Honfleur

Day 2

 

After the typical jet lag period, we shook out the cobwebs and explored Honfleur. It is overcast but very muggy. It's so lovely to be woken up by church bells!

 

 

We walked down to the Quai and did some window shopping but mostly looked at the amazing half-timbered houses and enjoyed watching the people go by.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. B made us reservations tonight in a restaurant that was highly recommended by Karen Brown travel books and Trip Avisor. I'll let you know! But the fun part is that he is getting more comfortable using his French and it seems to be appreciated.

 

Time to visit St. Catherine's Church with its separate bell tower across the street......it dates from the second half of the 15th century and it is the largest church in France constructed entirely of wood. Inside you can see that it was built by shipbuilders as the ceiling looks like an upside down boat!

 

This is St. Therese of Lisieux. I have been reading her memoirs at home - "The Story of a Soul". She led an amazing life and died of TB at 26 years of age. She lived about 30 minutes from here.

 

Cobblestone streets are everywhere. It is amazing to watch babies in carriages go jiggle & jog through the streets and sleep right through it!

 

 

Time for a little plate of cheese & refreshments at an outdoor bistro.

 

 

 

Heading back to our hotel I noticed that some places love all white flowers like my mom & me!

 

 

As we turned into our courtyard, I noticed that our hotel has some flowers like we do at home. My mom calls them the Wild Orchids from Santa Cruz. I guess somehow they found their way to France mom!

 

 

 

Inside one of the hotel sitting rooms.

 

Time to put our feet up for awhile, then off for dinner!

 

 

 

More to come tomorrow!

 

PS - I don't mean to get personal, but just when was the last time you saw PINK toilet paper??? 1950....1960? Well here you go! Cheers!

 

 

 

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Over the Ocean

Day 1

 

We arrived in France this morning after a smooth 11 hour flight. One of the reasons I wasn't in a total "deer in the headlights" fear about flying is because we had enough miles to fly First Class.

 

 

See that little button on the far right? The one that looks like a bed? Well my seat actually slid down flat into a cozy little bed. I had my own TV with plenty of movies to keep me happy! And of course, the wine was flowing!

 

 

 

We enjoyed a 5 course dinner that started with prosciutto and melon.

 

They even served the traditional French cheese platter after dinner. Mmmmm!

 

Arriving at Charles de Gaulle airport about 11 am, left us plenty of time to to Rouen for sightseeing & lunch and then onto our home base of Honfleur.

 

Or so we thought.....

 

After 3 hours at the car rental place, standing in line, we were finally exhausted. We found our car and were on the route towards Paris but being careful to go NW before hitting Paris. Oops!

 

We had pulled over to look at our maps when some very friendly cops pulled along side of us to inquire as to what the heck we were doing. Mr. B explained in a French-English combo that we were lost. They pointed us in the right direction and were off. We chose to get on the wrong freeway once again which dumped us in Par-ee!

 

Now Mr. B can wear the T-shirt that says "I drove in Paris!"

 

We are all settled in our room at the Hotel l'Ecrin in Honfleur.

 

 

This is actually a view from our 3rd floor window. Our car is the cute little silver one......I hope we can find it tomorrow!

 

Bon Nuite!

 

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An Amazing a evening with DMB

Song - Satellite by Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds

 

 

Great evening at the Greek Theater on Sunday night!

Dave Matthews was amazing, playing for 4 full hours with a short intermission.

 

Set list for the evening.....

 

 

 

 

I did my obligatory phone calls to Mr. B and the boys early so they can hear just what they are missing! They always tell me it come across garbled but I just can't help myself!

 

Beautiful evening in Berkeley and Dave opened the concert with two funny stories about the Napa earthquake from the night before. He had never experienced a quake before!

 

 

Thanks to Dave & his amazing band for a great evening!

 

 

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Sorolla's Light

Song - By the Beautiful Sea by Irving Kaufman


Friday, my girlfriend Sydney and I headed down to San Diego for the day to see the Joaquin Sorolla exhibit at The San Diego Museum of Art.

