At 7:30am we are awakened by a thunder storm, the likes of which I’ve never heard or seen! Huge lightning! Incredible thunder! I think this cancels our lunch at a restaurant on a nearby mountaintop. Poor Lucien is frightened by the thunder and lightning which goes on throughout the morning; I give him a tranquilizer.… Continue reading 25 June — Lucca
Category: France
24 June — Florence
Today we visit Florence! (It is “Firenze” in Italian; I like that name.) We know a few things: It will probably be HOT and one day is hardly enough. Next time we will stay a week. It’s nice and relaxing to take the train from Lucca to Florence. Nadia tells us the local’s secret: You… Continue reading 24 June — Florence
23 June — Lucca
Today we explore nearby Lucca, birthplace of our brother-in-law, Andrew Guidi. Nadia, our dog sitter arrives bright and early and in one piece after the drive up the mountain. After proper introductions, it’s clear the dogs are very happy to meet her and we can leave them without worries. It’s with much trepidation that we… Continue reading 23 June — Lucca
22 June — Lucca
Today we relax at our lovely house. I need to recover from the long drive from France and that drive up the mountain! I tell Howard I am NOT driving into town for groceries, so what we have is all we get. Fortunately our host, Masimmo, left us with a great loaf of Italian bread,… Continue reading 22 June — Lucca
21 June – To Lucca
Our drive from Servian, France to Lucca, Italy takes 8 hours. I hate to drive over bridges, especially if they are really high. And I hate to drive through tunnels. Approximately 4 hours of this drive is a tunnel then a bridge; a tunnel and a bridge; and they are one right after the other.… Continue reading 21 June – To Lucca
20 June – Getting ready for Italy
Today is packing day; tomorrow we leave for Italy. Howard packs up the clothes we will NOT be using for the rest of the trip. They are neatly folded together in a “package” at the bottom of the suitcase. I go to Pezenas to try to hopefully find cork placemats with the same motif that… Continue reading 20 June – Getting ready for Italy
19 June — “American Lunch”
I make the trip to the village square this morning; it is market day. I buy croissants: 2 for today and more for the next couple of days. They freeze well and it is easy to defrost them and heat them up in a low oven in the morning. I say goodbye to the lady… Continue reading 19 June — “American Lunch”
17 June — Castelnou
17 June We take a trip to Domaine Gardiés (Chemin de Montpins 66600 Espira de l’Agly). We enjoyed one of their white wines in Collioure. The first white we tasted was awful! We thought: Oh no! We’ve made a terrible mistake. But every other wine was fabulous. We were very bad to buy 275€ worth… Continue reading 17 June — Castelnou
14 through 16 June — Servian
14 June The last few days have been really hot and more humid than we are used to. It makes the nights uncomfortable. Today there is an incredible breeze (15 mph) and the house is staying nice and cool even though it’s HOT in the sun. (We will not longer complain about the wind!) We… Continue reading 14 through 16 June — Servian
11 through 12 June – Servian and Pezanas
11 June We had planned to join the Hartleys tomorrow for a day trip in their vintage VW camping van (called Doris Day) to hike and have a picnic lunch. But it’s projected to be incredibly hot with a chance of a thunder storm. Additionally Cat is recovering from a bug; Cat needed to visit… Continue reading 11 through 12 June – Servian and Pezanas