Rome Day 2

Today we wake to walk to our daughter's hotel (she's on spring break with a group of international students from Loyola, we planned to meet in Rome at the end of the break and travel as a family until she had to get back for classes). Her hotel is a pleasant 15 minutes walk from our condo. She will be surprised as she's not expecting us for 2 more days (as you've read the air traffic controllers strike in France altered our plans; it's a good idea to plan to be a flexible traveler!). She is surprised to see us and Jake lavishes her with hugs and  kisses - he even cries a bit - a very sympa man :) We go to the corner cafe for delicious cappuccino and croissants (they sprinkle them with sugar here, different than France), Jake opts for fried eggs - gorgeous orange yolks! Clementine's got to go with her professors to St Peters and the Vatican so we part ways and plan to meet for dinner.
Jake and I spend the day wandering around the area: Coliseum and Circus Maximus area mainly. Get some corny touristy photos with 2 guys dressed as centurians; overpaid for these masterpieces!!
In the evening we walk to get C at her hotel near Campo di Fiore and take her to see our condo. On the way we get some wine and beer and have cocktails at "our" place before meeting Cynthia for dinner out. We have wonderful conversation and food: roman artichokes, gnocchi, ravioli with gorgonzola and pear and my new favorite: lemoncello. We walk Clementine back to the Auberge de Soleil. A great day.
xo La

Baltimore - The Charm City

Once again veering off the prescribed course (which is, of course,detailing our European adventures from April of this year), but it's August and I should be taking the entire month off! Not gonna happen but we did get to take our daughter back to school in Maryland and, as we do, we made a petite vacation out of it. It's an easy drive in our opinion, just about 6 hours, to get from here to there. Typically we take a break when necessary and change drivers. This time Jake drove the whole way while Clementine and I slept and read. Instead of heading straight to our hotel on the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore we head to: Destination Ikea for a few back to school items (and I've been lusting over small coffee spoons since April;see Europe entries, I am going to do one on breakfast alone - it was so good over there!) - and Ikea has 'em! We love to cruise through Ikea - making mental notes on our upcoming kitchen renovation and ideas that we see and love. Then we fill our bags with photo frames, kitchen goodies (egg slicer to replace broken one, small spoons - yay I am so happy, vases, etc) and, boo to Ikea - they no longer have our favorite candle scent: ligonberry. What is up with that??? We do load up on ligonberry jam and concentrate (makes the best juice) and swedish fish (which are not as chewy as they used to be and therefore a waste of money). Then: Lunch. We like to eat here: meatballs with ligonberry jam, salmon with vegetable puffs (incredible!!), great coffee. Very reasonable and with the Ikea card (a rewards card, not a credit card) we get free coffee!! and discounts on our candles (settled for orange and lilac scents).
Now to the Inner Harbor and our favorite Hampton Inn. Check in and go to walk the harbor front. We have a cocktail at the Rusty Scupper (looks like a really good deal for happy hour and we may go next time we're in town) and then hit the Visionary Arts Museum - a really strange collection of art from, mostly, untrained artists who use a variety of mediums and, to my eye, have a wildly varying degree of talent LOL. Not my favorite, but we have the Cleveland Museum of Art and I can indulge in the Impressionists here at home. Point goes to: Paris on the Cuyahoga.
For dinner: Joe Squared. We'd seen it on previous trips here (Clementines a senior) but never stopped. I saw it featured on the Food Network and said hey we gotta go. Crazy busy, fabulous waitstaff and really good food. Concentration is pizza - we tried bacon and clam, yum, but they have wonderful looking chicken wings, vegan options and great salads: we did the avacado shrimp. I love that everything in Baltimore smells of Old Bay Seasoning. Side note, I grew up in the 'burbs of Washington DC so it's like coming home. Get some Old Bay and cook some shrimp in beer with some of that gold dust. Heaven.
Next day we take the trolley tour. It originates from the Visitor's Center in the Inner Harbor. Our guide "Doc" Bob was the best! He had a wardrobe of hats (King Charles's bejeweled beret, Uncle Sam's top hat etc) and was informative and entertaining. We saw a lot of things we've already visited in the past 3 years but it was great to hear his commentary and learn some new stuff. We also congratulated ourselves on how much we'd actually done and seen on our own.
For dinner we go to Hampden a gentrified area of shops, residences, restaurants etc for dinner at the Corner Charcuterie - and it did remind us of Paris. Cocktails with olives, roasted (in duck fat) fingerlings and then on to wine and a wonderful cheese plate hand selected by the chef. The waitress took our likes to him and then he came out with 2 gorgeous plates of cheese with accoutrements: jams, figs, nuts, pickled things and toasts. I love to sample and take my time and it was a wonderful way to relax en famille.
Saturday was move in. She's got a nice townhouse and is the first one to move in so we quickly get her stuff out of the van and into her new "home" so we can hit Miss Shirley's for brunch before Jake and I have to hightail it home (I have a gig Saturday night that I cannot miss). We've always loved Miss Shirley's and, even tho this time was a bit of a disappointment for me - my poached eggs were just too runny and not hot enough), I'd recommend you try her out if you are ever in B'more. She's an institution and has some wonderful, unusual breakfast/brunch/lunch menu items.
La

