounding it. There are many streets in Edinburgh like this: beautiful buildings curving in a 'crescent' with a gated park in the middle for the local inhabitants. Some are 3 story townhouses and some are apartments on three levels, but all are elegant.

Monday: Today we took the bus on an 'all day ticket' to Holyrood Palace. We were shocked to learn that a representative of the Queen was in town for 10 days and the palace was closed to tourists. We did visit the Queen's Gallery which was hosting a special exhibition of Italian art which was very nice. We headed back into town to a restaurant we'd seen in "Let's Go": The Grain Store on Victoria Street. We found it after walking up hills and down stairs and it was well worth the search. It was upstairs with stone ceilings and walls, small rooms nicely furnished with wooden tables; our room had a giant clock and heavy beams adding to the ambiance. Even the music was wonderful, starting out with classical and moving on to more contemporary jazz. Our waiter Paul served us the smoked salmon (for me) and the black pudding with apples (for David), both of which were outstanding. They were followed by David's duck confit with plums and my poached cod with fresh peas and lardons. We enjoyed a whole bottle (it's been a long time since we did that!) of chenin blanc with the meal, all of which was delicious. We followed up with bread and butter pudding, a bit dry until Paul brought us a little pitcher with more sauce. The menu was 10.50 for two courses, 14.50 for three. We enjoyed this restaurant more than any we've tried in such a long time and even planned to return. Paul gave us a few tips on other restaurants he was sure we would enjoy also.

After lunch we took another bus out to Craigmillar Castle, an interesting ruin from the 16th century and one of the many places associated with Mary Queen of Scots. We climbed around the tower and saw the bedrooms and kitchen and grand hall, all with great fireplaces. The rooms were posted with signs and pictures showing what they would have looked like, which added to our understanding. From the tower there were views of the Firth of Forth. Then a long ride home to the opposite end of Edinburgh on the upper deck of the bus, with great views all the way. The sun had finally come out and it was warming up at 5 PM! The best part of the day was arriving!

Tuesday: Another cold and gray morning but we set out to visit Dean Village. Edinburgh is an interesting city, with small villages that have been incorporated into the city over the years. To get to Dean Village we walked up the hill to Queensferry Road, then across the Dean Bridge, looking down over the bridge to the stream and village far below. We followed the steep, cobbled lane of Bell's Brae down and felt like we were entering a time and place of 200 years ago. The village was founded in the 12th century as a milling community; by 1700 there were 11 mills along the river. Now the hidden area is a residential place with one of the old mills converted into flats. We wandered along the river path about 1/4 mile to steep steps that took us back up to today! We found the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, housed in a beautiful neoclassical building. We toured the museum with works of Picasso, Braque, Moore, and so forth as well as many works by Robert Bevan, housed in rooms that evoked the rooms of his country mansion. Outside there are many sculptures in the beautiful grounds.

Then we took the #36 bus to Leith, for lunch at The Kitchin, recommended by Paul, our waiter at the Grain Store. We were disappointed with the interior; housed in an old warehouse, we had expected something more rustic than this modern, clean-lined dining room. But the food lived up to its reputation. There was a 'bouche amuse' of smoked eel in a beet soup, that was very different and intriguing, setting the tone for the meal. They also served several breads, all made in-house. Then I started with vegetables done in the 'Greek fashion', with a lemon sauce while David had the pork belly. Then we both had the beef which was perfect: a large portion, cooked to perfection as we each had requested, served with a bordelaise sauce and beautiful root vegetables. For dessert we each had the rhubarb/pistachio tart served with pistachio ice cream. Everything was delicious. At 21.50 pounds, it was a lot more than the Grain Store, so we each held to one glass of wine. The service was 'too - too', with the waiters constantly hovering, refolding the napkins when you left the table, and placing the napkins back on your lap when you returned. We're not fond of this frou-frou sort of thing.

After lunch we headed to our primary target in Leith, the Royal Britannia, the yacht of the royal family from 1953 until she was decommissioned in 1997. We spent about 1 1/2 hours touring the ship, which, as one might expect, is spacious and elegant. The royal quarters are sumptuously done: the queen and prince each have a separate bedroom and bath. Each also has an office/study. The queen would travel with 45 members of her household, five tons of luggage, and even a Rolls Royce! The informal sun room and the rear deck of Burmese teak for the family were for games and relaxing. There are also more formal reception rooms and a state dining room. The crew quarters are interesting to see, along with the kitchen, the laundry, and even the engine room. Quite a life!

Wednesday we took a bus to St. Andrew's. We thought it would be a 2 hour trip but it ended up as almost 3 hours, through many of the charming towns - Elie, Anstruthers, and so on - of the Kingdom of Fife, to arrive at perhaps the most charming, St. Andrew's. During the ride up the skies were gray and threatening but by the time we arrived the skies were blue and it was sunny. We were delighted! We had a quick lunch at a student hang-out: soup and a sandwich; then headed to B. Jannetta for their award-winning ice cream: a cone of Snickers for me and Chocolate/Peanut Butter for David. Yum.

Next it was time for the sites we had some to visit: we went to see the ruins of the Cathedral, once the largest in Scotland. It was founded in 1160 and was a point of pilgrimage until the Reformation when it was pillaged in 1559. We walked to the ruins of the Castle, set on the North Sea. It too is 12th century and was founded as the home for the bishop. The University, which dominates the town, was founded in 1410, the oldest in Scotland and third oldest in Great Britain. James I (James VI of Scotland) received part of his education here.

We walked further along, admiring the beautiful greystone homes built with a view of the sea, and finally came to the clubhouse of the Old Course, this most famous of all golf courses. We watched the foursomes teeing off at the first tee and others finishing off at the 18th. If you have any interest at all in golf, it's a thrill to be here.

We headed back to the bus station and waited for a bus to take us home. A long but very interesting day.

Thursday was again gray and we walked to the Dean Gallery, across from the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art where we had been the other day. Sadly the upstairs is undergoing refurbishments but we spent some time viewing the downstairs. The collection contains works by artists such as Max Ernst, Miro, Dali, Giacometti, Picasso, and much by the Edinburgh-born Sir Eduardo Paolozzi.

After seeing the museum, we decided it was time to take care of a few errands and chores . We shopped for food and a few other necessities, picked up something for lunch, came home and ate. There's a wonderful 'cheese monger' a couple of blocks from Janet's place - stopped in for some Stilton and Cheddar, both really good, and a loaf of country bread. We've also discovered a cookie at the local co-op store - their brand - chocolate chip with hazlenuts; I have to really control myself to limit myself to just two each evening. After lunch, did a load of laundry and some organizing for the next few days - I think we're set on what to do until Tuesday!

Again tonight, after a very grey day, the sun came out at 7 PM! All the spring flowers are in bloom here, so they obviously don't feel the cold that we do! There's a vine of flowers that look like dogwood, pink and white, just beautiful. Haven't been able to find out what it is yet.

Friday: Today was supposed to be the chilliest and perhaps rainiest day of the week, but it ended up being sunny and warm. Will never be ready for the weather that arrives in this country! Anyway, prepared for a dismal day, we set out for the Museum of Scotland. Being us, we arrived before it opened and crossed the street to Greyfriar's Kirk and its extensive and interesting cemetery. Here are buried John Grey, an Edinburgh police officer, and also his dog, Bobby, who guarded his master's grave for 14 years until his own death.

We found the Museum (all these museums are free), once we finally entered, to be fascinating. We started on the lowest floor, where there are wonderful exhibits of the formation of Scotland itself. Can you believe it - the land that is now Scotland was once SOUTH of the equator! The exhibits continue on to the first man in Scotland and to the Romans who introduced the first writing. We spent 2 hours and would have kept going except that David reminded me that we had planned to go to St. Giles for a concert at noon.

We rushed over to St. Giles and got there just in time for the hand-bell concert by a couple of charming Scots ladies. They played "Amazing Grace", "Morning Has Broken" (which was the tune of an old Scots melody), and many other familiar semi-religious tunes. When they played "It's a Gift to be Simple..." I remembered my kids singing that in the Elgin Community Childrens' Choir so many years ago. It was an hour well spent. We crossed the street to the St. Giles Cafe for a light lunch of soup, wine and dessert. The soup was 3.60, which seems inexpensive until one remembers that it's $7.20 in USD! Lunch was $56.

Afterwards we returned to the museum and went to the top floor where there is a rooftop observatory, with great views of the city, including the castle, and landscapes of the sort seen all over Scotland, from the highlands to the seaside.

Saturday: We had arranged to take a bus tour and were disappointed to wake up to a dismal day. We headed up to the Balmoral Hotel where we were picked up and headed off to Glasgow. There we stopped for only 20 minutes; David and I didn't feel we needed to rush around as we plan to go over for a day next week. We then drove on to Loch Lomond, the largest fresh water lake in Great Britain. While some of the tourists took a boat ride, we had an aperitif at a local pub in Balloch. We drove through beautiful scenery of the Trosswachs area, deep forests, heather covered mountains, and lonely valleys of sheep, stopping for lunch in Aberfoyle. We had a dreadful lunch of what seemed to be boiled hamburgers (if that's possible). We drove through the pretty village of Callander and passed the 14th century Doune Castle (from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail") and finally arrived at Stirling Castle. We toured the castle but weren't really impressed - have we seen too many castles? We returned to Edinburgh through Bannockburn, the scene of Robert The Bruce's famous victory over the English in 1314, and passing Linlithgow Palace, birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots in 1542. It was a long day; Ross dropped us off near Charlotte Square and we walked home for a light supper. We arrived home around 5 PM, and again it was the best time of the day with lots of blue sky and sun!

The drivers/guides on these tours are always a font of information. We learned that the mayor is called a Lord Provost; a 'strath' is a long wide valley while a 'glen' is a narrow valley. Loch Lomond is Great Britain's largest body of fresh water.

Sunday: We'd planned to visit the Botanical Gardens today, hoping for a sunny day. Well, much to our surprise, we GOT a sunny day! and we headed off to the gardens, within walking distance of our place in Stockbridge. The gardens are extensive and beautiful, especially at this time of year with so many things in bloom. The only problem we found was that the plants and trees were marked only with their Latin names; common names were rarely noted. When questioned, a garden representative stated that we would be surprised: most people would know the Latin names and we were under-rating the knowledge of the population. Well, we were surprised and even skeptical. So I undertook my own survey, asking people as we toured the gardens whether they knew the Latin names for the plants or even the common names. Out of twelve people questioned, only one said she knew some of the Latin names, although she was "a bit rusty". Most said they would appreciate the common names. I myself would be surprised if 50% of people should know the common names!

After an hour or two, we headed to Tempus (another Latin name!), next to the George Hotel on George Street for lunch. Last Sunday we had passed the restaurant and heard some live jazz, and we determined that we would return this Sunday for lunch. We spent 3 1/2 hours over a delicious meal (D - a whole sea bass, G - a crispy duck salad and tomato salad with Pinot Grigio - we'd both started with a butternut squash soup with parmesan - and then had apple/cranberry crumble and chocolate tart for dessert with an Irish coffee and a glass of rich red wine) listening to and thoroughly enjoying the 3-piece band (keyboard, bass, trumpet) and chanteuse regaling us with songs from the 40's - Cole Porter, Benny Goodman, and so on. We loved every minute!

Monday started out a bit iffy but turned into a beautiful day, although still a bit chilly. We headed by bus to Glasgow, about an hour trip. Once there, we walked to the 12th century cathedral dedicated to the town's patron saint, St. Mungo (made us remember the old Brooklyn Dodgers' pitcher Van Lingo Mungo!). Behind the church the cemetery with its massive vaults looms on a high hill, appearing like some bizarre apartment complex. Nextdoor is the Royal Infirmary, a building that looks like a castle. Also in the area is the Provand's Lordship, the oldest house in Glasgow, built in 1471. We then boarded a tour bus, a 'hop on, hop off' bus which would take us to all the sights. Our driver and guide were very amusing, doing songs and little dances and such.

Glasgow is a very industrialized city with many modern buildings. It's easy to miss the charm of the beautiful old brownstone buildings, with their intricate detail. But they are worth looking out for. The bus passed through the University district and Kelvingrove Park, with its tennis courts and bowling greens. We got off near the original Willow Tea Room, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928), Glasgow's most famous architect/artist/designer. His work reminded me of Frank Lloyd Wright. We had a nice lunch although we discovered this is the only one of the 4 tearooms that does not serve alcohol! David had haggis with neeps and taties (mashed potatoes and rutabagas); I had an English tea which was brought on a plateau - sandwiches of cucumber and cheese, salmon, ham, and egg salad on one layer, a scone with clotted cream and strawberry jam on another, and a rich chocolate layer cake on the final layer, all accompanied by a pot of tea.

Afterwards we 'hopped on' again, passing by the River Clyde where the old shipyards built the Queen Mary and many other famous ships. We went on to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, housed in a magnificent building of brownstone with turrets and much decoration. It's a stunning building, inside and out. We toured many of the rooms showing the art collection, including Monet's "A View of Ventimiglia" which reminded us of home. Then we jumped back on the tour bus to return to the bus station and our trip back to Edinburgh.

Tuesday: Another beautiful day! We took the bus to Cramond, one of the ancient villages that have been incorporated into Edinburgh. This charming place, first started as a mill town, looks like an old fishing village with quaint white-washed buildings lining the River Almond which opens to the Firth of Forth. We took a nice slow walk along the river and then returned to the village for a wonderful lunch at the Cramond Inn, an ancient looking pub. David had the steak and ale pie while I had bangers and mash. For dessert we split a 'sticky toffee pudding'. Everything was outstanding.

Then we walked up to Lauriston Castle, not a very old castle but lovely with very pleasant grounds, and even a Japanese garden. The views out to the Firth are beautiful. Finally home on the bus.

Wednesday: Again, a nice day. We took the bus to Duddingston, another of the ancient villages that are part of Edinburgh. This one is just beneath the slopes of Arthur's Seat, an old volcano in the middle of town! What other major city has such a thing? Anyway, although Bronze Age remains have been found here, there were none on display. The village was also a mill town where they made a heavy linen cloth called 'Duddington hardings'. We did see the Cottage where Bonnie Prince Charlie held his Council of War in 1745 before the Battle of Prestopans, and the 12th century parish church. Outside the gates to the church there is a Loupin-On Stane which heavy-set people could climb to mount their horses. Nearby is the Sheep Heid Inn, probably the oldest inn in Edinburgh (and maybe even Scotland) with a license dating from 1360. The present building is only a few hundred years old but is very welcoming with its low ceilings and thousands of treasures such as old mugs, pictures, and such. We're told it was a hangout for R.L. Stevenson and Sir Walter Scott. We had an aperitif and enjoyed the ambiance.

We walked partway around Arthur's Seat and then took a bus back to the center of town. For lunch we headed to the Balmoral Hotel. One of their restaurants, the Hadrian, has a special deal for lunch, 14.50 for 2 courses. David started with cream of tomato soup with shrimp; we both had the amazingly tender oxtail with root vegetables for the main course, and I had the chocolate chip/orange cheesecake for dessert. We shared a nice half-bottle of Fleurie (Lucien Lardy 2006) which was lovely with the oxtail.

Edinburgh is such a beautiful city. The castle looms on a promontory, high over the main street, Princes Street, across a deep green where people sun and picnic on the nicer days. The Mound, just east of the castle, has beautiful buildings soaring high. It's tricky to walk around, much up and down and stairways, with funny little streets. It's a bit brooding with all the dark gray stone. The temperatures are rather chilly and we can't get over how many people are going around with open-toed sandals and just a light jacket! One thing we've really noticed is how much longer the days are here. Sunrise today was 4:47 and sunset at 9:34. Compare this to Evanston with sunrise at 5:23 and sunset at 8:13 or Nice with 5:58 and 8:58. Edinburgh has more than 16 1/2 hours of daylight while Evanston has 14 3/4. Almost two hours more. Amazing.

Thursday we returned to the Scottish National Museum this morning, as we had covered only one floor the other day. We covered another 1 1/2 floors of the history of Scotland, which was interesting. There was a lot of information on St. Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland. He carried the cross that is now the symbol of Scotland and appears on their flag. Then back to The Grain Store for another lovely lunch. We had the same entrees - smoked salmon for me and black pudding for David; then stuffed chicken leg for David and tagliatelle with asparagus, mushrooms, and rocket for me. For dessert David again had the bread and butter pudding while I had the tart lemon tart. With a full bottle of wine, again, we were in heaven.

This evening we went to a local pub we'd read about, The Antiquary on St. Stephen Street, just a couple of blocks from us in Stockbridge. Thurday evenings they have folk music sessions, so we headed over there, hoping a few musicians would show up. About 30 did! There were more than 15 fiddlers, several guitarists, a drummer, a harpist, a bag-piper, a mandolinist, several pipers including a couple of Irish penny whistle players, and an accordianist. We stayed for 3 hours and loved every minute. They were still singing and playing when we left. Perhaps the highlight of the whole 3 weeks!

Friday: Our last day in Edinbrrrrrra. Finally we got to visit Holyrood Palace, home of the Queen when she visits Scotland. This is also where Mary, Queen of Scots, lived when she was queen. We visited the newer State Rooms, where the present Queen entertains dignitaries and also the quarters of Mary, QoS, in the older section of the building. Afterwards we saw the old Abbey, founded in 1128, now in ruins, and the beautiful gardens. Holyrood is situated near Arthur's Seat, a dramatic setting. Across the way is the ugly new Parliament Building.

We had lunch at Cafe Rouge, which we didn't know is a chain. A very ordinary lunch. We'll have to count yesterday's lunch as our big 'farewell' to Edinburgh. $90 for David's lamb shanks and my sanglier sausage (with mashed potatoes loaded with cilantro!), plus very average desserts. Oh, well. Then home to pack.

Saturday: The cab was to pick us up at 8:30 and off to the train station for our 10:05 train to York. On the train we sat next to three gals and a fellow from Glasgow - the gals were dressed in black with shocking pink tutus. They were all on their way to Newcastle for a friend's birthday party, drinking and having a ball all the way. It was a lot quieter when they got off!

We arrived safely in York and had to wait a while for a cab to our hotel, the Ramada Encore, which was in a very good location, although an ugly hotel. We settled in and then went out to find some lunch; we chose a place along the River Ouse and sat outside on a lovely warm day. Lunch -- again I ordered a hamburger and again it was terrible. Will I never learn. We then set out to explore the town and headed over towards the Minster. We passed a square where there were many teams of dancers from all over the world doing some special sword dance; apparently these teams had traveled all the way here for a weekend of dancing.

We found the Minster and entered (9 pounds for the 2 of us!). It's huge - the largest medieval Gothic cathedral in Northern Europe - and impressive, but not that different from others we've seen. It's a cathedral because it's where the bishop has his 'seat'; it's a minster because it was founded as a missionary church. The first Minster in York was built in 627 AD.

Afterwards we strolled more around the town, seeing the tower that is the only part of the castle remaining; and The Shambles, a very narrow street of interesting shops, the buildings leaning in towards each other. We stopped at one of the many ancient pubs for a drink and went back to the hotel for the night.

Sunday we slept in and then went to meet Amanda Peck, an old friend from Nice and Penny Lloyd's cousin, at the Minster. While we were walking through the narrow streets she found us! She had made a reservation at a Cafe Rouge (oh, well, what could we say?) where we went for lunch. Terrible service and food that seemed to have sat out for a long time. But great conversation, catching up on the several years since we had seen her.

Afterwards David headed for the Train Museum and Amanda and I set out to find the Quilt Museum. We never did, but we had a good time checking out the shops and chatting some more. We got her back to the train station for her trip home and David and I went out for supper at a wonderful Italian place, L'Anttica Locanda, for a bowl of outstanding minestrone and a limoncello dessert. A perfect meal.

Monday we took the train to King's Cross in London where we were to pick up the Piccadilly Line to the airport. We boarded the subway but it went only a few stops and stopped. We were told to find another means of transportation: there were problems at Acton Town. WE dragged our luggage (with a lot of help from strong young men) up and down stairs to board the train to Paddington Station. When we finally got there, we first went to the toilets and then to a fancy lunch in the Hilton. We were exhausted. We tried to take a train to the airport, but were told the Piccadilly Line was working again, so back we went, up and down stairs, and finally got back on the tube. But it didn't stop at our stop; we got off the stop before and took a cab to the hotel. After 5 hours, we finally arrived. Tuesday morning we took a cab to Heathrow, boarded our plane, and took the 8 hour flight back to the States. My seat partner, Sara, was a charming young lady who works for GE and is studying Mandarin! We talked most of the way.

Reed picked us up and delivered us home. We're so happy to be here!

A Weekend in the Eternal City, December '07

2007-12-10T09:25:00.000-08:00

David and I flew Blu-Express from Nice to Rome on Friday. Our dear friend, Suzy Ball, was in Rome for the week on a Rick Steves' Tour and we were to join her for the weekend. We took the train from Fumicino to Termini Station where we inquired about the trains the next day to Assisi and then took the Metro to Lepanto Station where we exited and walked to our hotel, Roma dei Papi, in a beautiful old building opposite the Castel St. Angelo, a great location. We dumped our bags and were directed by the reception to a local bar where we could eat at this strange hour (about 5 PM). We found it, Georgio Antonini, and enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine, sandwiches, and a selection of vegetables. Then a nice walk along the Tevere back to the hotel, a crossword puzzle, and bed. It's great to visit a city like Rome after having been there several times. You've covered all the "must sees" and can just enjoy the atmosphere and visit the neighborhoods.

The next morning we were up early to walk to Suzy's hotel, the Alimandi, which was not far. We met up, delighted to see each other again, and took a cab back to Termini where we purchased our tickets for the 8:14 train to Assisi. We got a little breakfast and then boarded; we had a 2-hour ride, giving us plenty of time to catch up on all our news. North of Spoleto the rain started, almost sleet-like; it would be a cold day. We arrived in Assisi and got the bus to the old town. We walked through the narrow streets, with Suzy oohing and aahing, even with all the rain and cold. We stopped at La Bottega dei Sapori where we looked at all the delicious foodstuffs: cocoa pasta, olive oils and balsamic vinegars, sauces and toppings for bruschetta. The owner suggested that she make up a tray for us to test various items; they were delicious. We decided to return after lunch to make our purchases.

We made our way to the Church of San Francesco, the main reason for the visit. David waited in a cozy bar while Suzy and I admired the Giottos and all the other interesting decorations in the church. Then we headed for lunch, to the same place as our last visit. Suzy had pasta with porcini, David had the guinea hen, and I had the raviolis with spinaci in a butter/sage sauce, while we all shared a bottle of delicious Sangiovese Merlot SAIO from the area. WE followed up with grilled sausage. For dessert we shared the torta Francesca (dry) and a zuppa inglese which was scrumptious.

Afterwards we headed back to the Bottega where Suzy bought a couple of bottles of crema di Balsamic; I got the lentils I love, a jar of crema di carrottes to top bruschetta, a bottle of olive oil, and some orange flavored pasta. I can't wait to try that, but haven't quite decided on the right sauce for it.

We also stopped at a ceramics shop. I purchased a small piece from Deruta; then Suzy found a beautiful dish from Umbria, more rustic than the Deruta pottery, and I fell in love with another piece and got that too. We were both thrilled with our purchases.

We got back to Rome at almost 8 PM and headed on the Metro to the Spanish Steps. We walked from there to Piazza Navona, enjoying all the Christmas decorations, the pretty shop windows, the festive atmosphere. At Piazza Navona we shared a couple of pizzas and a carafe of wine, surrounded by the lively atmosphere and all the booths set up for the Christmas bazaar with ornaments, creches, bafanas (the witch who brings the children gifts on Jan. 6), stockings, and so on. Then home to bed, exhausted.

On Sunday we met at 9 AM and took the Metro to the Quirinale Hill area near the Barberini Palace. We walked up the hill and came across the Quattro Fontane, fountains on each corner of the intersection. We had to take pictures of each. Then further on we found a beautiful park with a statue of Carlo Alberti on a horse (googled him but couldn't find him). On the base were wonderful friezes, one particularly interesting one of a battle scene. Still further we found a lovely church, San Andrea di Quirinale Hill, a jewel box of a church, oval in shape with pink marble, just precious. Then on to the President's Residence which is open only for four hours on Sunday mornings. We waited on line and it was so worth it! The furniture, the painted ceilings, the Murano chandeliers, the inlaid parquet floors, everything was fabulous. The building was once the home of the Popes, until they were sent to the Vatican and not able to live in Italy any more.

Afterwards we took a cab to Trastevere where we wandered about. We visited Santa Maria di Trastevere and listened to the end of the Mass. Then we looked at the fabulous decoration in this church - the floor of intricately laid tiles taken from Roman ruins; the glittering mosaics of Mary with Jesus - He has his arm around his mother in a sweet pose; the columns with their various crowns in Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian.

Then we found the Piccola Trattoria di Lucia, which we had read about in Fred Plotkin's book. It was tricky to find but worth the effort. We started with the house specialty of roasted vegetables - eggplant, peppers, mushrooms, olives, and a white broccoli. David had rabbit with carcofi for his main course while Suzy and I each had the house specialty, spaghetti alla gricia, pasta served with bacon and lots of pecorino, very dry and delicious. To wash it all down we decided to go crazy and have a bottle of Amarone. We felt like royalty having this special bottle of wine. We finished up with panna cotta with fruit for Suzy and the tiramisu (better than mine which is pretty good!). A wonderful experience. The bill was 97 euros for the three of us - half of it was the wine!

