Oct/Nov. visit fro. Donna and Fred

We have been at our home in Arizona about 3 weeks, settling in and enjoying the quiet.  Not many of our friends are in residence . Toni and Richard who winter here from Oregon invited us for dinner along with Sandy  and John.  Then a second invitation from Toni and Richard with Linda and John with whom they have bought a fishing lodge  in Alaska.  Lots of interesting friends! We will enjoy visiting them in Alaska. We are also back playing regular pickle ball at the Carefree  Resort. 

Our friends Susan and Brian from Roberts Creek BC/ Vancouver, are also here and joined us for dinner at our house. 

Donna and Fred arrived and we promptly went for margaritas !!!!!. at our favourite happy hour bar, the El Encanto!  Since it was Friday we had to Also go to Harold's bar and then to the Buffalo Chip to watch the live  bull riding and the dancing. The band is western and the place is hopping !!!!! We have never seen it so packed. Outside there are bonfires burning  by the corrals , even a rider on a horse is in the mix! It was a great evening......,!

On Saturday we did a little tour around the towns of Carefree and Cave Creek to give Donna and Fred the lay of the land.

Donna and I made a trip to Costco ......we were standing by the wine in Costco chatting away when a couple came up to us and said they had been driving behind us trying to get our attention as our car was belching white smoke .....they had been unable to get our attention and said to each other, well, let's hope they are going to Costco!!! Sure enough there we were! 

We had left Jeff and Fred basking  at the pool. 

Donna and I have been collaborating on meals, and watching the London Tennis each day with the guys. The weather has been all over the the map....hail, rain and sunshine.

One morning Donna and I were in the kitchen  chatting over our morning coffee when All of a sudden a bobcat jumped off the roof onto the tree in the courtyard. We did manage to snap a couple of pictures before he disappeared. 

I should say at this point that Donna and Fred have brought us a set of three candle holders which Fred has made out of sections of birch trees?..they are so beautiful and I LOVE them! Donna, has brought a box of delicious brownies fromMartha and a package of pumpkin brittle she has made. We are so spoilt! 

We went out to the Grotto Cafe for brunch.......a funky cafe that makes great food and coffee.

Tuesday, Jeff is coordinator at Pickle ball and then him and Fred climbed  black mountain. Donna and I were headed  for the shops...crate and barrel and others. After a rake around a few stores we had a bite to eat at True Foods,an organic restaurant where we enjoyed soup and an appy. We head back home as we had an appointment with Preston to view the Boulder House. It s a magical mystical place! Person is so knowledgeable and generous with his time. 

After an hour viewing the property and hearing the stories of its history we departed to the Spotted Donkey  Cafe for happy hour margaretias and a snack.

Then It was a quick stop off at the local store for some meat and home for tennis.

Jeff and Fred got a bonfire going out the back of our property and we got a fire going inside to ward off the chill! 

Another bbq and more vino and a fine meal!

Bellisimmo! 

Changeable weather Oct 21, 2015 Arizona

The weather has been muggy and then rainy, so much that the washes were running! This is the first time we have seen this in real time! Quite exciting to see how quickly it flashes and just as quickly stops!  The rain was coming down with such a force that the roof overflowed. Jeff was very busy with a broom sweeping it away from the patio doors. 

Before the rains came we had a very muggy couple of days where the sky was dark earlier than usual, the coyotes were confused as they normally don't venture out until dark. We had 5 or 6 of them right on the other side of our wall, then they took off across the runway to the other side where there is a larger bit of land without houses on it.

This statue in the photo is taken at the entrance to be of our neighbours.  The necklace on the woman is a beautiful turquoise colour. 

I

October 13,2015.......arrived in Arizona

We arrived at our home in Carefree today, our grandson Andrews 16th birthday. Happy birthday to you Andrew!!!!! We've checked your bat and it's in great shape! Today is also the first day for Ainsley on her new job in Toronto! Anxious to hear how it went. 

The drive down was long, the first day we drove to Twin Falls Idaho arriving at 10pm. 

The second day we drove to Boulder City, Nevada. What a lovely town, our friends Toni and Richard have a home there but unfortunately were not in residence. We stayed at an historic hotel, the Boulder Dam Hotel, which has just 21 rooms. The rooms are good size with modern updates but period decor. When we arrived a man was playing a grand piano in the lobby.  The temperature at 4pm was around 100degrees. The hotel is beside the Boulder dam museum and it was free for hotel guests but closed at 5pm. We dashed over and did a quick 15 minute tour, next time we visit we will make sure there is enough time to really see it.  We then went across the street for some cold libation! 

A short stroll took us to Milo's Italian restaurant where we had a nice glass of vino and delicious pasta. 

Today was a short four hour drive to Carefree.

We have ordered pizza from "the best pizza in the world " and are settling  in to watch the democratic USA debate.

Discovery lodge day 3

(I'm home now and see I have missed a couple of days blogging ) it could be I got mixed up because we had no wifi, the dates of our days are not in the correct order.

SO..,,,, day three we were up at our usual time for breakfast, made by Jen....Mexican eggs and corn bread, coffee and juice. 

We were soon dressed for kayaking and headed out.  Joanie had opted to chill out and not paddle today so the four of us were in two kayaks. We went in the opposite direction from our previous days and the plan was to hug the shore and peer down to see what we could see! Water was calm with no breeze, paddling was easy as we were on the outgoing tide. We saw some  kingfishers who were telling us to get lost, dipping and diving all around us on the high overhead cliffs. Arbutus trees hanging overhead and out over the water are so beautiful. A few starfish could be seen at the waterline, there would be more on our return. Seals would silently slip into the water when we approached.  We were watching the clock and the direction of the flow of the kelp as it is a sign the tide has turned. Wind was picking up and we turned our boats around to head back to the lodge.

It was a speedy sail with the wind and current both assisting us from behind, much more enjoyable than the fighting of both on our previous days. 

At lunch we discussed afternoon hiking plans. We wanted to see surge narrows at its peak! The hike through the forest was on a well travelled trail, lots of ups and downs! Through fern fields and tall cedars, gorgeous shades of green mosses were pillows of softness under our feet. We arrived at the narrows and sat up high above them to watch the "surge" at its peak! Wow, spectacular and wild! And to think we had passed through them yesterday at slack. The importance of timing! 

We met a young couple from Germany there who we asked to take a group photo, which they did. They were on a six month Canadian holiday, couch surfing, airbnb....ing and hosteling. 

For awhile we were watching something large diving and surfacing across the narrows.....thinking it was either dolphin or whale, but in the end we all decided it was a sea lion.  We hiked back to the lodge for some prosecco and wine and chat with the other guests while I started the dinner prep.  I was making tuna melt Mac n cheese. The girls loved it, we had enough for our guide Jen as well. 

The cards were out again and the tea was made. Soon we were the last ones remaining and we retired  also. Happy paddlers we!

Discovery Lodge Day 2

Call to breakfast was 8:30 although coffee was available earlier....and we were there! Breakfast was a bowl of steel cut oats with fixings and home made cinnamon rolls that were hot and fresh from the oven. Mmmmmm! 