Book Review!

I've read most of  the "french inspired" lifestyle books that have been released over the years. Periodically I've reviewed a few on the blog. I just finished reading 2 - one is a new release "My Paris Dream" by Kate Betts and the other other was published in 2013 (but is new to me!) "French Women Don't Get Facelifts" by Mireille Guiliano. 

I had high hopes for "My Paris Dream" and they weren't fulfilled. Perhaps they were too high?! Maybe I'm a bit jealous that I didn't hightail it to Paris after school and make living there a reality?!

Not sure of the answer to that, but I was disappointed with this memoir. Kate Betts, who ultimately became the editor in chief of Harper's Bazaar, came from a background of privilege: she was the 4th generation of her family to graduate from Princeton University. She paints herself as a fairly regular girl who bucked the system and followed her dream of living in Paris instead of becoming a New York money making machine like many of her fellow graduates. It seems a bit of a stretch (to me anyway) that she ended up working for Fairchild's Women's Wear Daily without any use of her familial connections. Fairchild himself was a Princeton grad. If I had enjoyed her writing style and her exposition more that would not be an issue, but I felt that something was missing from this retelling of her story: more detail, more honesty, more explanation of the slang words used and more juicy, insider details about, for example, Anna Wintour and Karl Lagerfeld, both of whom she worked with. Some writers have made me drool when evoking Paris or Italy, this memoir did not.

On a brighter note, I enjoyed Mireille Guiliano's latest instructional manual much more and I can definitely tell you why. First, she is of the less is more school, very no nonsense and practical. Secondly her information is spot on! She discusses, for instance, estrogen and Vitamin C and her recommendations are the latest, most scientifically supported! I know this because, just this week, I met with the Cleveland Clinic's Holly Thacker who is one of the preeminent women's health doctors in the world and her recommendations to me were exactly the same!! 

Here's to one of my favorite things: reading. Cheers, La

Rome

Ok so the overnight train is definitely not my favorite way to travel. Jake says I was snoozing on the tray table (elegant!) and I know I wasn't sleeping much later on, fully clothed, on my bunk. Then we transferred trains in Milan at 5:45 am - ugh. When we finally got settled on the final leg of the trip the sunrise and countryside views from the train windows as we made our way to Rome were gorgeous, making up for the rest of the journey!
We cabbed from Roma Termini at about 9 am to Piazza Venezia to pick up Will (my good friend Cynthia's son, he's in for a few months finishing high school on line, living with her) so he can guide the cabbie to our condo. Cynthia has invited us to stay with her and Will but first her other guests have to leave (more on them later); therefore C's found us an adorable 2 day rental, just about 3 blocks from her apartment on the Piazza Venezia. We are in the heart of Rome! Trevi Fountain right around the corner! Our condo has a very modern bathroom, great shower and, bien sur, a bidet. Exposed beams in the lofted bedroom. We feel very lucky to be so well connected and, even tho I've never been to Rome I feel right at home.
We shower and Jake goes exploring - I have to do some work and take advantage of a decent internet connection. He reports back that there is no dearth of souvenir stands and tourists, but also plenty of restaurants and cafes - altho not as many as in Paris.
For dinner we are invited to dine at Cynthia's with Will and Tomas and Monica. Tomas is a Czech that did some carpentry in Shaker Hts at Cynthia's home here in the states. They have stayed in touch and he and Monica and her 2 daughters (none of the 3 speak English) are visiting Rome. Tomas is a real character and we all hit it off immediately. He's brought slovovitz - a Czech version of moonshine, and homemade pickles to share and, along with delicious appetizers of sliced sausage, cheese, olives, cherry tomatoes and peppers we begin to feast and communicate in broken English and sign language. Lots of laughs and lots of fun. C's prepared chicken pot pie for the main dish and we stuff ourselves on a home cooked meal! We toast, several times with Limoncello , having moved on from the moonshine. Ice cream with truffled honey for dessert. Have I mentioned how much I love this European lifestyle!!?? A long, slow, wonderful meal with old and new friends. And we can walk "home" to boot.
xxoo La