Afterwards we headed back to Piazza Navona, stopping along the way to do a bit of shopping - a sweater for me and some Murano jewelry for Suzy. I love the feeling of walking around this great city with all the history surrounding us. But the rain was getting to us after a while and we went back to the bar where we'd had supper on Friday night and had several glasses of wine and some small sandwiches and a plate of cookies. We were there for several hours, just catching up some more and comparing notes on books and movies. Then "Farewells" and off to bed.

Monday morning we were up early again, packed and ready to go. There was no one at the hotel who could take the payment - the cab driver was there, ready to go. Finally someone arrived and told us our card wouldn't work. Finally she had to take down the information and let us go. We got to the airport in good time, and alive with no thanks to the cab driver. Interesting experience at the airport - in the bathrooms there are air dryers for one's hands, the first ones that I've ever found that actually dry one's hands. They are so strong they pull your skin in wrinkles this way and that, but they do dry your hands. An easy flight back to Nice where we took the 23 bus home. Colin and Marguerite were glad to see us and had enjoyed the weekend in Nice, staying in our place. They took us around the corner for a nice lunch and left.

What a wonderful weekend.

Turkey, Greece, Dubrovnik - Oct/Nov 2007

2007-11-06T02:36:00.000-08:00

We've never taken any kind of organized tour before, but Oct. 21, 2007, we left our home in Nice for Istanbul (Nice - Rome, Rome - Istanbul via Alitalia) for our first cruise. We had originally planned to leave on the 22nd, but four days beforehand we received an email from Travelocity that one of our 'legs' had been canceled. We called them and found that Nice/Rome was all right but Rome/Istanbul had been canceled. But that was all right, we were told. We could fly Nice/Rome, then Rome/Milan, then Milan/Istanbul, arriving in Istanbul the next morning at 1:00 AM. That was definitely not all right. We opted to go one day early. How nerve wracking! We were to board our cruise ship in Istanbul on the 24th, but went a few days early to spend a bit more time in Istanbul, a city we had never visited. We were picked up at the airport by a transfer service and taken to our hotel, The Apricot, in the Sultanahmet section of the city. We had decided to upgrade to a room with a "Turkish bath" - just a term for the marble bath. Our room was up two steep sets of stairs, but with a balcony with an amazing view of the Blue Mosque. David hated the hotel as it had no elevator and the light in the bathroom, which was sound activated, would not go off. Also had to walk around to the main building and up several flights for the breakfast.

The Blue Mosque was built in the early 1600's; the exterior, which is beautifully lit at night, is a mountain of turrets and domes with six minarets. The inside is tiled in blue, with a blue painted dome. We went to the Blue Hotel opposite the mosque for an aperitif, sitting in the warm evening air and marveling at the view.

Nearby is the Mosaic Museum, which is impressive with a huge stretch of Byzantine floor picturing a hunting scene with deer, elephants, monkeys, and other animals and human figures. The shading on the human faces and the musculature of the animals and warriors is amazing.

Monday we were awakened by chanting at 6 AM from the mosque. One can understand how this religion permeates the lives of the citizens, with reminders and calls many times each day. That day we spent all of the morning at Topkapi Palace, the home of the sultans from the 15th to the 19th century. Most impressive is the harem, the home for the sultan's family, including his concubines. Here one finds intricate tile work, dazzling stained glass windows, and exquisite tortoise and mother-of-pearl doors and shutters that give an idea of the opulence of their lives. Elsewhere in the Palace are rooms displaying the rich robes, suits of armor and weaponry, and furnishings of silver, crystal, porcelain, often jewel encrusted.

Afterwards we headed for Balikci Sabahattin, a very much recommended seafood restaurant, for a bit of our own decadence. We sat outside under the grape vines with a view of the local produce - tomatoes, lettuces, pumpkins and gourds, and melons - scattered around attractively as decoration. With a bottle of Antik, white wine, we enjoyed our lunch. We started with meze, a small plate of fava beans and another of cold cooked spinach that was wonderful. David ordered the bluefish, which he said was delicious but nothing like the bluefish he had often caught in the Caribbean.

After lunch we went to the Grand Bazaar, a maze of shops offering rugs, food, pottery, leather, and souvenirs of every kind. We bought a piece of pottery and a pillow cover made of old pieces of rug. Both these shops asked if I wanted to barter or just hear the real price; I opted for the real price and afterwards realized that I had been taken. Oh, well. In a shop nearer to our hotel I also bought a beautiful purse of rug fabric woven in red, green, black and tan with leather handles and a nicely painted old spice box in another shop, where they showed me the mosaics and ancient mural of Mary in three levels of basement. It's a city with a whole other world below it!

Our friends, Penny and David Lloyd, who also live in Nice and would go with us on the cruise, arrived early Tuesday morning. Together that day, a sunny and warm day, we raced over to the ferry port, just making the 10:35 ferry that sailed up the Bosporus to Anadolu Kavagi, near the Black Sea. There we had a wonderful seafood lunch of bream for David and seabass for Ginna with a good salad and baklava for dessert at Kavak Doganay, a restaurant right on the water. The cost was about half that of the restaurant the day before but the meal was just as delicious.

That afternoon, Penny and I wandered through the Egyptian Spice Market, buying saffron, nutmeg, and pepper. As we wended our way back to our hotel, we passed through another bazaar with more interesting and beautiful things. We all had supper outside at a corner restaurant, near the hotel, where we sampled the kababs and enjoyed the friendly owners.

Wednesday morning we visited Aya Sofya, started in the year 532 AD at the direction of the Emperor Justinian to be the largest Christian church in the world. It was later converted into a mosque by the Ottomans but still contains the elaborate golden mosaics of Mary and Jesus.

That afternoon we boarded our ship, the Nautica, one of the Oceania Cruise Line vessels. It is a nice size, carrying 687 passengers and two staff/crew for every 3 passengers. We would travel 2,022 nautical miles on our home for the next 12 days. Our cabin didn't have a balcony but did have a large window, allowing a good view. We were welcomed with an extensive buffet lunch, a preview of the meals we would enjoy throughout.

The next morning, still docked in Istanbul, we took the tram through the city to the Archeological Museum, which we explored, admiring the artifacts from the Greek, Roman, and Byzantine eras. The adjacent Tile and Pottery Museum was also interesting, especially for me with my interest in pottery.

That evening we discovered the Chamber Music group, Arpeggio, on the ship. Each night we would go down for a pre-dinner drink and enjoy these four young talented musicians from Romania playing pieces as varied as Chopin to Scott Joplin. When they were done, we would move our drinks into the cocktail lounge where Jerry Blaine, the pianist, would entertain us until it was time to go in for dinner. These were two of the things we enjoyed most about living on board ship. Another was the food which was very good and at times excellent. There were several restaurants: The Grand Dining Room was available all day for formally served meals; in the Terrace Cafe there was a buffet that we liked for breakfast and lunch; and there were the Polo Grill and Toscana for dinners only where one had to make reservations - we were lucky enough to book twice for each. And there was the very casual Waves, by the pool and hot tubs, for hamburgers and salads.

Upon leaving Istanbul we had a full day at sea, giving us time to rest up for the next stops. There were many activities available - putting lessons and needlepoint classes, an art auction which was quite educational. We were up early that morning to watch the ship pass through the narrow straight of the Hellespont, now known as the Dardanelles, leading us from the Sea of Marmara, past Troy and the sad site of Gallipoli, into the Aegean Sea. That evening there was the Captain's Reception with champagne and music.

Our next stop was Ephesus, one of the most anticipated stops of the trip and one of the greatest archeological sites in the world. The four of us rented a taxi for the day; the driver took us out to the site, stopping at Selcuk to explore the ruins of Basilica of St. John, said to be built over the tomb of the apostle. Then we arrived at Ephesus. The porticoed street, paved with mosaics and lined with shops and temples, leads to the famous Library of Celsus (pictured above)and the Great Theater which held 24,000 citizens. We also visited the Terraced Houses - a separate ticket but a MUST SEE. The houses - more like condos, one on top of another - are filled with artistically painted walls and mosaic floors with intricate designs. It must have been a wonderful life for the citizens.

Next we docked at Rhodes, the first of the Greek Islands we would visit. The harbor is where the Colossus of Rhodes once stood, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The Knights of St. John (Knights of the Templar) came here in 1291 and controlled the island until 1522 when Suleyman I, sultan of the Ottoman Empire, conquered it. Within the remaining massive walls is the Palace of the Grand Master, filled with mosaic floors moved here from Kos. How does one move a mosaic floor?! Apparently it is done by laying cloth over the mosaic pieces and gluing the cloth down, then carefully lifting it. Along the street leading to the Palace are the smaller palaces of the various factions of the Knights, whether from Provence, Italy, or another State. The Archeological Museum is housed in the 15th century Knights' Hospital. One of the items we were surprised to see was a display of magnifying glasses used to make tiny engravings and for painting details. There were also small cups with spouts and a sieve on top for feeding babies. Each display was of a specific burial plot, whether of a child or a woman or a man and had artifacts specific to that person. Very personal.

Instead of returning to the ship, we had a nice Greek lunch - Greek salad and lamb chops - sitting under a tree in the Old Town. It was quite a relief to be in Greece and away from the sales people in Turkey who will "kidnap" you and drag you to their shops. I'm not very good at saying no convincingly to these people and had to be rescued by David Lloyd one time - he found me upstairs in a rug shop, being shown carpets that I had no intention of buying. Why do they waste their time like that?

The next day, Monday, we stopped at Delos. The island is usually closed on Mondays but they would allow us to visit but only with a tour. We were divided into groups of about 12 people each - maybe 10 groups - and we went ashore to meet our guides whom the Cruise Line had brought in specifically for the tours. At first I was a bit annoyed that because of their planning we were forced to take a tour but I quickly realized that this was the best option. Our guide Danai was wonderful and the ruins on the island are not well marked for an independent visit. Delos was the birthplace of Apollo and to honor him no one was allowed to be born or die on the island. The most famous site is the Terrace of the Lions, located near his birth site, a row of somewhat Egyptian-looking lions carved in the 6th century BC (only replicas are on the site; originals are in the museum), guarding the sacred area.

That afternoon we were tendered ashore on Mykonos, famous resort of jet setters, a place of stark white walls, blue painted balconies, and cascading fuschia. The most interesting area is Little Venice, a row of picturesque restaurants and shops hanging over the sea, an idyllic spot to view the sunset. Nearby is the famous row of windmills.

Tuesday we were tendered ashore at fabulous Santorini, to take the funicula up the steep slopes formed by a volcano. In 1650 BC the volcano erupted, causing the center to sink - this center is now where the cruise ships anchor. The explosion caused a huge tsunami believed to be responsible for the destruction of the Minoan civilization on Crete. We visited the Museum of Prehistoric Thira (another name for Santorini) which was fascinating with its wall paintings - flowers, figures, and even blue monkeys - from earlier than 1000 BC. Only 2% of the ancient archeological site has been excavated. One of the most beautiful pieces was a table for sacrificial offerings painted with lively dolphins.

Our next stop was Corfu Town, a town with many influences from occupations by the French, the British, and especially the Venetians. Two fortresses loom above the old town with its narrow alleyways and ochre tints more reminiscent of Italy than other Greek islands with their stark white buildings. The four of us enjoyed a Corfu lunch of Greek salad, sofrito (lamb with garlic, vinegar, and parsley), pastitsada (beef in red sauce served with macaroni), again with the Italian influence rather than the Turkish influence found on many other islands.

The next day we anchored off Dubrovnik which we had visited a year earlier. As day trippers, we found how crowded this town can be, even this late in the season. We went off on our own, walking the walls which we hadn't done the year before because of rain and wind. The views from the walls are beautiful, whether of the sea and islands or of the tiled roofs of the town. There was a special show of Faberge eggs at one of the museums and we enjoyed lunch at a favorite restaurant, Proto, from the year before.

The next day, again we were at sea, sailing all the way around the Peloponnese to Piraes, the port for Athens. We would be in Athens for a full day and then disembark the next day to fly home. We took a train into the city and visited the Archeological Museum, especially to view the Antikythera Mechanism, perhaps the world's first computer, designed as an aid for navigation 2000 years ago. Then we walked to the Plaka for lunch and made the climb to the Acropolis, which seemed an easier climb than the last time, 20 years ago. We imagine this will be the last time we will see the Parthenon and were glad we made the effort, in spite of a bit of rain and not feeling our best.

The next day we took a bus to the airport and flew Athens to Milan and then on to Nice, an easy flight. Nice to arrive home with no jetlag!

Paris, Arles, the Camargue, Nice with Grandsons March 2007

2007-04-06T01:21:00.000-07:00

We headed from Nice to Paris on Sunday, arriving on a cold and somewhat drizzly day. We found our hotel, the Hotel de l'Elysee - Faubourg St. Honore, in the 8th arr., a great location close to the 1st and a charming place. It's next to the Department of the Interior Ministry, so lots of police around and very safe. We headed right out to Chai 33, a restaurant recommended by a friend, Gail Coe. It's located in the interesting area of Bercy where there are old warehouses that were used for storage of all the wines brought in from the surrounding regions. One hundred years ago it was just beyond the Paris city limits, so there was no tax and it was a prime location for distribution. Now all the warehouses are shops and restaurants. Not a must see in Paris, but interesting.

We met up with our daughter Jenny, husband Glen, and the 2 grandboys, Matt and Alex, that evening. They were pretty late getting in, so we settled for a glass of champagne at the Bristol Hotel, a gorgeous place just around the corner from our hotel.

The next morning we met at 10:30 on the line for the Eiffel Tower. We took the elevator, a somewhat scary ride, to the 2nd level. The "kids" all opted to continue to the 3rd level, but we "old folks" stayed behind. The views of Paris are stunning, even with a bit of mist in the air. Afterwards we all enjoyed lunch at the restaurant on the Tower, Altitude 95.

We next headed to the nearby docks of the sightseeing boats on the Seine. We boarded and spent a delightful hour cruising the river. The sun had come out and it turned into a beautiful day. The cruise gave us an overview of Paris from the Eiffel Tower to Notre Dame. Afterwards we walked back to the Champs Elysee and stopped at Laduree for 'tea', consisting of wine and macaroons. Laduree is a lovely restaurant, founded in 1862, and it is easy to imagine the carriages pulling up with the ladies in their long dresses, stopping for afternoon tea with friends.

The next day we had a rendez-vous at Roland Garros at 10:50. We went out on the Metro and arrived early to wander around the grounds, stopping for a drink at the cafeteria under Suzanne Langlen Stadium. Our tour guide, Eric, from Reunion, was very interesting and informative. We visited the interview rooms, the locker rooms, and both Suzanne Langlen (who never lost a match her whole career!) and Phillippe Chartrier Stadia. The seats in PC go for 10,000 euro a week! Roland Garros is not a club; only people ranked in the top 100 may play here, although there are clinics for young players. Everyone did a bit of damage in the gift shop!

We headed back to the city center, stopping for lunch at a quaint and friendly Italian place. Next stop was Notre Dame. The kids hoped to climb up the stairs but the wait was too much. After circling the cathedral, we walked all the way back to our hotel. We stopped along the way to admire the Louvre and to have some ice cream.

The next morning we boarded the TGV at the Gare de Lyons with the boys and headed home to Nice. We ate lunch on the train and enjoyed the scenery. We arrived home late afternoon, had pizza and raspberry tart for dinner, and fell into bed.

Two days later we started our road trip, stopping along the way for a big lunch. Matt had gambas and Alex had a steak and fries. Our first destination was the 12th century walled town of Aigues Mortes where we had booked into La Villa Mazarin in a restored 15th century house. The hotel is watched over by 2 beautiful Siamese cats, a couple. We settled into our huge room with its very modern bathroom and then the boys took a long swim in the beautiful 'infinity' pool while David relaxed in the jacuzzi. Later we headed out to walk around this town which was founded by Louis IX, later St. Louis. It is the place from which he started out on his Crusade. We had supper at Coco's, just pizza and chocolate mousse.

Breakfast the next morning was in the delightful and bright glassed-in breakfast room. Then we walked all the way around the ramparts, climbing a few of the turrets, and admiring the views of the sea, the tiled roofs, and the river. Next we got in the car and headed to the Pont du Gard. It was raining but we walked out to the site and admired the 2000 year old remains of this beautiful Roman aqueduct. Afterwards we stopped in town for lunch and then headed on to Arles.

In Arles we found our lovely 15th century hotel, L'Arlatan, situated close to the Place du Forum. In the lobby there is a glass floor where one can look down to the Roman ruins below! We checked in and found our wonderful room, sort of a room and a half, with the boys in the sitting area with their own TV. Another beautiful place with great old armoires, beamed ceilings, and lovely drapes.

It was still raining, so we grabbed our umbrellas and walked up to the Roman Arena. It was too late to enter, so we continued walking around, locating the Roman Theater, Place de la Republique where we checked out 12th century Romanesque St. Trophime Church. We had a nice dinner near the Place du Forum, with Alex trying pork with a madeira sauce which he loved! Then home to bed.

The next day we had breakfast in the charming breakfast room at the hotel, with breakfast served on Villeroy & Boch. A typical French breakfast of juice, coffee or hot chocolate, and lots of breads and jams. Next we headed back to the Arena which we explored in the cold and rain. They were preparing it for bull fights the next weekend and we could imagine the animal fights the Romans viewed there. Next we found a taxi to take us out to the Ancient History Museum, well worth the trip. The boys thought this was the most interesting thing on the whole roadtrip with the beautiful mosaic floors, models of all the Roman ruins we were seeing, maps showing Roman towns and territories, and so on. Alex was intrigued by the hand-blown glass. David and the boys had supper in the yellow cafe painted by van Gogh, right on Place du Forum.

The next day, finally a gorgeous one, naturally was the day we headed back to Nice. We got there in time to join Jenny and Glen for lunch. They took the boys shopping afterwards while we headed home to rest! Jenny and Glen were staying at the Negresco, so delivered the boys back to us in time for bed.

The next day we went to Biot to see glass being blown. We thought this would be a good idea since Alex was so interested at the museum in Arles. Everyone really enjoyed watching this craft being done pretty much the same as it was 2000 years ago. In Biot we explored the weekly market and had a wonderful lunch.

Our last day we went to St. Jean Cap Ferat and walked along the sea walk. The day was gorgeous, the views spectacular, and we worked up an appetite for lunch on the terrasse at the Cadillac. Then home for desserts from the patisserie and some lovely Italian dessert wine. A fitting end to our time together.

Ten days in Croatia, November 2006

2006-12-19T07:32:00.000-08:00

We flew from Nice to Frankfurt, there being no direct flights to Split or Dubrovnik. The 1 ½ hour flight was wonderful with beautiful scenery – mountains, rivers, and forests in their fall colors. Then the 1 ½ flight to Dubrovnik. They fed us on both legs of the journey, quite a surprise! With heavy luggage we opted for a taxi to the hotel, the Hilton Imperial, where we upgraded our room to one with a balcony with a view of the Old Town and the Adriatic. We loved this pink hotel, in an old,
refurbished1897 building, just a minute or two from the Old Town. We

We had planned our trip with the help of our good friend, Jeanne Oliver, a fellow American, who lives near us in Nice and writes the Croatia volume of The Lonely Planet series. Jeanne also has a site, http://www.croatiatraveller.com/, which is essential if you are planning a trip!

We immediately headed out for a walk around the magnificent Old Town, with its more than 500 year-old walls (almost 2 kilometers), glistening white marble streets, little alleyways and steep stairs. There’s a lovely feeling to the 1000 year-old marble Placa, the main street, where we sat outside on this warm evening, having a “Welcome to Dubrovnik” drink. Dubrovnik, named after the local oak tree, was known as Ragusium in Roman times and by the 12th century was an important trading stop and seafaring state. It came under Venetian authority in 1205 and there are many Venetian influences to be seen.

The next day, really our only full day in Dubrovnik, sadly was rainy and very windy. We headed for the Cathedral, with its amazing collection of reliquaries in the Treasury. The huge, heavy wooden Treasury doors had to be unlocked with foot long iron keys! Then we spent an hour in the Rector’s Palace, where the ruler of Dubrovnik lived. The building itself was very interesting and the collection of inlaid furniture was gorgeous. One desk, all inlaid with beautiful woods, had a mother-of-pearl butterfly and a bird watching it with its mother-of-pearl eye. But my favorite piece was a waistcoat, 18th century French, that was hand embroidered with colorful flowers; the buttons, each about the size of ½ my pinky nail, were individually hand-painted with portraits!

The Dominican Monastery, with its 15th century cloisters and large collection of paintings from the Dubrovnik School, was lovely. The hand-painted altars in the church were very sweet. The Church of St. Blaise, the patron saint of Dubrovnik, was next. There are statues to St. Blaise everywhere in town - at the city gates, in niches, and so on. He keeps Dubrovnik safe from evil and hardship. In the bell tower opposite his church, two figures strike the bell to ring out the hour. The Sponsa Palace, one of the few buildings not destroyed in the devastating 1667 earthquake, is beautiful – very Venetian-looking. There is a sad room with pictures of the young men who died in the Yugoslavian wars.

For lunch we stopped at Dundo Maroje where they started us off with a tuna pate bouche amuse. We shared a salad and David had the sea bass while I had a wonderful seafood risotto. Afterwards we explored the Franciscan Monastery. In the evening we attended a violin and guitar concert at the St. Saviour Church, built in 1520. The only lighting in the church was the candlelight which danced on the vaulted Gothic ceiling.

On Saturday, we left by bus for Split. It was a 4 ½ hour ride and we enjoyed the spectacular scenery, with the mountains on the right and the Adriatic on the left, with islands all along the way. In places the mountains were pleated like an accordion by ancient seismic forces. We passed fish farms and orange groves and arrived with perfect timing to catch a ferry to Supetar where we would spend the next week. We checked in to our apartment with a terrace facing the sea, and quickly went out for a pizza supper. The pizza was great, made with a local gouda (!) and ham and mushrooms. We shared the restaurant with a group of twelve 9-year-olds, and a couple of parents, celebrating a birthday party.

Sunday morning we caught the early ferry to Split. It was rainy again and we walked around Diocletian’s palace. This is a huge area with churches, the main one built as Diocletian’s mausoleum, shops, cafes, housing. There are still about 300 people who live there and there is lots of shopping. Amazing to walk in this area which has been there for over 1800 years! For lunch, we asked a couple of young local women for a suggestion and they directed us to Varos Konoba (Konoba is a quaint little eating spot) which we very much enjoyed. It has dark wooden ceilings and red drapery and wine-colored linens. We shared grilled vegetables as a starter; David had lamb chops while I had the pasticada, a local specialty of larded beef cooked in heavy red wine and spices, served with gnocchi. It all went down very well with a bottle of the local Opol rose.

The next day we decided to just explore the island of Brac. We rented a car and drove to Skrip, a tiny town where you feel that you have stepped back at least 1000 years. The tiny church of St. Duh (Holy Spirit) was built in the 4th century! Houses are roofed with heavy stone plates looking like an armadillo’s back. Then we drove over rocky hills to Bol, passing pomegranate trees and olive trees. There were bags of newly picked olives everywhere, waiting to be picked up. We walked around Bol on this gorgeous day, sunny and warm, and enjoyed this fishing village and tourist spot. The Adriatic water is clear and inviting. We had a delicious lunch on the terrace of Restaurant Jadranka, opened in 1967. They served David an insalata caprese for 4 and me grilled vegetables for 2. David followed up with salmon with pasta while I had grilled scampi. Too much food, but we did our best, washing it all down with a local white wine. All the furniture on the terrace was made of tree branches, each seat different; we were shaded by the red and green leaves of the overhead vines.

Tuesday, we again took the ferry to Split. We came to really enjoy these ferry rides, about 1 hour each way, time to relax, read, write postcards, and so on. There is very comfortable seating, nice bathrooms, a bar, non-smoking areas, and big-screen TV’s where they showed tennis, Sunday Mass, and other events. Dubrovnik, which we had heard much of, is a small town of about 60,000; we expected Split to be smaller since we had never heard of it, but actually its population is almost 300,000. Split is not pretty, with unattractive high-rises everywhere, but Diocletian’s Palace makes up the center behind a palm-lined promenade along the sea, and the view from the ferry is impressive with the grey rocky mountains behind the city.

We didn’t stay in Split this day, but took another bus to Solin where we walked for miles around the Roman ruins. They are very spread out and not as impressive as we expected; I think we are spoiled by the many extremely impressive sites that we have visited. Then we took another bus on to Trogir, a tiny walled-city on the sea. The town was celebrating its Saint’s Day and there was a band playing in the main square and girls in local costumes passing out apple doughnuts to everyone, including us. The town (pop. 1600) is a bit like a smaller Dubrovnik, with a maze of medieval marble streets. We wandered about, stopping for a lunch at Rest. Fontana, along the promenade lining the seafront. We enjoyed the Dalmatian ham, seafood salad, and a plate of mixed hors d’oeuvres with a local white wine. Prosek and jam pancakes were our delicious dessert.

