Au Revoir

Wishing for a grand-daughter!

 Tomorrow I fly home. What a trip filled with magic, and so much kindness and caring not only from friends but from random strangers!  Vacation magic Melanie and I call it. As an example, I am sitting sipping coffee at a cafe on the square at Monflanquin. I am explaining to my friend Diana that I am considering going to Paris for Chanukah since Daniel will still be there. Diana does not seem to understand the word Chanukah. Okay, so it is not French. I repeat Chanukah five times rather loudly. Diana finally gets it. A few minutes later a woman approaches me. She says she wants to  wish me Shana Tovah,  Happy Jewish New Year which is actually this week. I look at her with bewilderment. She must have overheard me yelling Chanukah five times. It turns out this lovely woman is from Israel. We speak Hebrew a little bit. She wishes  me a new year filled with good  health and good energy. How did she come to to visit Monflanquin? The old fashion way. She read about it in a guide book. What are the chances?

In Paris, we experienced the good fortune of attending one of the city's oldest and exquisite orthodox Jewish synagogues.  The men sit downstairs and women above in the balcony. It is a rare privilege to visit a synagogue anywhere in France due to high security.  I did see one in an organized tour of the Marais, but this is my first time to attend services.   I stood the entire time because my view was totally blocked while sitting down. So different from the congregation where I belong at home.

Am I ready to go home?  Always a mixed bag of emotions. I feel so alive in France and fortunate to own a home in the gorgeous French countryside.  But my non vacation life resides in Portland where I enjoy fun and meaningful  activities.  Plus next month, I volunteered to help my sister babysit three of her grandchildren under three years of age while the parents go to Paris. The above picture features vibrant children's clothing from the French clothing line Jacardi!  Ok, universe. How about a bit more magic?

Love this town!

Saint- Cirq-la Popie

Daniel and I  took off for a day trip to Saint-Cirq-la-Popie.  It  definitely earns its reputation as one of the most beautiful villages in France. Perched high in the Dordogne, it is somewhat of a steep climb to get into the village. We gape at the amazingly big camping cars attempting to find parking.  I feel grateful my little car fits everywhere and handles so well in  tight turning situations. In the village, we explore all the charming nooks and crannies. We bumble into a lovely restaurant which fortunately offers an assiette vegetarienne for Daniel and exquisite lamb chops for me. I can't seem to resist lamp chops. When they are on the menu, they call to me, and I respond by ordering them. 

Our next stop is Peche-Merle which is the site of original cave paintings. If you are ever in the area, I recommend you stop here to take the guided tour. Who knows how much longer we will be allowed to visit this grotte.  The well known Lascaux cave can only be viewed in reproduction.

On the way home, I feel the need to eat lunch. Unfortunately it is past 2 P.M. , and all the restaurants are closed now until dinner time, 7:30 P.M. in France. We manage to find a bar serving sandwiches.  I order a chicken sandwich with lettuce. Did it also come with hard boiled eggs? Honestly, I don't remember. I do remember that it is the worst sandwich I have ever eaten in France.

Earlier in the day, we made an unplanned stop at the lively Cahors market. Golden apricot colored plums, figs, melon, and an abundance of  varied tapenade. The tapenade vendor enjoys giving out samples of each kind. We eagerly take each one and eat with gusto. Of course, we must buy at least one tapenade. I choose the classic which I use as a salad topping for the next few days. Heaven!

Fantastic views!

Trip Update

 My travel companion Melanie and I  enjoyed Paris heart and soul. We love the energy of the city, the architecture,  the liveliness, and of course the food.  We spent each day doing whatever we wanted. Melanie invited me on a chocolate crawl with her friends Parish and Josh.  What a wonderful experience! We went to three chocolatiers and made a stop at La Duree, the famous macaron boutique.  At each stop along the way, I would buy  just one chocolate. The sales people treated me graciously and respectfully as if I were buying much more. At la Duree, my one pistachio macaron almost merited a bow.

At lunch, salads to compensate for all the sugar, I met Simone, an 18 month French bull dog. She sat at the counter. I kid you not. Simone belongs to the restaurant owner with whom I discussed dogs in general and Simone in particular. What a well behaved dog! I told her about my Maggy who just turned 13.  She responded by saying  "C'est honorable."  Yes, senior dogs  do deserve respect.

Speaking of respect,  the universe seems to be taking care of me on this trip. Could it be my age? My demeanor? Whatever it is, I really appreciate the kindness and helpfulness of everyone I encountered. My room at my hotel in Brussels even came with a two chairs and a little table on a balcony.

