October 18, 2010 The high-velocity winds have hit our area of France. So things have cooled off considerably and we must hand onto our hats when we leave the apartment. I am glad that a purchased a beautiful scarf in Barcelona. I wear it like a French woman and it keeps me very warm. We… Continue reading Languedoc I
Author: Christine
Barcelona to Girona
October 16, 2010 I am very happy with my silicon earplugs! They truly block out about 80% of the noise. I sleep very well in spite of the revelry that lasts until 2am. But everyone else suffers. H says that the earplugs hurt so he doesn’t use them. And the Hartleys don’t find them as… Continue reading Barcelona to Girona
In Barcelona III
October 15, 2010 My silicon earplugs worked perfectly but everyone else had a terrible night. I sent an e-mail to the owner complaining. How could she rent an apartment over a nightclub??!! I also called the apartment manager because the Harleys’ bathroom had a horrible sewer smell. Oh, brother… We started our day with a… Continue reading In Barcelona III
In Barcelona II
October 14, 2010 Ah, peace and quiet last night! Today is a “Gaudi” day. We are exploring a few of the sites of the city created by the incomparable Antoni Gaudi, Barcelona’s most famous Modernista artist. Modernism (Catalan Art Nouveau) became popular at the end of the 19th century. Breaking with tradition, artists experimented with glass, tile, iron and brick.… Continue reading In Barcelona II
In Barcelona
October 13, 2010 The Hartleys slept like babies! So it was their good fortune to insist that we take the master bedroom. The back bedroom, I guess, is too far away to be affected by the nightclub craziness. Well, that made me feel much better. So I make a note: find earplugs today. Today we… Continue reading In Barcelona
Off to Barcelona
October 12, 2010 We are off to Barcelona today! The Hartleys are bleary-eyed because they just got the news that Stephan’s son has a particularly aggressive form of melanoma last night. His surgery will be in a month so they won’t know until then how extensively it has spread. We tell them to go the… Continue reading Off to Barcelona
Montpellier
October 7, 2010 After a jet-lagged restless night the four of us set off for near-by Montpellier. We have visited this dynamic city several times and love it more each time we come. The city has been a commercial hub for over 1,000 years for traders from all parts of the known world. Its university… Continue reading Montpellier
At the Hartleys
6 October 2010 We dived back into French culture today after a 2 year hiatus when we went grocery shopping at the street market in a near-by town with Catherine. That meant asking for help in French; exploring food items that we would never see in California (the fall mushrooms are incredible); trying to figure… Continue reading At the Hartleys
In France
October 5, 2010 Our flight was a dream compared to what we would have experienced in “economy.” Our food was the same “just OK” meal in economy but the premium included “digestives” after dinner”: I got Liqueur de Poire Willams, a pear liqueur that was very good and H got cognac. Even though we had… Continue reading In France
Off to France
October 4, 2010 We regretfully left our sweet babies, including our new arrival, Lucky, and we are now in LAX waiting for our flight to leave. Since our economy tickets only allowed us one piece of checked baggage, we were surprised to see so many people with well more than one bag. The couple ahead… Continue reading Off to France