The next day, we slept in, explored Supetar, visiting the charming Church of the Annunciation with its ceiling in peach, lime, blue, and rose. There aren’t many shops in town, but we did visit a nice antique/art shop with a charming owner, so involved with each piece. She spoke of the homes where the antiques were found, the local artists, and the heritage and culture of the island. She recommended a restaurant in the next town, Restaurant Gumonca, in Mirca. We headed over there and found a lovely place on the sea, with a vine covered terrace. We of course ate outside and had learned our lesson about ordering too much food! We started with small mixed salads – everything seemed so fresh and the olive oil especially good. David had grilled chicken and Ginna ordered the small portion of veal cutlet with vegetables. It seemed like a HUGE portion to me! But we finished it all with a delicious bottle of rose. We didn’t want to leave this idyllic spot.
We drove to Lozisca where we walked around the little village and admired the church and bell tower. Many of the bell towers on the island have onion-shaped domes. We wondered who lives in these tiny, seemingly forgotten towns and if the towns will exist in 50 years?

The island of Brac is very rocky and the marble for Diocletian’s Palace was cut from the quarries here by Roman slaves. There are huge piles of rocks, not out-croppings, but sized rocks everywhere, some with openings like doors and some with funnels at the top, as if for smoke to escape. Perhaps they were places for shepherds or homes for people thousands of years ago. No one knows. We drove back “home” singing “Far Away Places” and “Slow Boat to China”.

Thursday we again headed to Split, to see more of Diocletian’s Palace, checking out the shops and more of the alleyways. Then we headed to the Archeological Museum, housed in a beautiful old stone building. The exhibits were wonderful – glass containers in the shape of women’s heads, jewelry, belts, marvelous mosaic floors. Most of these treasures were found in Solin. There was a group of American students there, part of the 600 on Semester at Sea, docked in Dubrovnik, on their trip around the world. What an amazing experience that must be!

We walked back to the main part of town and discovered Narodni Square, one of the loveliest squares with a very Venetian feel to it. We decided we would have to have lunch here. In Restaurant Kavana we ordered grilled vegetables followed by seabass for David and lasagna with shrimp and Dalmatian ham for Ginna. Then it was back on the ferry and a drink while we watched the sunset from the dock in Supetar.

Friday, our last day on the island, we did some more exploring, driving over to Milna, a little harbor on the western end of the island. In the summer it is bustling, but it was very quiet on this warm November day. We walked around but could find very little – the church was closed and there weren’t even any restaurants open. We finally found one across the inlet where we had a really average lunch. We also explored Nerezisca, an inland village which was once the center of the island.

Saturday we took our final ferry ride to Split where we caught the bus to Dubrovnik, along with a group of students from the Semester at Sea group. We got back to the Hilton, where they greeted us warmly for our return and went out for a final dinner. We chose Proto, a charming place, and ate upstairs but inside as the sun was going down. The beamed cathedral ceiling, stone walls, and beautiful blue linens give a very comfortable feeling. We both had soup to start – David a fish soup and a vegetable ragout for me. Then David had grilled salmon with mushrooms and pasta while I had a huge Greek salad, all washed down by another Opol rose. For dessert we enjoyed a last glass of prosek. After a last walk around the city, we headed back for an early night to be ready for our 6:30 AM flight to Frankfurt. A delightful trip.

A Short Week in the Vaucluse, October 2006

2006-12-19T07:06:00.000-08:00

We arrived back in Nice from Chicago on October 17, 2006. The first few days back were a bit rainy and we slowly settled in. The next Sunday, the 22nd, we packed our bags and left for the Vaucluse, the area of France near Avignon and including the Cotes du Rhone. Assuming that it would be cooler there than in Nice, we packed a few sweaters and corduroys. It was a nice, easy drive up to Avignon along the tollroads ($25 in tolls each way!), about 2 ½ hours. Then we headed to Carpentras, through Beaumes de Venise, and to tiny Lefare where we had decided to have lunch at the Restaurant le Redortier. The entrance was up a dirt drive by the vineyards and the old building was attractive and welcoming. The new building housed the restaurant, with a glass wall looking out to a pleasant terrasse. We ordered the specialty of the house for an entrée – lamb terrine with eggplant and a fresh tomato sauce. David had cod with a white wine sauce for his main course while I had another specialty of the house, the duck leg daube with fresh tagliatelle. After a cheese course which included a delicious bleu, David had the fig flan and I had a chocolate cake. The menu was 24,50 euro each. Wines were extra and we chose a different glass for each course from their own vineyard.

After lunch, we drove up to Gigondas, about 15 minutes away. We felt as though we had arrived in the real France – all vineyards and tiny towns. Gigondas is a village of about 650 people, the town built on the north side of the hill. Our exchange is part of the ancient ramparts (16th century), near the 12th century church, with great views of the vineyards. There are old tiled floors and heavily beamed ceilings and it is furnished nicely with an antique armoire and comfortable furniture, and updated with a TV with satellite. The apartment had 2 bedrooms and bath, a kitchen/dining room upstairs and a sitting room downstairs. Our hosts live next door.

Monday we headed for Vaison-la-Romaine. We had visited this town 19 years before but didn’t remember it at all. We visited the archeological digs of the Roman town, including the theater (6,000 seats, one for every one in this Roman town), the baths, and several houses. There is a nice museum on the grounds. Later we walked to the Roman bridge which is still used for daily traffic. Apparently the upper part, added in modern times was washed away in a big flood, but the Roman part is still there!

We found a nice place for lunch, Le Clos St. Germain. Ginna had a salade with lardons while David started with a terrine of rougets (fish). We both had the filet St. Pierre roti in lemon butter, which was outstanding. Ginna had the profiteroles while David had the tarte de pommes. The whole menu was 11 euro each plus a carafe of wine for 6! After lunch we explored the church, Notre Dame de Nazareth Cathedral, and cloisters in the Provencal Romanesque style.

En route back to ‘our place’ we visited Seguret, one of the “prettiest villages of France”, and Sablet, another charming perched village. We’d had a bit of rain for just a few minutes, but most of the day was warm and nice.

Tuesday we headed back through Carpentras, with its delightful smells of plane trees, and on to Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, as the name tells, an island in the Sorgue river. This town is in the Luberon area of the Vaucluse. There are little canals everywhere and many waterwheels from the 1200s when they were used for grinding flour. Later they were used for the woolen mills, making this the center of Provence’s cloth-dying and textile industry. We visited the Cathedrale, Notre Dame des Anges, with its golden altar and enjoyed the beautiful buildings in the surrounding square. We chose a wonderful place for lunch – Lou Soloy (The Sun) and ate on a tiny bridge spanning the Sorgue with ducks clucking and diving beneath us. We each enjoyed the delicious quail and rabbit terrine, served with a sweet confiture and salad; then David had the pork and Ginna the faux filet. The desserts were fabulous, Ginna’s chocolate terrine and David’s raspberry filled Napoleon served with vanilla sauce. We had a nice rose, “cuvee speciale” de Luberon. The menu was 16 euro. We really enjoyed the meal, sitting in the warm sun, probably 75 degrees; quite idyllic.

Next we went on to trendy Roussillon, famous for its stunning ochre cliffs of red, yellow and orange. The whole town existed on ochre for 2000 years. After WWII, when the ochre market dried up, the town slept until it was rediscovered by tourists. This day it was filled with busloads of Americans. It’s always startling to hear Americans! But the town does have nice shops. We drove home over the mountains, the “route touristique” (meaning, no one in his right mind would take this route?), which was very windy but thankfully without a lot of traffic and gave tremendous views. By 6:30 PM we were home and sitting on our terrace, watching the sun go down, and sipping aperitifs. A really perfect day.

Wednesday we decided to stay fairly close to home, just exploring the route that circles the Dentelles de Montmirail. Our first stop was the Domaine les Girasols winery, suggested by Rick Steves. The tasting was hosted by Marie-Elizabeth Joyet, a beautiful and friendly woman. We went through aperitifs, main course, and dessert, all by 10:30 AM! But just the wines. Mme. Joyet’s daughter is married to a Californian who was studying wine-making in the Napa Valley and they now live here in this gorgeous place.

Our next stop was Le Crestet, a tiny place with fabulous views. Next came Malaucene where we shopped at the weekly market. We bought sausage with nuts, grapes, and then a terrific blue cheese and a sheep’s milk cheese from a darling cheeseman, wearing a cowboy hat, who proudly told us about his 600 sheep. As we drove over the mountains we saw orchards of almonds, figs, and cherries. The medieval castle of Le Barroux was in the distance. We stopped in Beaumes-de-la-Venise where we had another wonderful lunch under the trees at Le Relais des Dentelles. The starters were salade chevre chaud and terrine de campagne; we followed up with saumon with riz forestiere (with mushrooms) and rognons (kidneys!); then a pear charlotte and gateau with raspberries. We had a nice rose with the meal and a glass of the local Muscat with dessert. A 19,50 menu.

In the evening Ginna met an artist from Belgium, Hugo, who lives in nearby Sablet, while climbing back up to the house from the village. He joined us for an aperitif. Our hosts, the Vander Putts, were surprised to see us with a ‘friend’ and to learn that we had just met him. We all enjoyed an aperitif on the terrace, getting to know each other. Our hostess was raised in Belgium so there was a lot to talk about.

Thursday we spent in Avignon and visited the Palace of the Popes, a gigantic place covering 2 acres! The popes were in residence here for most of the 14th century, moved here by Clement V, a French pope, at the urging of the French king. By 1378 there were 2 popes, one in Avignon and one in Rome. The Palace itself is not overly interesting, as it is mostly empty of furnishings. We also visited the gardens and walked on the ramparts and had many views of the famous St. Benezet Bridge – “Sur le pont d’Avignon, on y danse …” - remember that childhood song? The Cathedral predates the Palace and is small.

Then the highlight of the whole week: we had lunch at the sumptuous Hotel La Mirande, eating on the lovely terrasse under a tree and surrounded by roses still in bloom, morning glories, and other beautiful flowers. In such a setting we had to start with a coupe de champagne! As we sat enjoying our lovely aperitifs, one of the chefs came out and picked fresh herbs from the garden. The bouche-amuse was cepe mushroom soup with foie gras, smooth and heavenly. The first course was marinated scallops with apple, sundried tomatoes, presented beautifully and tasting delicious. Then David had seabass while I had medallions of veal, both perfect. The breads were fabulous and the ½ bottle of white - delicious. For dessert we had chocolate terrine, which was out-of-this-world, accompanied by a local red dessert wine. The menu, available only at lunch, was 33 euro each plus all the drinks, but worth it. The service was impeccable (about 6 people taking good care of us!) and friendly. We could have stayed forever.

Then we went to the Fondation Angladon-Dubrujeaud Museum, a small but very nice place in the private home if the Angladon-Dubrujeauds. It contained work by Cezanne, van Gogh, Daumier, Degas, Modigliani, Picasso, and works by the patrons which were quite good. The house itself and the furnishings are very interesting.

The whole week could not have been better – whether weather-wise, food and wine-wise, or places visited. We loved our exchange place and hope to exchange with the Vander Putts again, maybe for a long weekend in the spring.

Our home in Nice - available for rental

2006-08-28T07:21:00.000-07:00

We love our place in Nice, right on the Promenade des Anglais, less than a kilometre west of the Negresco. We are on the 5th floor of a beautiful, well-maintained (concierge on the premises) elevator building. It's a large (73 m2) one-bedroom condo, with a balcony facing the sea, with great views west towards Antibes and east towards Cap Ferrat. We live here for about 6 months in the winter - although we are more than happy to vacate for a renter! Because it is our home, it has a well equipped kitchen (we can easily serve 8-10 for dinner) with a microwave, an oven and stovetop, a washing machine (alas, no dishwasher yet). The condo is nicely furnished and in very good condition and we have cable TV, a CD/cassette player, and phone for local use.

There is handy shopping close by, and also an inexpensive internet cafe. Public transportation for going downtown (if you don't feel like taking the beautiful walk along the Promenade) is very handy and buses to Antibes, St. Paul, Cannes and other points west are right at the corner.

WE RENT TO NON-SMOKERS ONLY.

For long weekends (Friday - Sunday) in the winter, we charge 400 euros. For a week, 600 euros; 2 weeks, 1000 euros. For a month, 1600 euros.

In the summer, we do not rent for less than 2 weeks. For 2 weeks, we charge 1400 euros; for 3 weeks, 1800 euros; for 4 weeks, 2200 euros. 6 weeks is 2800 euros. There are no other charges.

Please contact me for further information: dgnomads@yahoo.com

Colorado and San Francisco, July 2006

2006-08-01T18:33:00.000-07:00

We arrived at Denver airport on Tuesday, July 18, and were in our car and on our way to Carbondale by noon. We had a beautiful drive out Route 70, stopping in Georgetown for lunch at a funky little place with pretty good sandwiches. We got to C'dale around 4:30 and found the home of our friends, Gayle and DickWells and their friendly dog, Willy. They live in the high desert, with spectacular views of the snow-covered twin peaks of Mt. Sopris (12,953'), about15 miles away. Sitting on their deck with the many hummingbirds feeding nearby is delightful. We spent the afternoon and evening catching up on mutual friends, our own activities in the several years since we have seen each other, and the state of the US. Gayle fed us delicious fish tacos. Although Gayle and Dick think they are having a heat wave, the temperatures seemed pretty nice to us as the rest of the country suffers under an extreme heat wave.Wednesday Gayle and Dick took us on a tour of the area. The town of Carbondale is small but nice, with interesting shops. Then we went on to Redstone, the"Ruby of the Rockies", founded around 1900 by JohnCleveland Osgood, a millionaire coal miner. He builthousing for his workers - a large rooming house for the single fellows and cottages for the married men, many of which (the cottages, not the men) are still there, now galleries and shops. The rooming house is a lovely hotel where we had lunch on the terrace. We also visited the church which has stunning stainedglass windows of aspen trees (in the birch family). In the evening we headed over to Aspen, that famous jet-set town. A Saudi prince's place there is for sale right now for $135,000,000 (not a typo) - a new national record for a house price. It's over 56 thousand square feet! We had a great dinner at Explore - a book store housed in an old Victorianhouse with a vegetarian restaurant in a glass-in area upstairs. It felt like we were eating in a tree house. Thursday we headed back to Denver, passing throughIndependence Pass, spectacular views all along the way, on narrow winding roads (speed limits as low as15 mph). The Continental Divide passes through Independence Pass: water falling to the west runs tothe Pacific; water falling to the east runs to the Atlantic. We passed through Leadville, a charming oldWestern town and the highest incorporated town in theUSA, and had a wonderful lunch at the Butterhorn Cafeand Bakery in Frisco and afterwards enjoyed their charming museum. We spent three days in Denver (temps in the upper 80'sand 90's) with my son Pete. We spent time with his friends, the guys played tennis which Pete has just taken up (David says he will be good), and we shopped for a few things for his apartment. One night we met Boulder cousins for dinner, another we had a terrific Chinese meal at Little Ollie's. The Peking duck was out of this world. On Sunday Pete took us to Colorado Springs to see the Gardens of the Gods (pictured), ancient rock formations,displaying 300 million years of history. The scenery is breathtaking. We watched climbers scaling the shear rocks, not something we'd be eager to try! Nearby is Pike's Peak, named for Zebulon MontgomeryPike, who tried to scale the mountain in 1806 while exploring the Louisiana Purchase at the direction of President Jefferson.

Monday we flew to San Francisco and Andrea drove us to our exchange on Nob Hill. Even SF is hot, in the upper 80's! The exchange is delightful - a great neighborhood (about 6 blocks from Andrea's cafe onMarket), a wonderful old (we figure around 1925) SF building with a very pleasant garden area, and a 4-room apartment, furnished with interesting souvenirs from all over the world. Andrea and her partner Julie cooked us a great steak dinner that night. It was great to see what they've done with their house and the garden! Wednesday nights Andrea has live music at her cafe/bar which we enjoy. Angela Lum played her guitar and sang- what a great voice and a very funny lady. TuffyEldridge, a good friend of Andrea's whom I've known for years, and her band (used to be called a "girls'band" but I suggested a "broad band") also played and had the whole place rockin'.
We visited the newly reopened De Young Museum of Fine Art. The permanent collections are great with a lot of the Hudson River School and a nice display of decorative arts in glass, silver, and furniture. But my favorite was a special show of the Gee's Bend(Alabama) quilts. The quilters are former slaves and their daughters and granddaughters and the quilts are beautiful. Many are made from old work clothes so the colors are muted and the fabrics are soft. No fancy stitching here - these are utilitarian quilts, muchused.
We had a great dinner at Citizen Cake, owned byElizabeth Falkner, Andrea's boss, who appears often onThe Iron Chef and other TV shows. Of course we arealways treated like royalty, with many dishes in addition to what we order. Everything was delicious, especially the desserts.
There was a special show of Monet in Normandy at the Legion of Honor. We went with our dear friends, the Braznells - Bill was David's pledge father over 50 years ago! The show was wonderful and included several of Monet's earlier works, before impressionism. We particularly enjoyed the pieces which showed places we had visited such as Honfleurand Etretat. Afterwards we had a nice lunch at the Beach Chalet, built around 1925. The main floor walls are covered with WPA frescoes which are magnificent.(WPA works, started by the Roosevelt Administration, were part of the recovery from the Great Depression).
Thursday night we joined Andrea, Julie, and the gang on the Embarcadero for their weekly volleyball game. This time we even joined in! I was terrible, helping my team to a 0-7 defeat, but David was quite good. We made our annual pilgrimage to the BV (the BuenaVista), the place that introduced Irish Coffee to SF; and we had our usual stop at the Wild Side West (a bar started by Janis Joplin and her partner) in Bernal Heights; and of course the yearly stop for pork taco sat La Taqueria on Mission at 25th, arguably the best tacos in the world. We also tried a new (to us) place, Burma Super Star where we had the tea leaf salad, a very different taste with peanuts, fried garlic, sesame seeds, and fermented tea leaves on lettuce.
Thankfully, after a couple of days, SF cooled down toits normal summer temperatures in the 70's. We didn't want to leave. But on Monday, the 31st, we headedback to Chicago; we arrived at 6 PM and the temps were still around 90! En route from the airport we met an interesting neighbor who stopped by for a drink. She's a research doctor, working on HIV. We were excited to see our place since we had the new bathroom and our bedroom painted while we were gone. Everything looks great and it's great to be back home. I will be heading back to SF in a couple of weeks as Andrea has to have a small operation done and I will go out to help them with the house, the dogs (2 English bulldogs: LaVerne and Daisy), and so on for a week.

Basque Country - a Trip for Gourmands, April 2006

2006-07-28T08:30:00.000-07:00

We left Nice on Thursday afternoon, after a nice lunch with friends, and drove to the Camargue area which we had never visited. We saw a sign to Aigues Mortes and, although we were a bit hesitant about staying in a town with 'Mortes' in the name, we headed there. The name is literally 'Dead Water' which translates as 'The Marshes' and the town is charming, a less-visited Carcassone, a walled city with turrets. The area is famous for horses, bullfights, birding (lots of flamants roses - flamingoes), and harvesting salt. We stayed the night and had dinner at Le Minos which we were sure would be Greek, but was not. Nevertheless, a nice dinner at this friendly place.

For you Missourians - the town of Aigues Mortes was founded by Louis IX (later St. Louis) and from there he left for the Crusades in 1248, at the instigation of Pope Innocent IV, with his 38 ships and his wife and children. There are many statues honoring him in the main square and the church.

The next day we did a detour north to Millau, the site of the famous new bridge called the Millau Viaduct which opened in December 2004. It has 7 pylons and is 2460 meters long (1.55 miles, for the metrically challenged) and 343 meters (1130 feet) high. It soars over the lovely old Roman town and the Tarn River. It's the modern architectural wonder of France, designed by an English architect and it's beautiful as well. The drive there through the area of the Gorges du Tarn was also magnificent, with heights up to 900 meters, much like the American West with plateaus and mesas.

Then we headed south again, stopping in Moissac where we found a charming hotel owned by one of the young chefs of France. It always amazes me, there are so many of these hotels, very reasonably priced, with great chefs in the kitchen. He - Michel Dussau - was noted in the "Young Restauranteurs of Europe", and we enjoyed a wonderful dinner in the lovely dining room. The wines served - a different one with each course - were especially delicious.

The next day we drove to Bayonne where we hooked up with our friends, Marcie and Bernie Wall, at the charming Hotel Loustau, on the River Adour. This river flows both ways, upriver as the Atlantic tide rises and downstream as the tide ebbs. The bayonnet was invented here. It's a beautiful city, not at all like the smelly NJ city with the funny looking bridge to Staten Island.

Sunday we went to Biarritz, the neighboring town, and explored this lovely town which perches on the cliffs above the ocean. This has been a famous beach resort for the wealthy for 150 years. For lunch we went to the beautiful rose-colored Hotel du Palais, built in 1854 for Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugenie. It's only fabulous. Luckily they could fit us in for lunch at a table by the window overlooking the sea. But really, the semi-circular room captured our attention with its elegant chandeliers and wall sconces and other fixtures. They had a great idea for lunch - there was the regular menu and also the menu "forme", a healthy version of the same foods. We had salmon open-faced sandwiches with our champagne aperitifs, then a bouche amuse of crab-stuffed cucumber. The entree was green beans with crevettes coated in what I can only describe as shredded wheat with grapefruit OR cream of asparagus soup. The plat was sole meunier/sole vapeur; and for dessert the 'forme' had stewed fruits while the others had 'French toast' with ice cream and fruits. The service of course was impeccable and we all felt like royalty.

Monday we headed out for a day in the country visiting many of the charming towns in the area and enjoying the scenery of hills and cows and sheep. We particularly liked the little towns of Ainhoa, with its church with multiple layers of galeries, and tiny Sare. Throughout the area are the 'maisons a colombages', the typical Basque houses with glass-enclosed balconies, trimmed in red and green, the colors of the Basque flag. The houses do somewhat resemble Swiss chalets, giving us the mad urge to yodel!

We stopped in Bidarray for lunch at the Auberge Iparla, very 'country' with its stuffed deer and boar, knotty pine paneling and tables. We all opted for the lamb stew; for dessert we sampled a slice of Gateau Basque, an almond-flavored cake, and a huge portion of delicious mousse au chocolate.

We ended the day in St. Jean-de-Luz, another lovely beach resort, smaller than Biarritz, which reminded us all of Santa Barbara (CA)! We had a nice walk around the old town, did some shopping, visited their XVII century church, again with 3 levels of galleries. The main square was a perfect spot for an aperitif and people watching.

Tuesday we left France, heading for San Sebastien, the famed culinary capital of Spain and perhaps even the world at this moment. We had thought about another fabulous meal at one of the famous places (more Michelin stars per person here than anywhere else in the world!) but were sure we couldn't top the Hotel du Palais, so settled for what seemed a nice looking place in old town, Juanito Kojua. It filled up with lots of locals, so we must have made a good choice. It turns out that according to Frommer's, it's "famous throughout Spain". David had stuffed crab and I had a plate of aubergines/mushrooms/shrimp that was wonderful. The town itself, on the Bay of Biscay, seemed more formal and impressive than others along the coast and its beach, La Concha, is world famous.

We continued along the coast, with beautiful views, and arrived in Bilbao for the night. It was a nightmare trying to find our hotel among all the one-way streets, but finally arrived. Bilbao was once a great wool port and now is surrounded by steel and chemical factories. But there were still many interesting buildings in town. And of course the reason we were there was the Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Gehry, which we visited the next day. It seemed more about the building, which stands sparkling along the Nervion River, than about the art, although they were having a special Russian exhibit (the old iconic art as well as newer Cold War art) which was quite interesting. We had a good lunch in the museum and then headed to the old town which was somewhat disappointing - not as much to see as the typical old towns in France. Both nights in Bilbao we went out for tapas (called 'pinchos' in the Basque area). They were not as varied as other places in Spain, consisting mostly of ham and cheese.

Bernie and Marcie left us the next day to return to the States and we headed up to Erandio, not a famous name but the place where David's Basque ancestors were from. His great-grandmother was Libriada Landavaso (the Basques tell us it would be Landabaso), mother of Clarita Garcia who married Eliseo Sanchez, parents of Paul, Clara, and Mariana (David's mother). The Basques are the oldest ethnic group in Europe, predating the Celts by 40 centuries! They are thought to be descendants of Cro-Magnon (or Stone Age) Man who did the cave paintings at Altamira east of here at the end of the Ice Age about 15,000 years ago. The language predates any Romance language and was not a written language until the 17th century. Amazing to think that Stone Age Man fished the Ebro River here and we call it today by a name that he gave it! Erandio itself now is a manufacturing suburb of Bilbao but it is easy to imagine the hilly riverside fishing village it must have been. It's not far from Guernica, made famous by the first example of saturation bombing by the Luftwaffe in 1935 and Picasso's huge depiction of the event.

We then drove on to Pamplona, the capital of Navarre, where we visited the cathedral in the old town. Inside are the alabaster tombs of Charles III and his Queen, done in 1416. He gave Pamplona its cathedral. The heart of the old town is the Plaza del Castillo, once a bullring. Nearby is the Calle Estafeta, the narrow street where they hold the running of the bulls. Not a sight we wish to experience!

We drove on to Tafalla, a town one would probably not visit, but we had heard of a wonderful restaurant there, Restaurant Tubal. We found it with no difficulty and since it was only about 12:30 we were the first people there. It's a large place (about 60 tables), quite formal with beautiful monogrammed linens, and also listed in the 'Young Restauranteurs of Europe'. The last diners arrived a little after 3 PM!, filling the place completely on a Thursday for lunch! We enjoyed a bouche amuse of stir-fried veggies with a corn/seafood sauce served in a cup; then an entree of stacked potato and fois gras for me and a stack of artichoke/mushrooms/foie gras for David, both of which were out of this world; the plat was venison for me and lamb for David; then lemon cake, more like a tart, for me and 3-berry tart for DAvid. We enjoyed the nice local rose and even bought some in the store downstairs.

