Ha! Ha!

Got on the scale and actually LOST 2 pounds with all that walking in Europe! Just had to tell the world!!! ;)

Back in the USA

After a realllllyyyyy LONG day (!!!) we are safe and sound and happy and tired and thrilled to be home! I'll write more to finish with this Blog...after I get some laundry done. Oh, BTW...Enn is at the Burbank airport this morning to catch a flight to Oakland for a business trip he couldn't get out of.....Crazy life, isn't it??? Check back....

Final decision!

Dinner near the Moulin Rouge will finish our European vacation! See you soon!

Decisions, decisions....

We've decided at the last minute to do what we love best here in Paris...Canceling the Champs Elysses in favor of a repeat tour of the Latin Quarter!!!!! We can not get enough of this special place....See you tonight....xooxox from Paris

Paris ...this wonderful land....

I just can't explain it...I wake up ready to go, go all day, and never want to come in at night...The magic of this city amazes me... The people, the food, the smells in the air...(men and women's cologne and the fresh air).... The fast pace of the subways and the casual pace of sidewalk cafes....Someone needs to pinch me and tell me this is not a dream!

Paris view

I tried to post a photo of the wonderful view of Paris, maybe you can click on that small photo and it will get larger....darn!

First day in Paris! We walked to the Sacre Couer and climbed all the way to the church and even went inside and sat for 10 minutes of Mass. The view is spectacular overlooking all of Paris....

Ahhh, Paris!

Friday in Paris...I am a happy camper! Caught the TGV from Tours to Paris at 10:30 this morning and got here in an hour...so nice to arrive in Paris refreshed and not with the 10-11 hour plane ride from LA! After checking in to our hotel near the Gare du Nore (train station) we walked to the busier area again and found a cute pizza parlor (Italian Restaurant). Enjoyed our lunch at the outside cafe table (Veggie pizza and Lasagna and wine! and french bread, of course)....Enn talked me into walking to the Sacre Couer...it wasn't too far and I am proud to say, I walked up all those stairs and even went inside for 10 minutes of a Mass in progress. The view is incredible....all of Paris and it was pretty clear, too.www.sacre-coeur-montmartre.com Walked behind the church and down the hill for a ways. Then turned around and walked all the way back to our hotel. I just took a shower and he took a nap...now we're ready to go again! So much to do....I love Paris!

Grand Place

At the Grand Place. Every day is a "bad hair day" here!

Waiting for Elora!!!

The Grand Place, Brussels, Belgium....photos do not capture this beautiful square. Came here several times during our visit. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Place

The park down the street from our hotel was so beautiful.....

The Diamond factory tour in Amsterdam....

Oh my gosh! We're in Brussels!

First, I have to say, I am thinking of Kate A. who actually lived here! Hi Kate, from Brussels!!! And FINALLY!!! An Internet connection...woohoo! Backing up, we spent 3 nights in Amsterdam...at first I didn't like our room; small and awkward, but got used to it. The people were great and the breakfast was totally European! Yogurts, cereals, fruit, all types of bread, jams, coffees, juice, meats and cheeses, tomatoes and cucumbers!!! What more could a girl want??? ;) So, Amsterdam is a wonderful city, and we totally enjoyed it!
We took the train to Brussels today, and are presently in our room. Once again, booked by Enn from the computer. It's a nice room, could use new carpeting, but the bathroom and bedroom sparkle. It's VERY near the train station, and very often we have heard sirens go by our room...I brought earplugs and Enn brought earphones so we should do ok.
As soon as we checked into our room we took the train back, one station, to the Central Station, and enjoyed quite a while in the Grand Place, which has the outstanding City Hall and a museum that dates back to about 1698....It was destroyed by war in 1695 and rebuilt.....We reserved a tour for tomorrow around Brussels ... Here's a site from the Grand Place with photos:
http://www.google.com/search?q=Grand+Place+Brussels&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=YVO&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=1YN3Tr-5BMvoOda9_KwK&ved=0CFYQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=610
So...it's been a great vacation and we're having a great time. Sorry I didn't get the photos on, but, I will try now...Enn went out and got sandwiches, so I could wash this hair of mine ...after off and on rain in Amsterdam my hair looked like a broom stick (the broom part!)
Oh, I forgot to say, in Amsterdam we went in the Van Gogh Museum...I am now coming home to start painting, I swear!
Last thing, but the MOST important! Tomorrow is Elora day (almost!) ONE MONTH TO GO!!! I am so excited!!! I can't wait to get home and wait for her!!!!!!!
That's it from Brussels, Belgium! Stay tuned for more and thanks for reading this!!!!