Weather was looking a bit iffy but rain was holding off. We thought maybe we would be ok as it had poured through the night. The wind was up as we pushed off from the dock 

We were heading for surge narrows and had to time it right in order to navigate the rocks. We did not have a guide today but one had headed out with a couple of other kayakers and we followed behind them. The Marine park we entered was spectacular, lots of spiny Red Sea urchins, leatherback starfish, bat stars and Orange, purple and pink starfish, sea stars, and seals. More sealife  than we have seen in quite a few trips.  The water in the marine park was calm as a milk pond, but our time was limited due to the changing tide.

We started back toward the lodge, our calm waters receding behind us as we faced two foot chop and strong winds. It was a tough paddle back and the last section it also started to rain. Needless to say we were soaked, but still happy paddlers. 

Once back we stripped off the wet clothes, rinsed seawater off our life jackets and spray skirts , we met in the kitchen to eat a late lunch. And then the rain came!!!! Oh boy! Did it rain! We were so glad to be out of the water.  Next up was a trip back to town and a visit to a couple of local artist studios. One a potter and the other a painter! She was of great interest, Maureen Maryka. She works in acrylics and mixed media....with a chroma product that we will have to investigate further. Her studio was built on the bluff overlooking the ocean.......a dream studio location.

A quick visit to the grocer and we made the long drive down the narrow gravel road back to Discovery lodge. 

As I write this we are sitting around the communal kitchen table eating snacks and sipping  prosecco. 

While I write, Jan is attempting to read and the other three are coloring! 

Dinner prepared by Jan was chicken chili southwest with chocolate cookies to follow. Sandy presented us all with purdeys salted carmels. 

After dinner we played another game called Anomia......a fun but loud card game that caused a lot of laughter.

By 10 we were retiring for the night. 

Day one at the lodge

Arrived at the lodge by 9:30 and were out on the water by 10:30......proud of ourselves at our efficiency! The water was challenging to say the least, but we had opted to have guides. Jen and Gwen, two young (ish) girls led the way. Some of the currents we likely would not have entered without their guidance as we had not experienced anything that resembled what we had previously paddled. As it turned out we were quite competent! 

We stopped for lunch, provided by the guides. Also in our group were a family of three from Spain, mum, dad and a very shy smiley 8 year old boy.  One of our guides, Jen, speaks fluent Spanish as she works a non profit in Nicaragua for part of the year. Her non profit is called The Latitude Project.

We started back to the lodge, making a big crossing back to Quadra. We had been past Reid and Maurelle Islands. The crossing was long and challenging but nothing we could not handle. Regardless we were all quite wet on our return and Joanie and myself headed for the showers....one solar which was cold as there had not been enough sun and the other was heated by other means...nice and warm...I was the lucky one in the warm one! 

The lodge is quite lovely, we have private rooms and shared bathrooms. There is a living room and kitchen on the top (third) floor of the lodge.

Joanie made dinner which we all enjoyed, spaghetti with two sauces, a spicy red and a white seafood. Gourmet snacks were provided before dinner by Sandy. We finished it all of with Joanie's Lacey cookies....which we also share with our Spanish friends. 

The rest of the kayakers staying here soon drifted off and we played  a game of Quiddler, before hitting our beds for the night.

Last morning Discovery Lodge Aug 31st

Today we woke to the rain again. Our kayak guide Jen had made a lovely bowl of fruit with yogurt and freshly made chocolate banana bread.  

We were packing up our wet gear, paying our bill and then getting on the road. 

We had planned to get the noon ferry from Quathiaski Cove to Campbell River but we missed it by thirteen cars. After a stop at Pamela's to unload her gear we all piled back into both Sandys vehicle and Pamela's .

We eventually arrived at Sue's beautiful home on the ocean in Fanny Bay. Sue and Jim are multi talented. The garden path leading to the house descends towards the ocean through lush plants and a burbling stream. We were greeted by Sue with open arms and we  admired all.....the view, the art and serenity that the space evokes ! Sue offered us freshly baked scones, coffee and canapés. We went outside to see her studio and work. Lastly we went further down to the Oceanside where they have an outdoor bedroom, complete with a beautiful old brass bed. The walls were draped in mosquito screening. What an amazing place to sleep with the sound of the wind and the waves. 

We caught up on all family news and soon had to leave for our 7:30 ferry reservation, Nanaimo to Vancouver. 

Take Me Out To the Ballgame

Today Andrew Jeff and I were off to the ballgame. Our destination was the Salt River Stadium at Talking Stick Resort. Grandma got the directions from Map quest, it was a 28 minute drive from the house.  Note to self......don't trust map quest.
Regardless Jeffs natural radar kicked in with help from Andrew and we arrived at the right place.
It was pretty stinking hot and we were sitting in the sun all day. The plastic seats felt like hotplates! Ready to watch the Arizona Diamondbacks play the San Diego Padres.  Our seats were pretty much even with left field, or maybe it was right field?! Anyway, the field, and we were about 6 rows up from the level field. Pretty good seats.
Andrew was enjoying the game and we were making sure he drank lots of liquids.
Unlike tennis where if a ball goes out of the court spectators have to throw it back, in baseball fans keep the balls, in fact players often randomly toss balls into the audience and lots of kids and adults bring their own mitts to the game hoping for a catch. During a time between innings one of the Padres was tossing a ball to a youngster, the ball hit the wall and bounced up hitting ME on the forehead. The guy sitting next to me tried at the last second to deflect but missed! Of course the ball bounced off my head and back down to the field!  the Padres player was most concerned and was calling up to me to see if I was ok, several other stadium people also came to ask if I was ok. I realized we were in the country where sueing is big business!
The game continued and after 9 innings the score was tied 3/3. At this point a couple of the players were heading off the field to the lockers walking by our seating area. One of them was the player who had beaned me and as he came even with us he asked if I would like a bat and pulled one out of his bag. I must say I was about to ask if I could have a ball instead thinking it would be easier for Andrew to take home! Good thing I did not! The guy sitting beside me was horrified at that plan! Little did I know the value of the personalized bat! The Padres player had last year played for the LA Dogers and consensus was that he would be a fall of famer one day. The bat was engraved with his name MATT KEMP, his number etc. it was also covered in sticky pine pitch. Andrew very carefully and revlantly carried it out of the park to the admiring looks of many people. Several people spoke to us about the bat and we began to realize more fully that this was of great value. We were advised not to clean the pitch, to leave the bat as is, to place it in a protective case! I told Andrew one day he could sell it to a collector and have the down payment on his first house.
I could tell that was the furthest thing from his 15 year old mind!
Meanwhile the Diamondbacks and the Padres played a tenth inning which did not result in anymore runs for either team and the ballgame was over.
We arrived home just after 5pm and were on our way to Harolds bar for dinner and to listen to the blues/rock band the Arizona Blues Project. We had a table for 8 as friends, Preston, Nancy, Susan, Brian, and Ron were joining us.
It was a good evening, Andrew watched both a hockey game and our afternoon ballgame on the bar TVs and enjoyed the music.
I would say he definitely enjoyed his last day.....he is heading home to Vancouver tomorrow, we loved having him here!