We arrived in Zaragoza with no need for food! We found our hotel, the Goya, with a bit of effort and went out to explore the city. First stop was the 16-17th century Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar which contains the pillar upon which the Virgin appeared to James the Apostle, the patron saint of Spain, in 40 AD. The church, with its 11 tiled domes, is huge and magnificent. There are ceiling paintings by Goya who was born nearby. You can imagine the crowds there on this Holy Thursday evening! The Plaza del Pilar was a mob scene but we admired the fountains and sculptures.

Sadly, we couldn't even get near the other important church, La Seo del Salvador, a 2nd cathedral, but did experience a couple of the religious parades with their drummers, incense, and holy scenes decorated with candles and flowers and carried by 6-8 locals. Many locals were dressed in what look like KKK robes in purple, brown, white, or black - very frightening for Americans, but of religious significance.

The next morning we visited the Moorish Aljaferia. The typical construction around a central patio with its gardens has been retained. The oldest part is from the 9th century, with multifoil arches and delicate decoration reminiscent of Cordoba. And of course there is beautiful tilework. We hadn't realized that the Moorish lands extended this far north. The building was taken over in the 12-14th centuries by the Aragonese monarchs and reconstructed in 1492 for Ferdinand and Isabella.

We left Spain, enjoying a picnic en route while driving through the dry, desolate hills, and drove on to Collioure, a delightful seaside village back in France which we had visited years ago and promised ourselves we would return to. We enjoyed an aperitif in one of the many seaside cafes and then dinner at a small bistrot,. Collioure is featured in many paintings by Matisse, Dufy, and other artists who visited here. There is a pretty seaside walk showing reproductions of their art by the actual scenes, a wonderful idea.

And back to Nice on Easter Sunday. 2800 kilometres.

Spring in Champagne/Reims, May 2005

2006-07-26T09:42:00.000-07:00

We left Nice for a one-week house-swap in a town just outside of Reims (spelled Rheims in English!) in the Champagne region of France. Enroute we stayed in Meursault, a charming little town in the Burgundy region. Burgundy is a lovely area, somewhat like the Cotswolds but with terrific food and wine. We did a degustation (wine tasting) in a 15th century cave-like place and ended up buying a few bottles. Then we walked all over the tiny town which is surrounded by ancient wineries. Our hotel, right in the middle of town, was owned by a young couple with a tortoiseshell cat ruling over all. Our room was basic but had an interesting loft area where we pictured our grandsons sleeping and giggling. Next time! Luckily the church across the way stopped the bells from 10 at night until 7 in the morning.

We had a wonderful dinner at the same hotel. We don't usually eat a lot for dinner, preferring to have our main meal at lunch. I had only an entree (first course) of ravioli stuffed with foie gras in a vegetable broth with beans and asparagus. It was to die for. David thoroughly enjoyed his lotte (monkfish). For dessert I had a pear in wine while David had the apple tart.

We arrived at our exchange home the next afternoon after driving through rainstorms all morning: a large 3 bedroom/several fireplace home with the third floor given over to a huge workout and computer room. The place is filled with antiques, including 4 ceramic stoves, and mementoes from their worldwide travels. Later we discovered there was not a television in the whole place! Alain and Helene showed us all around and then they left for our place in Nice.

We spent one rainy day driving up to Laon which was the capital of France from 840 to 987. It is perched on a plateau over the plains with fabulous views on any clear day I am sure. The Cathedrale Notre Dame was started in 1160 and finished around 1230 and is in the early Gothic style. It has been the inspiration for many other cathedrals including Chartres and Reims. The town is surrounded by ramparts and several of the gates are still standing.

We went on to Soissons where we had a wonderful lunch of four courses: escargots; farfalle with scallops; a cheese course; and a pear tart for dessert. Too much food and we wished we had a doggie bag! Afterwards we took a long walk around the town, visiting their cathedral - equally impressive, including paintings by Rubens - and the ruins of the Abbey of St. Jean des Vignes.

Both towns are in the Picardie region and there were many memorials and cemetries along the routes commemorating the men who died in the War to End All Wars. In the church in Soissons there was a special plaque commemorating the more than one million English soldiers who died in the war and most of whom are buried in France. Another day we went to Chateau Thierry, to the nearby American memorial at Belleau Wood where 2289 young American men are buried. So sad. There are many other memorials in this area where so many men died. One cemetery I particularly liked had dark crosses instead of the usual white - they looked just like vines growing.

We spent one day in Epernay which is the heart of the champagne region and where all the major houses have their beautiful chateaux and caves. We went for a tasting at Moet & Chandon, founded in 1743 by the Moet family, and were the only people on the English-speaking tour. Our guide, Mercedes, was Catalan and had a degree in restaurant management; she worked on ships for several years, seeing the world. We saw a few of the rooms of the chateau and then the tunnels where the wine is kept while she explained the whole process to us. Naturally at the end of the tour there was a tasting of a delicious glass of champagne. When I expressed amazement at the number of bubbles, she told me the secret - don't wash the glasses with soap, just rinse them with very hot water. The 'cleaner' the glasses, the fewer the bubbles! We also stopped at nearby Hautvillers where Dom Perignon is buried at the Abbey founded in 660. He died at 77 years in 1715, apparently well preserved!

We spent a sunny day in Chalons-sur-Marne, a town filled with half-timbered buildings. We visited Notre-Dame-en-Vaux, built in the 12th century, a beautiful church with lovely stained glass windows. Both the magnificent cathedral, St. Etienne, and the tiny Eglise St. Alpin were closed, but we admired the Hotel de Ville and especially enjoyed Le Petit Jard, a garden with many flowering trees, well marked, and a floral clock. We ate in a typically Ardennois (an area north of here) restaurant with food very similar, we thought, to Alsace which is not far to the east.

To return to our exchange, we followed the Route de Champagne through many tiny, idyllic towns and past hundreds of vineyards. There was acreage owned by Roderer, Veuve Cliquot, Taittinger, Mumm, and many other less famous names. At Verzy we walked a couple of miles in the strange forest of "Les Faux de Verzy", dwarf, mutant beech trees of magical appearance with thick, tortured lower branches and thinner, dense upper branches forming curious caps, some thick enough to live under like in a tent.

We spent a day in Troyes, about 60 miles south of our exchange home. The old town of Troyes, famed in medieval times for its fairs is in the shape of a champagne cork. By legend, Attila the Hun was here but didn't destroy the village because St. Loup offered himself as a hostage for the safety of the town. There are hundreds of half-timbered buildings and several churches of interest. We most enjoyed Eglise Ste. Madeleine the oldest church, built in the 12th century. There is a 'jube' - sort of an awning - at the entrance to the choir that is carved and embellished in the intricate flamboyant style. Another church, Basilique St. Urbain, was built by Pope Urban IV, who was from a poor family in Troyes, to honor Urban I.

After a great lunch we drove on to Provins, a small town with a very well-preserved feudal old town complete with ramparts and gates. Edmond of Lancaster, brother of the English king, became the overseer of Provins. He added to his coat of arms a rare red rose which grew here, imported from Syria during the 7th Crusade, the rose that became the symbol of the house of Lancaster in the War of the Roses 150 years later. We actually enjoyed this town so much that we came back and spent another day here, exploring and enjoying another wonderful lunch.

Both of these towns Provins and Troyes, are too charming for words, although I seem to have found several. Provins is very close to Paris (about 60 miles) and would make an easy day-trip on your next visit to Paris. Highly recommended!

Of course 'la piece de resistance' of the area is Reims (pronounced to rhyme with a french prince - sort of 'rancid' without the id!) and we spent a couple of days exploring it. In 496 St. Remi baptised Clovis in Reims, starting the reign of Catholicism in France. Nearly every French king has been crowned at the Reims Cathedrale de Notre Dame, including Louis IX (St. Louis) and Charles VII, the Dauphin led here by Jeanne d'Arc. Of particular interest inside the church are the beautiful Chagall windows. All the windows that Chagall has done - including the ones at the Art Institute in Chicago - were done in Reims, so famous for its stained glass.

The city itself is very pleasant to walk around, with many pedestrian zones and little traffic elsewhere. There are no high-rises, giving a very relaxed feel to the place, and few tourists. We visited several of the museums - the Museum of Fine Arts, Antique French Automotive Museum, and the Hotel Le Vergeur Museum which was a private home and is filled with beautiful furniture and the collections of Hugues Krafft (1853-1935), a world traveler.

And of course we enjoyed a wonderful lunch, starting with an aperitif of champagne, which seemed only right. David had duck with andouillette while I had salmon on pureed pumpkin, a great combination. The waiter was very friendly and seemed to enjoy that we were Americans, telling us of his time in New York.

When our week was over, we headed back to Nice, stopping en route in Vienne a charming town with Roman ruins. It rained most of the drive but cleared as we reached this town, giving us a nice afternoon to explore. Then Sunday it was home to Nice.

Budapest and Vienna, July 2004

2006-07-25T13:15:00.000-07:00

Nice gave us a lovely sendoff for our two week trip to Budapest and Vienna. There was a big parade during the day and then great fireworks at night while we sat on the balcony sipping wine and slurping peaches. Or maybe that was all for Bastille Day?

Anyway, we left on July 15, driving to the northeast corner of Italy, in Udine in the Friuli area where they grow the pinot grigio grape. We stayed the night and then drove up through fabulous scenery to Austria, across Austria, and into Hungary, arriving in late afternoon at our hotel, The Sofitel, in Budapest. That evening we went on a Danube dinner cruise complete with entertainment. There were Hangarian folk dances, opera and show tunes, and so on. A bit corny and touristy but fun. My favorite number was from "Porgy and Bess" sung in Hungarian.

The next day we walked across the Chain Bridge to Buda and rode up the funicula to walk around the scenic Old Town. St. Matthias Church (1896) with its colorful tile roof is interesting as is the Magdalen Tower, the only part of a Gothic church that was left after the bombing in WWII. After a bit of shopping - I couldn't resist a piece of pottery, the prices were so great -we headed back to Pest for lunch. Hungarian goulash, what else? Next it was on to the sensational St. Stephen's Basilica, an enormous and fabulously decorated church, named for St. Istvan, the first king of Hungary 1000 years ago. There was a wedding going on while we were there, adding to the interest.

Next we visited the Opera House where we took an hour-long tour. It too is gorgeous, designed by the same architect as the Basilica. I sure would love to see an opera there! We had supper at one of the many outdoors places along the river, enjoying the live music and the perfect weather.

Sunday we drove to Vienna, quickly finding our home exchange on Erdbergerlaende, a wonderful apartment right along the Danube canal. We settled in and explored our neighborhood.

We were in Vienna for 12 days, so really had a chance to explore the city and the surrounding area. We spent our days on walking tours, boat tours, and in museums. Our favorite museum, of the 8 we went to, is the fabulous Liechtenstein, housing the private collections of the Prince of Liechtenstein, both for the art and the building itself. The beautiful library with 100,000 books is worth the price of entry. The upstairs Grand Hall, also, is magnificent, about 8 times the size of our Nice apartment.

That same day we had a wonderful experience for lunch. We took the subway to the very end, in Heiligenstadt, and found a terrific restaurant, the Englehardt which turned out to be advertised as the oldest standing building in Vienna, built in 1180, naturally with a few improvements since then. We ate in the garden under a horse chestnut tree. They had all the normal Viennese things but advertised that "summer is mushroom time" and we both opted for that. I had a delicious mushroom goulash while David had mushrooms done with bacon and onions. For dessert we had a sampling of all their dessert offerings which was sensational! This restaurant is next door to one of Beethoven's houses - he moved over 60 times in Vienna so they are not difficult to happen upon.

We were quite happily surprised with the prices in Vienna. Somehow I had the idea that it would be very expensive, but it wasn't at all. Lunches have tended to be around $35 for two, complete with wine.

Another favorite dining experience was in Prater Park, a huge park in town with an amusement park, tennis clubs, and lots of trails. Schweizerhaus was recommended by friends for the pork knuckle which is about the size of a soccer ball! We ordered one to split and a salad each and had enough to take home for sandwiches! But it is delicious, served with horseradish and mustard.

Another day we went by boat to the Wachau, the most beautiful area of the Danube. From Vienna, we took a train to Melk where we visited the huge Benedictine Abbey with its mind-boggling Baroque church and then boarded a boat and sailed the Danube for about 2 hours. Absolutely idyllic! Lovely towns and churches, terraced hillsides, and vineyards, including the towns of Durnstein, where Richard the Lionhearted was imprisoned in 1192, and Krems.

In Vienna we also enjoyed the Butterfly Museum, actually a greenhouse with plants and live butterflies fluttering around. They are gorgeous. St. Stephen's Cathedral in the center of the city is fabulous. We trammed our way out to the Central Cemetery to see the tombs of Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, and Mozart. And we tried the Sacher Torte at the fabulous Sacher Hotel - really delicious.

Near our exchange was the Hundertwasser area. This artist was a new discovery for us, so imaginative and creative. Not only an artist, he designed whole villages and redesigned building facades. He was against straight lines so the results are quite Gaudi-esque. His home houses his collection and is fascinating with its uneven floors, ceramics, and grass on the roof.

We were surprised at the hot weather - in the 90's for the first week, but no air conditioning on buses, subways, in restaurants, and so on. Then it cooled off nicely the second week, to our relief!

En route home we stopped in Trento, Italy, famous for the Council of Trent. We had been there for about an hour in pouring rain about 10 years earlier but it was much lovelier this time. (Nice weather can certainly help!) The facades of many of the buildings - mostly 15th century - are decorated with ancient murals. We sat on the Piazza del Duomo and enjoyed apple strudel and wine, listening to the Neptune Fountain and the church bells. A wonderful last stop.

Scandinavia, June 2004

2006-07-24T13:51:00.000-07:00

On June 7, we left the USA, flying to Amsterdam (we never saw any place so flat!) and on to Bergen, the capital of Norway in the 12th and 13th centuries. It was a most spectacular landing place with the water, islands, rock formations, hills, distant mountains, and even a nuclear submarine. After finding our hotel we walked all over the city until we were nearly dead. We stopped for lunch - salmon open-faced sandwich for me, fish soup for David, and blackberries and ice cream to share for dessert and a carafe of wine: $75! Boy is this place expensive! Luckily the hotel price includes a huge breakfast. We were in bed by 7:00 and slept for 10+ hours.

Norway, the "Land of the Midnight Sun", is a democratic monarchy, home of Erik the Red, Leif Eriksson. Their King Harald was defeated in 1066 in England, ending the Viking period. They are a neutral country and have joined NATO but not the EU. The average income is $35,700 per capita (!); they have free university education, hospital treatment, and guaranteed pension. We probably don't want to know what their taxes are!

The next day we did our "Norway in a Nutshell" tour of the fjords. We boarded a train from Bergen to Voss, admiring the scenery en route and the lovely Norwegian blond, blue-eyed girls in the car (ages 7-11). At Voss we boarded a bus to Gudvangen, making mid-route photo stops at waterfalls and great valley views. We drove down a windy road, worse that Lombard Street in San Francisco, in some places at a 20 degree decline. In Gudvangen we boarded a boat for a 2-hour cruise of the fjords, beautiful waterways with steep mountains (up to 1800 meters high) lining them. The narrowest part is 250 meters across. There are charming villages along the way (including Undredal, with 130 people and the smallest stave church in Scandinavia, built in 1147 and seating 40 people) and waterfalls everywhere feeding the fjords. The sights were spectacular and we were accompanied along the way by hundreds of seagulls.

Next we boarded the Flam Railway - the interior is beautiful wood, even the curved ceiling. We enjoyed the gorgeous views of snow-covered mountains, more waterfalls, remote farms, and wild flowers in purple, yellow, white, and blue. The railway has the steepest grade of any normal gauge railway in the world - 1 in 18. We were very lucky to have a perfect day for this tour, sunny and warm.

The next day the weather was more normal - a huge cloud covered the mountains around Bergen and there was a light rain most of the day, except when it was pouring. They have rain on average 275 days a year! Nevertheless, we caught a bus to Fantoft to visit the stave church built in 1150. It was burned to the ground in 1992 by an avowed satanist (still in jail) and has been meticulously rebuilt. The stave churches are all in wood, decoratively and elaborately carved inside and out and crowned with dragon-headed gables like prows of Viking ships. We noticed a small window near the altar and were told that this was where the lepers listened to the service and received communion.

We returned to Bergen - actually hitched a ride back in the rain with a lovely fellow who lived in the States for a while. He told us NO ONE hitches here. In the Bergen Art Museum we admired artists from Baade to Gude, enjoying especially the large collection by Edvard Munch whose early works are very much in the Impressionist style.

Friday we headed for Stockholm and found our fabulous hotel, the Esplanade, built in 1910 in the Art Nouveau style. It wasn't inexpensive, but seemed quite reasonable after Bergen. We went out to dinner - not having eaten since breakfast - at Riche, a charming bistro-type restaurant. David had smoked salmon with creamed cabbage and potatoes; I had a cold salmon plate with creamed asparagus and potatoes. Dessert was a truffle and petit four plate. We walked a bit around this beautiful city and fell into bed.

The next day we explored Gamla Stan, the old part of the city. We toured the fabulous State Apartments in the palace, built in 1748, and visited the wonderful Cathedral, built in 1279 but enlarged in the 14th and 15th centuries and dedicated to St. Nicholas. Then we headed across a couple of bridges to catch a boat tour of the city. There is water everywhere, the city built on a series of islands, and the views from the boat were lovely. After a quick lunch, we toured the Town Hall, built around 1920 but built to look much older. This is where the dinner is held each December 10 for the Nobel Prize winners. The dinner is for 1300 people, including 250 students as Nobel dictated, as they would be "our future". The building is very interesting, the final room - the Golden Hall - made up of over 8 million pieces of mosaic, mostly gold, in wonderful murals.

Sunday we went to the Djurgarden, another island near our hotel. We wanted to see the Vasamuseet, a museum dedicated to the ship Wasa which sank within minutes of being launched in 1628. It was raised around 1960 and the museum is built around it. The ship is enormous. No one is sure why it sank, but it seems that the design was terribly flawed. The king kept making demands of the Master Shipbuilder.

We headed back to Gamla Stan for lunch and then to the National Museum. We explored for about an hour but our feet said "enough" so we headed back to the hotel for a rest.

Monday we flew to Copenhagen where we had arranged a 2-week home exchange. We found our place, a small apartment on the fringe of Copenhagen in a town called Hvidovre (pronounced Ville-Our!) and settled in. Some of the highlights of our long stay here were a visit to Frederiksborg Slot (castle), now the National History Museum, a beautiful place built in the early 1600's by Christian IV; Helsingor (Elsinore of Hamlet fame); Roskilde for the Viking Ship Museum that included the history of the Vikings in Ireland and their explorations to North America and as far east as Turkey; Rosenborg Slot, another 17th c. castle by Christian IV and the surrounding Kongens Have (King's Garden) and the nearby Botanical Gardens; and a day in the charming town of Odense, the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen. Everyone said we must see the Louisiana Museum of modern art, which is lovely, set right on the bay. But our favorite museum was the Statens Museum for Kunst (Danish National Gallery), one of the best museums we've ever visited. The art is wonderful, with interesting juxtapositions of older and newer works with commentaries by the newer artists relating the pictures to each other. The modern addition (1998) is joined to the original building (1889-1896) by a lovely glass-covered sculpture street, a most successful addition.

Copenhagen is definitely favorable to bikers. There are bike stands everywhere (thousands around the train station) and even a separate 6 foot wide lane for them on almost every street. One has to be careful crossing the street not to get run down by the speeding bikers! The only not favorable thing for them is the weather. It rained every single day we were there and it was quite windy on many of the days.

We spent a lot of time watching the European Championships and learing a lot about the game of 'football'. In Europe they count UP for the time! Instead of setting the clock at 45 minutes for the half, they start at '0'. They don't stop the clock, but keep separate count of injury time or penalties and add that on at the end. A little strange, to say the least, since you never know how much time is left. Anyway, last night, Greece won the Championship.

We've had many wonderful meals, but one of our favorites was at a Danish place in Helsingor where finished up with their "old cheese" served with onion, diced gelee, and rum poured over all. The young waiter, who had lived a while in the States knew we wanted to experience the real thing, so he suggested we accompany the cheese with Gamel Dansk (Old Danish), a bitter, a very distinctive taste and fun to try.

And we enjoyed several meals of smorrebrod (lit. "buttered bread") - open-faced sandwiches of wonderful, very fresh ingredients: salmon, roast beef, potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, caviar, and on and on. Our dear friend Anne-Marie Hansen came down to Copenhagen from Stavenger, Norway, for a day and introduced us to her favorite spot where the locals go! Delicious!

Then on to Nice for the rest of the summer, our first time to spend the summer there.

Slovenia and Italy April 2002

2006-07-20T11:55:00.000-07:00

We had some last-minute renters for our condo in Nice for the week before Easter, so where should we go? Slovenia sounded just right so we rented a car and took off. There may be a few of you who haven't a clue where Slovenia is - it was the northern part of what was Yugoslavia and is just east of Italy.

As we drove across Italy, we stopped at Lake Garda for a picnic and drove on to Vicenza, a favorite stop-over on an earlier trip with its beautiful Palladian architecture. There we were introduced to Aperol which, mixed with white wine and sparkling water, makes a delicious aperitif. Lunch the next day was in Grado, a seaside resort on the Adriatic near Trieste. We were searching for the restaurant where Ginna had her "best meal ever" 7 years ago but it no longer existed. Ah, well, it might have been a terrific let-down. We then drove past Trieste to Piran, Slovenia, a lovely old town on the sea. We found a nice hotel with a room with views of the sea. Everywhere we had driven, the fruit trees were in bloom, making for a beautiful drive. Piran and the nearby towns were, we imagined, like a visit to the Amalfi Coast 50 years ago.

After a relaxing stay in Piran, including a day trip to Trieste, we drove to the capital, Ljubljana, a lovely city divided by the Ljubljanica River. Along the river are wonderful walks with weeping willows, restaurants, shops, and coffee houses. We toured the city, including the arduous climb to the ancient fort overlooking the city.

We also had a delicious lunch at Pri Vitezu. A strange thing we had noticed as we drove across Slovenia was that we saw no cows, no sheep, no goats. What would we find to eat? After a lovely glass of the local "bubbly", we enjoyed a delicious entree (first course to us Frenchies) of baked artichokes topped with smoked ham and cheese. While David had fish for his main course, Ginna had her first taste (that she knows of!) of horse! It was rich and dense and served with a heavy red-wine sauce. Who needs cows, sheep, goats?

In Slovenia, their primary tourist group is Germans, so the Slovenians serve the wonderful fruhstuck (breakfast) we loved so much on our trip there - cereal, fruit, eggs, meats, cheese, breads, etc. etc. We ate our fill each morning.

After a pleasant night in Ljubljana, we drove north towards the Alps and beautiful views of snow-capped mountains. But unaccustomed as we are to winter temperatures, we vered west to Italy, to the Friuli area, home of the Pinot Grigio grape. We headed to Gradisca d"Isonzo for lunch at Il Parco, a delightful restaurant/bar where we spent a crazy evening 7 years ago. It is still delightful. Then a long, tiresome drive to Ravenna, recommended by French friends and which we'd never visited.

Ravenna is fabulous, a not-to-be-missed city full of 5-6th century churches with unbelieveable mosaics covering the floors, walls, and ceilings. Just breathtaking! We spent a long morning gasping, ohh-ing and ahh-ing. It's also a delightful city for the tourist, with limited traffic. Unlike medieval cities, the streets are fairly wide and most people are on quiet, old-fashioned two-wheelers.

Next we headed west through Modena (balsamic vinegar) and stopped in Parma (Parma ham, Parmagiano cheese) where we had another wonderful meal of pumpkin ravioli and wild boar. But nothing impressed us like Ravenna.

The next day we headed for the coast - the Mediterranean, not the Adriatic this time - for a couple of days of R & R in the charming village of Varigotti. And then home to Nice in time for an Easter Monday concert in the tiny, ancient cathedral up in Vence. A good friend was in the chorus and we thoroughly enjoyed the Bach (Cantate pour le lundi de Paques - Cantata for Easter Monday), Handel, Purcell, and Mielczewski.

Good to be home!

The Euro, Jan 1, 2002

2006-07-19T23:30:00.000-07:00

The big news for 2002 is the euro. January 1, 2002, it's the official currency for 302 million Europeans. The first sign was all the Brinks trucks being escorted into town in late December. Small packets of the coins were available as stocking stuffers or just to look at and now they're official! The changeover is mind-boggling: switching ATM machines, cash registers, parking meters, stamps, reprinting menus and price lists, and on and on. There were rumors that cashiers would strike for higher pay because they must handle two types of money (we can pay in francs for a while, but they give change in euros) but everyone actually seems to be handling it with good humor. But for years the older folks will have to convert back to francs to understand what they are spending. It's a big change for the French. There are 6.55957 francs for each euro, so the recalculation is tricky. It's easier for us. We figure a euro is a dollar with a 10% discount!

We're busy learning the new denominations: 20 euros are blue, 10 are pink. The coins - 2 euros, 1 euro, and 50, 20, 5 centimes and so on - are also different colors. The 5 centimes piece looks in color like a penny.

