So, here we go. After Steve’s test of the new blog app, surprising many of you with an email of us and two strangers riding camels (weren’t they in Morroco in the fall?) followed by an old blog entry from Asia, we think we have finally downloaded a new blogger app that may work. Not sure how many photos we can upload each day, possibly only one, but if everyone continues to faithfully read without a great pictorial accompaniment, then I will have won the big bet......do they read for the writing or just the pix and occasional WTF?
After a stop in Arlington to visit Shelby, David and Eli (really, mostly Eli, who charms us more each visit) we were off to France, specifically Provence, where our very first blog began.
Back then it was clearly a needed substitute for my job, providing some purpose and structure each day, an ease into retirement. Now it’s still fun but more importantly once we are home and make our blog into a book, along with great photo books, we eliminate the need to remember where we were when. And six years later, that’s probably a good thing. We booked our roundtrip from Dulles to Paris at 6:15PM arriving at 7:30AM, so we knew that it would be hard to go to sleep that early or wake up at, what for us would be, 1:30 AM fully rested. We hoped for empty seats to stretch out, and instead each got a really big woman next to us. See how happy I was!
After a flight of little sleep we arrived at CDG and a planned layover of about five hours.
Luckily we found a super lounge for a bit of shut eye before flying to Marseilles, picking up our car and driving two hours to Valbonne. Yes, DRIVING.....in PROVENCE....the stuff marital strife is made from, even in the age of GPS. I am sure you can hear it now. ‘Why didn’t you tell me to turn there?’ ‘Whenever I tell you how to drive, you tell me not to say anything.’ You can figure out the Steve said or Marci said for yourself. But we got there after 22 hours of travel, to a little modern hotel outside of Valbonne, selected for its central location in the Cote d’Azur and its not central location in the heart of town, the better to drive to and park.
A quick shower and change, a two minute drive, a small bistro, a bottle of Cotes du Rhone and finally a good ten hours of sleep. We awoke totally back on
schedule, looking forward to a daytime walk in Valbonne for a morning coffee. And though we found it trying to drive in town, though we definitely hit something hard with some part of the car on a skinny street backing up around a corner, we managed to find the TI, get a map, and get to a totally charming square for our cafe alonges. I read on some travel site that Valbonne should get much more attention and tourism than it does. Its a picture perfect town. I agree, but loved that the square was filled mostly with locals, many drinking some light red carbonated tall drink- could they really be having Campari and soda for breakfast? I guess here the old men save the Pastis for 11AM.
For this trip we split up the research.
The Cote d’ Azur was mine. I purposely planned an easy day with light driving, revolving around a great two and a half hour lunch in Saint Paul de Vence - a picturesque, no-car, art gallery filled town where the terrace at the Hotel L’Columbe d’Or was THE place for the entitled tourist set to dine. The service was Palm -like, efficient but a bit brusque and inattentive at times. But the food coming out of the kitchen was sumptuous. We ordered a bottle of rose and toasted with some baguette and butter waiting for our shared entree (French for starter or appetizer) of crudite. Crudite??? In France, in Provence...and they think they are foodies???? YES to all! It was amazing. Perfect veggies from scallion to onion to courgette to black radish and artichoke.
All served whole, in a brimming basket with anchovy mayonnaise for dipping, and duck pate for slathering on the endive.
We should have shared this and been done, but not Steve, because he is on VACA so we rounded it out with lobster salad, salmon fume quenelles, and frites. No room left for fromage...that will have to wait for tomorrow.
I had two more stops planned but time for only one so we bagged Vence missing a chapel with an amazing view and headed to Grasse and the International Perfume Museum. Glad it wasn’t too far away. As is common, when we got there half the museum was under renovation and closed (should have bought the updated Rick Steve’s Provence book instead of relying on the old one) and what was open was just OK. Just a short drive and one wrong turn brought us back to sit by the pool and relax in the waning sun, and to start writing before we head out for a small pizza and more wine.
Back then it was clearly a needed substitute for my job, providing some purpose and structure each day, an ease into retirement. Now it’s still fun but more importantly once we are home and make our blog into a book, along with great photo books, we eliminate the need to remember where we were when. And six years later, that’s probably a good thing. We booked our roundtrip from Dulles to Paris at 6:15PM arriving at 7:30AM, so we knew that it would be hard to go to sleep that early or wake up at, what for us would be, 1:30 AM fully rested. We hoped for empty seats to stretch out, and instead each got a really big woman next to us. See how happy I was!
Thanks, Air France........
At CDG, in berween flights
A quick shower and change, a two minute drive, a small bistro, a bottle of Cotes du Rhone and finally a good ten hours of sleep. We awoke totally back on
schedule, looking forward to a daytime walk in Valbonne for a morning coffee. And though we found it trying to drive in town, though we definitely hit something hard with some part of the car on a skinny street backing up around a corner, we managed to find the TI, get a map, and get to a totally charming square for our cafe alonges. I read on some travel site that Valbonne should get much more attention and tourism than it does. Its a picture perfect town. I agree, but loved that the square was filled mostly with locals, many drinking some light red carbonated tall drink- could they really be having Campari and soda for breakfast? I guess here the old men save the Pastis for 11AM.
For this trip we split up the research.
The Cote d’ Azur was mine. I purposely planned an easy day with light driving, revolving around a great two and a half hour lunch in Saint Paul de Vence - a picturesque, no-car, art gallery filled town where the terrace at the Hotel L’Columbe d’Or was THE place for the entitled tourist set to dine. The service was Palm -like, efficient but a bit brusque and inattentive at times. But the food coming out of the kitchen was sumptuous. We ordered a bottle of rose and toasted with some baguette and butter waiting for our shared entree (French for starter or appetizer) of crudite. Crudite??? In France, in Provence...and they think they are foodies???? YES to all! It was amazing. Perfect veggies from scallion to onion to courgette to black radish and artichoke.
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