We did it! We circled the wall!!

Saturday, 28 August 2010

My birthday! No. 59! Wow, who knew?!

Went to bed around 11 p.m. last night, and didn’t set the clock…figured that we would be up around our usual 5:30-6:00-ish, and I was wondering how we would pass the time before the walls opened at 10 a.m.! Silly girl! Woke up at 9:15 a.m. – an all-time late time for me!! We only had 45 minutes to clean up and get going! Managed to make it to the walls by 10:05 a.m. or so. Got up to the ticket desk and handed in our free passes and showed the gal the picture of R sitting on the wall with the fireman standing by. She immediately got what we were trying to say, and called for her colleague up the stairs – and very quickly, le voila! There were the two wonderful ladies who helped us so much last year! It was quite a reunion! They were very happy to see us, and to know that everything turned out well! SO nice to be able to thank them properly this time! After many admonitions to “take care” we headed out onto the walls once again. Had the walls all to ourselves, which was nice (like last year, wherein there was only one other person who went for help after R’s accident!) It was quite an interesting walk! I hadn’t realized how scary R’s descent down that staircase really was, seen from above! How those nine firemen managed to get R down safely, and themselves down safely as well, is still a mystery to me! I took a picture of R at “the” spot, then we continued on around the city. Very beautiful views in all directions, and unlike last year, a stunningly beautiful day to be on the wall! Took us about an hour + to get around and back down, but I can say that now we have successfully made the complete transit of the walls of Aigues-Mortes, and fear them no more!!

By the time we got down it was after 11:30, and we had had no food at all! So, we found a “sandwicherie” (sandwich shop) and R had a cheese and ham panini and I had a baguette with beurre et fromage. Very good! We then decided to go back to the hotel and take the car out and explore the Camargue. We had a lovely drive all around – saw flamingos and the traditional white horses as well as the bulls they breed here for bull-fighting. (Note: Bull-fighting here in France is mainly bloodless, as opposed to Spain…)

Stopped at the Parc Ornithologique and had a wonderful walk. Saw flocks of flamingos as well as herons, egrets and many other birds. Also saw something called a nutria which is a rodent imported during the last century into France from South America. Fortunately, did not run into the native viper…YEA! From there drove along the west bank of the Rhone, then attempted to get across the Rhone…only to find that R misread the “B” symbol on the Michelin map … he thought it meant “bridge” ….turns out it means “ferry boat!” [I did not think that a B on the map meant “bridge”; I was just following the route Margaret picked. R] So, had to wait 15 or 20 minutes for the boat to arrive, the drove on; across in something like 5 minutes; 5 Euros, please! From there, we drove up the east side of the river into Arles, and then out the other side and back to Aigues-Mortes. Got here around 5 p.m. Such a truly beautiful day here – VERY breezy; just lovely! Decided to have a couple of glasses of white wine on the terrace overlooking the garden and the pool…a great way to spend the afternoon!

We’re now in our room – windows open to get the breeze! – and getting ready for dinner! Tonight will NOT be like last night, as that is a once in a while kind of treat! But hopefully we’ll find something good in the way of pizza or Spanish food!

Take care; lots of love!
m
x

PS – Found Indian food instead! Very good, small restaurant. No pictures, but we had vegetable samosas, eggplant pakoras, curry shrimp (the best I’ve ever had!), chicken tikka, basmati rice and garlic naan…ALMOST no room for desert! Did manage to find a Magnum Classic, which rounds out a terrific birthday very well! Back to the room about 8:45 p.m. and definitely in for the night!
m
x

And last but not least...

DESSERT!!
m
x

And now for the food...

And it was ALL just as good as it looks!
m
x

Pictures; always pictures...

But R has a new camera...
m
x

Heading South!

Friday, August 27, 2010

Allo!

Well, my challenge today is to get everything written before I fall asleep! Let’s see how I do, shall we?!

Took a lovely walk last night -- down the hill to the Seine, then across the bridge to the back of Notre Dame. The bridge we crossed has lately been in the news -- seems that newly married couples have been locking locks along the bridge, and fairly recently, the police came along and broke them all off! But as you can see, the tradition is starting up again; can't discourage young love! From there, along the Seine past Rue St. Michel, and stopped at L'Ecluse, one of our favorite places, for a glass of wine...which turned into a wonderful platter of chacuterie...staggered back to the hotel around 10.

Up around 7 and down to breakfast at 8 a.m. Small, lovely breakfast room – croissant and pain au chocolat, orange juice, apple sauce (!) and hot chocolate for me, café for R. Then a final repacking and out the door to find the bus to Gare de Lyon.

Caught the #63 on St. Germain which took us right to the Gare. Arrived about 9:30 a.m. for a 10:20 TGV train. Platform not even posted yet! Only problem was lack of elevators or escalators to get luggage to the platform…ugh! Found our seats – on the upper deck of a double-decked train car, and the train took off right on time. Absolutely lovely ride – just about three hours, only one other stop – Valence – before arriving in Nimes. Of course we arrived at 1:22 p.m. – the Avis desk is closed from 1:15 – 2:15 p.m. How French! Split a nice ham and cheese baguette while waiting; gal arrived right on time. Got our car – a REALLY cute Citroen diesel that really moves! Shot out of the underground parking at the gare and headed towards Aigues-Mortes.