The holidays were great fun and exhausting. For Christmas dinner eight of us were at our Irish friend Marie's place for about 8 hours! We enjoyed champagne, delicious foie gras with a special sweet wine, wild smoked salmon with Chablis, duck and vegetables with red wine, a cheese course, and a Buche de Noel with more champagne. David and I walked the almost 3 miles home along the sea, arriving home at midnight. We never had 7-8 hour meals in the USA. Before living in Nice, I'd have wondered how it would be possible. But the courses are slow, there's plenty of talk, sometimes even singing. And the time just flies by!

For the annual Boxing Day blast at another friend's place - 15 people - another 7 hour feast. I made my Irish Coffee Cheesecake. Of course I need Philly Cream Cheese for that and there's no such thing in Nice. This is a problem I have here - every recipe seems to call for at least one ingredient that I don't have! After asking all sorts of people what to use (they hadn't a clue either), I punted and it turned out fine. Annette served a gorgeous foie gras, delicious lamb and vegetables, and of course a cheese course.

New Year's Eve was again at our place. Eight of us enjoyed escargots, lobster tails, and champagne. For dessert there was a panettone stuffed with chocolate ricotta, orange peel, and cointreau. Fabulous!

The next morning was the annual free concert here in Nice. It was sensational, including a breathtaking "Bolero". At the end, there is always a piece with popping champagne corks and the conductor serves champagne to the musicians. It's a great way to start the New Year.

We're looking forward to a great 2002.

France and Italy, November 1998

2006-07-19T09:47:00.000-07:00

We were off to visit the Riviera, searching for a place to live when we retire. Should it be somewhere in France? or in Italy? We just knew we needed a city, the sea, and no snow! We landed in a beautiful sunrise with the snow-covered Alps in the background in Milan on November 2. After picking up the car, we drove to Lugano, Switzerland, by the scenic (we lost our way) route. It was sunny and warm in Lugano, a beautiful town on a big lake. We found our cousins, Mercier and Sally, Art and Fran, who had also planned a visit to Europe for this time. They had rented two apartments for a couple of weeks, sensational views, with a balcony hanging over the lake. They treated us to a great lunch at their place - olives, cheese, and salami as an antipasto; pasta with pesto; and three delicious desserts. Then we headed south, getting as far as Pavia, Italy. We found a hotel and crashed.

Tuesday was a gray morning that turned rainy as we reached Genoa. We drove to Portovenere where we had lunch i n a nice restaurant, Da Iseo, while we watched the driving rain. David had fritto misto and Ginna had grilled sole and we shared a salad. The restaurant was right on the waterfront on a bay where we had a good view of boaters. When the rain let up a bit, we made a mad dash for the car. We had planned to spend a couple of nights on Cinque Terre, a very isolated area of Italy, with some of the towns accessible only by train or boat or walking. But it was too wet for Cinque Terre and we headed back up to Santa Margherita where we finally found an open hotel, Hotel de Ulivia; they would take us for one night only as they were closing for the season the next day. The rain let up in the evening so we took a long walk around town, stopping for drinks - and free hors d'oeuvres (roasted peppers, ham and cheese on toast, etc.) - at a restaurant where we could sit outside as it was still quite warm, although wet.

There was more rain during the night and still gray and rainy when we got up in the morning. We decided that we would have to skip Cinque Terre altogether. This was devastating as it was one of the main goals of the trip. Instead we drove out the Strada Panoramica along the sea to Portofino. This is a darling, romantic town, although very expensive, and a very in-place with the 'jet set'. We explored it in a light rain and decided to head on toward Genoa.

We drove north along the coast road with wonderful views the whole way. We stopped for lunch in Camogli, finding a restaurant hanging over the crashing waves. Ginna had pesto lasagna, not really lasagna as we think of it but rather sheets of folded pasta with a very smooth, light green pesto. It was wonderful. David had seafood again. For dessert we went down the street for our first gelato - ciocolato, of course.

We got as far as Nervi that night and found a nice hotel with a balcony and a view of the sea. Since the rain had finally let up, we took a long walk along the Anita Garibaldi Promenade that goes for miles along the sea. We picked up provisions for a picnic which we had on our own balcony and then went to sleep to the sound of the crashing waves.

Thursday we woke to a lovely day. After breakfast, we took another walk along the sea and then headed off to the West Riviera. We drove through Genoa, but decided we weren't up to a big city. We passed through many beach resorts, following along the SS1, the Aurelian Way. This is one of the oldest roads on the planet, planned by Marcus Aurelius 20 centuries ago, and running from Rome to Cadiz, Spain.

We stopped overnight at one of the little towns along the coast, Spotorno, where we found a room with 2 tiny balconies and a view of the sea. Friday we visited Albenga, a town we had visited 11 years ago on our first trip together to Italy. We revisited the 5th century Baptistry and wandered around the wonderful old town. Instead of being on the sea, Albenga is on the alluvial plain, about a mile inland.

Saturday morning we were off to Cervo which we had also visited on our first trip. It's a medieval hilltop town with a favorite church in green and pink. We parked at the bottom and climbed all the way up where we wandered around the tiny, charming village which seems to have more craftsmen than before. The village is more covered than most medieval villages, with passageways rather than streets, all twisting and turning, and with many stairways. Very interesting. You can't help but try to imagine how people lived back then! Then we climbed slowly back down to the car and - Disaster! Someone had smashed the driver's window and taken Ginna's bag - passport, driver's license, credit cards, glasses, notes about the trip. We are always so careful about locking everything in the trunk but this shows that even seasoned travelers can have brain-fade! We had no idea what to do. We drove to the next town, Diano Marino, to make a police report, which took hours. While Ginna made out the report, David made the calls to cancel the credit cards. Afterwards we drove back, hoping that they had taken what they wanted and thrown the bag on the side of the road nearby, but no luck.

Feeling depressed and in need of a really good lunch, we drove to Imperia to the old Port Maurizio where we happened upon the Blue Lanterne. Such a pretty place a white building with windows facing the sea, beautiful linens, upholstered chairs, and the nicest maitre d' and waiter. We both had the wonderful sea bass and split a salad. The rolls with olives in them were especially good!

After lunch we drove to Bordighera where we walked forever trying to find a hotel. Everything closes for November. Finally we stayed in a 4-star with a beautiful, gigantic corner room on the sea. The furniture was a lovely wood with marble tops on the bedside tables, the desk, and an occasional table. We went out for drinks and were served hors d'oeuvres with each round so we were full. Then home to bed.

The next morning the receptionist helped us by calling Hertz about our car. Since it was the weekend, nothing was open. We would go to the Hertz booth at the Nice airport on Monday, but she warned us that the French would probably give us a hard time, because the French were not helpful people! After a nice breakfast, we drove on to France.

We stopped in Menton for a walk along the waterfront, but didn't stay. On to Villefranche-sur-Mer where we walked around the old town with its covered alleyway. Then we chose a restaurant on the waterfront, eating outside on Nov. 8! Some people were bundled up but it was warm. David had his usual soupe de poisson and cockerel (chicken) while Ginna had an avocado salad and fish.

Between Menton and Nice there are three corniches, roads that hug the cliffs that fall to the sea. The Grande Corniche, built by Napoleon along the Via Julia Augusta, is the highest, and passes by the Alpine Trophey, built by the Romans to honor Augustus. The Moyen Corniche is a modern road with good views of the coast and the coastal resorts. The Basse Corniche was built in the 18th century by a Prince of Monaco. It runs at the foot of the cliffs, following the contours of the coast (bord du mer) and gives access to all the resort towns.

We took the Moyen Corniche to Nice, enjoying the fabulous views. We passed the medieval town of Eze, perched on its mountaintop, and Monaco and its famous gambling casinos in Monte Carlo. Then past Nice to Villeneuve Loubet where we checked into our timeshare exchange. It's not great - just a tiny studio, but it does have a balcony overlooking the marina, tennis courts. And no packing/unpacking for a week!

Monday morning we took the car with its missing window to the Nice airport, expecting a hassle, but the nicest Hertz fellow gave us no trouble at all. We quickly had a new car and a warning that those Italians would probably give us a hard time when we turned the car in in Milan! Italians are not helpful people!

We drove to Nice and explored the Chateau, actually a large park on a high hill in the middle of the city where there was once a fort and a church. We loved the footpaths, all made of stone mosaics of Greek and Trojan figures, fish, boats, and so on. There's a man-made waterwall and great views all around. We climbed down to the old town and its winding streets and many churches and shops of souvenirs, butchers, wineshops, fresh made pastas in a rainbow of colors, olive oils, soaps, everything looking delicious and inviting.

Next we explored Antibes, with its charming old town and pleasant port across from an ancient fort. There's a Picasso Museum, housed in an old Grimaldi palace, where Picasso actually worked. After lunch in the old quarter, we drove to Cap d'Antibes, a wealthy area of magnificent estates.

Tuesday we visited Cannes, home of the famous film festival. We had lunch and talked with the restaurant owner who promoted Cannes and Nice as places to live, saying that Menton is for old people and too quiet. We drove on to Frejus where we viewed the Roman ruins and then returned home over the mountains instead of along the sea. Again spectacular views.

Wednesday we drove back along the lower Corniche to Menton where we had hopeed to visit realtors. But it was November 11 - Armistice Day - we happened to be here on the 80th anniversary of the end of WWI (called Veterans' Day in the US). We joined a parade through the old town - just a band and people following along, ancient men in civvies with their medals from the many wars since then. We climbed up to the old church and wandered through the streets. We also visited the great market where we bought fish pate and olives for future picnics. What a great place to shop, even better than Whole Foods! We had lunch at the Grand Bleu right on the waterfront with a lovely cool breeze from the sea. Raspberry tarts for dessert.

On the way home we drove out to Cap Martin to see more beautiful estates. Then up to Roquebrunne, another medieval village perched high above the sea with some of the best views of all. Then home, a late snack, and bed.

Thursday we went in to Nice to find the American Consulate where they gave us the necessary paperwork to board the plane without my passport. We drove along the lovely Promenade des Anglais, admiring the Belle Epoch Negresco Hotel, across from the sea. We explored more of Nice, stopping at a couple of realtors' offices to get an idea of rental rates. For lunch we returned to the old town to find a place serving rabbit which we hadn't had yet and were determined to find. We both ordered it, sharing a salade chevre chaud. All was wonderful and the place was charming, with beams painted robin's egg blue with yellow in-between. Very Provencal. There were several dogs wandering into and out of the kitchen and a tape of Spanish music playing.

Friday we drove to St. Paul de Vence, another town we had visited that first trip. We explored the medieval village with its narrow stone streets inlaid with stone flowers and flower pots. The town is now an artists' colony and quite expensive for souvenirs. In the town there is also the world-famous Colombe d'Or restaurant where so many artists ate and paid with artwork. To eat there is an experience. The food is not outstanding but the rooms with all the artwork by Matisse, Chagall, Dufy, Calder, and on and on are unforgettable.

Then on to Vence where we saw the 400-year-old elm tree at the entrance to the old town. This is one of my favorite towns, less commercial than St. Paul. There are signs posted all over town, describing the buildings and sights. There are remains of a Roman road and an obelisk given to the town by the city of Marseilles in the year 300 AD! We had lunch at Chez Jordi; Jordi himself is the host, waiter, and chef, and probably dish-washer, all in one! David had the best lamb chops he's ever had, seasoned with rosemary and thyme while I had the salmon. The vegetables were perfectly cooked carrots, green beans, broccoli, and delicious ratatouille. For dessert an apple tart with nuts and raisins, served warm. And a nice house wine.

On the way back home we passed Tourettes-sur-Loup, a darling semi-circular perched village; the Loup gorges; and Grasse, famous for its perfume factory. At home, tennis, a crossword puzzle, and bed.

Saturday we took off on a gray, cloudy day. We stopped at McDonald's for Egg McMuffins, our first eggs for breakfast. This is certainly the McD's with the best view in the world, extending right out into the Mediterranean with big windows looking out to sea. It was going to be a long day, so we got on the autostrada to get as far as we could. David was getting tired of dodging traffic along the sea. We got as far as Casale, Italy, and found a pretty basic, but clean, hotel. We walked around the city which doesn't appear in guidebooks but turned out to be very nice, with a large square and many churches. We stopped in a pub for a drink, Guiness signs everywhere but Murphy's stout on draft. Ginna ordered a vino bianco and was asked "with gas or without?". This was a first - but we were very near Asti where many of the wines are bubbly. Then back to the hotel for a snack and reading. At 7:30 I said, "We can go to bed early or we can go out for a drink. It's Saturday night!" So we dressed and went out on the town. The passegiata was in full swing. We walked everywhere looking for another bar and just as we were about to give up, we spotted the Bar Savoie, right on the main square. It was so pretty with its yellow walls and darker yellow beams, wooden armoire by the entrance, and old-fashioned bar. We sat at a table and watched everyone else. The waitress was serving an interesting looking drink which she insisted was Irish Coffee, but it was mostly Irish with a thin layer of coffee and a thin layer of cream. David had to have one while I settled for a glass of port. With the drinks they served the prettiest hors d'oeuvres, five for each of us plus olives, on white, lacey china plates. We staggered home to bed.

The next morning we returned to the Savoie for breakfast. Everyone was there for after-Mass Sunday breakfast; definitely the place to be seen. There were baskets of croissants and other goodies in the armoire. We helped ourselves and ordered due cappucini and watched the high society of Casale have their typical Sunday morning.

Then we were off to Lago Maggiore. It is spectacular. We drove up the west coast to Stresa, a very expensive and beautiful town. We walked around looking at all the magnificent hotels. We didn't take the available boat rides to the islands since most things were closed. We couldn't get over the vegetation - palm trees, cedars, lindens, mimosa, holly. And all huge. The leaves were turning red, gold, orange, yellow, and brown and there were snow-topped Alps as a backdrop.

We drove back south looking for an open restaurant and found Il Milano, a Best Western hotel with a glass-enclosed restaurant hanging over the lake. They were having a big buffet dinner, something we've never done in Europe, and there was even live music. There were big Italian families there having a grand time. It was really a pretty good deal - 68,000L each (about $45 each) which included 2 bottles of wine, a red and a white. We tucked into the first table, loaded down with several kinds of proscuitto and other hams, cold fish, shrimp salad, several vegetable salads, and great tomatoes. The hot table was next, with whole tunas, roast beef, potatoes, eggplant, sausages, soup. And then the dessert table with cakes (all filled with liquor) and dolci and fruit. It got quite warm in the room so we had the waiter open the sliding door to the tiny balcony. I took the last of the wine out there and soon had several Italians join me, feeding the fish and ducks, singing along with the music. We even danced a little. Such a lunch!

We drove further south along the lake, looking for a hotel and finally found a 3-star with views of the lake. We walked along the waterfront to the square where they were having a small market. I bought a blouse from 1940, made of lovely old linen. Then we walked through the old town and had a light supper of proscuitto and cheese with wine at a cute bar with a barreled ceiling.

The next day we headed along the autostrada toward the airport. The airport had been completely rebuilt and the roads weren't done yet! We had decided it would be a good idea to stay near the airport for the last night, but it got dark earlier than we expected and the airport wasn't surrounded by hotels! We started to panic, but finally found a place, a business hotel, new and fairly expensive. But they had a bed for us. In the morning we turned in the car (with no problems - it turns out that both the Italians and the French are helpful!) and took off for home. A long trip - 9 hours to Dules where we went through customs (no problems with my Consulate identification instead of passport) and then another 1 1/2 hours to Chicago and home.

Normandy and Brittany, May 1998

2006-07-18T12:59:00.000-07:00

We arrived Friday morning at 10:30, Paris time, collected the luggage (why does it always take so long?) and hopped on the Metro into the city. I think we got taken on the 3-day coupons for the Metro; I wanted the week-long pass which are less expensive but the clerk insisted there was no such thing available. I guess they don't sell them at the airport; they are really for commuters.

It was an easy train ride to Luxembourg station. Getting off the train was a bit of a challenge. There were turnstiles to go through and it was impossible to get the luggage through too. We finally learned as we left a few days later that there were special stiles with luggage racks, but in the meanwhile we gave the locals a good laugh. We walked to our hotel, Le Pantheon, on a very nice, quiet square. The room was small but nicely decorated: beamed ceiling, windows with a view of the square, fabric with carnations on the walls, a coordinating stripe for the drapes and headboard, and a red-checked coverlet and insets in the closet doors and armoire. The bathroom was outstanding with very modern fixtures in brass, pretty pink and white tiles.
We immediately dropped everything and walked toward the river. First order of business was lunch. We found a nice brasserie and sat outside with a view of Notre Dame. The weather was delightful. David had fish en papillote and I had a nice salad and chicken liver pate. We hurried back to the Metro stop along a street filled with Greek restaurants and shops, the local version of Halsted Street in Chicago. We jumped on the Metro to Pere Lachaise Cemeterie. We had to change lines but found the Metro pretty easy to figure out, even with our limited French and our sleepless night. Pere Lachaise was much hillier than we expected amd much more crowded. I think I had pictured something much more spread out. And it's huge! It's 118 acres of packed-in burial spots. We explored as long as we could and returned to the hotel for a beer, a soak, and 12 hours of sleep!

Saturday morning we were up at 7 AM. We returned to the Metro for the train to Issy where we would start our long walk along the Seine. We stopped along the way for petit-dejeuner (breakfast). All through the walk we could see La Tour Eiffel in the distance. We crossed back and forth over the river, taking a side trip up to the L'Arc de Triomphe and take a short stroll down the Champs Elysees. La Tour Eiffel took our breath away. We had no idea it would be so much more beautiful in person; the iron work is delicate and decorative. We just loved it. And the setting was nicer than expected, set in very nice gardens with beautiful apartment buildings on either side. Then back to the right bank to Place de Concorde and we strolled up the Jardin des Tuileries toward the Louvre. We stopped for lunch when our legs were about to give out. David had magret de canard, Ginna roti d'agneau. For dessert we had un verre de porto and du fromage, a nice camembert.We forced ourselves to get back up and continue on to the Ile de las Cite to see Cathdral de Notre Dame. Then on to the next Ile, L'Ile de St. Louis, which we found to be very attractive. There are nice hotels there where I would choose to stay on a future visit. We crossed over to the Right Bank to see the last remains of the Bastille, just ivy-covered rocks. Then we had a long walk back to our hotel where we napped for several hours.
That evening we explored the Luxembourg Gardens with its palace and tennis courts. We searched for a restaurant and found one specializing in Alsatian food. David had the monkfish osso buco, I had the spargel (the white asparagus I loved so much in Germany) and an Alsatian pate with pistachios. We split a plum tart for dessert. Then home to bed.

Paris was far less intimidating than I had expected. Everyone was nice; we noticed no snobbery. They did not pretend to not understand my French but rather were very patient with it. The city is easy to get around whether on the Metro or just walking. I wish we had had more time to spend, but there will certainly be future visits.

Sunday morning we were up early, packed, and off to the Metro and back to the airport where we would pick up our car. There were the usual complications with the car rental - they didn't have an automatic car, which we had requested, and for some reason they wouldn't accept David's credit card. They finally found us an automatique, a really nice and roomy navy blue Citroen XM, the largest Citroen made. Very classy and brand new with 2000k on the clock.

We drove to Giverny where we would visit Monet's home and wonderful garden. The gardens are far less extensive than I had expected but the variety and spacing make them seem to go on forever. The water lilies were not yet in bloom but the beauty of the place made us both imagine that we too could be artists if we lived there! Our pictures turned out like Monet paintings.

After a nice lunch in Giverny, we drove through Vernon to see a church Monet painted. Then on to Les Andelys, where the Chateau Gaillard was built by Richard the Lionheart in 1096. From the ruins there are stunning views of the Seine with sailboats out on this lovely day. The smells were lovely too with all the trees in bloom.

Next we drove to Le Bec Helloin, an utterly charming village with its own abbey. Nearby are many thatched roofs, even some with flowers planted on them. I took a picture of one with a row of irises blooming along the peak! The Auberge in Le Bec is 18th century. They offered us a room on the 2nd etage, but it was stifling in the warm afternoon. The only other room they had available was on the ground floor by the front door - not fancy, but nice. The 450F per person included the room, dinner, and breakfast. We strolled around the village, stopping for a glass of cider, and explored the abbey and then dressed for dinner at 8:00. Madame had seemed somewhat intimidating when we first arrived but was really very nice. The young girls working at the hotel are the hardest workers!

We had an amuse-bouche (taste teaser) while sitting on the patio and then another of pigs' feet at the table. The dining room was homey with walls of thin Roman bricks, heavy black beams, a grandfather's clock, a large fireplace, and cupboards filled with crockery, candlesticks, and bottles of calvados. Each table was beautifully set. For the 'entree' (1st course) I had chosen the pate served with a whole jar of cornichon pickles and red cabbage while David had the saumon pate. Then a palette cleanser of stewed apple in calvados. David had as his main course a chicken leg roti while I had the best rabbit I've ever had. It was braised in calvados and absolutely fell off the bone. We loved the butter dish: it was a pot with a lid, the lid held butter in the cold water in the pot. It's called a conservateur and we found on later in our travels to bring home. Next came the cheese course, camembert and Port Salud. We had that the hotel served the best tarte tatin in France and it was wonderful. A thick apple tarte, served warm, arrived and the waitress poured flaming calvados over it and put out the flames with sugar. We could eat only one slice between the two of us and asked them to save the other slice for the next day.

The next morning after breakfasting and collecting our second piece of tarte tatin, we were off to Rouen, known as the City of a Hundred Spires. There we visited the beautiful Cathedrale Notre-Dame which was painted so often by Monet. The town itself is lovely with many half-timbered houses. The Gros-Horloge, a huge Renaissance clock, is in an arch spanning the pedestrian zone. We spotted a store with delicious-looking picnic provisions and purchased a cheese tart, tiny sausages with walnuts in them, and un oeuf-en-gelee avec jambon (a soft-boiled egg in beef gelatin with ham, decorated on top with vegetable flowers), too pretty to resist.

Next we went to the Abbeys. The first one St Martin de Boscherville, sadly was closed, so we went on to Jumieges where we explored the Abbaye de Jumieges, founded in 654. The ruins were rebuilt around 940 and are quite extensive. We then drove to Caux-de-Bec where we had our wonderful picnic in a park along the Seine. L'oeuf was definitely the highlight, spread on a fresh baguette. And for dessert the left-over tarte tatin! Then we drove through Fecamp, which was too busy for our taste, and on to Yport. We found ahotel on the sea and a room with a view. We stolled on the beach and had a beer on the pier, watching the natives picking up mussels and oysters on the rocky beach at low tide. Tides are something here, about 20 feet.

We drove down to Etretat for dinner on the water where it was still warm enough to eat outside. I had the terrine de deux poissons and David discovered soupe de poissons which is served all over France. This broth is served with shredded cheese, crunchy croutons, and a wonderful sauce of tomato paste, mayonnaise and spices called rouille. You spread the sauce on the crouton and put the crouton in the soup, sprinkle with cheese and eat. Yummy!

Then the disaster! We couldn't get the car started. We had about 20 minutes of panic, including phone calls to National where a very helpful young man said, "Step on the brake". He almost swooned when he heard what kind of car we had, saying "Oh la la!" It finally started and we were off to Yport. We slept like babies to the sound of the waves.

The next morning we returned to Etretat for a hike along the spectacular cliffs. The wild flowers were beautiful and the weather perfect. There was even a golf course along the cliffs - what a site for a course! Some of the sandtraps were bomb crraters. There are many 'pillboxes' along the Normandy coast. Next we headed to Honfleur, on the Seine estuary with a 17th century harbor with tall wooden houses along the side. The town is full of half-timbered houses and cobbled streets. We found a hotel, Le Cheval Blanc (they showed us two rooms, one which had ben refurbished and one which had not, and we actually preferred the one that had not, although we weren't positive which was which!). Our room had pretty wallpaper on the walls and ceiling (the French do this a LOT), creamy woodwork and beams and a great view of the harbor. We immediately headed out for a big lunch, outdoors on the waterfront. David had the assiette de pecheur, basically the fisherman's platter with cockles, shrimp, oysters, with a tomato salad. I had a full menu - langoustines as an entree, salmon in tarragon sauce for the main, camembert, and un glace - chocolate ice cream - because it was so warm outside. We do this quite often, one of us ordering a whole menu and the other just one item, and then we share the courses. It seems to be about the right amount of food.

The next morning we were on the road to Deauville and Trouville. The roads were lined with hedgerows as in England, the orchards in bloom, and more thatched roofs with flowers on top. The route is along the sea, with beautiful houses and hotels with magnificent sea-views. Absolutely giant horse chestnuts, both white and pink ones, were in bloom. Then we headed in-land; all the little towns of Calvados reminded us of the Cotswolds. Along the 'Cidre Route' we bought picnic provisions. We passes through Falaise, the home of William the Conqueror. The Chateau (actually the successor to his birthplace) overlooks the town. Then we drove to Putanges where we found a lovely park along a river to have our picnic. Apparently it is a teenage hangout for fishing, kayaking, and just flirting, but they didn't bother us. The river was very peaceful and we enjoyed our jambon fume (smoked ham), camembert, pate forrestiere, fraises (strawberries), grapes, wine, pain du campagne, and apricot tart for dessert. We seem to eat at all the best places! I'm not sure we ever have such weather in Chicago - warm, but not too warm, with a lovely slight breeze and no humidity.