Another Day in Lalaland

Today Jeff was off playing tennis so Andrew got to sleep in again! Breakfast became lunch and Andrew was off on his vey first motorcycle ride. The destination was an outside Bar called Greasewood Flats. It is down a short dirt country road and is rustic in decor. There is beer if you are past the age of 21 and lots of "funny" people watching.  Andrew is getting his fill of those!
Afterwards returning home, some time was spent at the swimming pool.
We went out for pizza dinner at a little place run by the same family for over 25 years, it is the best pizza we have ever had so Andrew was in for a treat. Several funny things happened.......first we noticed that maybe the servers were a little different, like maybe they were a bit simple, simple but very friendly....all good.  WHen we were ready to go we asked for the remaining pizza to be put in a take away box. For some reason something told me, when the girl brought the boxed pizza, that we should check if it was Indeed our pizza......sure enough it was not and I realized the couple walking out of the restaurant had ours. So I yelled after them.....hey, you've got our pizza! The server grabbed our box and ran after them and the switch was made! Phew, saved by grandma!
Next stop was the Buffalo Chip  Bar/bull riding extravaganza. Andrew had an x drawn on each hand with a felt tip marker, this is so he can't be served beer. We watched the band and dancing for awhile then in time we went out back to the grandstands, found seats and settled to watch the bull riding. Wednesdays are for amateurs and it was a bit slow till one cowboy got his hand stuck and the bull could not unseat him. He was dangling like a rag doll and about six clowns ran to the rescue.....piling on the bull to try stop him. Eventually the hand was released. It was quite a sight.
Back to the homestead where Andrew offered to finish off the coconut cake for us......thanks Andrew!
Too late for a hot tub tonight.

Andrews Spring Break Visit to Arizona March 2015

We are so happy to have Andrew visit our Arizona home. He has visited before with his parents and siblings. We aim to show him our side of Carefree and Cave Creek.
Day one after picking him up at the airport we drove home through Cave Creek as there was a big "happening" happening! Loads of market tents, and hundreds of Motorcycles. It was quite a sight to see all the "funny" people as grandpa calls them! Just regular people in weekend mode. The day ended with a hot tub.
Monday morning it was early rising as grandpa and Andrew were climbing Black Mountain with our friend Strat. Black mountain is a strenuous climb pretty much a scramble up a pile of black rocks. Grandpa said later it was like Andrew was on an escalator, as he powered up. Of course grandma made sure he had a banana before they left and a camelback with water. Good thing as the camelback was dry on their return.
After the climb the three of them went for "coffee" at The Red Truck where Andrew devoured a sandwich.  He spent some of the rest of the day napping. Teenagers do need more sleep I told grandpa!! Before dinner we took a drive out to Bartlett Lake which is about 10 miles from our house. We had heard the wild flowers were in bloom but if they were we did not see them. The day finished with the ritual hot tub.
Tuesday morning we let the "boy" (grandpa calls him that!) sleep in, while grandpa went off to play pickle ball. Andrew got up at my urging at 10:30 as he had to eat before the excursion of the day.Grandpa was home at 11:00 and shortly thereafter they were off to a spring training baseball game. We had bought two tickets to the Camelback Stadium where the San Francisco Padres and the Chicago white Sox had a game. The seats were behind home plate and up eleven rows.....very good seats. Oh....on the way to the game they stopped to buy Andrew a pair of us glasses as he had forgotten to pack his.
Home again, it was bbq time, and afterwards we had a bonfire in the back garden overlooking the runway, and pointing the iPad at the sky with the star walk app.
Again the day is finishing with the ritual hot tub.
Tomorrow is another full day.

Jolly old England

The remaining pilgrims left Rome this morning, Jan, on the early flght left at 6:30. The rain sounded like a tsunami was on the way! The last three of us left right after breakfast. We were checked through security and sitting at our gate.  There was a mini spa right next to us so Joanie had a massage while I had a manicure and Sandy read her much neglected book.
When we deplaned we said goodbye, I was heading for London end Joanie and Sandy for their connecting flight to Vancouver.
After a ridiculously long wait at passport control!!!!! Really, there were 2 agents and hundreds of people waiting for clearance. I was not impressed, particularly as there appears to be many agents standing around not working. Grrrr!
 What a lovely surprise when I finally got through the door on the other side......not just Penny, but Lena and Isabella were also meeting me and little Isabella came running to welcome me!!!! What a little doll she is, and she continued to charm me in her sweet little English voice .
We drove to Susie's house and had a cup of tea (lovely English tea) and a chocolate biscuit while Isabella performed for us.  Penny and I then left for Claygate where we spent the rest of the afternoon yakking. We were just sitting down to a delicious fish pie when Clive arrived home and joined us in a glass of wine.
It was great to catch up with them both for a couple of hours. Tomorrow will be a fun day.
I love England and often say........I could live here!

Audience with the Pope!!!!!

Today is our last day in Rome. We found out last night that Pope Francis would be giving an audience At 10:30 Wednesday morning. Tickets were free but you had to previously order them on the Internet. Of course we had not done this. We were told by another guest in the hotel, who had the ticket,  that in order to get a seat she was leaving for the Vatican at 7:30am. Hmmmm, what to do?!
We decided we would have breakfast and leave the hotel at 9ish in a taxi. On arrival at the Vatican we    Breezed around, through the airport style security machine and to our surprise we were soon inside. Not a soul asked for the blue paper that was the ticket. The audience had already started by this time and there was standing room only at the very back. The room held about 6,500 people.
Various cardinals spoke and then the Pope stood from his white chair and spoke in Italian. Afterwards several of the cardinals repeated the Pope's message in English, French,  German and Spanish. It was incredibly hot in the room and we did not stay for the full audience.
We walked to the Castel St Angelo which is beside the Tiber River down the way from the Vatican. There is said to be a secret passage between the two where the Popes could go from one to the other, depending on the danger.
We then walked to a shopping district where Local Romans  shop......Armani, Versace, Coin and others. Romans must be rich! The Via Cola di Rienzo!
Feet were weary from tramping the cobbled streets and we took a taxi to the villa Farnesina which was merely a stones throw from our hotel.  This villa had large paintings by Raphael and others of the     1500's, and a  small formal garden.
We went Grazies and Grazillas for lunch, we had been there a few days previous and liked it. We shared some pastas, grilled vegetables and tiramisu and a bottle of white wine.  The rain was on again and we made our way back to the hotel , a bit of a rest before dinner. None of us were very hungry but after some packing and such we once again went out in the rain to Dar Poeta a delicious and popular pizza restaurant.. We shared a couple of pizzas, beer and a Nutella calzone!!!!! Yum! On returning to the hotel after dinner I went to the hotel reception to ask for another map, a girl we had talked to yesterday about the Audience with the Pope was there. I told her that we had actually been able to get into it as well and asked her how she and her mum and mother in law had enjoyed it. They had gone at 7:30 to get a good seat and were seated about the middle of the floor area, so not too far from the staging area. She told me that when the audience was over the Pope was walking down the aisle and as he was even with their seats a man jumped out of his seat, screamed "For Gods sake" and threw himself on the floor at the Popes feet. Immediately several security persons grabbed the man, but the Pope held them off and spoke with the man for several minutes and he calmed down. She said it was an unreal experience, scary at first and then not. Her mum and mum in law then got to shake hands with the Pope.
We have had such an amazing time exploring Rome and the two towns we visited outside of the city. Our time in Florence and Paris were memorable, we had so many adventures and laughs with all
seven of the Painters!!!! Prosecco and Pearls rule!!!!
Lastly we have to say our Hotel Santa Maria was such a great choice, central, friendly, reasonably priced, we would highly recommend it on your visit to Rome!
Arrivederci  and Ciao !!!!