Took about half an hour to get there – lots of roundabouts! But WOW – the traffic on the peage (tollway) going towards us (and towards Paris) was incredible! Figure that this is probably the last official weekend of annual vacations, and that everybody probably needs to get home to get to work in Monday! Will make note NOT to drive in that direction any time soon!

Got to Aigues-Mortes and drove right to our hotel – last year’s experience very good! As it was a bit after 3 p.m. our room was ready. This time we have room #8 on the third floor of the main (old) building. Very, very nice! Not quite as big as last year’s, but lovely window on the main street, and lots of terrific amenities. Unpacked and got sorted out, then headed downstairs for a glass of wine and a rest. Really lovely place! Since last year they’ve added a real restaurant. Looked at the menu, and to be honest, there is nothing on it that I want to eat! So, have decided to go to town and find something. After wine we headed the couple blocks into “town” for a good look around. The weather is VERY hot and sticky here! Had a good walk around – including revisiting the stone staircase down which the fireman wrestled Robert – looks just as daunting as ever! Finally headed back to the hotel and directly into the pool. Their pool is indoor/outdoor. That is, it has sliding glass doors that can keep it warm in winter and cool in summer. Doors were open, and we had the entire pool to ourselves! VERY refreshing! Back upstairs to clean up and rest a bit, and then out for dinner about 7 p.m.

Well...talk about the Slow Food movement…Decided on a place on a side street called La Salicorne. Incredible meal; lovely atmosphere; Spanish music, but think we’ve found the best place in town! We started with a sparkling aperitif – some sort of fresh fruit juice and champagne – wonderful! As an amuse-bouche, we were presented with small marinated peppers stuffed with tuna and freshly roasted almonds; YUM! From there, R had the smoked salmon starter, and I had the eggplant. Both were incredible; the presentation beyond belief! For mains, R had the turbot, which came in a saffron butter sauce. I had the scallops; perfectly cooked. Both came with servings of pasta and grilled tomatoes, carrots and zucchini. I was hoping to share a dessert, but R wanted his own. He ended up with a melon mixture and a rose petal ice cream. I had raspberries, blackberries and pine nuts over a pastry with an amazing sorbet; unreal! Washed everything down with a bottle of local white wine…STUFFED! Two hours, fifteen minutes, start to end! Staggered back to the hotel, and are now in for the night…and I am NOT waking up any time early, as the wall doesn’t open until 10 a.m.

So! Sorry this is so short tonight, but I’m WAY too tired for more!
Much love,
m
x

And they're off!!

Thursday, August 26, 2010 …. I think!

Allo! Allo!

We are back in France! Paris, specifically, at the moment, and SO happy to be back!
Had quite the journey – separately, of course! We used miles for everybody this trip, with the end result being that R traveled from Phoenix to Paris via Chicago, and I went through Dulles…he left first, and I got here first! So!

Worked part of the day on Tuesday, and headed home about noon to pick up our rental car (to drop in Phoenix) and close up the house. Phil, my boss, was hosting a “summer celebration” that evening, so in the midst of a torrential rainstorm (lots of thunder and lightning!) we headed to the Tucson Botanic Garden. Lovely event; lots of people mingling with great food and wine; Philip gives lovely parties! After cleanup, we were able to head directly to Phoenix, and got to the Best Western Tempe just about 10 p.m. As it was a REALLY early flight (6 a.m.) for Robert on Wednesday, we went directly to bed…but of course had one of “those” nights before trips where you keep waking up to see if you’ve by some change missed the alarm! 4 a.m. did eventually arrive, and we were up and on the road. Check in and security were very easy; not that many people milling around PHX at that time of the morning! R’s flight went first, and then I took myself to one of the little cafes in the terminal for a great breakfast burrito of scrambled eggs, chorizo, and salsa on a chipotle tortilla – yum! (Here we are, haven’t left the state yet, and I’m talking about food…)

I’m very thankful to say that all flights went right on time; in fact, we both arrived 15-20 minutes early in Paris! I had a great seat; behind the area at the front of economy plus that is reserved for sleeping flight attendants, and met a really terrific gal and her 6 ½ month old baby, Armand! To be honest, I wasn’t that thrilled sitting next to a baby because of prior experiences with babies in flight, but both mother and baby were really incredible! Audrey is the French mom who got her Ph.D. in biology at Georgetown and is currently doing her post doc work in Honolulu specializing in malaria and tropical diseases. They were heading back to Paris to see grandparents and friends – and I thought I had had a long day! They started in HONOLULU! Armand was truly wonderful, and Audrey was so well prepared that everything went brilliantly, and while Armand got fussy once or twice, considering what he had been through that “day” – if he made noises for more than 5 or 10 seconds at a time three or four times the entire 7 ½ hour flight, I’d be surprised! It was really a pleasure to sit with him – and talk about a chick magnet! Wow!