Putanges would have been a nice place to spend an evening but on we went. We drove through Domfront, which I didn't even see mentioned in any of the guidebooks. Its medieval center looked wonderful! Next trip! It was a long drive to Ducey where we found a charming hotel, one of those places where I think I could just move in and live for several years. The hotel itself was nice but the setting on the river was enchanting. There are bridges spanning the river to the left and to the right and there is a charming mill just upstream. And the room was a find at 285F! WE sat on the back patio, watching the river and reading for a pleasant late afternoon. For supper, we walked downstream and finished our picnic leftovers. And to bed.

The car was giving David fits. He has a love/hate relationship with it. He really likes driving this classy car but we have the darnedest time starting it. Step on the brake, jiggle the wheel, and spit out the window three times! Enter the secret code and it starts. Sometimes.

The next morning it was very foggy all the way to Mount St. Michel. We arrived by 8 AM, had coffee, and explored. We found a conservateur (the butter dish), a knight for our grandson, and a few other souvenirs. We walked around the ramparts but it was still too foggy to see far. Nevertheless the town is interesting - a place I'd wanted to visit since schooldays. Where we parked the car there was a sign that said "The sea does not cover this area today". We were worried that they might have put that sign up the day before and forgotten to change it, but our car was still there when we returned.

As we left Mount St. Michel, we stopped for gas in St. Brolard. It took 68 litres at 6.48F per liter. $90.00! We figured we spent more in St. Brolard than in many towns and all we did was fill the tank.

We left Normandy and entered Brittany, driving to Cancale for what was planned as a splurge lunch. I had read about Restaurant de Bricourt in "European Travel & Life", always a sign of an expensive meal. We walked up and down the waterfront - there must have been 30 or more restaurants offering everything you can imagine. And there were many places to buy many different kinds of oysters (huitres). About to give up on the place we were seeking, David spied a sign pointing up the hill. We walked up and up and up, to the main town and finally found the lovely restaurant. A young man at the gate welcomed us and led us inside. The chef actually grew up in this beautiful house. We were led to a table in the solarium, all windows looking out on a pond with ducks and the gardens. Not a view of the sea, but not bad. The floor was marble and across from us was a small, antique iron stove used as a side table for flowers and butter dishes. We had to draw it!

We ordered a really good Fume Blanc and "the menu". They brought grilled scallops to go with an aperitif. Then another amuse-bouche: served in three "coolies' hats" shells on a bed of kosher salt were three tastes of the sea - sea bass, cockles, and scallop, each in its own sauce. There was the tiniest spoon to eat them. Then the appetizers - David had the foie gras de maison and I had soup with potatoes, asperges, and crab meat formed into a mound shaped like a crab. For the main course we were each served three fish - turbot, sea bass, and salmon - in a delicate sauce with leeks. Dessert was a sort of custard on top of pamplemousse (one of my favorite words - grapefruit) and oranges with strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries scattered around the plate. We finished with cafe au lait and a couple of glasses of port, served with an apre-dessert of sweets, one coffee flavored, one lemon, and one chocoate. It was pricey but a lunch to be remembered forever.

Next we went to St. Malo and found a hotel within the ramparts of the old city. We walked the ramparts, explored the city, stopped for a beer in O'Flaherty's Pub where we talked with some Viennese girls who were in school there learning French. We had a light supper at a creperie and then went 'home' to bed.

The next morning we were up at 8 AM, greeted on the way down the stairs by a fellow in a towel coming up from his shower(our room had a private bath but not all the rooms, apparently!). Then into the car and on the road to Dinard which is a lovely seaside resort. There are magnificent mansions on the sea. It was an absolutely perfect day, again. We walked the chemin de mer - a footpath that goes forever along the cliffs overlooking the sea - toward St. Lunaire. We got as far as St. Enogat, and then walked back, covering several miles. We even bumped into a couple who had been in the Bricourt at lunch the previous day. Beautiful scenery, many boats, clear greenish water. It was a little scary at times, reminding me of taking the mule down the Grand Canyon, a narrow path with few guard rails. When the tide is out, the beaches must be 1/2 mile deep. There are swimming pools set in the sea; when the tide is out the walls retain the water. When the tide is in, the pool seems a part of the sea. The wildflowers on the cliffs are beautiful.

After lunch we went to Dinan, a very pretty medieval village on a cliff above the water. After walking around the town, we were resting on a park bench doing a crossword puzzle, when we were approached by a gentleman who was quite obviously in his cups. He seemed to be a veteran of Normandy, a Commandant. He was very interested that we were from the USA. He sang to us and with me: he thought he was Maurice Chevalier, singing "C'est Magnifique" and "Thank Heavens for Little Girls".

When he left, we wandered off to explore some more. We walked down a terribly steep, cobbled street to the river level where we had a couple of beers while watching the fishing. They were using a large square net which they would lower to the bottom of the river from the bridge - but to no avail. Then we had the long walk back up the hill to the car and the drive back to St. Malo. We walked around St. Malo and finally found an appealing restaurant where we could eat outside. It was named Les Chiens du Guet - I couldn't believe David would eat in a place named for dogs! The waiter told us that there used to be guarddogs in St. Malo; they were released every evening to keep the city safe. We had a bottle of local wine, an avocado/shrimp salad for me and fish soup AGAIN for David (he actually ordered the vegetable soup but made no complaint when they brought the fish soup!) Our table was on the terrace, right next to the medieval wall, with strings of lights overhead and beautiful yellow/pink roses blooming all around. People kept wandering through to the steps to the top of the ramparts. A lovely evening.

The next day, Saturday, we headed further west along the sea, stopping to see the red cliffs at Cap Frehel. We had another wonderful picnic, overlooking the sea near Binic. We had found another oeuf en gelee, Pont L'Eveque cheese, ham, sausage, bread, strawberries, and a Linzer tart. Scrumptious. We drove on through Plouha, Paimpol,. Perros-Guirec, Ploumanach, Tregastel, and Trebeurden. The tide was far out and the ports were dry, making for rather ugly views at times. We were looking for a hotel with a view of the sea, maybe even with a balcony but couldn't seem to find one to suit us. Finally in Trebeurden we saw a beautiful place on the hilltop overlooking the sea. They had one room left, no balcony, but large windows with a magnificient view. The room was papered, both walls and ceiling, with a pink, blue, and beige flowered paper (prettier than it sounds) and furnished with a double bed, a couch, desk, dresser, and large round table. It has the best bath, according to David - a big tub with great fixtures. There were beautiful grounds and even a health club. We spent a relaxing afternoon reading in the garden where there were huge Cedar of Lebanon trees. We slept listening to the sea far below.

The next morning we drove through pine forests, past many beaches to Morlaix and on to the "enclosed parishes". We visited three parishes at St. Thegonnec, Guimiliau, and Lampaul-Guimiliau. These are large walled churchyards, mostly from the 17-18th centuries. Then on to Le Faou, one of the "prettiest villages" in France. Again we ate outside, another glorious day.

We got quite lost on the way to Douanenez, but finally found it and even found a recommended hotel which was darling. For 310F we had a wonderful room with windows on two sides, one facing the sunrise and one facing the sunset, a view of the sea, and our own little 15th century church. But the room is on the 4th floor. We lugged all the stuff up the stairs and moved in for 2 nights. We walked all over and then sat and read in the garden. We had a picnic of leftovers viewing the sea and then early to bed again to the sound of the waves.

The next morning we were up early and off to Quimper. We explored the town, a pretty place at the confluence of two rivers, which is what Quimper means. Sadly they were doing major repairs on the church so it was difficult to appreciate. But the town itself is charming. I had wanted to get a piece of Quimperware, the famous pottery, so we did some shopping. Then we went on to Locronan, another of the "prettiest villages", to find a restaurant. We chose Grimaldi with the cutest, friendliest chef, a big fellow with a giant neck, a very touchy/feely type of guy. The player piano, a white Yamaha, played everything. "Till There Was You", "All The Lonely People", "Rocket Man", "Crocodile Rock". To start we enjoyed a kir breton. Then David had his soup again, plat du sardines, and an apple tart with ice cream. I had saumon fume, a coquilles St. Jacques casserole, and a "typical" cake, which was a little dry but better with a bit of D's ice cream. Afterwards we explored this tiny, picturesque town and then returned to Douanenez.

After a dinner at our hotel, we took a long walk along the sea. It was 10:30 PM and still not dark! We watched the fishermen on the pier - one fellow caught three fish at one time. When I asked him if they were good to eat, he said yes, especially on the BBQ. I asked him, "What time?" and we all had a good laugh. I felt pretty good that I could make a joke in French. Back at the hotel we had a pomme l'eau, an apple port. We wondered if we had enough pomme l'eau would be be pomme high? We're a couple of comedians tonight.

This was such a wonderful place, we hated to leave. But the next morning we got up to another beautiful day and set off toward Pont L'Abbe and Concarneau. It was a pretty drive and Concarneau was a pretty town with ramparts on a small island. We went on to Pont Aven (after filling up the tank again!), a very busy town, a tourist mecca because of all the artists who painted here. We sat on the patio of a place in the middle of town, having our cafe au lait and reading the paper. Then we explored the town and wandered through the market. It was a very pleasant place but did not hold us. We drove on to Quimperly for lunch. We found a nice restaurant, Le Vache Enragee, and ate outside. We ordered a wonderful Bordeaux wine that tasted of early peaches: Grand Vin de Bordeaux, Chateau La Gontrie 1997, Bordeaux Blanc. For starters I had a salade with endive, tomatoes, pamplemousse, and smoked salmon that was outstanding. David had avocado vinaigrette. Then I had the lotte (monk fish) and David had gigot d'agneau - rare and delicious. While we ate the music ranged from jazz to Bill Haley and the Comets in "Rock Around the Clock" to "Johnny Be Good" to Jerry Lee Lewis and "Great Ball of Fire". And "Obla-di, Obla-da, Life Goes On" for the second time.

Then on to St. Pierre, near Quiberon where we found a very nice, although modern, hotel with a balcony on the sea, a big tub for David, and a hairdryer for me. We had brie, pears, and wine on our own balcony for supper and watched the tide come in. The next day we were up early for a full breakfast, like a German fruhstuck. We had cereal with fruit, rolls with cheese and ham. And cafe au lait. Our neighbor was an extremely friendly French woman and her husband. She chattered on and on, refusing to slow down or imagine that we simply didn't understand a word she said.

We hurried in to Carnac and got there before the tourist office even opened. This gave us a chance to look around the town a little and we discovered the church with its charming barreled ceiling in wood which was painted in scenes like tapestries. When the tourist office opened, we collected maps of the area and set off to see the megaliths. The first stop was the "alignments", rows and rows of megaliths, thousands of stones in all, marching down to the sea. There are also dolmens and menhirs. There are over 11,000 megaliths, the largest concentration anywhere. Some stones weigh over 350 tons! It is still a mystery how and why the stones were set here. The oldest was placed around 5500 BC!

Next we drove to Locmariaquer where we ran into a bunch of English school children, about 7th grade, and together we explored a large underground room under a huge dolmen. There were pictures etched in the stone. We then returned to Carnac to visit the museum. It was somewhat interesting but sweltering so we didn't spend long there.

The next morning I slept in while David went down for breakfast. Then we took off for Vannes, a lovely city with a "port du plaisance" (pleasure boats) by the old city. There are beautiful gardens by its 13th century ramparts. Nearby are interesting 17th century wash houses. La Cohue, opposite the cathedral, was a market; parts remain from the 11th century. Much of the old city is a pedestrian zone and it is a wonderful place to wander about.

Next we stopped at Rochefort en Terre, another of the "prettiest villages". We strolled around the charming village and then settled in for a great lunch at the Vieux Logis, with beamed ceilings, big fireplace, deep windows with plants, and pink linens. David had the chevre chaud. Then they brought him 5 little pottery shells with seafood with garlic/parsley butter. Then steak and pommes frites and creme brulee for dessert. Ginna had rillettes d'oie and salad, sandre (white fish, delicious ) in lemon cream sauce, les fromages, and finally Ile Flottant (floating island). Outstanding!

We drove on towards the Loire Valley. We finally found a hotel, La Val de la Loire, which may be the noisiest hotel in France. Two churches rang bells all night long at the hour and the 1/2 hour. In addition , we were right by a bridge over the Loire so all traffic went by our window and stopped by the traffic light at our corner, motorcycles revving their motors as they waited for a green light. A most unrestful night! And the only rain on our whole trip, a shower at 6:30 as we arrived at the hotel. It lasted about a half hour and produced a beautiful rainbow.

Up the next morning to see the chateaux along the Loire. In Saumur, a lovely old town with beautiful 18th century buildings, we visited the first chateau. We saw a bunch of antique cars and tried to follow them but they lost us. We saw a Jaguar XK120, an MGTD, a Deusenberg, a '55 Alfa Romeo Spyder, a '58 Chrysler, and a '53 Cadillac convertible. We guessed that they were on a rally on their way to Le Mans. Driving on, we saw limestone cliffs along the river with deep caves for wines and even houses built into the cliffs. And there were many, many wineries.

We even got to eat in one of these caves. We found a charming restaurant in Villandry, Le Goseau Sec that is built into the cliffs. It was charming with its small fireplace. I had an excellent pate with caramelized onions, cornichons, and warm bread; then chicken, then tarte tatin (not as good as Madame's but not bad). David had vegetable soup and sandre. I had to share some of my tart with him.

We drove on to Amboise where we found a hotel for the night, Lion d'Or. We wandered around the town, such a pretty setting with its beautiful chateau right on the Loire. During the 15th and 16th centuries the chateau was a royal palace for Charles VII and Francois I. Francois II settled here with his wife, Mary Stuart (Mary Queen of Scots) and his mother, Catherine de Medici. Leonardo da Vinci spent the last four years of his life in this town, dying in 1519. He created some of his famous inventions here in his last years.

The next morning we got up for a quick petit dejeuner in the hotel's nice restaurant and then left for Chenonceaux, one of the great chateaux. Giant sycamores line the entrance to the chateau. It is beautiful with painted tile floors, beautiful ceilings, paintings, furniture. The kitchens are very nice - it must have been pretty good to be a servant here. It was built in 1520 and passed on to Francois I. Henri II gave it to him mistress, Diane de Poitiers, but after his death his widow, Catherine de Medici, reclaimed it. The gardens are lovely and part of the chateau spans the river Cher. Well worth the visit.

Then on to Chartres. First we had lunch at the Buisson Ardent, a lovely ancient building near the cathedral. We ate on the third floor with heavy beamed ceilings and pretty flowered drapes. David had roast pigeon with foie gras and vegetables. Ginna had a terrine de canard with prunes, roast pork in orange sauce, and a plate of cheeses for dessert. All was accompanied by a good bottle of Sancerre. We then explored the cathedral which is beautiful. Ever since seeing pictures of it when I was a child I had wanted to visit it.

The next night we stayed near the airport and were up early to deal with the nightmare of turning in the car, getting to the right terminal at the maze that is Charles de Gaulle, waiting on endless lines, and finally boarding our plane for a smooth, but long, flight home.

Germany, June 1997

2006-07-13T11:07:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Frankfurt at 8 AM, and we were out of the airport and in our car by 9:15! A great start. Roads were marked so well, we immediately found ourselves on the A3 to Aschaffenburg as planned. The town was very crowded, with difficult one-way streets (einbahnstrasse) seeming to lead us only out of town. We visited the Stiftkirche (stift means charitable organization - these churches were founded by a monastic group). The nave is 12th cnetury, the tower 15th. You notice immediately in Germany the half-timbered houses, with the timbers often outlined to emphasize them with straight lines or curlicues. Most attractive. We then visited the Schloss (palace - 17th c.) which is set on a crest overlooking the Main River Valley.
We couldn't believe we found the automuseum, Rosso Bianco, which had a large collection of antique sportscars, even an MG TD, although not as nice as ours.

Then it was on to Rohrbrunn where we found the Forsthaus Echterspfahl, an old forester's house converted to a restaurant, a charming place. I had spargel (white asparagus) soup and salad while David had some fatty pork thing with liver dumplings. This was far from our last view of spargel - May and June are the season and it's as big as Oktoberfest! Restaurants had their regular menus and their separate spargel menus, some including appetizers to desserts of spargel! It's very expensive, about $14.00 for a plateful.

All of these towns are in the Spessart Forest, not as large as the Black Forest, but beautiful evergreens and hills. Lovely driving. And the weather is perfect, with a warm sun and a cool breeze.

On to Miltenberg where we had expected to stay. But it was very crowded, few rooms available. We wandered around the pretty town a bit - there's a nice pedestrian area of shopping restaurants, and hotels. Then we went back to Klingenberg/Clingenberg (we saw both spellings) which we had passed through and found the Hotel Frankischer Hof (128 DM including breakfast). Our room was very nice and quite large, with big windows on the very quiet main street. The beds were typical, we were to learn: instead of top sheets and a blanket, each had a comforter folded in thirds - our own cocoons! And so comfortable. After a beer in the beer garden, a short walk around the tiny but attractive town, we were in bed by 7 PM and slept for 12 hours.

Breakfast, called fruhstuck, in Germany is quite an event we were to learn. Almost all hotel room charges included a large buffet breakfast with basically the same ingredients, although of course some were better than others. There was cereal - often 3-4 choices and usually with dried fruit and nuts in it - and some fresh fruit; then rolls and breads with liverwurst (I ate it almost daily although I've never been a huge fan of liverwurst - it just seemed to fit), salami, ham (especially later the Black Forest ham), Swiss cheese, brie, a couple of times Bavaria bleu or some other blue cheese - even Stilton a couple of times, and jellies and jams and the biggest pats of butter ever! And usually soft boiled eggs. And huge pots of very strong coffee.

The second day was a nearly perfect day. The weather was wonderful and we stopped in three interesting but very different towns. After feasting, we drove to Amorbach, which lies in the Odenwald, another great forest. This is where we should have stayed at the Hotel Post with its pretty painted fresco across the front! A charming town and very old. A monastery was founded here in AD 734. One cafe was dated 1448. Each town has a tall pole that is decorated with figurines (usually) and has a pine tree fixed at the top, probably 50 feet in the air. We weren't sure what these were but we referred to them as May poles.

Then it was on to Wertheim with its ruined castle (The Burg). This lovely town at the confluence of 2 rivers has no autos in the old town. It is larger than Amorbach with more shopping. We ate lunch at the Hotel Kette (which would be another great place to stay) on the patio overlooking the river. David had smoked fish and salad, I had a vegetarian plate that had a layered potato pie, mushrooms, and spargel mit cheese. It was wonderful. We finished with hazelknut creme with fruits. And we had a lovely bottle of Wertheim wine trochen (dry). Talked with a couple from Essen.

Then through sandstone villages and lovely forests to Wurzburg (pop. 120,000) where we would stay the night, although again it was difficult to find a room. We found the last room in town! in a hotel across from the River Main, but our room was on the wrong side. We walked all over town and up to the Residenz, a Baroque palace (18th c.), the home of bishops, with beautiful gardens. The Marktplatz had dozens of beer/wine stalls and food - tacos, sausages, anything!; definitely the place to be on Saturday night. But we went to the Rathaus (13th c. beautiful building) where EVERY table in the restaurant was reserved. We found a place in the stube and had our cream of spargel soup and a beer. A wonderful place with waitresses in local dress, stained glass windows, beautiful ceilings. Then we walked to the river where American high school students - sons and daughters of service men and women - were having their prom on the riverboat with the huge Marienberg citadel on the hilltop opposite. A beautiful scene and a beautiful city.

Sunday we started down the Romantische Strasse (Romantic Road). We made a quick stop in Weikersheim, where a local band was playing, to visit the castle (16-17th c.) on the banks of the Tauber, and another in Creglingen to see the pilgrimage church with its wooden altarpiece carved by sculptor Tilman Riemenschneider (Wurzburg's mayor in 1520-1521), an amazingly intricate piece of work. Then on to Rothenburg to the Gasthof Rappen, right outside the city walls. (There were so many places within the city walls - we should have looked further and stayed inside). We walked in to the city for a grand lunch on the terrace of a very nice hotel. David had pork with mushroom gravy and spaetzle, I had the local version of sauerbraten; we shared a small salad, local wine, and, for dessert, warmer apfelstrudel mit Sahne (cream). Wonderful and such a nice waiter.

After lunch we took a long walk on the ramparts, almost all the way around the city. It's a combination, we decided, of Carcassone and Sarlat, two ancient cities we visited in the southwest of France last year, although less comercial than Carcassone; really very nice. Just outside the gates there is a large garden area with a great view back to the city. In the evening we went back to the same hotel as for lunch. All we wanted was a glass of wine. Our same waiter, who was so glad to see us again (obviously we tipped too much!) suggested their bar which was perfect, decorated with branches with cherries hanging from them and rows of German hats. We had a great time watching a family have their spargel feast - almost as much fun as they had.

We left Rothenberg the next morning, headed toward Dinkelsbuhl. But with so much time, we decided to head over to Schwabisch Hall and then back. On the way we stopped in the tiny town of Kirchberg an der Jagst, which clings to a cliff. Then on to Schwabisch Hall, a lovely town on the Kocher River, a tributary of the Neckar. Its marktplatz is known as one of the most attractive in all of Germany. They seemed to be rehearsing for a play on the steps of St. Michael's Cathedral. We walked all over the town which tumbles down the hillside to the river.

Then on to Dinkelsbuhl, which is similar to Rothenberg but less commercial, more 'lived in'. It would be difficult to choose between them - each is very appealing. We had a great lunch at the Deutches Haus, a beautiful Renaissance building. The ceilings are painted with crests/shields, perhaps of each German state. David had rabbit, although no hasenpfeffer; it was loin of rabbit and a bit chewy. I had my spargel soup, salad, and wienersnitzel mit 3-colored noodles. We shared ice cream with warm cherries and berries. Then we took a long walk on the ramparts: outside the walls people were gardening and there were rivers and ponds with ducks and swans. The turrets of the ramparts are people's houses!

We stayed in Hotel Weisses Ross (White Horse) in a nice room with pretty flowered curtains at the windows on the 3rd floor overlooking a quiet park. All day it had been overcast but there was no rain. It was warm enough for drinks outside at 7:30 PM. The hotel was very friendly - met a lovely 97 year old English widow who had married a German right after the war. She was charming and told us that she was born in the same month as the Queen Mother. The place was quiet except for the 6 AM bells. Breakfast was wonderful in a pretty downstairs room.

Tuesday was rainy. We drove to Nordlingen where we visited the Ries Museum. The Ries Basin is a 12 mile wide depression in the earth caused by a meteorite about 15 million years ago. There were many German high school students there, running around getting the answers to pre-printed questions. We shopped for brot (bread), Erdbeer (strawberries), and kase (cheese). Then off to Schloss Harburg. Because of the rain, we had a picnic in the car with our new giant plastic, but very fancy, wine glasses. We had the left over hasen and schnitzel, gorgonzola with a baguette, and for dessert the strawberries with a decadent walnut/cream cheese. And a linzer tort!

We then explored the Schloss which was begun in 1093! It is still owned by the descendants of the Counts of Oettingen. And then on to Augsburg where we found a room in the rather modern Hotel Fishertor. We walked to the Fuggerei, the first social settlement for people in need, founded in 1519 by Fugger the Rich. The district has its own church and administration and the four gateways are locked each night. It's very neat and clean and appealing. The inhabitants have a moral obligation to pray for the souls of the founders.

The main cathedral in Augsburg, The Dom, has the oldest stained glass in the world, depicting five prophets. Its twin spires date from the 11th c. In the churchyard they are digging up some Roman ruins. And the Mozart family home is here in Augsburg.

We went back to an Irish Pub we had seen, Murphy's Law, for beer and dinner. We were to find Irish Pubs all over Germany - it's the hottest craze, most especially in the college towns. It was fun to be able to stop in and speak English with the Irish, the American service men and women, and the Germans who frequent the places. After dinner we went to a charming Weinstube for drinks, Weinstube Sedlmeir; this is the real Bavaria. It was a tiny place, very friendly owner, Herta Lammle, and no tourists at all. There were several tables of locals, one all women, having a grand time. It was quite dark, lots of wood, copper pots, baskets, beams, dried flowers - very gemutlich. Then home to bed.

The next morning we were off early to Munich. We found it difficult to find the city, since we didn't understand all the different exits. But we finally got there and found one of the hotels we had on our list, the Dollman, http://www.hotel-splendid-dollmann.de/ a nice old building in a lovely residential neighborhood. The room was tiny but attractive although modern, with windows towards the front. We were within easy walking distance of the center of the city and immediately set out toward the Marienplatz, the main square. The Neues Rathaus is very elaborate and beautiful. We will return at 5 PM to see and hear the glockenspiel. But we were hungry, so it was on to the Hundskugel, the oldest tavern in town (1440) for lunch. David had the roast pig with potato dumplings and coleslaw, I had rump steak, home fries, and green beans. The restaurant was very comfortable with much wood, pewter plates, stained glass windows, and very modern bathrooms.

After lunch we continued on the 1 1/2 hour Frommer walking tour of the city. We loved the Viktualienmarkt, a daily market with everything you could possible need in the way of foods - cheeses, meats, vegetables, fruits, wine, pastries and bread - and beautiful flowers. A fun place to be.

The Residenz (palace) was started in 1385 but has been added to extensively and now comprises several buildings and gardens. Then it was back to the Marienplatz for a beer and the 5 PM bells. The glockenspiel is charming and always greatly amuses the large crowd that gathers for it. Afterwards we set out for the English Gardens, a vast Central Park-like park. There is a canal which runs through it which backs up, forming a wave where enterprising young people actually surf! We watched them for quite a while. Many German cities on rivers divert the rivers through the center of town with delightful results. We walked through part of the park and then back towards our hotel along the river, lined by beautiful apartment buildings. We stopped along the way to eat outside on this lovely evening - David having tomato soup and I had a cheese plate. Home to bed by 9:00, just dead! We must have walked 10 miles today.