Day trip to Tivoli

We awoke this morning to a forecast of heavy rain! Not what we expected in Rome but you take what you get!
We decided to do another day trip outside of Rome. Credit must go to Sandy and Joanie as they very diligently research where to go and what will be interesting to see.  It is decided we will go to Tivoli which is a 35 minute train ride away. This involves a taxi ride to the metro station near the coliseum, then a metro ride to the train station. This is a different train line then we took yesterday.  Two of the trainmen were chatting to us, they knew no English and our Italian was only very slightly better. The train was direct and we arrived after a pleasant ride through agriculture, olive trees, farms, and field of horses, cows and sheep, a refreshing change from Vespas, motorbikes, smart cars and all manner of trucks and buses.
Our focus was to visit the Villa d'Este and we found some signs with arrows pointing the way.  We walked toward the Centro of Tivoli and I asked a local passing by  if we were heading in the right direction....she responded with her arm pointing straight up...up...up. The narrow streets took us through the town. Up as far as we could go we found another directional arrow...which led us past the finest italian leather bags! They seem to be everywhere. One more gift was purchased and a few more we said we would think about after we toured the Villa.
The Villa itself was large with many rooms, what was spectacular was the gardens. The house sits on a hill overlooking the town, and countryside for miles. The gardens are designed in a formal way, with many large planters, sculptures, and fountains everywhere.  Large pools of water, many hedges, cypress trees, waterfalls, grottoes, cobbled walkways. We were told that One of the largest fountains played music in the afternoon at 2:30.  We were not sure exactly where the location would be and when we heard the music start we hurried up the garden toward it.....arriving just as it ceased!
Back inside the house we discovered an art room.  The artist Virginia Tomescu Scrocco's paintings covered the walls. She was inspired by the broken brushwork of Divisionism that she absorbed
during her youth in France. Her work is described as being enveloped in light. She lived in her beloved Tivoli until the war when she moved to Rome where she died in 1950.
It is hard to describe the beauty of the gardens, I recommend two things.......Google Villa D'Este and if you are visiting Rome it is definitely a day trip to remember.
We were making our way back down through the town and stopped at a cafe for a pastry and coffee in lieu of lunch. The cafe was quiet and the gregarious server was friendly, he made our lattes with chocolate coating the glass before he added the coffee....yum !  As we were leaving a couple came in and the server told him we were from Canada, this new guy went crazy.....English is my passion!!!!! His girlfriend was nodding and smiling, saying yes..it is his passion!!!! Quite funny!
Back to the train station, this time we were on the 4oclock which stopped everywhere on the way to Rome.
It was dark when we arrived and on the way home we walked the length of Circo Massimo, which is the area where in ancient times chariot races and other social events took place.  We are certainly taking in all historic sites in Rome.
We were glad to escape the rain for a little while, then it was back out to a nearby restaurant, the Frachetti.  Joanie pronounced it her best meal in Italy.
Tomorrow the sun may make an appearance for a short period. We are planning to revisit the Vatican, as the Pope is in residence and speaks to the people on  Wednesdays  at 10:30 am.  We expect there will be big crowds and although tickets are free to hear him speak you must apply for a ticket in advance......we will try our luck.
Going to sleep to the sound of rain. .....ciao!

What to Do, What to do!!!

Today the forecast was for rain, plus it was/is Monday and a lot of venues are closed on Mondays.  We set out after breakfast,  after finding out how and where to buy tickets. We walked to a tobacco shop, bought bus tickets....1.50 euros to ride the bus for 100 minutes. You validate your ticket once boarding the bus and your 100 minutes begins. Seemed simple.
The bus was very crowded and standing room only. The ride was quite rough as many streets are cobbled. One nice young couple offered me a seat that became empty.....yes, I am and look like, a senior citizen! We rode the bus to the end of the line which was at the train (trenitalia) station. Train tickets are very easy to buy from the ticket machines and we purchase four returns from Rome to Frascati. Franscati is about 35 minutes by train from Rome. It is in white white country and has a large villa, Aldobrandini, no longer used as a home, with large gardens, that were in a formal design They sold wine and olive oil there. The wine of the area,  which is one that we used to buy quite often is Colli Albani. We hiked up the cobbled street to see the view from the gardens.
At first we had a difficult time finding a restaurant that was open for lunch....but we were successful at the Cantina Bucciarelli. The owners, who also were the waiters, did not speak much English but we managed to muddle through together. They were very nice! We ordered some dishes to share and a litre of white wine from the region which they dispensed from a large wooden keg.
After lunch we wandered through the town and poked into a few shops. We almost got out of there purchase free......but ducked into a shop selling purses and shoes. 40% discount was on offer and we all are the owners of new bags!
We returned to the train station and caught the 4:30 back to Rome. The train passed through an airport and an area that is part of the Appian Way, with the ruins of an aquaduct partially standing.
Arriving at the train station we exited and found our way to the bus terminus outside. Once again we were back in the familiar Trastevere area and in the security of our walled hotel.
The other half of our painting group, who left us yesterday, will be happy to know we finally made it to the Der Poet Pizza!!!!!! And it was as fantastic as we had been told!  So sorry, Judy, Joan and Marion that we ran out of time to get there with you! We are hoping we can go again before it is our turn to leave Italy!
And so ends another wonderful day in Italia.
Ciao. ️️xo

