Monets garden to Paris

  I booked us a room about 20 minutes drive to giverny. It's called Le Jardine de epicure. I found it on hotel.com and it was only 120 euros for the night. When we arrived I was so excited . It was a beautiful old chateau surrounded by gardens, atriums filled with birds. Forest trails that meandered along the river and over a bridge to another old chateau. The hotel has a sauna and steam room. A indoor pool overlooks the pond and  garden through glass walls. Peacocks and chickens roam the property. The room was elegant and clean. I was tickled pink to stay here. The only draw back was the shower had a big window with sheer curtains. If the neighbors happen to be sitting in there living room and look up they would completely see you shower. That was the quickest most awkward shower of my life. 

   We ate dinner at the hotel. It was served on a deck so you could enjoy all the nature around you. The food was delicious and the people were great. It was a incredibly romantic setting. 

  Monets garden was beautiful but what a tourist trap. It was hot and very crowded. The gardens were really beautiful but the line to see monets house was so long we just decided to not see it. I loved the surrounding area. I'd love to visit again the same hotel and ride bikes through the Normandy country side but I wouldn't bother seeing monets house again.

   I had arranged to drop the rental car outside of Paris and just take the train in but Jimmie decided it would be easier to just drop the car in Paris. Take note of this if you ever plan on returning a rental car in Paris. ... You must return the car with a full gas tank. If you don't you will be charged 150 euros extra. Ever look for a gas station in Paris? It's not fun let me tell you. Driving in Paris is nuts.  Jimmie loves it of course, he takes on the demeanor of the Tasmanian devil behind the wheel. I on the other hand feel like at any moment I'll be taking my last breath so I take lots of gasping breaths which the Tasmanian devil doesn't appreciate. Our phones don't work over here so we can't just ask Siri where is the nearest gas station which means we are left to ask the people in the cars next to us who of course don't speak English while at the stop lights. An exchange of charades carries on where I make the motion of pumping gas on the side of the car and wonder if they think I'm making the motion of shooting a gun. They mumble jumble some directions in French and one thing I've learned is people who don't really know English constantly screw up right and left which is a problem. They will be pointing right and saying left which leaves you more confused. 

  We put the address of the hertz drop off location in the gps and hoped to find gas on the way. No gas station in sight. When we arrive at the destination the car directed us too ,no sign of hertz car rental. It's getting late ,we are hungry, it's hot. I'm starting to panick a little and the driving is making it worse. At one point by some miraculous intervention we stumbled upon the hertz but still hadn't found gas. I wanted to just pay the money and run. Jimmie on the other hand did not want to spend the extra 150 so he went in and got directions to gas station. How will we ever find our way back? No gps. The buildings are so tall you can't see anything and the streets turn you in circles then there's the one ways! I wanted to cry. The directions he got were just around the round about you will see the sign. Somehow he didn't clarify which round about. So here we are driving around the arc de triumph no less than 500 times. Let me explain what this is like. Six or seven or maybe 8 lanes but you can't really call them lanes because there's no lines all circling around with no rhyme or reason. Huge busses ,motor bikes ,fast cars ,honking ,random crazy bicyclists .. I'm gasping.. The devil has the wheel gripped and exclaims how he loves this. A giant bus feels like it's landing in my lap. Round and round we go. I'm getting dizzy from the circling.  There is no gas station! Where the heck do these crazy drivers get there gas?!! Forget the 150 lets just find our way back to hertz. Lost again... Illegal u turns , a few wrong turns down one way streets up down back and forth it all looks the same but no sign of hertz. Finally we stumbled upon it and I wanted to throw myself out of the car and kiss the ground under that big yellow sign. Jimmie went back in to ask for directions the second time. We both decided it was best for me to stay. I walked across the street and ordered a beer and French fries. I wondered if I'd ever see him again. I'd just spend the rest of my life waiting for him under that big yellow sign. He made it back. We were circling the wrong round about apparently.  And the gas was under ground. Weird.

  It took a while to calm down after that fiasco but soon we began our journey on foot back towards our hotel. Walking in Paris is never a bad idea. There is no end of curious and beautiful sights. I love Paris. I love France. I love French people. There is only one thing I don't love about France. Apparently there is a shortage of toilet seats. Have they heard of Home Depot? Seriously France spring for some toilet seats.

