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)

We're BACK!

Just a brief note to say that everything went on schedule today -- we were at Heathrow at 5 a.m. and our flight left right on time at 7:45 a.m. (Only problem was the lack of movies I wanted to watch on the way back ... so watched Leap Year yet again...3 times...) We had about 5 hours of connecting time in Chicago, but that did enable us to have Chicago style hot dogs ... gotta love those poppy seeds! Bumpy flight over the central U.S. because of thunder storms (and I still think I'm moving!) but got to Phoenix about 6 p.m. Picked up rental car and got home around 9:15 p.m. As of this moment, everything is unpacked and laundry sorted and mail in process...Thank you so much for joining us on our trip! We loved having you along with us! And as always, it's nice to be home!

Signing off for now ... next trip scheduled for late August, which will be Mom's 90th birthday trip -- France and Italy!

Much love,
m
x

We're on the way!

Monday, May 24, 2010

Hello!

No pictures this time, just a quick update! We are now comfortably ensconced in the Sheraton Heathrow Hotel in preparation for returning to the U.S. tomorrow! Nice flight from Istanbul to Gatwick. Everything went on time; of course we were VERY early at the airport, but it beats worrying about traffic!

Got to Gatwick about 3 p.m. and out with luggage very quickly! Yea!! And it was 30C which is something like 89 degrees! The warmest day they've had this year, by far! Rented a car at the airport and drove from Gatwick to Heathrow. No problems, not even heavy traffic! Decided on going out for dinner, and found a lovely pub called The White Horse where R had fish and chips and I had a terrific chicken curry. Sat outside in absolutely stunning weather and watched airplanes taking off! (Including multiple BA flights?!)

Now back in and watching England vs. Mexico in a "friendly" match before the world cup. Clock set for 4:30 a.m.; out the door by 5! More later!

Much love,
m
x

A few more photos!

Our last full day in Istanbul!

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Hello!

Well, the trip is winding down, and we’re just about in the “let’s get home” mode that happens to us each time we travel. Today’s agenda was pretty light – I wanted to look at the aqueduct of Valens as well as the Suleymaniye Mosque. The first was easy; the second, much more complicated!

Out about 9 and to the tram. The sun was shining brightly when we got up, but there are huge dark clouds looming. Took the umbrellas, just in case. Just a couple of stops, and got off one after the university. Nice walk (a bit uphill but not a problem) to the aqueduct. It’s in beautiful shape for having been built in AD 373! From there, we wound through mostly quiet, older neighborhoods – very uneven streets! – until we came out near the Mosque. One of the problems about this particular mosque is that it has a very high wall around it – and very few ways in! We finally made it to the cemetery, which was just beautiful. Saw the tombs of Sultan Suleyman as well as his (favorite) wife, Roxelana. Quite a story there! The Muslim gravesites are lovely. Because of their religious beliefs, there are only either designs or religious tracts on the headstones themselves, and then usually in the middle (between a stone in front and in back, there is plant space for flowers! It's a neat idea! What we finally came to realize, though, is that the entire mosque itself is undergoing a major renovation – and has been 2007, so it’s closed to the public! Oh! Back downhill (beats climbing!) and returned to the hotel (making a strategic detour past the McDonald’s for coke and a bathroom break!).

Nice rest, but then we figured we needed to find a light lunch. (We’ve got dinner reservations here at our hotel for 7 p.m.) Decided to take the tram over to the New District and then walk to the Dolmabahce Palace. (Went past the palace a couple of days ago on our cruise, but hadn’t realized it was so close to town!) Lovely day for a stroll! Had toasted cheese sandwiches at the little café next to the Palace, right on the Bosphorus. It was just lovely, although a fair amount of smoke around. Oh! The thing that we’ve realized (duh…) is that all indoor Istanbul restaurants seem to be no smoking! It’s MUCH better than Greece, where they don’t even try to accommodate non-smokers. We are very impressed! There was an amazingly long line to get in to the Palace, so we decided to skip it and head back. As I say, we’re just about at the “let’s go” stage. I got the basics organized and ready to pack up – although we don’t leave until 9 a.m. tomorrow …just wanted to see how tight things were going to be, and I think all is well! Yipee!!

I will post dinner tonight after it happens! More later!
Love,
m
x