Facial Cupping

Before I write a Paris recap and move onto Rome I'd like to mention something I recently discovered: facial cupping massage. My regular body massage therapist also does this type of facial and suggested I try it, I'm super glad she learned this ancient technique and shared it with me. Using little glass suction cups (different sizes for different facial areas) and gently pulling the skin in a lymphatic massage (toward the lymph nodes in the neck and upper chest) drains excess fluid and promotes - natural- collagen production. I'm sure you can google it for more extensive information, but let me tell you it is:
super relaxing - like getting a full body massage but in a half hour; reduces puffiness and helps to sculpt the face; stimulates the skin to renew itself - in my experience the banding/lines that are horizontal across my neck and which I've had forever - are softening and disappearing!
So that's today's tip - I'd love to answer any questions and/or hear about your experience with facial cupping massage.
xo La

Day 7 - Last Day in Paris

Thank goodness for Jake's faithful travel journaling! I start each adventure with the best intentions, this time even bringing some colored pens to sketch with, but I just don't have the discipline he does and, in my defense, I was doing some work via computer on this trip and the internet problems were amazing, so I just didn't have the time. We like to look through our old journals - the ones from our first trip to Europe together for example - and they are worth more than gold, so I do advise keeping one when you travel. The memories will fade but you can jog them back with your writing.

Today, after all the running around and drama of yesterday, we decide to do something we've never done before: take the double decker bus tour! The day is gorgeous and we sit on the top level, plug in the provided ear buds and enjoy being rather coddled :)  We've caught the bus at Notre Dame and it's headed to Luxembourg Gardens in the 6th. Like all of Paris it's an area full of history. Like what happens all the time in Paris there is a demonstration of some sort and the bus has to abandon the original route, return to Notre Dame where we hop on another line. We pass the Tour Eiffel, cruise the Champs Elysee, pass the Louvre and Tuileries, Place de la Concorde, Musee d'Orsay, Paris Opera and more..... Lots of sites in a relatively short time and we enjoyed it,

For our last meal we head to  Le Petit Pont again and feast on moules and frites - mussels and fries - one of our favorites! Apres we need to pack up and take the #4 metro line to Chatalet and then the #1 to Gare de Lyon, the huge train station. It's an impressive structure built in 1900 for the Paris Exposition. We have a cocktail in the lounge and just enjoy the architecture and,....wait for it,... the people watching! Soon it's "All Aboard" and we find our overnight compartment, get settled in for
a sleeper trip to Rome. Jake will sleep, me not so much....
xo La