The breakfast at the Dollman was the best so far, served in light and airy rooms in the basement. We picked up wonderful picnic provisions at the Viktualienmarkt and set off for Nymphenburg Palace. We walked several miles around the gardens there, viewing the Amalienburg, which is described as a charming little hunting lodge but is far more formal than we had pictured; the Badenburg with its heated swimming pool; and the Pagodenburg which didn't look anything like a pagoda to us.

En route to Landsberg, we stopped for our most wonderful picnic: bread and cheese, a local blue; sausage, tomatoes stuffed with cheese, strawberries with walnut cream cheese, florentines, cherries and wine. Many people passed by and admired our feast as we sat on a bench overlooking a large lake.

In Landsberg we found a room in a Gasthaus on the main street - will we never learn? We took a walking tour of the city which sits right on the Lech River which drops about 20 feet at the town. There is a beach at the bottom of the drop.

We drove down to Schongau for dinner at the Hotel Holl, which was recommended for fish, and walked around this charming little town. Then back to Landsberg to bed. But we slept very little, with traffic running all night right outside our windows. It rained most of the night and we woke to a wet, gray day. Still tired, we set off for Neuschwanstein, the most famous of the castles built by Ludwig II, supposedly the model for the Disneyland castle. As we approached the village, the day cleared beautifully. It was a long arduous climb to the castle, but worth it. We took the tour (in English, although still difficult to understand). It is a beautiful place with wonderful mosaics, beautiful moldings, lovely wood, and much artwork, many with swans (schwann) and many Wagnerian themes. The kitchens were quite modern. The tour guide kept reminding us that everything was original, not redone, although that didn't seem all that amazing to us as the buildings are only 130 years old. They are kind of a fake - Ludwig wanted them to seem like ancient castles but the are fairly new compared to many we have seen.

En route to Lindau we drove thorugh beautiful countryside with lakes, woods, and the Alps always in the background. We stopped for lunch along the way in a lovely town in the foothills of the Alps, a tiny town which swells winter and summer with tourists. Our hostess, Elaine, at the restaurant in a hotel is also the owner along with her husband Peter, the chef. Elaine is from England and was very helpful. David enjoyed his fresh fish, salad, and wonderful potatoes while I loved the potato-mushroom soup and baked camenbert with cranberry cream sauce and salad.

In Lindau, which is situated on an island in Lake Constance (the Bodensee) we found a wonderful hotel with a last minute canceled reservation. We got an expensive but lovely room with windows looking out to the Bodensee, which is the largest lake in Germany and is bordered by Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. We walked all around the town which we loved. The harbor is beautiful with the 12th century Mangturm (tower) which used to be a lighthouse, and the lion which guards the entrance to the quay. There is a nice looking restaurant at one end of the island with some of the largest sycamore trees we have ever seen. There was a huge regatta going on, about 250 sailboats leaving Lindau and sailing down to the other end of the lake and back. We watched them set off from our table on the terrace of a restaurant where we split a chef's salad. Then home to bed. There was music - nice jazz and some old dance music quietly playing in the background. A very 50's feel. I woke in the middle of the night and looked out the window - the waterfront was lit up with lights outlining the roofs of buildings and the Mangturm. A heavenly sight.

Fruhstuck the next Morgen (everyone says "Morgen!" when they come in to fruhstuck) was the best buffet yet with a fresh fruitbowl of strawberries, kiwi, bananas, apples, and more; many cereals and all the usual meats, cheeses, jams, and breads. We walked a little more around this lovely town before leaving, admiring their Rathaus (town hall) in the Old Swabian style.

We drove along the north shore of Lake Constance, stopping at Wasserburg (which means 'water castle') which juts out into the lake. It's a fortress built on the site of a Roman watchtower. The castle is now a hotel. We went on to Meersburg where we found a pension, Hotel Landhaus am Weinberg for 2 nights. Our room had a balcony looking out toward the 'see', pine ceiling and furniture, and yellow print curtains. Very quiet and peaceful, a short walk out of town. This was our rest time - we sat and read on the balcony, watching the boats on the lake. No more car for 2 days!

For dinner we walked in to town, explored this lovely old town perched above the lake shore, and found the Winzerstube zum Becher, a pretty, ivy-covered restaurant. It was a little too sunny outside so we sat inside - old wood and stained glass. David had the saddle of hare with an apple/juniper berry sauce, kohlrabi, mushrooms, and potatoes. Ginna had the spargel (again!), potatoes, and salmon trout in a white wine sauce. A really wonderful dinner although outrageously expensive (180 DM). And we both thought it was just the perfect amount - not too heavy or too much as so often happens to us - until they came and took away our first plates and brought us identical second plates! When they came to take those away, we asked the server if there would be a third plate and she laughed. We tried a local Meersburg rose wine for 'afters' and then home to bed. It rained all night with loud thunder.

Sunday morning the clouds were still threatening but we were up and off to Konstanz on the ferry from the docks in Meersburg. We hadn't been down to the lower town before and it is very attractive also. We had a nice ferry ride and set out to explore Konstanz, a German enclave on the Swiss shore of the lake. With rain threatening, we explored the Munster, 11-17th century, with its beautiful carved wooden panel doors (15th c.). The rain had cleared up so we set off for our real destination - lunch at the Seehotel Siber which was recommended as the highlight of southern Germany cuisine. The Hotel is gorgeous, a large white Victorian building. We sat on the large semi-circular balcony with an awning protecting us, overlooking the lake. There were pretty white wooden chairs, white table cloths with a lavendar flower print. The wine list was terribly expensive so we picked out one of the seemingly reasonably priced wines and were disappointed to find that it was a half bottle! There was a complimentary starter that was outstanding - a thin strip of zucchiuni filled with tomato aspic, strips of yellow and green pepper and cheese, drizzled with olive oil. David had a wonderful large salad, followed by perch-pike and potatoes while I had beef consomme flavored with port with Maultaschen ravioli (stuffed with veal) followed by a plate of cold cured salmon, a potato pancake and greens. And of course we had to have a second (half) bottle, which made the meal very expensive - 250 DM for lunch! So THIS is how the other .1% lives. Quite an experience.

We loved this whole area of the Bodensee and finally realized it was because if reminded us of the Mediterranean. A lovely atmosphere here.

The next day we headed to the Black Forest, which reminded me a lot of the Adirondacks where I spent my childhood summers. It was a very pretty drive. Freiburg was a little difficult to get into at first, but we finally figured out where we wanted to go and found a hotel on the Munsterplatz, Hotel Rappen. The clerk gave us a room in the front and when I asked if it was quiet he assured me I would want the view of the square. Well, I'm sure there isn't a quiet room within six blocks of the Munster, whose bells rang every 15 minutes all night long. Our room was nice with Black Forest painted furniture. We explored the city, seeing the beautiful buildings on the Munsterplatz, the Rathausplatz with its Neues Rathaus, and resting in Columbipark. All though this old area there are tiny canals, maybe a foot wide, along the pedestrian area, creating a pretty sound. We walked down by the river Dreisam and then headed back to our hotel. We just happened on the most charming area, sort of a left-bank, artsy-type area. There was a larger canal running through it with bridges crossing it and restaurants and shops tucked into corners. We found a restaurant with a garden and shared a Greek salad along the canal. We just loved this area.

After another sleepless night, we woke to a great fruhstuck with cereal, Black Forest ham, lots of cheeses, fresh melon, etc. in a lovely room with a barrel-like ceiling. It was market day, so we loaded up on strawberries, bread, sausage, cheese, and Florentines and set off for Triberg. We got as lost getting out of town as getting into town, but a nice German tried to help us. But he thought we were saying Freiberg instead of Triberg (which we pronounced Try-berg instead of Tree-bourg) and he lead us back to where we came from! We finally figured it out and drove through beautiful forests and hills to the waterfalls in Triberg, Germany's highest falls which fall 500' over seven steps. We took the long hike to the bottom, following the path along the many levels of the falls. At the bottom, rather as a reward, there is a restaurant serving Black Forest Cake which we tried. Then the long hike back up to the top.

It was a pretty drive over the mountains in the Black Forest to Rottweil where we were interested in seeing the Donimicamuseum which has an extensive display of Roman artifacts collected locally. The area was a huge settlement under Vespasian. A local lady who studies English in night school explained the exhibits for us. After about an hour we explored a bit of the old town and headed north. We stopped for the night, exhausted, in Balingen where we found a modern, business-oriented hotel. The manager told us the room was 190 DM but she gave it to us for 160 DM because we were tourists. It was nice and quiet - Ginna was in bed by 8:00 PM, David by 9:00, after a 'picnic' in the room.

The next morning we were up and on the road to Haigerloch. We were unimpressed with the schloss. On to Hechingen and Schloss Hohenzollern which was magnificent, perched on top of a mountain peak. En route we discovered the tiny town of Stein which has a reconstruction of a Roman farmhouse. There were many original artifacts - this whole area was Roman - and the dig is continuing. I rather liked the reconstruction - it gave a very good idea of what the house was really like instead of just seeing the original foundations.

We continued north to Tubingen to lunch at Restaurant Waldhorn. This restaurant reminded us both of Cormons (Italy) and the 400 year-old farmhouse we ate in there; it was just lovely. The Waldhorn too is an old farmhouse decorated with lots of pewter, flowers (fresh roses!), and very nice watercolors. The hostess was very friendly and helped us with our menu choices. There was a free starter again, minced meats in aspic with well-oiled lettuce, which was outstanding. Then David had soup with 3 huge Maultaschen ravioli and I had the corn-toast with goose-liver pate. For the main course David had the oxtail ragout which was like boeuf bourguignon and I had cream pea soup with lobster. We split a dessert of fresh fruit and two sherbets. Then cappucino and terrific hand-dipped chocolates. A fabulous meal, but 285 DM! We had a long conversation with a lovely German woman who was eating alone; she was a college teacher of English and French. We talked about education, unemployment, the economy, and so on. She went to Tubingen for undergraduate school and prefers it to Heidelberg, explaining that it is less commercial. She remembers the Waldhorn from her student days when it was a very simple brauhaus.

We went in to Tubingen and found Hotel am Schloss with one of the few rooms left in town. There was a conference going on. The room was on the 4th floor, naturally a walk-up, with no toilet (shared) and no shower at all! 90 DM. We decided we could handle it for one night.

We walked all over the town which is truly charming. It again had a canal running through it and lies on the river. In the river they have created an island with a double line of plane trees running down the center, lining a lovely walkway. We watched two Frenchmen playing boules and really got into their game. And we watched the many people boating on the river. We stopped along the canal for a beer and then walked through the Botanical Garden, really just a small city park, and stopped at a very nice weinstube. It had grapevines painted on the ceiling, a tile stove, and was nicely decorated. Afterwards we went up to the Irish pub for a nightcap - the wine was so bad I couldn't drink it! We spoke with three young German fellows who work for the civil service. Then a huge crowd of Irish and a small group of American servicemen came in and we talked with them a while. Then home to bed.

After fruhstuck in one of the loveliest breakfast rooms so far - all windows with a great view of the town, we explored the schloss and went on to the town of Calw, one of the Balck Forest's prettiest towns. The half-timbered houses in Calw are some of the prettiest we have seen. We picked up some picnic provisions and drove to Nagold along the Nagold river. There had been lightening the night before but today was just beautiful, warm sun with a cool freshness to the breeze. There were wildflowers everywhere - pink, yellows, purples, and whites.

Past Nagold, we headed west, further into the Black Forest, driving along the crest of Schwarzwaldhochstrasse, then down to tiny Allenheiligen toward Mosbach where David's paternal grandmother (Buerck) came from. We got somewhat lost but finally found Mosbach. This whole area seems very properous and the Mosbach sign says "Kirschendorf" (Cherrytown). Mosbach was bigger than we expected. After having our picnic along a small stream and speaking with the farmer who owned the land but didn't seem to mind that we were eating there, we went to the cemetery. All the names - Burck, Doll Baundistelk, Klumpp - were names from SE Missouri, where David grew up. We spoke with a lady - who was a composite of ALL David's aunts - who was tending the cemetery and she got in our car and took us to another lady's house, a lady who spoke some English. She had a neighbor who had lived in South Africa for 19 years and she came over to interpret. They told us that there were still Buercks in the town.

Then it was on to Baden-Baden. This is a beautiful town with its 17th, 18th, and 19th century buildings, all curvy with balconies, intricate stonework. Very wealthy. We found a great hotel, Deutscher Kaiser, and got a huge room with a sitting area and a balcony. Very modern bathroom. We walked around the town and had a beer in the Lowenbrau Garden. We had a picnic supper on our own balcony and did the crossword puzzle. Fruhstuck the next morning was wonderful with fresh fruits and all the other expected treats. It was raining but we braved the rain to walk over to the Roman baths, the main thing we had come to see, only to find, after a 20 minute wait, that they were closed. We were so disappointed.

We headed off to Heidelberg in the rain, but it had cleared by the time we got there. There were NO rooms. Another conference! We finally found one - a big room with a great bathroom with a big tub at the Hotel Schnookeloch. We immediately set off for lunch in the Hotel zum Ritter (knight) St. Georg - it had started raining again. Ginna had salmon and salad, David had pasta.

The weather cleared again and we walked over to the Philosopher's Way, crossing the River Neckar and climbing up the steep hill on the other side. There were wonderful views of the town. On the way back we stopped at O'Reilly's, another nice Irish pub. After a light supper, we headed home to bed and the noisiest night imaginable. Worse than the bells in Freiberg! Worse than the trucks in Landsberg! There were people calling and yelling until 5 AM when the street-sweeper came through. At fruhstuck another guest was complaining about it and trying to get another room but of course there were none. And these were not terribly cheap rooms either, about 190 DM. Luckily we were leaving. (The bar of this hotel is where various fraternities, deuling societies and the like, have held their meetings for the past nearly 600 years. This must have been meeting night!)

It was another rainy day so we decided to skip the castles - we were castled out - and to drive up the Rhine. We crossed over on a little ferry in Nierstein and found a lovely hotel overlooking the river. Our room had a huge bay window with a view of the river. We had a great lunch at the hotel on the terrace under an awning to protect us from the rain. Ginna had the fixed-price meal, starting with two terrines - fish and meat - that were delicious, then tomato soup, stuffed chicken in a great sauce with potatoes and broccoli timbale, and vanilla ice-cream with strawberry sauce for dessert. David had only the herring with potatoes and beans but helped with mine. It rained in the middle of the meal but the waiters and waitresses rushed about, opening the awning further, bringing in the tableware from the tables in the rain. Then they set everything up again as it cleared. It was so pleasant to sit there watching the traffic on the river; the air was warm and the rain nicely cool. The whole afternoon was like that, sometimes pouring! Ginna wrote postcards, repacked, napped, and read; David braved a walk. In the evening, the weather cleared and we took a long walk. Nierstein is a charming town, built on the wine industry. After our walk we had a couple of glasses of wine - the owner treated us to a local "champagne" - and watched a very extravagant meal being served to two couples. They had the chateaubriand (75 DM each!) and all the trimmings (which were extra), including several bottles of wine and a whole Baked Alaska for dessert. Some of the wines on the winelist were 4,000 DM! We just enjoyed the scene. Before dark, a fleet of hot-air balloons crossed the Rhine over our heads.

In the morning we left very early in order to leave the car off by 9:00. It was an easy shot to the airport about a halfhour away. Our flight was at 2:00, a smooth flight home. We were through the first stage of customs by 4:00 and ready to be on our way, but they couldn't get the luggage compartment door open! An extra 1/2 hour, but, oh well. Glad to be home.

France 1996 - Southwest

2006-07-13T03:54:00.000-07:00

We took off from O'Hare on May 9, about 8:30 PM, 2 1/2 hours late as we adjusted for bad weather and delayed incoming connecting flights. When we finally landed it took a solid hour to retrieve our luggage and then we waited another 1/2 hour for the bus to Montparnasse train station, a nice ride through pretty parts of Paris. We missed the train we had hoped to take by about 1/2 hour but another came an hour later. We boarded the TGV (Tres Grande Vite) for Bordeaux. Rail travel in Europe is so wonderful!

The TGV was a wonderful experience: it leaves on time, is very fast (about 160 MPH), very quiet, nice seats and bathrooms. Your ears really pop when it goes through a tunnel, the speed creating a vacuum. We reached Bordeaux, got our car, and headed out. Once again, we were lucky with the car rental - we were guaranteed a small Chrysler, but got upgraded to a Renault Laguna with lots of room.

The countryside was lovely and we reached our hotel in St. Emilion, a tiny town with four hotels, four restaurants, and four hundred wine merchants. Our hotel, Le Logis des Remparts, was built into the 13th century ramparts of the medieval town. There was a stone circular staircase to our room, one of the prettiest of the whole trip, papered with flowered wallpaper and matching curtains. We moved in for two nights and went out to explore the town, the first of so many medieval hill towns that we would visit. We had dinner at a typical restaurant, Le Tertre, with stone walls, beautiful wood floors, wood beamed ceilings. The green print tablecloth with a pink over-cloth, silver, and crystal made the room warm and welcoming. After ordering a bottle of Entre-deux-Mer, the local wine, we dug into a delicious meal. David had a salad with tripe, salmon, and strawberries with zabiglione; I had salad with a wonderful heavy pate, lamb chops, and chocolate gateau which was warm and served with vanilla sauce. With both main courses came pommes frites, carrots glazed with bacon, and a sort of zucchini omelette that was great. A terrific first dinner and then home to bed.

Saturday we spent exploring the Entre-deux-Mer area. There are chateaux everywhere you look, almost all selling wine to the public and open for "degustation" (wine-tasting). We stopped for le petit dejeuner (breakfast) in Creon, a very small bastide. We laughed when we heard the 50's American music the owner was listening to.

We would be visiting many more bastides in the next two weeks: they are walled towns built by both the English and the French during the Crusades as they fought for control of the lands. Our next stop was Cadillac where it was market day, and what a market! There was everything from pigeons with curly feathers and rabbits to tapes and CDs playing French music. We bought rillettes (poor man's foie gras), strawberries, and cheese for a picnic.

We drove on to St. Macaire, another bastide, and explored its ramparts above the Garonne River. We had expected to have a picnic, but it was rather chilly and threatening rain. I had the name of a 17th century mill, Le Moulin de Flaujacques. We had a devil of a time finding it but it was very much worth the effort. It was on a canal that parallels the Garonne, and it had rough stone walls, heavy beamed ceilings, tile floors, a wine rack built into the stair risers, and lovely flowers. On our table were Sweet William which I always remember from my mother's garden. We could hear the water from the canal gurgling under the mill. Another bottle of Entre-deux-Mer helped us finish off fish pie with white asparagus and a couple of pates for appetizers; quail and duck in blackberry sauce for the main courses. For dessert we had fraises coulis (strawberry mousse) and figs over ice cream. Quite the perfect way to spend a rainy afternoon.

Next we went into La Reole, built on the cliffs above the Garonne. Below on the strand is a long row of deeply pollarded (severly pruned) sycamore trees, David's favorites. They are also called plane trees. We walked around the city and then returned to St. Emilion where we did a bit more exploring and then to bed.

Sunday we were up and off to Brantome. En route we stopped in a little town, St. Aulaye, to get some juice and we found a dolmen. These are burial sites marked by huge stones left by the Celts. Usually one huge stone balanced on a couple of others - how they got those ten-ton boulders up there is still a mystery. This was 40 centuries ago!

When we saw a sign for "Gallo Roman Circuit" we decided to follow it. After a breakfast picnic of bread, cheese, strawberries, and juice (no wine!), we started on the circuit. It was a pretty drive but we saw nothing Romanesque. But we did find a sign to Aubeterre that had an historical marker on it. We decided to explore and found one of the prettiest little villages in all of France. (Much later we found a map indicating all these officially designated villages, each marked by a sign saying "Un des plus beaux villages de France"). Aubeterre was built on the side of a mountain with a "monolithic" church, carved out of the mountain between the 6th and 12th centuries. It's the tallest such church in Europe at 65'. While we were visiting a French choir group was there and they sang - it was beautiful and gave me goosebumps. Great acoustics!

After Aubeterre we followed the back roads to Riberac and on to Bourdeilles, a pretty route along the Dronne River. Bourdeilles is another of the "prettiest villages", complete with its own chateau (16th c.), 13th c. keep, church, and lovely houses along the river. We had a great picnic of leftover lamb chop and salmon, cheese, bread, strawberries, and wine, and then explored the town. Then on to Brantome where we found a hotel room, pretty basic but big, clean, and with a great view of the river. Brantome is built on an island in the river with a pretty dog-legged bridge crossing it. You can take a boat ride almost around the island. There is a big church, originally 11th c. but rebuilt in the 19th c, the original 11th c campanile, and many houses built into the cliffs along the river. There is also a very expensive restaurant and hotel, one of the Relais & Chateaux chain, always pictuesque.

We made a reservation at a cute restaurant right along the river, Le Fil de L'eau (The Edge of the Water). When we showed up later they greeted us like long-lost friends. It was a very cute place with sunflower yellow walls, green trim, green/white plaid curtains and tablecloths, and fish prints on the walls. Dinner was outstanding. David had a duck pate with salad, perch on rice, and apple crisp with vanilla ice cream. I had radish (the long, mild, white ones) remoulade with avocado, goose parmentier(mashed potatoes layered with goose, sprinkled with bread crumbs and broiled in its own little pottery bowl) that I still dream about, and tart de noix (black walnuts, everywhere in this area) with praline sauce. We finished it (and us) off with two rounds of Porto.

While we were walking around on Sunday we picked out a place to go for breakfast with the best-looking pastries. When we awoke on Monday, we discovered that everything, I mean EVERYTHING was closed. Not a brioche, not a croissant. Rien! Eh, bien, Onward. We made a quick stop outside town to see the Peyrelevade dolmen. Then on through Thiviers (breakfast, finally) and its church and old section, and then lovely St. Jean de Cole, another of the "prettiest villages". The residents were in the process of taking down the decorations from a 2-day flower expo/sale. All the townspeople had spent weeks making paper flowers which were strung up throughout the town. We visited the 12th c.domed (actually the dome was not very successful and in the end they settled for a wooden roof) medieval church which had been decorated by about 10-12 local florists with arrangements of iris, roses, Shasta daisies, orchids, lilies, and more. Another lovely town, on the Cole River, crossed by a Gothic hump-backed bridge.

Then on to Lalinde where we headed east to the Cingle de Tremolat where the Dordogne River snakes (cingle) back on itself with beautiful views. Because it was Monday, open restaurants were difficult to find. We finally found Les Terrasses, high over the Dordogne, where we had goose -liver pate and a vegetable terrine with heavy-duty garlic sauce; duck; and pear/walnut tart for David and a chocolate charlotte with orange ice, meringues, etc. for me.

On to Limueil, one of the "prettiest villages" (getting the idea?). We stopped and watched a glass-blower and bought a pretty blown apple for my paperweight collection. We explored the hillside town overlooking two bridges where the Vezere meets the Dordogne. Then we drove on to Bugue where we stopped for the night at the Hotel de Chateau, $50/night with a huge balcony, nice bathroom, and great reading lights - something we really treasure and which seem to be few and far between. We had a snack of cheese and wine on our balcony and went to bed.

Tuesday we were up and off early to Beynac, another of the "prettiest villages". We drove up to the castle, Chateau de Beynac 12th c., which was still closed, but we wandered around the village on the top of the cliff, inside the castle walls and enjoyed the views. Next we drove down to the lower town and walked around a bit. A very pretty town with some nice 2-star hotels - would have loved to stay there. Beynac is right on the river with canoes to rent. We thought about a paddle but the river looked pretty swift. We drove past Castelnaud castle (13th c.) and the privately owned Chateau de Fayrac (14-16th c.) and on to La Roche Gageac, another of the "prettiest villages". It also is right on the river with boat rides and rentals available. We walked all over town which is built up the cliffs by the river, enjoying their "botanical garden", very nice plantings of cacti and palms. We had a picnic downstream with a view of the river and a bridge. Nearby we stopped at a roadside market for pates to take home and bought a sausage made from duck with black walnuts in it. Wish we had bought lots more of that - it was sensational.

Then on to Domme, one of the most beautiful bastides. For the next trip we must stay in the 3-star Esplanade Hotel in town - just lovely. In the park on the belvedere we met an artist, Michael Marguerie, and bought one of his watercolors. We walked all over the town, admiring the lovely old buildings and covered market.

Then on to Sarlat, our stop for two nights. We found our hotel in the main square. It had rather an ugly entrance down an alleyway behind a snackshop but the room was great. Wood beamed ceiling (although with the ugliest black and gold foil wallpaper between the beams), stone walls, small oriental rugs, big bathroom, and windows on two sides with great views of the square. Out to dinner in a local place that we spent hours deciding on but dinner didn't really measure up.

Wednesday we awoke to sounds of setting up the market. We had views of raspberries, flowers, artichokes, asparagus, and the ubiquitous foie gras. A very lively scene, with the heavy scent of coffee brewing everywhere. We grabbed a chocolate croissant and started off on our day's itinerary. We visited Collonges la Rouge, a 100-250 year-old town built of red sandstone. Quite a change from all the grey and golden stone in all the villages we had seen so far. Another of the "prettiest villages", it lives up to its reputation with flowers everywhere.

