Post-Christmas in Paris

Friday, 26 December: Disneyland Paris (DLP).
The temperatures slid downward Christmas night, and by mid-morning, a blustery wind kicked up. Nevertheless, we had a wonderful time at DLP. From Crush's Coaster (from Finding Nemo) to Star Tours (Star Wars simulation) to Indian Jones and the Temple of Peril, we enjoyed rides, shows, and exhibits. I really liked the Cinemagique, which pieced scenes of well-known movies together with a modern storyline featuring Martin Short. Very clever and funny. The Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse was super; I wanted to watch the movie again (and I still have never read the novel!!!). 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Aladdin, "Honey, I Shrunk the Audience," and Buzz Lightyear were others. We arrived at 10:15 and left at 9:45. Needless to say, we slept well that night.

Saturday, 27 December: Right Bank Meanderings
A slow start to the day for us, but we eventually got some momentum and explored some familiar territory along Rue de Rivoli and the Louvre. Very cold day; Abbey and Emma bought some warmer gloves, and I found a headwrap to warm my ears. We walked to Place de la Concord and watched the Eiffel Tower's Christmas lights blink (and blink and blink . . .) and the found a wonderful restaurant just off Rue St. Honore (always look for the menus without English translations!). Tim indulged in more oysters on the half-shell; Emma chose duck (surprise, surprise!); and Abbey and I had succulant salmon with perfectly done vegetables. Another fire in the fireplace -- ahhhh! And some great conversation with Barb & Bill and with Kathy. Gotta love the Skype!

Sunday, 28 December: Left Bank Meanderings
Another slow start -- we must be wimping out! Actually, we spend much of the morning Skyping with our Paderno neighbors, Scott, Judy, Maddy, and Jo Jo, who are now in Lugano, Switzerland. It's cold there, too, unusual for this part of Switzerland which often has warmer temperatures than Rome. We packed a lot of our stuff, then decided to explore the Left Bank or Rive Gauche in the St. Germain-des-Pres quarter with the thoughts of visiting the D'Orsay Museum and its Impressionist collection. Alas, everyone in Paris evidently had the same thought -- that plus a special exhibit had lines winding out the entrance, even at 3 in the afternoon. Abbey will just have to see the collection another time (Tim, Emma, & I were there 2 years ago). Instead, we splurged with some tea, wine, and onion soup at the famous Le Flor.

Tomorrow we head to London to meet Katie (Abbey's friend)! Time is whizzing by.

Christmas 2008

After a delightful Christmas Eve in front of a fireplace w/ smoked salmon, oysters, fruit, cheese, foie gras, and homemade cookies, we slept well. During the night, Santa Claus visited, leaving us tickets to Disneyland Paris, about 30 minutes away. We'll go tomorrow.

We strolled down to Notre-Dame, then along the Seine and Louvre -- many of the museums were open today. The sidewalks were busy with people -- families with young kids; couples young and old; individuals mingling with others. Lots of "Joyeaux Noel" and "Bonnes Fetes" with smiles and nods of heads. Mulled wine and chestnuts at street corners, and lights, lights, lights. The air is cool and crisp today but pleasant enough for walking with sunshine. Staff people at outdoor cafes with heaters on were busy serving wine, tea, snacks; some souvenir shops were open as well.

After the 3-hour walk, we caught the metro back to our apartment to fix some Christmas dinner and catch up with family via Skype.

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas.

Nous sommes arrive a Paris

Bon jour, rather bon nuit.
We are back in France, Paris to be exact, and it feels sooooo good!!!

We left Cortona around noon, changed trains at Florence, and arrived in Milan about 4 in the afternoon. Our hotel, Hotel Berna, is a short walk from Milano Centrale (the train station). After we freshened up, we walked about a mile to the downtown center to see La Scala and the magnificent Duomo. The city's Christmas decorations are beautiful, and the Galleria, a partially enclosed shopping area, is lit with blue and silver lights. It was an evening with a surprise treat -- an open-air, free concert by Natalie Cole in the Piazza of Milan's incredible Gothic Duomo. If we had tried to plan the evening like this, we couldn't have done!!

This morning we left Milan around 8, the train scheduled to arrive in Paris at 3:15. Since it was our train, there had to some hitches. First the border police between Italy and France conducted a thorough search of passports, eventually taking in 3 people who were illegally on the train. Then, the engineer announced that we had to change trains on Lyon as the one we were on had faulty wheels that didn't allow it to go TGV speed. So change trains we all did -- at this point most of us in the car knew each other (given the incident with the border police, a 7-hour train ride, and a broken-down train). Despite the mix of French, Italian, and English languages we all spoke, we all helped each other with luggage and baby/toddler watching (several families on the train).

At 4:15, we arrived at Gare de Lyon station and caught a taxi to our apartment that borders the Marais / Les Halles-Beaubourg areas, just north of Notre Dame. The apartment is small, but charming with a fireplace. Mussels for dinner tonight at Leon de Bruxelles in Place de la Republic.

Tomorrow -- the market for food, some Santa errands, the Picasso museum. Ahhh, France! It feels wonderful to be back.

Cortona

With a crescent moon still bright, the sun is just beginning to peek over the horizon of hills, spreading reddish light over the Chiana plain below Cortona. I open the window for some cool morning air, and the bakery aromas tease me. Sigh. We are leaving Cortona today after a wonderful week in eastern Tuscany. This ancient Etruscan hill town is as beautiful as Frances Mayes describes it in her memoir, and I have taken numerous pictures of it and the countryside for my course next semester as I'll be teaching Under the Tuscan Sun again. Tim and I took the "Big Walk" three times. The "Big Walk," as it is referred to here, is a 3 mile or so path that encircles the town outside its walls. We leave the town proper at Piazza Girabaldi, stroll through the parterre built by Napolean (one of 2 flat walks in Cortona!), out into the country a bit, past Bramasole (Mayes' house), around the old fort at the highest point on this hill and St. Margherita church and back again by way of Via San Niccolo. We have had such a relaxing time here.

After the morning market, we leave for Milan for a night there before heading to Paris for the Christmas holidays. More updates soon.