Day 6 in Paris

Today Le Marais - which is an area in the 3rd and 4th arrondissments on the Rive Droite. I've long waited for a falafel at L'as Du Fallafel, which is considered to be one of the best ever! I was rather disappointed - it's Passover and they can't serve it on the traditional pita bread, substituting matzo. So my review is that it was just okay. I really like the soft pita bread against the crunchy, fried chickpea patties and creamy tahini and/or hummus and pickled turnips; therefore the crackerlike matzo seemed dry and unflavorful. Note: Maha's Falafel at the West Side Market here in Cleveland serves my absolute favorite - so there's one for Paris on the Cuyahoga!! Hit if if you are ever in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame City. Totally yummy and I've tried many a falafel.
After a long, wandering walk in this area - we are gluttons for the architecture, the layout of the streets, the people watching.... we return to our hotel. I have totally mixed up our final day(s) here, but with the help of Jake's travel journal I can tell you that today is the day (not yesterday) that we head for the airport only to find out about the air traffic controllers strike and move to a new hotel - the Hotel Latin - exhausted after going to the train station to find all trains to Rome are full - to crash. Dinner is an impromptu picnic in our room with wine,beer, cheeses and pates from the local Marks and Spencer. Al Jazerra tv gets us up to date on the news, Boston bomber found guilty (our son was in school in Boston when that horrible event occurred, his dorm 3 blocks away and .......my heart bleeds for those who actually endured a loss, my few minutes of terror are nothing in comparison).
Peace and love, La

Paris Day 5 - EIFFEL TOWER

Bonjour! Today we head for the metro stop Nation (I believe this is the route we took) to walk to the 7th arr and the most famous symbol of Paris - the Eiffel Tower. Walking the grounds on this gorgeous day we see families, groups of tourists and other couples enjoying the area below the tower and the adjacent Parc du Champ de Mars. In typical Paris fashion many locals are using the park area as extensions of their homes: setting up for a picnic, reading,children playing and solitary figures simply sitting and relaxing with their own thoughts. Since most Parisians don't have yards like we do they use the plentiful parks and they use them often. It seems to us that they are more likely to be outdoors than the typical American and they have the added benefit of actually enjoying these spaces not spending precious time weeding and mowing and watering etc!(Don't get me wrong, I love to garden). This is one way, among many, that the French embrace joie de vivre. We don't bother with going to the top of the tower, long lines and it just doesn't interest us. Instead we stroll back to Blvd Grenelle for lunch at a cafe, sitting outside in the sunshine, and enjoy a delicious asparagus soup and caesar salad while partaking in one of our favorite Parisian pastimes: people watching. Fabulous. Afterward we hop a double decker bus and meet a brother-sister combo who now reside in England but were raised in France. The bus is a great way to see the city. Heading back to the 5th and our hotel for a break and to regroup. We spend the rest of our day in the Latin Quarter: the Pantheon area in particular; we wander and take a few photos in "our" area of the city. Now begins the portion of our trip that requires the most patience - the air traffic controllers are on strike! We are scheduled to fly to Beziers in the south of France tomorrow morning but have received an email from Ryanair that the flight is cancelled. The email does not explain the reason for the cancellation and so we book another flight, this one to Rome - we'll simply arrive a few days early and surprise our daughter who is there on a school trip. Ehhhh, not so fast. The domino effect is that the next morning we are halfway to the airport when we realize the reason behind the cancellation and that we won't be flying anywhere!! Back to our hotel, now full, but the great staff gets us a room (the last one available) a few blocks away. Well, there are worse places to be stuck than in Paris - we will make the most of this no matter what! Tomorrow we'll go the the Marais. xo, La