I suppose a word or two should be said about United’s selection of movies…which hasn’t improved since our trip to Crete and Istanbul in May! I did watch “Just Wright” with Queen Latifah and Common on the PHX/Dulles leg; enjoyed it, but on the long leg – saw “The Jones” which was AWFUL followed by “The Losers” – hmmm…..good name…

Arrived in CDG and found – voila! – that an actual line arrangement (instead of the usual scrum) had FINALLY been set up to get people more smoothly through immigration! Took just a few minutes and then up the elevator through the center of the building to baggage claim…and the wait…and the wait. I’d just about reached the “I am NEVER checking luggage again” stage when, voila! There was suitcase one! (And as I split our clothes packing between the cases in case one gets lost or misplaced, we now both had clothes to wear!) Then found a quiet place to sit and read and wait the 1 ½ hours for R’s plane to get in. R must have been almost the first one off the plane, because before I knew it, there he was! Together again!! Of course suitcase #2 took a while to arrive, but the point was that it did – so now we are here, all of our things are here (including knives, spoons and measuring utensils!) Made our way to the train station via the wonderful shuttle train, bought our tickets (again, we didn’t even bother to check with the automated machines…) and on our way via RER! Got off at St. Michel and did the 10 minute or so walk to our new hotel – Residence Henri IV at 50 Rue des Bernardins. VERY nice place; at the very end of the street just off Rue des Ecoles.

Fortunately, as it was now about 11 a.m. our room was ready – YIPEE! Number 30 on the third floor. There are only about 12 rooms here, but they are very spacious and beautifully decorated. We have French (what else!) doors overlooking a courtyard from the bathroom, and a lovely square from the bedroom (views to follow!) It also has a very tiny “kitchenette” – two burner cooktop, microwave, sink and fridge – very cute, but can’t imagine cooking here! (Makes the Paris apartment’s kitchen look spacious!) Me into the tub, R into the shower – have to get all the travel “smootz” off – quickly! Then dressed and out looking for food. Found a really nice bistro just a block away – Café des Perigordines. R had filet with blue cheese sauce and frites (French fries); I had a wonderful roast chicken casserole with potatoes and lardons (bacon). Everything excellent, and it was SO nice to wash everything down with sparking water and local wines!

From there we needed to complete our one mission “du jour” – get train tickets for tomorrow’s journey from Paris to Nimes. Headed to Gare d’Austerlitz, the closest train station, via metro; bought carnets (packets of 10 tickets for the bus/metro) as they can always be used in the future! Absolutely no line at all at the station, and we were able to get our tickets, leaving from Gare de Lyon tomorrow about 10:30 a.m….which, I just looked, gets us in to Nimes at 1:23 p.m. … but of course the rental car location is closed for lunch until 2:15 p.m. Oh well!

Took the #63 bus back to the hotel; passes right in front! …but first, a detour just half a block to get my first MAGNUM CLASSIC of the trip! Yum!!! Katy, Hil! Then back to the hotel and – surprise! – NAPS! Up again around 6:30 p.m. and will be heading out soon. A soft, gentle rain is falling; it’s lovely! A chance to actually use our umbrellas! Neither of us is particularly hungry, but I’m thinking a nice walk downhill to the Seine – puts us directly at the back of Notre Dame! -- so, will promenade a bit and I wouldn’t be surprised if we found a glass or wine or two!

So – welcome back to Paris!! Thanks for coming along!

More later!
m
x

Well, we're going to give it another try!

Hello! or Bonjour! ou Ciao!

The Brucato's are off again on Wednesday on a combination fall adventure/Mom's 90th birthday trip. Robert and I will be meeting in Paris (because we're using miles so of course are on different planes!) -- R coming from Chicago and I'm going through Dulles. (R definitely got the better of that deal, as at least O'Hare has hot dogs, while Dulles does NOT! Bummer!)

We'll overnight in Paris and the next day take the train to Nimes (boy, do I remember Nimes!), pick up a car there and head to: You guessed it, Aigues Mortes! We're determined to face that wall one more time! From there we'll be working our way into the Pyrenees (hoping to add several painted caves to the list) and finally out to Bordeaux, where we drop the car and take the train back to Paris. We've rented our favorite apartment in Paris for two weeks -- can't wait to be there again! Mom will be joining us for the second week. From there, we're flying to Rome where we've rented another apartment for a week. After that, we'll train to Venice, stay a couple of nights there, and finally fly from Venice back to Paris,and one last glorious night at our favorite Chateau d'Ermenonville before heading back to the U.S. -- And, Surprise! All three of us are actually on the same flight home! Go figure?!

We will be blogging (hopefully daily, internet connections provided...) and Robert has a brand new Nikon camera that takes wonderful pictures! We hope that you can join us for some or all of our holiday! Getting comments is always fun!

Lots of love,
m (&R)