Sunday in Rome

This morning we were awakened by rolling Thunder and torrential rain! We were not meeting a guide   so we were having a bit of a sleep in! Heaven!
Marion had left at 6:30 as she had an early flight to London and we were to meet Judy and Joan for a last breakfast a bit later as they had a flight home at noon.
By the time we were ready to go out the rain had stopped and there was blue sky and sunshine! We did not have a "plan" so we were strolling in the Trastevere area, which is an made up of narrow streets, little shops, churches, bars, restaurants and markets. We hadn't gone too far when we popped into a shop where a purchase was made by Sandy.
We were heading for the church of saint Cecilia, who is the patron saint of music. It was recommended by Joan that we should visit it. Cecile's tomb was opened about 250 years after her death and her body was surprisingly intact. There was a beautiful white marble statue of her in repose that was done by Bernini. The church was built on Roman ruins that house the crypt under the floor of the church, a nun was present and would unlock the doorway so you could go down and have a look.....we did not as she didn't look very welcoming.
We decided to cross the river to the little island and when we went down the steps to the riverbank, which has a wide pedestrian walkway we had some fun taking pictures with the selfie stick. Selfie sticks are great fun and there are so many people hawking them that you see them in use everywhere you go. So now instead of asking a stranger to take a photo of your group you just pull out your selfie stick!
Back up from the river we left the island and walked through the Jewish section, there were some ruins in the process of restoration and we walked through the area. As we walked we were looking for a Jewish restaurant, hoping for some matzo ball soup or Flafels, after awhile having no success we decided on a busy little Italian place called Benito Osteria. Well, Sunday lunch is a big deal of which I'm convinced ALL Italians partake, and most,of them seemed to be at Benito's!!!! Sandy and I crowded into the small doorway while Joanie and Jan waited outside......how long for a table we Inquired......oh ...hand signals indicated 5-10minutes.......not so. More people arrived who seemed in some cases to be regulars and they miraculously found seats. I hate to report that we waited about 45! Minutes for a table......yes, Jeff, Mike, Chris and Graeme would have been out of there! The problem was we knew the situation would be similar all over and we decided to wait. Just before we were seated we were given a small glass of Prosecco, late but better than not.
We enjoyed most of the lunch, a couple of pasta dishes, a couple of appetizers and a wild boar dish, we shared it all,  along with a bottle of red., and two delicious desserts. By the time we finished there was just us and one other table in the restaurant...Sunday lunch was over!
We resumed our walk and arrived at a gigantic white building the Vicctori Emmanuel the first king of  United Italy completed in 1935, it houses the National Museum and there are awesome views from a walkway that can be reached after climbing many many many heart pounding steps! Once up the steps you can look down on the coliseum, the Forum, St Peters Basilica. We were there just before sunset and Rome looked beautiful as the sun went down and lights came on in the buildings. As we left the viewing area we entered a doorway and we were in the Basilica of Santa Maria, a very beautiful church with a gorgeous patchwork of marble floors and many hanging Chrystal chandeliers.
This building has huge pillars supporting a many curlicues on the roof and magnificent white statues of men on horses flanking each side......the word is that Romans do not like this building as they feel it is too ostentatious.  We descended the many steps, which was much easier than the ascending had been.
We then made our way back to our hotel, retracing our steps back through the Trastevere area where the shops were still open and people were out and about.
Our plan was to rest a little and visit a restaurant for a small snack.....truth is we were all still full from lunch and tired from our day, the rain was again teeming, thunder was booming and we stayed in! Weather report is fine.
Tomorrow will be another day!

Roman coliseum and the Forum

What an incredible day!!!
We were off on our usual modus operandi, after our usual breakfast, into two taxi cabs. We were meeting our guide Christina at the metro station entrance outside the coliseum.
Christina has a PHD in archeology, in case I didn't mention it previously, and she is very patient and thoughtful with all our questions.   The weather was chilly and raining a bit but not as bad as was forecast.  She gave us a short description of how she planned to go forward with our tour and we were off! Since the recent problems in Paris with Je suis Charlie the security has been ramped up at the entrance, we must put our purses through an airport type security machine. Our guide is well known to the various workers at all the sites we have been visiting so we are treated with less scrutiny, which is nice!  All the arches that make up the lower floor are numbered there are 80 of them. The numbers signify where each person must enter. A person has a shard of pottery with their number on it and that doorway is the only one they are allowed to use for their lifetime and they are seated according to rank or position in society. The second tiers are also arches and originally a statue stood in each one, it was built in AD 72 and took 8years to construct.  It was built on the site of Nero's palace on top of the artificial lake that was destroyed. Emperor Nero was a hated tyrant who had someone kill him (bizarre!) because he was so hated by the people. He had built an immense golden statue to himself, whose height rivalled the height of the coliseum. The gold was repurposed in the new building and in its place 3 pine trees were planted. These trees today stand outside the coliseum .....they are not pine trees as we know them, but they are pine trees nevertheless.
It is difficult to describe the coliseum, you can walk around on the upper levels and look down onto the arena where all manner of events took place, gladiators fighting each other, gladiators fighting wild lions and tigers, also prisoners were thrown in the arena and they met their execution in that way. There would even be women fighting each other. There were also markets and theatre events. There was always some event taking place. After an hour and a half we made our way to the Forum , we were able to walk among the ruins where the Romans had worked and lived. Julius Ceaser was cremated at this site and people still leave flowers and coins here especially at the ides of March  , there isn't a grave as such.  The forum site was the most important meeting place located in the Center of Rome and where all manner of life took place.
Our guide was the principal director of part of the site excavation in 2010 and her and her students made some important  discoveries.
Our time with Christina came to an end.....our "3 hour tour" 🎶🎶🎶. We said our goodbyes and promised to share pictures. All of us were heading for the metro and  lunch, which was highly recommended by friends of Sandy's , the Osteria Barberini. It was our most expensive lunch and parts of it were delicious........nothing ventured nothing gained and we are happy we had made the choice, black truffles a speciality were in season, and they were divine over pasta.
We then walked by the Trevi fountain on our way back to our hotel. The Trevi is under a massive restoration and is barely visible under the scaffolding but people are still lining up to walk past it, and we were no exception! It is the largest and most spectacular  of Roman fountains, most well known and famous in the world. It stands 85 feet high and 65 feet wide.
We arrived at our hotel in time for Judy, Sandy, Marion, Joanie and Joan to attend 5:30 mass.
Jan and I took a rest! We were all still quite full from our big lunch and decided to forgo going out for dinner.
Tomorrow  Judy, Marion and Joan are saying arrivederci to Rome and traveling homeward.
The pilgrims will be here for  few more days.