TRAVERSE CITY, MICHIGAN

I took a break from everything: singing/performing, appraising, blogging, cleaning, landlording and all the other things I normally do in a week and went on vacation. Europe in April for 3 weeks was a vacation BUT I did some work via the internet. For 5 days last week I did none, so I'm calling it a real vacation (but La shouldn't a "real vacation" be no work or nothing for, like, 2 weeks? Well, yes it should, but in my world that ain't gonna happen soon!!).So in that spirit here's a break from my current blog theme of Europe and a post on our week in MI. We are fortunate to have dear friends (like family) who live on Old Mission Peninsula in Traverse City. It's a bit like Diana Vreeland's famous quote "first you must arrange to be born in Paris" (paraphrased)- first you must arrange to know great people who live in this gorgeous setting, with the East and West Bays of Lake Michigan on either side, and have them invite you every summer to come and stay with them. It's even nicer if they love your children and have plenty of room for everyone; a bonus if they own 2 adorable dogs and a boat. And so we do and so we go.... It's an easy 6 hour drive thru a rather long state and the further north you get the more it looks like summer camp: blue skies, green pines and lots of shimmering lakes. Old Mission Peninsula juts into the lake and is simply super picturesque: vineyards and wineries, small old churches, a general store dating from the 1800's and lots of flowers in riotous color growing wild and in gardens. We saw a sweet set of scarecrows: a couple dressed in old fashioned dress clothes, each with a hat, he sporting a suit and she a lilac swing coat. We ate at Fleet Street which is a small bar that, in the front graveled ex-parking lot, has about 7 food trucks: sushi, pulled pork, salads and wraps etc. One sells margaritas - grapefruit, strawberry, lime - all made with freshly squeezed juice. Everyone chooses their current favorite and settles at the picnic tables to share and enjoy. We ate at J&S Hamburg - an old fashioned diner with excellent food. The owners are a couple, she runs the front of the house and he's the chef. Best: BLT; any breakfast - the pancakes are divine, the fruit stuffed french toast delectable; and don't miss the chili. We ate there 3 times in 5 days. We ate (see a pattern here?) at Patisserie Amie and it's also highly recommended. As the name implies it's a French bakery - didn't sample, but the display case looked as good as those we just saw in Paris! We did have an assortment of crepes: crab for my son, asparagus/ham/bechamel for me, foie gras for my husband,eggs benedict for one daughter and baguette with confiture for the other. Cafe au lait and fresh peach juice too. You will eat well in TC. The Cherry Festival was the week before we came, which is fine as the crowds are not to my liking AND the cherries were actually at their peak the week we were there. Stores such as Cherry Republic and American Spoon sell (and sample!) salsas, jellies, candies - and much more - that feature the wonderful produce that grows in this fertile area. We returned home with honey and assorted salsas and jams that will remind us of our trip for months to come. Another stop was Northern Latitudes Distillery a hand crafted small batch distillery with spirits created from Michigan's bounty! We sampled limoncello, horseradish vodka (Bloody Mary anyone?), Ginger liqueur and Jack Pine gin. Had a salad/sandwich lunch in the adjacent restaurant and then choose several bottles to bring home. Of course we spent time on the beach - Lake Michigan is crystal clear, a gorgeous blue of varying shades that is reminiscent of the Caribbean. We made s'mores over a fire. We simply talked and laughed and enjoyed one another's company. The only problem with a full on vacation is returning to the inevitable build up of work upon returning home - but I love my home and my life so all's well here in Paris on the Cuyahoga.

PARIS DAY 4

Today is the day to head to the northeast quadrant of the city, to the 18th arr and the 20th arr to see Sacre Coeur and Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise. The area of Montmartre was once the outskirts of town, scene of vineyards and farms, but now a charming, rather hilly area of the city of Paris. There is still a small area with a few vines and - being beautiful Paris - the bistros are often in reclaimed buildings looking much like they always have! Exiting the metro at the Anvers stop we are greeted with sunshiny blue skies, flowers, greenery and crowds of people. One can basically follow the flow of the crowd to the Sacre Coeur Basilica, a Roman Catholic church built on the summit of Montmartre and is therefore at the highest point in all of Paris. Lots of upward climbing steps later we enter the impressive, dark and cool church to walk the interior and light a candle for my father in law who regularly did just that for others in his lifetime. We tried not to be annoyed by the constant photo taking of some of the other tourists but this was difficult given the prominent signage asking that one not take photos in this religious spot. We encountered this bad behavior everywhere, tourists viewing life thru a camera completely oblivious to other patrons and the works of art that they are slowly destroying with their camera flashes. For lunch we stopped at La Cremaillere, which translates to "the rack"(at first I was excited that it was an old dairy or some such thing!) where we had a cocktail and a bowl of soup in the interior courtyard. The courtyard was charming featuring old looking signage, light green arches, hanging baskets of flowers and a large tree that was kept in place by the designer. La Cremaillere gets mixed reviews on the internet so I won't actually endorse eating there and, while the courtyard was pleasant and cool and a nice place to relax after a lot of walking, my favorite way to dine in Paris is at an outside table so I can people watch! Following our respite we metro'ed to the 20th arr and Pere Lachaise, which has it's own metro stop. This ancient cemetery is a fascinating place divided on the map (recommended, buy it upon entry if you plan to look for specific graves) into about 96 irregular areas. On a beautiful day its a pleasure to wander thru the park like atmosphere and wonder about the people who lay in rest there. Some of the graves are very simple, some are monumental. You can peek into small colored glass windows of mausoleums and see old dried flowers and photos placed there long ago. Marvel at the names etched on the stones - I spotted one for Le Duc which is the surname of Aimee, heroine of Cara Black's novels which I've mentioned before in this Paris series. We rambled over to see Jim Morrison and take a photo in our GBDB tee shirts for the band website; Jim's grave is fenced and guarded due to excessive fan behavior. My other 2 must sees: Oscar Wilde and Edith Piaf. After a long day of walking and sightseeing we headed back to the 5th arr and rested a bit in the hotel. For dinner we chose "our" local bistro Petit Pont, located,not surprisingly, on the left bank side of the Petit Pont bridge and Notre Dame Cathedral. At an outside table we had a leisurely meal of steak frites with a dessert of wonderful cheeses. Jake looked quite the Frenchman doing his best Yves Montand, or was it Jean-Paul Belmondo?, imitation. What a wonderful day.