   We ended our trip sipping our little bottle of burgundy wine on the river surrounded by all the Parisians enjoying the warm summer night relaxing and picnicking together. It was really a beautiful night we didn't have our phones and we both agreed we'd have to etch this memory into our minds which was a lovely thought actually, we couldn't depend on snapping a picture. We had to slow down and absorb everything around us. The sight the smell the sound and the feeling.  Memories... Good memories .. You can't replace them no one can steal them and you can visit them when times are tough. Like a favorite old sweater that warms you on a chilly night our beautiful memories comfort us . 

   We had one last dinner out at a tiny little place called CHANARD... If you visit Paris,, it's perfect. The food was amazing but the best part is the three owners who all visit with you including the chef. 

   Flying home now. This has been better than I had hoped for. We had a absolutely awesome time and our boys did amazing holding down the fort at home. I'm so proud of them and can't wait to hug them and thank them again for being such great kids that we could trust them and do this. Hopefully soon the grimes will be abroad again. 

Photos

Burgundy...

  We are in jimmies happy place. Burgundy France. The best wines in the world planted  over a thousand years ago by the monks are divided into four regions. They produce only Chardonnay and Pinot noir. Mid evil old stone walls separate the vineyards into clos. We visited one of the wine makers Jimmie sells for and tasted the first day we arrived. These monks knew there business.  Jimmie enjoys learning all the details, I just like drinking the details. 

   Beaune is where we are staying two nights. It's a charming village with many choices of cafes and boulangeries and wine shops where you can taste. The first night scott and shauna  came with us and we ate at a very traditional French restaurant. I couldn't understand the menu because it was all in French so I decided to order off the set menu which is basically a choice from three starters a choice of meat or fish and a choice for dessert. The first choice was a tartine of organ meats...ewe... Or beef carpaccio ..beef that is raw...ewe.. I'll go with the salad.  When it arrived it was a delicate green salad surrounded by many large brown pieces of something. Big mushrooms? Steak? I reluctantly bite into the squishy firm thing... Chicken liver!!! Ewe EWE EWE! I  HATE liver of any kind. Ever since I was a kid I hate liver. I remember my dad making liver and onions once and I refused to eat it so I had to sit at the table staring at the ugly piece of flesh that I believe filters all the nasty stuff inside another living thing while all the other kids ate buttery popcorn in the living room. I could never bring myself to eat it. It taste to me like a dirty sink rag , I tried to swallow the chicken liver in the fancy little resteraunt and it nearly climbed back out of my throat. For someone who enjoys food as much as I do,I just cant bring myself to swallow things I really don't like. The place was very small, only ten tables or so and the owner was waiting on us. I felt like that little kid stuck at the table. I wanted dessert and I was afraid they wouldn't let me have it if I didn't clean my plate and I really didn't want to hurt their feelings. I reached in my purse and found a small paper bag. I figured I would use my old tactic from when I was a kid and carefully sneak the livers in the bag then into my purse and dump them later. Jimmîe caught me and refused to let me do that. So I put some on everyone's plate to make it look like I ate more than I did. Another old trick from child hood. That's enough fancy French food for me. We ate Italian the next night.

    I worked up an appetite after riding 20 miles through the vineyards. This of course was jimmies idea and because he loves it here so much I wanted to go along with him. The beginning of the trail was breathtakingly beautiful. The bike path was surprisingly quiet and we only passed a few cyclists. Every now and then we would see someone working in the vineyard and I would say bonjour. At one point four people were bent down tending the vines and everyone of them stopped and popped their heads up to return the friendly Bon jour. I love French people. They really are so gracious and kind. 

   We pedaled through four villages. I loved the hills. Going down them that is. We really had a great time until the ride home when I realized how far we had gone and Jimmie was in a hurry because he wanted to visit a wine tasting cave. I was pedaling my life away. I am sure we pedaled to Poland and back. Why don't they make a bigger more comfy seat on a bike? 

   I feel like I spend half my time chasing Jimmie and the the other half waiting for him. But the moments he stands beside me make it all worthwhile, there is no one in the world I'd rather travel with or experience life with. Now if he would just stop trying to kill me on these darn bikes. 

   We're off the see monets garden today then Paris tomorrow the next day home to see my little men. 