Vatican, Sistine Chapel and RAIN

This morning the weather report was, shall we say.....unfavourable. We started off in the breakfast room with a nice breakfast but horrid coffee...I guess we have to learn how to Order it.  It can't be the Italians !!!! Aren't they famous for their coffee?
We ordered two taxi's to meet us at the gate ( our hotel is completely gated) and learned that as soon as you order a cab the meter starts ticking. Anyway the cab from our hotel, which is in the Trastevere area, to the Vatican is 15 euros.
We had booked a tour and a guide from home, which was fortunate as the lineup to purchase a ticket wound around the block and was about 10 people wide! The temperature was frigid as well.
Our guide had not yet arrived and Sandy went to pick up the tickets, Oops,  once we were given the tickets we HAD to move along inside. We had now moved from Italy into the country that is the Vatican! Security is strict and no leniency is shown, rules are rules. Inside we went and waited for our guide, women's intuition kicked in and we found each other quickly.
She explained the rules to us, where we could talk, and where we could not! Where we could take photos etc.  Christine (guide) has a phd in art history and was so knowledgeable, there was not a question she could not answer.
She was pleased to be guiding seven women as she knew when the group was made up of both men and women, the men did not want to stay so long! We would be with her for over 3 hours.
The truth is the Vatican is so impressive you end up being in awe and have a case of information overload. Even though it is January there are still a good amount of people, not, of course what the crowds would be in the summer. The average number of visitors per day is 26,000! The Vatican city is divided into different principal areas, the Sistine Chapel, St. Peters Basilica, the Vatican  museum.
The many paintings that align the walls and ceilings are minus the artist signatures. It is forbidden to sign the frescos as well, because of the jealousy it would cause between artists. An artist would paint themselves into the painting and you could tell who he was in the painting as he would be looking directly out of the scene like a portrait.
When we entered the Sistine chapel our guide told us she would not be able to talk to us as talking was forbidden. The floor of the chapel was quite busy with tourists, as we entered several guards were at the entrance and every few minutes would yell out "silence! No photos, no videos, silence!" Respect for this reverent area. All the important christian scenes were depicted on the walls, ceiling and floors. The Sistine Chapel is used for some special ceremonies or whenever the Pope desires to close it for his use. Once a year, usually around the date of epiphany, Jan 6th, a christening of 40 persons (babies) is held, 20 females and 20 males. These children are from employees of the Vatican or anyone can make a written request to ask for a place.
The new Pope Francis is truly a pope for the common people. He does not live in the Vatican apartments as all popes before him have done, instead he has elected to live in a hotel within the Vatican, a two bedroom more simple apartment in the santa Maria hotel. It is believed he will make more changes to simplify the existence of the cardinals and bishops that serve the Vatican.
The Basilica of St Peter is the largest basilica in the world, in the main entrance hall on the floor depicted to scale is a design of every major cathedral in the world, with their  measurements noted, and they would all fit inside the area of St Peters Basilica!
We spent about 3 1/2 hours viewing all the masterpieces today and the information is quite impossible to retain it all, which is available in the many books and on line.
We left the Vatican and were met with the predicted rain, we found a little place for lunch and afterwards walked back to our hotel to dry out! Stopping at a little bakery on the way.
Relaxing and recharging for awhile, enjoying tea in our rooms. We met up in the hotel lounge for a few games of charades then braved the torrential rain and a three minute walk to a cosy local restaurant recommended by our hotel......for a mere 10 euros each we enjoyed a light meal and small glass of wine with complimentary Prosecco and limoncello ! Just a small shot of each!
Then it was  bed and blogging!
Ciao!!!!

Road Trip.....all roads lead to Rome...Yay!

This morning we were on the road by 9am after a fulfilling breakfast in Florence. We had such a fun time in Florence I think we were all sad to leave. Junco our driver, was the perfect guy to put up with a van full of 7 crazy women!
Our first stop of the day was at the basilica Santa Maria Degliangeli Porziuncola there were many grey cloaked monks barefoot in sandals with knotted rope belts. This basilica had  a church within the church. The small stone church in the middle of the basilica was from the 9th century. It was here in the little church that Saint Farancis started the Franciscan monks order, there were so many monks the big one was built around it.. Part of St Francis remains, his hair shirt and a piece of his belt are here.st. Francis is the patron saint of Italy.
We were back in the van and further on we arrived in the other end of Assisi where we toured the
Basilica commonly known as the basilica of St Francis of Assisi built in 1228. Frescos were painted by Giotto and his apprentices. Here were many security guards inside, restoration work was in progress, an artist was painting the ceiling high up on a scaffold.
Still in Assisi we disembarked from the van once more and visited the Temple of Minerva, a pagan roman temple, which featured a church inside with lots of gold  and blue paint.
The wind was blowing as we walked uphill around the narrow streets. We were enticed into a really lovely restaurant for coffee and wood fired pizza, what a lovely stop. The Italians are  so warm and welcoming. We are all charmed by them and their quaint old buildings and simple way of life.
We then visited our 4th church of the day where the Ruins of the original foundation were visible through the floor of the church ,  this was the San Ruffino Cathedral . It featured a hall of portraits of pope John Paul II the most beloved pope of the era.
On the road again we headed towards Roma!!!
Traffic was increasing as we neared and thanks to GPS we found our hotel Santa Maria,  very many twists and turns through narrow streets. We were chewing our fingernails as we were sure our van would soon scrape the walls.
After checking into our rooms we walked out for a bite and picked up some more of that alcoholic stuff for our enjoyment.
A pasta dinner in the neighbourhood and back to our hotel Lounge for an after dinner vino. Tomorrow we will visit more of Rome's wonders.
PS......on our day yesterday we neglected to mention that 3 of us, Marion, Joanie and Sandy hoofed it up to the top of the Duomo.....a total of 423 steps up and the same down. It was not recommended for those who suffered from claustrophobia, as the stairway was very narrow, and twisted.

Day tripping Florence, Siena and San Gimignano

Today we were to meet in the breakfast room at 8 for a leisurely breakfast and be ready for our driver by 9am.......things were going according to plan with 5 of us enjoying eggs, prosciutto, juice, crossiants, fruit and coffee as only the Italians can do!!!!! We thought Joanie and Judy must have gone for an early breakfast and then a walk as they had mentioned the possibility yesterday......not so, they had slept in!!!! Only 15 minutes behind schedule we piled into the van with a very friendly Jack driving us to a high point in Florence to San Miniato Al Monte.  It was a magnificent sight and I think if we could we would all move to Florence! From the  lookout we could see the Arno River which winds in a serpentine pattern far below. To one side we could see the portion of the old city wall which is still standing, and used to encircle the whole of Florence. The scene was very pretty with Cypress trees and old stone and brick houses, with tiled roofs and vineyards on the hillsides.
We entered the church and there were many young black frocked monks looking quite busy at their chores. In the grounds outside there was a graveyard set on the hill, graveyards being a favourite of mine.
Leaving Florence we drove about an hour to Siena. Jack dropped us off at the duomo San Dominico. We bought tickets to view the Museum, the Babistry, Library, Tower and Crypt. The tower was a very old brick structure that seemed to go on for ever, winding up narrow stone steps. There were 132 steps in all. Up at the top the views of the surrounding countryside were so amazing we were speechless.
In the crypt there were frescos depicting scenes of the bible.:
In the first Jesus was washing Peters feet, next it was Judas betraying Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, the crucifixion where Christ is secured to the cross by 3 nails, then the deposition of Jesus' body where Nicodemus removes the nails from his feet and passes his body into the loving arms of his mother Mary and Two other Mary's and they mourned the son of God. Finally Jesus descends to hell to save the righteous of the Old Testament. It was very moving.
We left the dumo and walked down to the restaurant  PorriOne (which has been Michelin rated for several years) we had reserved for lunch in the main piazza.
The restaurant had no other guests, tables were set with white tablecloths, the room was exquisitely decorated with fine art, beautiful vases with fresh flowers, wine glasses on the table chimed like bells when we lifted them in salute..... . The menu was divine!!!!!we were first given a complimentary soup, (which we asked for the recipe), it was a puréed Jerusalem artichoke , pecorino cheese, topped with a garnish of dark chocolate and olive oil.   All of us agreed it was the best meal so far and will quite likely remain at the top of the list for the whole trip.....a very memorable meal, which we lingered at for almost 2 hours. And finished with complimentary sweets.
Leaving the restaurant we met up with our driver again and drove to San Gimignano. We were dropped at the city gate high on the hill, where we walked up to the church, this was very dark as the windows were few and small, so viewing anything was difficult. We spent a little time and walked out and found a gelato shop that professed to be the best in the world. We all had a small dish to test! Compliments of Joanie.
Strolling back down through the town we stopped in several shops that sold leather goods, purses, jackets,  shoes etc...... a couple of purchases were made!
As we drove back to Florence it was getting dark and the plan was to meet in the " party room "  which is just the biggest of our 3 hotel rooms, for wine and  Prosecco before heading out for a slice of pizza ......which would be our dinner.
Tonight was a relatively early night, although it was back to the "party room" to finish off the wine.
Tomorrow will be another amazing day, which we will spend in Florence.