Brussels:  Easy to get to from Paris; hard to find our hotel.  We asked so many people for directions including the tourist center. Nobody gave us accurate directions. Finally we realized that there exists two hotels with the same name. Curses!  We spent over two hours wandering around downtown Brussels. My luggage which somehow kept getting heavier and heavier  contributed  quite negatively to this experience.  It took at least two hours, longer than the train ride from Paris to Brussels to find our hotel.  After we got settled, we did not feel like doing much.  We explored the centre ville, totally pedestrian friendly, and collapsed back at our hotel. Melanie did not feel like going out to dinner.  I got hungry and decided to go out alone like a big girl. I chose the nearest pub which served small plates. The waiter thought my order of an omelette with the world's  longest piece of bread would be too much. He suggested seeing how I felt afterwards. I could always order more. Again, I felt taken care of.  My raspberry beer made the meal a hit. And the waiter was correct. The omelette satisfied my hunger.

The next evening we dined with my Portland friend Carolyn who lives in Brussels with her husband and two darling daughters.  What a magical evening!  We feasted on some specialities of the Liegeois region. Chloe age 8 taught us a new word.  "Quoit"  a clever combination of the French word Quoi and the English word What.  I enjoyed reading a book in French  and another in English. Little Emily age 5 put her head on my shoulder. Bliss.

The next morning we left for Monflanquin in south western France. The journey  went  smoothly.  Tim picked up my car from the garage and picked us up in Villeneuve-sur lot.  Only the weather is not cooperating. Yesterday it was 98 degrees, and we have no air conditioning in our house. Nobody does. I do have a dorky free standing sort of air conditioner which will be used tonight.  We hope the weather will start to cool off soon.

Below are some photo highlights  of the trip as of today:

L a duree macaron boutique

Cafe Creme, croissant, and travel journal. Heaven!

Raspberry Beer

World's longest piece of bread

My wonderful travel partner Melanie

Amazingly wonderful vegan Belgium waffle

Charming Brussels architecture

Unusual and delicious malt bread from our bakery in Monflanquin

Dog among onions in the market

Lebanese salad . It 's 98 degrees but we always enjoy lunch.

Paris !!!

 Here I am at the Hotel du Parc where I have stayed for over 20 years.  Don't know the whole story yet, but the owners have changed. The hotel has been entirely renovated. It feels more modern, clean, and comfortable. As always, the Hotel du Parc boasts some of the biggest bathrooms in Paris.  I love it.

The flights went smoothly although we experienced a two hour delay in San Francisco. I did not mind too much because I got the opportunity to meet some interesting people. On the 10 hour marathon flight from San Francisco to Paris, I watched the latest Downton Abbey movie. The ending left me in tears, but it was well done.  Afterwards, I listened to a podcast in the hope that it would help me sleep as audio books tend to do that for me, but no. So I watched a French movie called Amour. It is one of the most depressing stories about aging, failing health, love, and devotion. I enjoyed hearing the French. It served as a good language review before arriving in Paris. I did manage to doze a little during the film, but don't think I missed much.

I treated myself to a taxi to get into Paris.  It cost 58 euros which is the regulated fare from Charles de Gaulle Airport.  The ride was well worth it. Along the way, we passed the Arc de Triomphe, la Place de la Concorde, and the Eiffel Tower.  My back was spared by avoiding shlepping my luggage on the train. An added bonus was the experience of driving in heavy Parisian traffic. My driver lost it a few times, but managed to get me to my destination safely,

Right now, I am relaxing in my renovated hotel room while waiting for my friend and  travel partner Melanie to get here. We are planning to eat the best crepes as we are in the Breton quarter of Paris. I am desperately trying hard not to fall asleep and may need to take a walk soon.

Check out the wall paper in my room. What do you think?

Bon Voyage!

 Bonjour!

I am at the airport waiting for my flight to San Francisco connecting to Paris.  My friend Melanie will meet me at Hotel du Parc in Paris where I have stayed for over 20 years. I am curious to find out if the original owners kept the hotel after a difficult financial struggle due to the pandemic. The hotel looks to have been remodeled since my last visit when I was literally the only guest in 2021.

I was moved this morning by the warmth and support of so many lovely friends and my dear sister who sent Bon Voyage texts.  The intense  summer heat echoed the intensity  of the summer for me personally. I am relieved that fall is on its way, and I can finally return to France. Melanie and I are doing Paris, Brussels, and Monflanquin.  My heart is filed with joy not only because of the trip but because our son Daniel is working in Paris for six months maybe more.  I prayed for this for him, did a soul collage  intention card , and lit many candles. Of course, I plan to see him in Paris. He may even come to Monflanquin for a visit.

Our travel plans fell into place so easily for this trip.  I giggled last night after reading an email from my dear friend Mado. She plans to leave a shopping bag full of eggs, 2 heads of garlic, onions, and tomatoes on  my window sill. And did I need anything else? This is Monflanquin!

And this is a lovely picture of the Dahlia Festival  in Canby, Oregon.