Sorolla's Self-Portrait

We caught a 6 am flight (yipes - that meant I had to get up at 4am!) and spent the morning enjoying the exhibit and strolling around Balboa Park which is where the San Diego Museum of Art is located.

It is 1200 acres of land which was set aside in 1868.  In 1915 it hosted the Panama-California Exposition celebrating the opening of the Panama Canal.

Balboa Park was a delight but Sorolla's exhibit was amazing.

I have always liked his work but to see his work up close and in person allows you to see each bold brush stroke, the vibrant colors he used and his beautiful use of light.

I was blown away!

Photo's just do not do it justice...the show closes on August 26 so if you can get there, please do!

Next we headed to the Gaslamp District for lunch. It is a historic area in downtown San Diego noted for its restaurants, shopping and entertainment.  We settled into a restaurant "Searsucker" and we were delighted with our food, the atmosphere and service. The sous-chef was filleting several Yellowtail for sushi.  They had been caught just near San Diego at 3 am that day.  (So very glad I am not a fisherwoman! - yawn....snooze button!)

Can you see the fillet's on the stool near the head of the fish?

 After lunch we headed out to Hotel del Coronado for a walk on the beach.

First we needed some fortification.....

That would be one Manhattan & one Coronado Cosmo

It was so fun to sit in the open bar and people watch while we sipped our drinks and rested our tired feet.  Then, sans shoes, we took an invigorating walk along the shore, running in and out of the waves.

We returned home about 9:30pm - tired but happy!

It was a fun day.....thanks Syd!


 "I could not paint at all if I had to paint slowly. Every effect is so transient, it must be rapidly painted.” - Joaquin Sorolla

(that quote is for you Joanne!)

Thirty-five Years soon!

Song - Les Copains D'Abord by Georges Brassens

 
Next week will be Mr. B and my 35th wedding anniversary and we will be celebrating it this Autumn in France.

For several months now we have been reading all kinds of travel guides, plotting, discussing, reworking and mapping where we would like to visit in France and we finally have all of our hotels reserved and places to see worked out!

And for a special surprise I decided to give Mr. B a love lock while we are in Paris to put on the
Pont de l'Archevêché bridge or the Pont des Arts bridge crossing the Seine.  Last time I was there was with some girlfriends and there were only a few locks on the bridge.

The story is that if you inscribe your names on your lock, lock it onto the bridge and toss the key into the Seine you will have everlasting love.

Well, I looked online for a special heart shaped lock and the day after it arrived in the mail, an article appeared in the newspaper.......

The love locks in Paris are harming the bridges so they are encouraging people to refrain from placing them on the bridge.  They may even cut them down - the locks not the bridges!

So I guess after 35 years we will have to find some other way to show our everlasting love!!!

“There are two bridges in Paris with the locks, you must be very careful which bridge you put your lock on because Pont des Arts is for your committed love, while Pont de l'Archevêché is for your lover.” -- A Paris tour guide

Coming Full Circle

Song - If I Fell by the Beatles

Thursday was a special night.

Sir Paul McCartney was in town to say "farewell" to the 'Stick.


My friend Jill and I left home about 2:15 as we had heard that the traffic and parking would be seriously crazy.

We arrived at Candlestick right at 3 o'clock just as they were opening the parking lots.  Jill and I had both been at the Beatle concert in 1966 and had also spent a lot of time at Candlestick watching many Giants games.

It was a beautiful sunny day but why is it always windy there?

After tailgating for 3 hours with other excited Beatle fans, we went inside the 'Stick.
(We were so excited that we forgot to pick up sandwiches for dinner - but we had brought plenty of appetizers!)

As the stage, sound and lighting were being adjusted, we took some time to buy some T-shirts and look around.

My seat for the evening......

Jill's retro platform boots for the evening.....

The fog came rolling in over the hills but luckily it stayed just North of us and we had stars above us all evening.....well that and stars in front of us as well!

Paul was engaging, played some sweet tunes and looked as handsome as ever!

We had a blast!

 

" There are places I remember
All my life though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I've loved them all" 

-- Lennon-McCartney