Au revoir Paris..........ciao Italy.

This morning we were up early and downstairs in our hotel ready to meet the private car we hired to take us to Charles de Gaulle for our flight to Paris. Fortunately it is Sunday and traffic will be, and it was, light.
Check in went sort of well.....some of us had checked luggage and others were doing carry-on. Thing is, the French  are VERY sticky about carry-on size and weight.  Soon the carryon girls were passing items to the checked girls in an effort to lighten their load.!!!!! It all worked out in the end.  When we got to our gate we discovered one coffee kiosk and a very long line up! Finally after ordering coffee and crossiants  we were on our way. It was a full flight and pilots came on to warn of turbulence. I was feeling quite nauseous and started to search for a barf bag! It was not needed and we landed in Florence just after 12 noon.
Joanie (travel master extraordinaire) had arranged a car to pick us up.  We were met with a hand lettered sign On the arrivals level by Junko.....he said we could call him Jack!  He turned out to be a very personable and chatty guy, he talked non stop about his impending wedding, his diet, his city, which he clearly loves.  We all quite enjoyed him and were happy to hear he will be our driver tomorrow when we venture out to the countryside.
We were early for our hotel checkin so walked out for some lunch. Lunch was a variety of italian appies and a bottle of wine.  Next it was back to the hotel to settle in and then meet our guide for 3:30 pm. We toured the Uffizi Gallery and the Vasari Corridor. The Uffizi is one of the largest galleries in the world and the Vasaro Corridor is a lesser known site that we were fortunate to find out about and book a tour. It leads out of the Uffizi and is a corridor lined with portraits, it was built by the Medicis, to take them from their place of work to their palace, it is just over a kilometre long. A tour of the corridor must be booked in advance, is $120.canadian per person. We were 7 persons and were joined by another 3, so 10 in all, the number of persons is limited to small groups at a set time. While there with our guide, we had a security guard in front and one behind who followed alone with us to open locked doors and relock them behind us. We were able to take photos of all that we wanted. The corridor goes over top of the famous Pont Vecchio bridge. It was interesting to look down at the people walking over the bridge from the windows.  As you near the end of the corridor the portraits become more modern as the years advance.   We ended the tour and walked across the bridge at street level back to our hotel. It was quite a full and tiring day. We had about an hour and a bit before dinner.
A  few bottles were bought at a wine store and we had a toast to our day and went out for dinner. The restaurant we were booked At was closed so we crossed the street and chose another. We ordered an assortment of small plates to share family style and a nice wine. It was all delicious! Bruschetta , eggplant, ravioli, white beans, mixed vegs, charcuterie, some lard fried on bread, (not particularly liked) typical italian fare, along with bread that rivals the French and sublime olive oil.
The day was starting to catch up on us and we have another full day tomorrow. It was a short and pleasant walk back to our hotel.  The area we are in is mainly pedestrian with only taxi's, police cars and service vehicles allowed, lots of wine, shoe, clothing, purse shops to view!
Maybe there will be time tomorrow..........
We are all in love with Italy !!!

Free Day in Paris!!

Today, our last full day in Paris, was an unplanned free day. Joanie and Sandy took the train to Chartes, which is about an hour outside of Paris to see a very famous cathedral. They were off by 10am.  Jan's plan was to spend the day with a vancouver friend who now lives in Paris. The rest of us opted to go shopping.
After a leisurely breakfast we left the hotel about 11. We walked to the metro station, successfully bought a book of 10 tickets and descended into the bowels of Paris.
We saw the light of day again right outside the Galleries Laffeyette. The first department store in Paris built by the Hauseman family.  The building itself is worthy of a tourist stop. Of course at the moment the Paris winter sales are on and prices on all but the new spring collections are slashed up to 70%.......a real  girls dream!!! Marion and I bought gifts for our daughters. The store has a large dome which is open to all floors, it is quite magnificent with painted murals and lots of stained glass.
We had a good look at the sales and the new collections and went to the store Cafe for lunch. Afterwards we took the escalator to the 6th floor and discovered a large rooftop deck where you could look out over surrounding Paris, the opera house, Effiel tower, the arc de triumph and more landmarks. We took a few photos but soon  the cold wind sent us back inside the store.
We were feeling fortunate that we had seen no rain as it had rained through the night.
Having seen enough we descended into the metro and made our way back to  rue San Antoine, where we wandered the shops once more, bought a few scarves, and other items.
Then as happens, even the shoppers get weary and we made our way back to our hotel.
Today is Joan's birthday and we are off to a special restaurant for dinner and champers!
Pre dinner drinks were served in the room of Sandy and Muriel and at just after seven we walked out to our restaurant. It was one that Joanie and Graeme had enjoyed on a previous trip.
The restaurant was quite empty when we artived but that was not to last.  A lovely young girl came to serve us and as the menu was in French we had a little difficulty with some items. She explained as best she could and we were pretty sure we knew what was what! Various items were ordered and mostly were what was expected.....not so with all! Some of us had ordered a starter of chestnut soup....very delicious, some had ordered calamari, which were tasty but appeared on first look to resemble onion rings! The main meals were presented and Sandy got a look of great puzzlement on her face.....she believed she had ordered ️️moules, her plate did not resemble anything like it! When she inquired as to what was on her plate ....it was marrow! The server when explaining the dish had tapped her forearm and we all thought she was miming muscles.....or ️moules (what North Americans call mussels!) sandy decided she could not begin to eat that and it was taken away, instead she received a new meal more to her liking. (She is fast asleep as I write this so cannot remind me of her meal!)
We consumed a couple of bottles of wine and were feeling quite stuffed when the server brought out a birthday cake with candles and a bucket with a bottle of champagne !  Much surprise to all of us, Joan's husband Dave, who was back home in North vancouver had arranged with the restaurant to treat us all. Joan said that explained why he wanted such a detailed itinerary of her trip! Good one Dave!!   A very hearty happy birthday was sung to Joan.
It was a short walk back to our hotel with a little detour to look at a nearby park. On arrival we took care of the hotel bills and confirmed our morning pick up for our flight to Florence .
Look out Italy............here we come!