France

  Here we are in beautiful France. The main purpose of this trip was to come visit our friends scott and shawna and their son Zien. We have been friends for at least eight years. We met when z was a baby and shawna was carrying him in a back pack by our house in Nevada city. We started chatting and that lead to a long friendship. Scott is Australian so they ended up moving back to Australia for a while  then Switzerland ( I think) then Southern California . We kept in touch the whole while and then just six months before we moved to Santa Cruz they moved to Felton. They are the kindest most loving people you can ever meet. Shawna and I started to study the bible together along with z and we became very close friends, so they are very special to us.

  We flew into Geneva. Where they live is near the border of Switzerland in the village of annecy France. It's stunning. The hills are so green and there is so much variety of trees and foliage everywhere. Chateaus seem to be around every corner. Fields with cows who actually wear bells. A river, a sparkling blue lake and luminous jagged mountains make this one of the prettiest places I've been. We were here six years ago with the kids. I never thought then that I would be back visiting with friends. 

  On our way home from airport we stopped  at the grocery store. It was like a field trip for Jimmie and I. The French grocery stores are like a work of art. They don't mess around with food. It's to be taken very seriously. In my opinion the foodies of the world. We went to the local boulangerie and cheese shop for the bread and cheese. Aaahhhh France how I love you. Warm baguettes and tarts and smelly soft cheeses came home with us. 

   Scott and shawna took us to the local bric a brac store. A thrift store in a tiny village with the most amazing mountain view I've ever seen. It was a treasure trove of old French pottery and farm house finds and even nice clothes. We had a great time treasure hunting. 

  It's nice to just relax and catch up with friends. Tonight we will go to the Kingdom Hall with them and we are looking forward to that. 

 I'm heading down stairs to have my coffee with shawna. I can hear the birds singing, the cowbells ringing and the sound of the river in the distance. It's truly beautiful here. 

Budapest with jarmo and Eila

  We had a blast in Budapest. I believe it has climbed to the top of my list for favorite european city. Four days was not enough. If I could do it over I'd do 3 nights in Prague and a minimum of five in Budapest. 

   Our friends from Stockholm met us there and that made it all the more wonderful. There is so much to see in this huge city there's no way we could possibly see it all. 

  On our last day we took bikes to the baths. It's a true Hungarian thing to do and I didn't want to miss it. Under the city is geo thermal hot mineral water which they claim has health benefits. When your traveling it's fun to do the things the local people do. 

  When entering the place we must have stood out like two soar thumbs. I'm sure we looked as confused as we actually were about where to start and what to do. The place was huge and after changing we first saw some indoor pools. I thought Jimmie was going to die. The water looked like a fish pond. There was all these big hairy Hungarian men in speedos just chillin in the water. I said " come on babe you have to at least try it" I climbed in. The water was nice and warm but I had to admit secretly this water was a little nasty. Jimmie climbed in for a total of about 20 seconds and immediately climbed out and hit the shower. He makes me laugh. The look on his face was priceless. You would have thought I'd have asked him to dive into a septic tank.

 We headed outside and it was much better. Huge pools crowded with friendly relaxed faces but the water was blue. He nervously joined me. A piece of pollen from the trees floated up to Jimmie and he shooed it away like it was a turd. I said babe relax its pollen from a tree. He said no it's probably toilet paper that floated out of someone's butt. He looked over and saw a man dunking his face under water and I thought he was going to loose it. He is so funny. Such a germ a phobic, 

   In the end I thought it was really relaxing and nice and I love how it's their culture just to meet up at the baths and soak together. Young and old people just chilling out. I loved hearing all the different languages and I love how Europeans are so content within their own skin. Speedos are the norm and so are scantily clad robust women. But no one cares. They are there for the bath not to look at other people or worry how they look. I have found America to be so much more obsessed with body images but in Europe as jarmo explained to me the most important thing is feeling comfortable in your own skin. I like it. 

  It was sad to leave Jarmo  and Eila. We always love to see them and always gave a great time. It was sad to leave Budapest. I forgot to mention the wine was incredible! I've tasted the best wines of my life here. So if you are reading this and love wine go to a international wine place and buy yourself some Hungarian wine. The tokaj region is amazing and puts out some of the most beautiful wines in the world. 

  Good bye Hungary I hope to see you again real soon. Time to head off to France to see scott and shawna and zein. 

Photos from Budapest

These have been the best shoes for walking miles a day they are dansko and I love them

Green smoothies 

Jimmie very happy with his Hungarian lunch 

Chain bridge and more