Vacation

Taking a week off, heading to beautiful Traverse City, Michigan to hang out on the beach, hit some wineries, great restaurants and, most importantly, spend quality time (no distractions) with my husband and children and our great friends who live there. Grand Traverse Bay and the peninsula is one of the most beautiful places in the world: all blue sky and crystal clear water. xo, La

Day 3 in Paris: Easter Sunday

The bells of Notre Dame begin ringing at 8:15 am and continue for 10 minutes. We take a leisurely walk around the Cathedral and the Ile de la Cite and the Ile St Louis. So beautiful and I am jealous of the people who get to live here! If you like mysteries and Paris you might want check out Cara Black's novels, her heroine Aimee Leduc, lives in an apartment on the Ile St Louis she's inherited from her Grandfather. I have enjoyed this series very much. Anyway, after strolling the Iles we head east down Blvd St Germain to my favorite area (I'm so not alone in that!) of the city: the 6th arrondissement. Rue Jacob, which was home to many historical figures: Colette, George Sand, Baudeliere, Victor Hugo, Jane Birkin(!) and both Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin when in France, is a typical Parisian rue with a narrow street, ivory stone buildings and blue street name signs. We actually stayed on the Rue Jacob in 1989, but at the time didn't understand the significance of this beautiful quartier and how lucky we were to be invited to spend 2 nights in a private apartment. My sister in law's good friend was married at the time to one of the Clarins (yep-the skin care line) family. Didier and Jane took us to Les Halles and pointed us to an adorable little street Le Rue du Cherche Midi for dinner at a bistro there as well as inviting us to stay with them! One evening Didier whipped up dinner for us in their typical and tres petite kitchen and we'll never forget how delicious the bowtie pasta in tomato, ham and cream sauce was. I remember the large, old mirrors that lined the high ceilinged walls. I can't recall the street number or the large wooden entry doors to the courtyard which would have had the omnipresent entry keypad. Unfortunately that marriage has ended and we've lost touch with them both. During our walk we stopped at the bistro Tennessee for a cocktail and felt very at home taking our time and people watching. We strolled the 1st A. as well: the Louvre and Tuileries on our way home to the hotel. For our evening meal we went to Rue de la Huchette around the corner from our hotel for ham and cheese crepes. Huchette is very busy, touristy and, some say, to be avoided - but we had a great crepe and sort of enjoyed the madness of this little street - vendors, eateries, packs of tourists and packs of local kids out for the evening. Another book suggestion, highly recommended if you are interested in the 6th, is Into A Paris Quartier by Diane Johnson. She's also the author of several novels, Le Divorce being well known and also very good. Into A Paris Quartier delves into the history of this historic area which was also home to Reine Margot and the real Three Musketeers (and Henry Miller, Oscar Wilde (who died there) and....on and on). Diane is an excellent writer and you will be enthralled to learn the history of this area in such an engaging book. Again, very highly recommended. bisous, La