For Elora!

For Elora! Grandma-to-be is thinking of you on our vacation to Bordeaux!

Day off/Wednesday

Today is the day to take care of all the small stuff....Wash my hair, paint my nails, do some laundry, and play with the photos...oh, and catch up on Bejeweled Blitz! ;) So, Enn took off for a few hours to the train station to purchase the rest of our train tickets. We wanted to do things at a slower pace, like buy them the day we need them, but the real world doesn't work like that. The guy behind the ticket counter thought I was crazy NOT to have made our reservations while we were in the U.S. It seems you should make a plan and stick to it with the Eurail pass. Don't think we'll buy one again...there's no flexiblility. The guy also made it sound like there are only "so many seats available for the Eurrail pass holder"... maybe things are "Lost in Translation"! It's wonderful, regardless! The next two days will start early. Tomorrow we plan a trip to the beach via train and it leaves at 8:30am. Our landlord told us the things to see and do there..."Tomorrow is supposed to be very nice, and I think that would be the day for your beach trip :-)
When you are in Arcachon, apart from the main city-beach, you absolutely want to go to PLAGE PEREIRE : so beautiful, you'll get an amzaing view, and there's a foot path all along the beach, which is lovely.
From the town centre, you can take a bus there, or a cab. Otherwise it is a 30 minute walk along the seafront, to your left when facing the sea.

I have attached a map for you, showing : rail station, main city beach, city center with shops,Ville d'Hiver (a beautiful area, you get there via an elevator ! Beautiful houses built at the time of Emperor Napoleon III when it became fashionable to "take the waters" and breathe the ocean air), and Plage Pereire / Plage des Abatilles.
All of this is walkable and you'll have a beautiful day !" Nice, eh?
Then, we leave Bordeaux on a 7:30 train on Friday.... Enough for now! Thanks for checking out the Blog!

For Elora!!!

It's me! Your grammie!!!

Good heavens!

Well, the posting of the Bordeaux wine trip had photos and they were put on the side! Enjoy what's there...

Now, THIS is what I'm talking about!

That was Enn's comment about the french bread he just bought! Today is Tuesday. As we planned, we took an 8.5 hour winery tour by tour bus. We traveled thru the Modoc countryside and visited four wineries (Chateau's) and had wonderful guides to show and tell us all about wine making! This was the best I've ever seen, and I lived for a few years in Napa, CA! Each of the winery's discussed a different part of winemaking...it kept the tour interesting the entire day. Nothing was repeated...AND, guess what?!? Because of the funny weather we've all been having, they decided to start harvestingt the grapes yesterday!!!! How luck were we, to see vines full of perfect grapes, ready to be picked and BEING picked??? These are family owned vineyards, so things are done on a smaller scale and we were able to watch each step. I hope my pictures will tell the story...(sorry, I am still perfecting my skills at putting them on here!) We also tasted 2-3 wines at each stop. We did have a fabulous lunch half way through....although I'm not a big fan of (raw?) Salmon or rare duck , everyone else cleaned their plates and raved about the food. I had plenty of salad, cheese, bread and, you guessed it...wine! We met lots of nice people, the tour was limited to 25. People were with us from England, Scotland, Montreal, Brazil, Florida and more.
We walked home from the drop off site in town, and stopped at the huge grocery market and bought stuff for dinner. Then came home, had dinner and worked on hotel rooms and train passes for next week. We have now added the Loire Valley on our schedule, after Brussels/before Paris. We have a hotel in Tours, France for that part. Many people have said great things about it.....Tomorrow, Enn will go to the train depot to reserve train seats and I will do laundry ... we have a washer/dryer in the apt.!!! Goodnight from Bordeaux!