L'Orangerie and the Louve

Today we decided to forgo breakfast in our hotel and enjoy a coffee and pastry at a patisserie on our way to the galleries. We had a variety of delights, pomme tart, pain chocolat, crossiants, and all were delicious. The shop did not want to do separate bills, (can't  really blame them!) and we ended up just dividing by seven!
The temperature was frigid! It was a longish walk to the Tullieries, we came upon the bridge which was full of locks.....something the French government is discouraging as we have heard the weight of the thousands of locks is compromising the integrity of the bridge structure.
There are not too many people about, which I attribute to the cold weather, the metro will be busy though.
We are noticing a surprising lack of police everywhere we go, which was something  we did not expect, in light of recent events, life seems to be going on as per usual.
 In Paris you obey the walk and don't walk signs, the traffic is fast, and if it is the cars turn to go you better not be in the way!
We walk through the Tullieries garden, bare branched trees against a blue grey sky, a clear view of the Ferris wheel can be seen down the path by the l'Orangerie which will be our first stop.
It is nice to enter the warmth of the gallery, purchase our tickets and enter the specially built oval room where Monet's water lilies live. There are four massive canvas' composed of many panels, each depicting a different time of day. We sit on the benches in the middle of the room and study in awe, then we move in closer and study detail. What masterpieces!!!! It is really great to have Judy's vast knowledge and explanations of the works we are seeing.
After we have drunk our fill we go down to the lower floor and view many more artists, Matisse, Picasso, Serat, Renoir, Cesanne, and others I cannot remember. Sensory overload!
It was my first visit to this gallery and I was surprised to find it as comprehensive as it was.
We left after a good long visit, walked back through the gardens where we saw two police mounted on horses, and made our way to the Louve.
The Louve was much busier with both tourists/visitors, and bonus we were again out of the cold. We spent some time on our own then joined a tour group for 1 1/2 hours and were taken to the decorative arts, the private apartments of Napoleon and to several important major works of art, including the Mona Lisa.
By five in the afternoon we were all ready for some vino and fresh air outside, and we made our way back to our hotel, picking up Prosecco, wine, bread, cheese, olives, fruit, macaroons, and chocolate. We were too tired to venture out for dinner so enjoyed a feast spread out on two beds in one of the rooms. We discussed our day, told a few funny stories and talked of plans for tomorrow. It is Joans birthday and we have a special dinner planned.
Another wonderful day in Paris!!!!!

Day Two continued............

On returning from the museums this afternoon we all went to our rooms for a short rest or met in one room for wine, pate, cheese and heavenly french bread......one should only eat white bread when near a bakery in France!!!!! Sandy, Judy, Joan, Marion and myself chose to partake in the aforementioned while Joanie and Jan had a nap in their room. The front desk had a Mixup and they resold jan and Joanie's room, which resulted in a rude awakening for them when a strange man entered their room! Who was more shocked.....them or him!!!!!

Our dinner reservation at Trumilou, I had arranged for 8:30.  Our friendly receptionist fellow gave us a map and  walking directions and we were off!
Darkness and cold met us right out of the gate!  We are getting quite good at finding our way around and within 10 minutes we had arrived. Our waiter greeted us, Bonjour Madames, and showed us to our table. The restaurant was quite full and soon would fill up completely.....so the Internet recommendations were good! We took it as a good sign that the menu Was entirely in French! There were only two items we could not figure out.
Wine and food were ordered and we were happily discussing our day and Art, of course! Soon the selfie stick came out and hilarity ensued!!!!!!!!
It was after 11pm when we left the restaurant for the walk home. On arrival we all met in Joanie and Jans room for wine and Jim jabs, supplied by Joan., odd combo!
Lively Conversation flows, on many subjects, we never seem to run out of topics......which shall remain nameless! At about 1am we packed it in for the night and all retired to our rooms......nine am we will meet and do it all over again, at the orangerie and the Louvre, another full day.

Nite ️xo

Paris day two

We went off to sleep last night sans luggage which meant no Advil pm to help us sleep the night through! Jet lag considered the night was pretty good in really lovely beds. The room leaves us no space to turn around but the bedding is superb!
Our luggage had  arrived  at 1am so Sandy went down and collected it so we could finally wash and brush our teeth!
We all met downstairs for breakfast, which was coffee only the French can do! Crossiants, only the French can do, and ham, prosciutto, eggs and fruit.very well enjoyed by all of us.
Next we were off to our fabourite museum the d'orsay.
The hotel reception gave us directions to the metro just a short walk to tthe Bastille and down we went.
Ticket purchase was a gong show as we ended up paying for  30 and received 19! The attendant had no authority to reimburse us but gave us the info to do so.
Without further mishap we got to the museum and spent the better part of the day oohing and awing at the impressionists. It was wonderful to have Judy and her knowledge as we took it all in.
We stopped about noon for a coffee then viewed more art. After we left the d'orsay we stopped for dome lunch at a small bistro.....quite mediocre unfortunately !
Late in the afternoon we walked to the Rodin sculpture garden, the house of Rodin was closed for renovation but the garden although cold was Interesting. Winter in Paris is beautiful, the leaves are gone from the trees and the branches make a gorgeous pattern on the blue sky. The crowds are almost non existent. We had fun posing ourselves in the position of "the thinker" underneath the statue itself. Inside we viewed lots of pieces of plaster images, the kiss and other images, many which were dark and disturbing.
Heading out for dinner so will continue later......au revoir!

Arrived in Paris .....Jan 21st

The adventure begins, two of the girls, Marion and Joan arrived in Paris via the Chunnel from London a few hours before the rest of us; Joanie, Jan, Judy, Sandy and me arrived from London via CDG. It was at rush hour but we managed to get a cab big enough for the 5 of us.
Of course as we feared we were missing luggage for Joanie , Sandy and myself .
The cab ride was tame by standards anywhere, although one wonders how many motorcycle fatalities there are in a day !  Absolutely crazy driving between cars and zipping in and out of the traffic. Our cab fare was 70 Euros including tip, very fair.
Our rooms at the Hotel Castex on rue castex are teeny tiny with little beds taking up most of the room. This I have found to be common in Europe for 3stars. The bathroom is pristine and we have a couple of toothbrushes to tide us over until our bags arrive.
We meet in one of the rooms for a bottle of Prosecco and cheers, selfie pictures and chatter. The hotel recommended a bistro down the street for dinner so we walked out. The streets are quiet, people are going about their business as usual.  When we arrived off the plane in Paris we were met by 3police who were checking passports, then we saw four guys in army fatigues carrying very heavy looking guns. Other that those incidents things are calm.......tomorrow we will cross the Seine and visit the Musee d'Orsay, Rodin and possibly the Cluny.
We are now in for the night, midnight and still no luggage!
Bon Nuit!

Packing my case and checking it twice

Tonight the painting girls are off to Paris, Florence, Rome, and then London for me!
I plan to blog about our days.......stay tuned.❤️🎨
Muriel