We stopped by Loubressac, another of the "prettiest", on our way to Castelnaud. This 12th century castel was closed for the 'siesta' so we just wandered around the town. Then on to Rocamadour, the main destination for the day. The setting of this town is breathtaking, built up a high cliff over the Alzou River with a 15th c. church, Chapelle Notre Dame and the 14th c. chateau on top. The main street into town is a big shopping center for the tourists, although very picturesque. We found the restaurant we had read about called Beau Site, where we had lunch on the terrace, hanging over the valley, surrounded by pollarded trees and beautiful flowers. David started with a tureen of vegetable soup (he ate almost the whole tureen), then langoustines wrapped in bacon. I had pate with salad, lamb daube (like beef Bourguignon only made with lamb, just wonderful!). The bread served was made in-house and had bits of walnuts, raisins and ham in it. Mouth watering. For dessert we split ice cream with black walnut sauce. With the cappucino came cookies which we saved for a picnic. With a really good bottle of wine, this was our $100 splurge.

To work off the delicious meal, we climbed the 216 steps to the top and then walked down again, developing mountain legs, my knees shaking with each step. We bought a puzzle of a knight for our grandson Matt who is fascinated with medieval times and then headed back to Sarlat. En route we briefly stopped at Martel, founded by Charles Martel after he stopped the Moors. Martel led the army that defeated the Moors at the battle of Portiers in 732 AD as they were swarming all over Western Europe. If he had lost, this account might have been written in Arabic. Charles Martel was the father of Pepin the Short and grandfather of Charlesmagne.

Thursday was the Feast of the Ascension. Many places were closed but parking was free, as we discovered after stuffing the meter. We stopped by Gourdon where we climbed to the top by the castle for the views and we wandered the narrow streets. Then on to Cahors, one of the few big cities that we would visit. It is known for one of the most beautiful bridges in France, the Pont Valentre begun in 1308. We walked over the bridge watching the boats going through the locks. Nearby we bought a bottle of the "black" wine that Cahors is famous for. It just seemed like dark red to us but apparently this is the wine that is used at Communion.

Next we were off to Pech Merle, the caves that we had chosen to visit to see the pre-historic cave drawings. We learned that they had carbon-dated the human bones remaining in the caves and they proved to be 24,000 years old. These cave drawings were not much different than the ones discovered in 1940 in Lascaux, which were dated at about 35,000 years. There were many hand prints and simple bison-looking animals. The tour was in French, so we struggled to follow the explanations.

Then we were on to St. Cirq Lapopie, another of the "prettiest", and my favorite, where we would stay for two nights. We found the Auberge de Sombral, a 3-star inn, and got a lovely room on the 3rd floor in the eaves. It had a tiny window overlooking the square, pretty blue-flowered wallpaper, beams, and a large bathroom tucked into the corner under the eaves, making it all angles. Because of threatening rain, we decided to have dinner in the hotel in their beautiful homey dining room, filled with artwork, antiques, silver, flowers. I would love to live in rooms like that. David had an assiette de charcuterie (a plate of deli treats such as pate and hams), lamb, and ice cream with raspberries. I had puff pastry with Roquefort, lamb, and crepes flambe. With wine and port, it was a sumptuous meal. We were definitely ready for bed!

Friday it seemed to be threatening rain again but we took off early on our planned day. We passed Toulzanie with its houses built into the cliffs along the Lot River. There were some sprinkles but we could see blue sky ahead. We passed Figeac which is a pretty small city on the river Cele, through St. Cyprian, another red village, to Conques. En route we were excited to see a parade of antique autos, at least 10-12 of them off on some rally. Conques is another of the "prettiest villages". I would love to stay in its 2-star Auberge. It has a lovely church of Saint Foy (Faith) for a young girl who was martyred; the church was started in 1040. Over the door of the church is a carving showing Heaven on the left and Hell on the right, quite a gruesome scene!

Next we passed through Entraygues with its 13th c. bridge, then Estaing (if you remember Gisgard d'Estaing, the former Prime Minister), and Come d'Olt, both among the "prettiest". We thought they were nice but not necessarily measuring up to some of the others we had seen. But then we went to tiny Belcastel. This was really off the beaten track and probably has a population of 200 but is very lovely. You travel over little country roads over hillsides and then come around a bend and there it is, quite breathtaking as it climbs up the cliff above a curve in the Aveyron River. It has two 3-star hotels and would be idyllic for a week.

We drove back to St. Cirq and had huge sandwiches for supper. Then we climbed to the top of the chateau ruins (13th c.) for a lookout. We noticed some lights on in one of the restaurants so we went over and sat on the terrace for a beer. Suddenly a front came through and the rain was coming. We ran back to the hotel, just making it as the rain came pelting down; the lights went out and Madame handed out candles. Off to bed for the night, cuddling under the covers and listening to the thunder.

The next morning was bright and beautiful. We had breakfast at the hotel, explored some more, and then left for Monpazier. En route we saw a red-tailed hawk chasing a crow and two huge hares chasing each other across the road. We saw so many interesting birds on the trip - what David thought were wild canaries in beautiful colors and many others that we had no idea of what they were. Lots of what look like magpies around here; I think they call them jackdaws.

Monpazier and Domme are thought to be the most beautiful of the bastides. Monpazier, which is one of the "prettiest" really is lovely with its covered marketplace that still has the old weights and the arcaded streets. There's a story told about Monpazier, which was English, and its next door neighbor Villeneuve-sur-Lot which was French. One night the English left Monpazier and marched across country to loot Villeneuve; when they got home they discovered that the French from Villeneuve had looted Monpazier.

We went on to Villareal, another bastide, dodging huge stormclouds. It seems that it is warm and lovely everywhere we go, but the clouds are chasing us. It's an exciting sky. On to Monflanquin, another bastide and an artists community. Then to Pujols, and artist/antiques dealer community. We found a hotel in Pujols on the hill opposite. The hotel was new but done very nicely, in keeping with the countryside. In town I found some beautiful pottery that I couldn't resist. For dinner we went to Le Figueir (The Fig Tree) which is owned by the owner of our hotel, although the restaurant is in town. It is in an old building but the whole restaurant is done in white: white-washed stone walls, white-washed wood beams, chairs upholstered in white linen, and so on. We met the owner who spoke pretty good English; he spent a month in San Diego on his honeymoon. David had the Tapas Provencal which was a selection of appetizers; the mixed grill; and fig bars. I had the insalata caprese; gigot d'agneau; and an outstanding chocolate mousse with orange peel in it. Porto and cappucino finished off the meal and then we were off to bed.

On Sunday, we stopped at a patisserie for sweet rolls to complete a breakfast of rolls and grapes. Then on to Lauzerte, another (!) of the "prettiest villages" (which I must admit by now are beginning to run together, although each is interesting and fun and different.) Then onward through lovely country roads lined by pollarded sycamore trees. The next stop is Bruniquel where there are several tour buses. The chateau here is in ruins, the town is very steep, built on the cliff along the River Aveyron.

Along the way we stopped for lunch at an Auberge which was filled with stuffed animals - falcons, marmots, foxes, etc. No tourists here! We ordered our bottle of wine and our bottle of l'eau avec gasse (carbonated water) and reviewed the menu. We were getting close to cassoulet country and it was on the menu so it was easy for me to decide. David saw "civet" and wondered what it was since we though civet was a kind of cat. When we asked Madame, "Quest-ce que c'est, civet?", she looked around and grabbed what looked to us like a stuffed boar. That was good enough for David. (We learned later that "civet" is just a stew). The meal started with a huge salad - greens, tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs with mussels, shrimp, octopus, served on a huge platter for us to serve ourselves. The next huge plate was charcuterie - lots of pate, ham, salamis, and more. Then came our dinners, each in its own brown pottery casserole and each enough for dinner for four. We did our best. Then came a tray of cheeses from which you could take what you wanted, and then dessert! We were as stuffed as the wildlife!

We passed through another couple of "prettiest villages", Puycelsi and Castelnau-de-Montmeral, and then drove on to Albi, where the term Albigensian comes from. The Albigensians were an 11c. religious sect that was wiped out by the crusades in the 13th c. This was another of the few cities that we visited and we just loved it. It is built along the River Tarn which has a beautiful old Pont Vieux built 900 years ago. The whole town is red brick, including the Basilica St. Cecile (built 13-16th c.) and the castle, Palais de la Berbie (13-18th c.) which has a museum of Toulouse-Lautrec who was born here. There is a walking tour, numbered and in several languages including Engliish. We visited the Basilica which is just beautiful - one of our favorites of all the ones we have visited over all these years. We checked into a 2-star hotel and explored the whole city which was very accessible.

The next day we back-tracked to Cordes-sur-Ciel which is another - you know. But after all the ones we have seen it seemed more work than it was worth. It was about the steepest village we visited, pretty, but nothing to particularly recommend it unless you are a great shopper!

Our next stop, where we would spend the night, was Carcassonne. With a bit of difficultly we found the Hotel Les Remparts, a 2-star which is right in Le Cite, the medieval town. The room was up a stone stairs in a turret, although the room is quite modern and very small. We stopped for a beer at a pub and explored the whole town, walking around the ramparts and checking out the various restaurants. We finally found one we liked. David finally had his cassoulet which was especially good looking with sausage and duck and quite crusty on top. I had more pates, one of which was rabbit, and steak and pommes frites. For dessert we had ice cream and chocolate mousse. Carcassonne is an amazing place, somewhat commercial now, but with all the medieval stone walls and turrets and streets and buildings maintained. The garbage trucks going around in the morning are very loud, with the noise echoing off all the stone. It made one realize how noisy it must have been with horses trotting through.

Tuesday we headed for the coast. We found a 3-star hotel (with off-season rates) for two nights at Canet Plage (beach). Our balcony overlooked the Mediterranean. Lunch was at a nice place up the street and dinner we had on our balcony. Wednesday we loafed until noon and then took a drive down the coast to see what else there was south of here before the Costa del Sol of Spain. We found a charming village, Collioure, where the Pyrennes meet the sea; it has its own castle and lovely waterfront. We fell in love with it and hope to return to stay for a week or more someday. Many artists also fell in love with Collioure and there are pictures of their art - Matisse and Dufy, to name two - in the spot where they were painted.

Thursday we left Canet and drove up into the Pyrennes to visit a couple more of the prettiest villages. We saw Villefranche-de-Conflent which reminded us of Carcassone; Eus, a charming, small hillside village; and Castelnou. We picnic-ed along the way. We spent a couple of nights in le Cap d'Agde and explored Agde, which was rather disappointing, all built from the lava rock that the beaches are formed of, which naturally is black and rather dull looking.

Saturday we drove to Montpellier to drop off the car. We had a harrowing ride through the city, following a guy on a motorcycle who had promised to lead us to the train station. One-way streets (going the wrong way!), over curbs, u-turns - our own city grand prix. Finally we got there, locked our luggage in the train station, and went off to explore the city for a couple of hours. It's a lovely city, the main square of beautiful white marble, very open and elegant. It was market day so we got some provisions for lunch on the train. Then on to the TGV and several hours of viewing the countryside en route to Paris. At Paris we tried to decipher the Metro system and finally got to Charles de Gaulle Airport where we got the bus to the Sofitel Hotel where we would spend our last night in France. The next morning we could sleep in and then on to the UA flight home. A wonderful trip!

Friuli and the Marches, November 1994

2006-07-12T12:50:00.000-07:00

We left on Thursday, November 2, for Washington DC. For that short leg of the journey we were upgraded to first class, a nice way to start the trip. In DC we changed planes for Rome/Milan and arrived in Milan where we picked up our rental car, a red Alfa Romeo, a five-speed four door sedan. We immediately took off for our first stop, Bergamo. The old medieval town of Bergamo, Citta Alta (the upper city), is high on a hilltop, surrounded by walls. It was a little difficult finding our way around with the car, so many one-way streets. We finally parked the car outside the town and walked in to find our hotel. We finally found it, a charming place, Agnello d'Oro (the Golden Lamb). Then we had to go back, get the car to bring the luggage in, and then take the car to a parking area. We had such a difficult time getting back, we finally just went down a one-way (Senso Unico) street the wrong way to get to our hotel! Luckily there wasn't much traffic but we got a lot of strange looks.

It was very rainy and we were too late for lunch. We took a nap and then dressed for dinner. It was still too early so we went to a nice English sort of pub for a drink - they even had Guiness for David. Then we returned to our hotel for dinner. We started off with one of my favorites, artichokes (carciofi); then David had delicious rabbit and I had Ravioli Bergamasca - I'm not sure what the filling was but it was scrumptious.

The next morning we loaded up the car and checked out, then parked and explored the city. Soon we were off for the Lake District, Lake Garda. First stop was Sirmione, a darling town on a peninsula jutting into the lake. We explored the shopping area of this popular summer resort, had a light lunch outside where it was warm and sunny, and walked out to the tip of the peninsula where there is quite a large Roman excavation of a villa and baths built by Catullus. What a setting! Then we drove up the west coast of the lake, admiring the beautiful scenery with the fall colors covering the mountains and pretty lakeside resort towns. We spent the night high in the mountains overlooking the lake. Our room gave us a spectacular view of the lake and mountains. We ate dinner across the street: David had a mixed grill of chicken, steak, liver, and sausage. I had veal marsala and more carciofi. There was a big family party going on in the restaurant - it was fun to watch them and imagine that it was a mafia family.

The next day was rainy again and we drove to Trento the town where the Council of Trent met in the mid-1500's to decide how to combat Protestantism. Also at that time many of the buildings were painted with frescoes and they have been restored in the last few years - they are quite elaborate with mythological figures, historical figures, and allegorical scenes. Some of the sidewalks are pink marble! Then we had a nice drive to Bolzano which is very near the Brenner Pass into Switzerland and is called Bozen in German. Everything in the town has an Italian and a German name. We went to a German Gasthaus called Fink for a big lunch of wurst and sauerkraut for David and veal and mushrooms for me, with apple strudel to share for dessert. We found a hotel near the main square and, since the rain had cleared, we explored the town. The Duomo is very plain inside but has a beautiful green and gold tile roof. The architecture of the town shows a lot of the Swiss influence.

The next day the rain had caught up to us again. We got in the car and drove the 200 miles to Udine in the Friuli section of Italy where one of my favorite wines, Pinot Grigio, is produced. We had a good lunch with tiramisu for dessert, then walked around town and found a hotel. We had planned to stay a couple of days, making Udine our base for the area, but we didn't really like our hotel and were not as impressed with the town as we expected to be. So the next day we packed up again and headed east to Cividale del Friuli, a delightful town with a big Lombard influence (7th c.) . We went through their archaeological museum with its collection of Lombardian artifacts, especially beautiful jewelry. Then we drove on past many vineyards to Cormons and Felcaro, a restaurant in a 400-year old farmhouse. It was beautiful and the food was great. We started with a selection of three pates; David had a fish soup (zuppa de pesce) and I had bean soup (zuppa de fagioli); for dessert we had a local specialty, ice cream with figs. Delicious!

Next we drove on to Gorizia where we had expected to stay but found it too busy and difficult to get around - we couldn't even find a hotel! We drove on to Gradisca d'Isonzo where we stayed in a rather modern hotel. We didn't want dinner so searched for a bar. Most bars in Italy are brightly lit, serve cappucino and rolls in the morning, have counters stocked with candy, serve gelato, and look like an old ice cream parlor. The bar we found, Il Parco (the park) was very different, a real bar with snacks and sandwiches and a large whole prosciutto. We got talking with the people at the next table who were friends of the owners, two friendly young fellows who also joined us. They shared their roasted chestnuts and some wine with us and it was quite an evening. This was all done almost entirely in Italian - the more I drank, the better my Italian!

The next day, beautiful and sunny, we were on to Aquileia for the Roman excavations. The 11th century Basilica there has a truly magnificent mosaic floor: a large part of it is of the sea with great fishing boats and all kinds of fish, each fish about 2 feet long. This is the largest complete mosaic floor ever found. And it is built on top of a 4th c building which was built on top of a Roman building. You can go into the excavated areas and see the original mosaic floors of the Romans. Simply stunning. Around the town are many Roman ruins, including the forum.

From there we went on to Grado. We had not planned this but our friends from the night before said we must see Grado, a seaside (the Adriatic) resort on an island. We crossed over and decided to have lunch first. We found a likely place and went in. As often happened, we were the only people in the place. It was so pretty with a Victorian atmosphere and blue linens and upholstery. The hostess reviewed the menu with me, making suggestions of their specialties. She left and we decided what we would order, but when I called her back she informed me that we had already ordered! What followed was the best meal I'd ever had in my life. First she brought us a bottle of Pinot Grigio, the best one I've ever tasted. Then she brought appetizers of some fish paste cut in circles on toast triangles with olive oil dripped over. They were delicious. Then came the first course - crepes filled with a cream cheese and salmon mixture with a brownish sauce; I don't know what the sauce was but it was terrific. Next came the pasta course, gnocchi in a red pepper sauce with scallops mixed in. Just heavenly. Then came the main course, turbot on diced potatoes with a lemon butter sauce, topped with crispy fried artichoke bits. Outstanding. And finally dessert - a vanilla creme mold with chocolate sauce with the plate decorated with a stylized butterfly in vanilla and chocolate sauces. On another plate she brought candies - layered chocolate and hazelnut. What a meal!

We decided to stay overnight in Grado, mostly because we could hardly move! We found an open hotel, the Villa Marin, right on the water and a room with a balcony. We explored the town, watching the fishermen come in with their catch. The town also has an old town, with narrow alleys. The Duomo, which is small compared to most we saw, also has a mosaic floor from the 6th century. Not many tourists in the Friuli District, but it was fascinating! Next door is the former Yugoslavia.

After breakfast the next morning at Villa Marin, we set out for Padua and Vicenza in the rain, which had caught up with us again. With all the rain (NW Italy had been having terrible floods), we decided not to go to Venice. We didn't need to see more water! It's good we didn't go because we heard later that it was under water. We drove along the Brenta River west of Venice where Palladio had built many palaces. We got to Padua but found it very difficult to get around. We parked the car and had lunch in a trattoria and then went on to Vicenza. We loved Vicenza immediately! We found our hotel, the Christina, easily, left the car, and walked into town. Everything is centrally located and easy to walk to. Much of the town was designed by Palladio or his students. The Piazza dei Signori is beautiful with the lovely Palladian Basilica, not a church but a meeting place for Vicenzan notables. For dinner that night we went to Tre Visi (Three Faces). It was a very pretty restaurant, sort of like a wine cellar. I had the specialty of the house, pasta with duck sauce. It was very expensive but included the plate to take home.

The next day, sunny and warm, we went on to Dozza, a medievalwalled town we had read about in the NY Times travel section. It's a tiny town, about 200 people, but each year they invite artists to come and produce frescoes on their walls. It's in a beautiful setting, on a hilltop overlooking vineyards, with its own Rocca (fort). The paintings are done in every style imaginable. As we were walking around, we were approached by a woman about my age. She was an American, an artist from San Francisco, who was living in Dozza. She joined us for a wonderful lunch - there are three fine restaurants in this little town, they get so many visitors. For dessert we had three semi-freddo which I had always wanted to try, sort of a soft ice cream with other ingredients mixed in. They were wonderful. She invited us to her apartment for dinner, to be cooked by her friend, Giovanni. We got a hotel room with a huge balcony overlooking the idyllic countryside. We bought some flowers and showed up at 7:00. He made us salmon and mackerel (which I hated but ate), potatoes, peas, a fruit tart and fruit and cheese. We had quite a wild time, what with various wines. Their apartment in the walls of this little town was so pretty with a huge window overlooking the countryside. And they have a big, beautiful cat with gorgeous green eyes.

The next day we spent in Rimini, down on the Adriatic. We saw the Arch of Augustus, 27 BC, and the bridge of Tiberius, 21 AD, which still bears daily traffic after about twenty centuries! After spending the night, it was on to the Marches to visit the little medieval hilltowns a few miles in from the coast. Along the way we stopped for lunch. This is the home of the truffle (tartufo) and I had broccoli -stuffed ravioli with a tartufo sauce. David had lamb chops. We drove along the old Roman road, the Via Flaminia, through a tunnel built by Tiberius in 27 AD to Urbino. We found a hotel and arranged to stay a couple of nights. The Ducal Palace was built by Duke Federico da Montefeltro; it is beautiful with 2 tall towers. We took a tour of the palace: one entire room (very small, about the size of a 1/2 bath) is paneled completely with inlaid wood scenes: musical instruments, the countryside, books, and so on, all inlaid wood much in trompe l'oeil. It's magnificent. This Palace is also home to the Piero della Francesco masterpiece, "The Flagellation" and Rafael's "Il Mute". Raphael was born here. The weather was so wonderful in Urbino, we had our first picnic! Walking around Urbino was hard work with many steep staircases instead of streets. And the church bells rang every quarter hour - they would ring the number of the hour and then in a different tone once for the quarter hour, twice for the half, etc. All night long. I kind of liked it. For dinner we tried a verdicchio, the wine of the region, with our carciofi and rabbit for David and veal limone for me.

After the two days there, we drove down to the coast again, passing many more walled medieval towns perched on their hilltops. We saw the Roman bridge in Cagli and went to the market in San Lorenzo in Campo to pick up more picnic provisions. Then we visited another walled medieval town, Corinaldo. A lovely day. We arrived at the coast in the evening and found an open hotel in Sirolo, another resort area, mostly closed by November. Sirolo is another pretty seaside town with its own medieval area and walls, all overlooking the Adriatic. After our big picnic we weren't very hungry for dinnner but we went out hoping to get just a bite. David ordered just the appetizer "della casa" and I got a pasta dish and salad. The waitress said that they didn't have the "della casa" (for 20,000 Lira - about $13) but had the "della mare" for 13,000 Lira. Then David's meal started coming! First three plates piled with seafood, including some seafood salads, some crab legs, a baked and breaded scallop, etc. He thought it was too much but it kept coming - 2 more plates, one filled with mussels in tomato sauce and one filled with clams on the half-shell. Unbelieveable! David was stuffed!

The next day we went on to Ascoli Piceno. We drove along the Adriatic coast, hoping to have a good seafood lunch in Porto San Giogio before heading inland. We finally found a resaturant but couldn't get the specialty of the area, brodetto, a fish soup, because they served it only on Friday. David had the broiled mixed seafood and I had pasta with scampi. Two bottles of wine with lunch made for an interesting afternoon on the Roman roads - we think we saw Charlton Heston in a chariot going the other way. But we safely arrived in Ascoli Piceno, another hill town, and found a hotel for two nights.

The next day we walked from one end of AP to the other, seeing another Roman bridge, also carrying daily traffic, the Lombard towers, a Roman Gate, and many churches. There is a very beautiful square, the Piazza del Popolo. For lunch we tried another restaurant I had read about, Vittoria. The food was outstanding - we started with assorted appetizers, including stuffed olives, prosciutto, and bruschetta. Then I had crepes florentine with a wonderful cheese/tomato sauce and David had fillets with a cream mushroom sauce. For dessert we had zuppa inglese (like an English trifle, so called "English soup") and another semi-freddo. The meal was so good, we went back for dinner! The Marches is another little-traveled district, but charming.

On Friday we drove over the Apennines with wonderful scenery - snow-covered mountains in the distance - to Spoleto, the town famous for its musical festival started by Gian Carlo Menotti, famous for "Amahl and the Night Visitors". It was a beautiful day. We arrived in Spoleto in time for lunch and found another restaurant I had read of, Il Tartufo. We were the only ones in the place and it was wonderful. I had speck (like prosciutto) on toast with carciofi and then veal with a gorgonzola and mushroom sauce. David had crostini with pigeon tartufo and then chicken (which the waitress called 'kitchen') with a red pepper sauce. We ordered a souffle for dessert and they also brought us chocolates and amari, a "digestive" wine. Wow!

We checked into our hotel, the Charleston (Charleston SC also has a Spoleto Festival), a quaint place with beamed ceiling, a small balcony, and large windows. Then off to explore the town which we really loved - all up and down, many steps, mary arches, few streets. The Duomo is very pretty and the Rocca imposing. The Arch of Crusus is still standing, a memorial to Caesar Augustus' son (AD 23). Part of a Roman amphitheatre here too.

The next day we decided to ride up to Assisi. All along the way I had been looking for pottery and had found almost nothing except one bowl in Urbino. I remembered wonderful ceramics stores in Assisi so we went up there and I bought four plates, all irresistable. We also had a wonderful lunch at Buca de San Francisco with its beautiful stained glass doors. That restaurant was crowded with a Japanese tour. Then we drove to Viterbo, another city that was difficult to get around. We got lost in the old town, with its tiny, winding streets and finally had to ask a store owner to help us! But we finally found a hotel, had a light supper, and hit the bed.

After a quick look around in the morning, we headed for the coast. The drive down was beautiful; we stopped several times along the way to have breakfast, walk on the beach, look for shells, etc. We finally got to Ostia, the port outside Rome, and found a hotel on the waterfront, another with a big balcony. We went over to Ancient Ostia,where there is a huge Roman excavation, for lunch at a restaurant we have eaten in each time we have been near there. I had more carciofi and then more veal. David had fish. Then back to the hotel, a long walk along the sea, and early to bed, to doze off to the splashing waves of the Tyrrhennian Sea. Monday, we turned in the car with 2700 kilometers on the clock, and checked in at DaVinci airport for the long trip home. A truly wonderful trip. We'll be back!