Monday

Took the Tram to the Train station, spent some time getting our travel plans for Friday....Eurail is just "ok"...I hope it all works out. Looks like we have to take a 7:30AM train (TGV) to Paris and transfer from another STATION (!) using the Metro, to Brussels, then to Amsterdam! Arriving in Amsterdam about 6PM. Station agent made it sound like there are only a certail amount of Eurail seats available....arghh! Sort of like using those famous Frequent Flyer passes!
After the train station, we went on by bus, to Rue St. Catherine, the largest Pedestrian shopping street in Europe. Had lunch,then got back on a tram and decided to just go wherever it went! Adventurous, eh? We enjoyed a ride past the University of Bordeaux and some beautiful countryside. On the way back, I decided to get off in downtown Bordeaux, and find my way back to the apt. while Enn continued on, exploring!!! I had a nice walk back, stopping at a Tabac shop for postcards and the Carrefour Market (huge) for a bottle of Bordeaux wine! I enjoyed the walk. I even gave directions to a Canadian (Vancouver) tourist!!! Yay, me! Photos to follow....

Sunday

Testing photo placement (sorry!)
Bordeaux, fountain in park and Farmer's Market

Photos

I'm uploading the photos now...We have tomorrow's day planned. We'll take the beautiful tram that looks like the Monorail in Disneyland, to the train station in Bordeaux to make our Friday departure plans. Now we think we'll head to Amsterdam next, and work our way back to Paris. Now we are curious about Antwerp (1 night), then Brussels and back to Paris! I'm loving this trip! This apartment is so cute, I could stay the entire 2 weeks in it! Had our great fresh veggie dinner tonight, then took a late stroll to a new Boulevard and found lots of shops open on Sunday evening! We didn't expect that. We're getting to know our way around. Justin, you'd love this. It's 9:30PM here, we are 9 hours ahead of LA....Enn is asleep! Party Pooper! He even took a long nap today! I think this is a good sign that he's having a good time!!!! ;)

Sunday - part two-

First, I have to say that I think I put some pictures in the computer just now, but can't find them! After my nap-taking husband wakes up, I'll get some help!
So! Today is Sunday and we slept good last night...woke up this morning, and sent Enn on another walk! It was discussed before we came, that I would have the luxury of getting up and taking my time to go out for the day...He is ready to go at 6am! Not me!
Our morning outing was absolutely fabulous. Our landlord mentioned some things to see, so off we went! It was forcast to rain today, so we thought we should stay close to "home" and learn our way around here. Great idea! It hasn't rained, but was perfect for walking. We headed to The River....there were two Cruise ships anchored to the pier! We can't figure out how they get in or out of the river, so we will have to ask someone. There are beautiful historic bridges up and down the river, so we can't imagine how a cruise ship could get in here. We went to the River, not only to see the river, but were told that on Sunday there is a Farmer's Market....after buying, WINE!, cheese, crusty french bread, green beans, tomatoes, lettuce, apples & potatoes, we are all set for dinner! We are so happy we went there!
We walked through the "old town" and saw the famous Notre Dame church in Bordeaux. It's beautiful. We will go back to see inside, there was a full mass under way today. We walked through parks with huge fountains, (like in Rome!) and down tree lined streets. We had the city to ourselves, early on this Sunday morning. Next, we headed to the main street in Bordeaux, near our apartment, to find the Tourist Information office. We asked about the most beautiful tram system that runs through and around the city. For 4 Euros you can ride it all day! Stay tuned for that story this week! We booked our Wine Tour for Tuesday, all day tour, with lunch included from 9:30am to 6pm about 94 Euros each...can't wait!!! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_Prieur%C3%A9-Lichine
After a brief stop at the apartment to drop off the produce, we headed back out to a Pizza place Enn had spotted on one of his walks! Turned out to be the most popular place in town...but, we scored an outside table for two, had pizza and pasta and FRENCH BREAD!!! Walked back to the apt. taking lots of photos of this beautiful town.
Tonight we plan to stay in, cook up all those veggies and open another bottle of wine.....does it get any better than this????
Thanks for reading our blog! xoxoxo Cathey and Enn

Sunday in Bordeaux...ahhhhh...

I could write forever but I'll try to keep this "real"... Boy, did we ever need this vacation...Already, I never want to leave....My friends and family know how much I love Paris...Bordeaux has become my new favorite. I wrote in a journal all the way from LA and will share some of it:"Thanks to Mary Lu for getting us to the FlyAway station in downtown LA...She drove us on the side streets instead of the busy freeway (commute time) and shared lots of stories since she grew up in this area. (Always a treat to hear her stories!) Our flight did not take us over the areas we thought we would go so I could not wave to lots of my FB friends! Sorry, Holly, Jeanne, Kate & Bertie! But, we flew over Newfoundland and waved to Joyda! Gary, I'm keeping a food log for you...even what we ate on the plane ;) (Tapioca Crepes!) As it got dark (for about an hour! on the plane) I saw the most incredible Big Dipper ever. We flew right under it! (I sound like I've never been out of my kitchen, eh?) So: here goes...yesterday Saturday 6:15pm Bordeaux time...."I am sitting on our Balcony overlooking a quaint street with small village-style shops and eateries, enjoying wine and trail mix!Enn came back from grocery shopping (dinner, yay!) Brie, ham, fresh French bread, bananas, oranges, cereal, milk and yogurt. We sat on the balcony, just big enough for 2 chairs and a cafe table. It was a great dinner, from 2 very tired travelers. Now he's gone for another short walk, to stay awake a bit longer. The sun has set, the streets are getting quieter; I swear I am sitting in a "picture perfect postcard"! My view is amazing. I saw a lady riding a bike with a small basket on the back, with a dog in the basket! (Hello to Miss Sadie!) :)
The restaurant lights are starting to flash now...there's a slight breeze - perfect - The restaurant next door is called http://www.baudetmillet.fr/ It's on our to-do list! Our plans are to stay local (in town) tomorrow, Sunday, and then discover new things after that; wine tour, beach outing and figuring out our Eurail pass to Brussels for Friday. We haven't slept in 27 hours...G'night!

In CDG - Paris airport

Here we are in Paris!!! OMG we are thrilled to be here again! Sunny weather and all is good. Gary, the food is great, I'm keeping a food log for you! Joyda, we flew over Newfoundland and I waved to you! Sorry, Bertie, we went over London, not Scotland :( Missed Ohio (Holly and Jeanne) and NH (Kate)...but we're thinking of everyone! We leave here in an hour and then we'll be in Bordeaux soon....

Weather Across The Pond

It's looking good to me! 70's and 80's in Bordeaux and Paris...a little rain, maybe. Leaving LA at 97 degrees....

A little peak for those interested...our small apartment in Bordeaux...
http://www.vrbo.com/247002

New food place in Paris!

Just got a new recommendation from B&J ...www.parisvegetarian.com/le-grenier-de-notre-dame/
Will be trying this about 9/23....stay tuned! Anyone else want to share their ideas with us?

Phew! Got a few things "packed"...like toiletries....Enn is now reviewing French Phrase books to bring along...I can say "Hello" and "Thank You"!!!
Doesn't our blog look great??? :)

Betsy, you're the BEST! She helped me redesign this Blog page...I am really excited now! Back to packing....

Doing projects around the house, getting ready to leave....We tested the watering system today and find out 75% of the yard is NOT getting water! Off to Home Depot for replacement parts to the sprinkler system...Controller, Manifold, Sprinkler heads....arghhh! Not on my list of things to do! But, most of it is finished now, and we will finish the gazebo-style fencing around the hot tub tomorrow! Enn will be glad to go back to work! We also discussed the suitcase/carry-on options today....time to shop for one extra piece!

The week before....

Saturday night, Sept. 3, 2011
Just testing this to make sure I can figure out how to post updates while we travel! Leaving this Friday, Sept 9th from LAX, arriving in Paris at 1:00pm/Saturday 9/10 and then to Bordeaux about 2pm the same day.