A Salute to Our Soldiers

Normandy

July 30-31st

We caught the train in Paris heading northeast toward the battle ground beaches of Normandy. Our destination for the next two nights would be Bayeux - a small village about 10 km inland from the coast. The train ride was pleasant and uneventful until the conductor announced our stop was approaching and the train started to slow rather quickly. Patti leisurely put her pack on and headed toward the door. I fussed around for a bit putting things away as the train came to a stop at the station and finally got my back on before strolling up to join her at the door. As I approached I noticed that she was trying to figure out which lever to pull or which knob to push in order to open this strange tri-folding door to get out. Of course I being the man said - here let me do it - so I firmly pulled on the knob and then forcefully pushed on the lever but still with no luck and all at about the same time that we heard a whistle go off and the damn train started moving again. We both just looked at each other standing there with our packs on exasperated and confused and said - shiiit! - Oh well, I guess we’re not getting off in Bayuex. Luckily the next stop was close by where we let a young girl open the door for us. After several frustrating minutes trying to communicate with the ticket agent about what had happened and if there was another train going back to Bayuex that afternoon station worker that knew some English helped us out and got us on the next train back to our stop less that an hour later than our original arrival time -sheewww.

I grabbed a map at the train station and after a short walk along the riverside pedestrian path we made our way from the station on the edge of town to the older medieval portion of the village center with narrow cobble stone streets, mills with water wheels, flower boxes and towering cathedral spires. It was a beautiful cool sunny day fairly busy with tourist and locals but a much welcomed contrast to the hustle & bustle of the streets of Paris. We found our hotel on the corner the second story above a bar/restaurant on the main corner of the village with a view of the cathedral at the end of the block. We checked into the room right at the bar and walked up the narrow stone spiral staircase with heavily worn wooden steps. The room was small and nothing fancy but more private than a hostel with our on bath. The hostels are o.k., cheaper and more lively but we seem to be gravitating toward the discount hotels at about 40 to 50 euros a night or $50 to $70 american. After resting for a bit we headed out to see the town, take a few pictures, find a place to eat and hit the tourist information office to find out about getting to the Norrnandy beaches the next day. We did a quick self guided tour of the town with interpretive signage along the way explaining the local history. It truly was a medieval village established before the first century and became known as the lace making capital for French royalty. In the invasion it was the first village to be liberated by the allied troops that stormed the beaches and was spared from the destruction of aerial bombing because the German troops had receded to Caen - the next larger town inland from Bayuex. Caen was completely leveled. We originally wanted to rent bikes to ride to the coast but there were no paths or lanes and the roads were very narrow and fairly busy with tourist headed to the battle monuments. We ended up finding a bus that would drop us off right at the American memorial and cemetery above Omaha beach and returned that evening. The memorial monument was fascinating with a complete timeline of the events leading up to the day of the invasion and a collection of video footage and war artifacts that kept us there and speechless for more that two hours before heading over to visit the cemetery. Just a note for those of you that may visit this site in the future - don’t even think about walking through the almost 10,000 white cross headstone of the American soldiers that lost their lives in Normandy and read some of the inscriptions without a hand full of tissues. We could only handle it for so long before taking a walk on the path along the cliffs edge and finding the stairway that headed down to Omaha beach. We couldn’t have asked for a better day on what is really a beautiful beach. It almost reminded us of the many days we had on the beaches of Kauai with puffy white clouds, blue skies, warm sunshine and a cool breeze. It was surreal though - to be standing right there so peaceful but with these vivid images of what it must have been like on that day. It was sparsely populated so it didn’t take long for us to find a piece of sand to sit down or rather lay down. Within minutes Patti was fast asleep but I just laid there looking up at those puffy white elongated clouds slowly sailing in from offshore like the ghosts of the battle ships 65 years earlier. I rolled over with my face a few inches above the sand and looked up toward the bluff and could see the old German concrete gun batteries still there right above us and could almost hear the bullets hitting the sand all around us, grenades going off, fighter planes buzzing overhead all with the white noise of the surf in the background. What a retched day that must have been I thought for a moment as I rested my head and also fell off to sleep comfortably next to my wife.


After an hours nap we finally stirred to our feet and thought we should make our way to the bus stand. We climbed the trail up the slope to see the gun battery up close and actually walked through it and some of the remnant tunnels before walking back to the memorial and catching the bus. Back in town we had a beer at the bar downstairs from our room and then walked a few blocks down to a nice restaurant for a perfect French diner and a few glasses of wine to end our visit to Normandy.

Let Them Eat Crepes

Paris

July 24th-30th

The alarm watch went off at 4:30 am for our train to Paris from Annecy. This was going to be a long day. Thankfully we had conversed correctly with the cab company the day before and the driver arrived on time to get us to the station We had a four hour ride to Paris. I tried to make the best of the trip and got in some writing on the blog but after about 30 minutes my eyes got a bit heavy and I was in a deep sleep for a good 2 hours. After disembarking from the train it hit us-we were in Paris. Of all the cities we have been in we would have to rank Paris as being the most beautiful. The architecture of all white stone buildings with ornate carved details, flower boxes filled with red or orange flowers on every window which were encased by black decorative iron railings along with the double rowed tree-lined streets make this a remarkable city. The amount of open space and parks for the people is undone by no other. Also we were thankful Paris was a bit more accommodating to tourists and they had English speaking guides to provide us with the Metro information and directions to our hostel. Once you get your bearings though, Paris is a very easy city to get around. The Metro is great and if you want Paris is very walkable and safe. Our hostel, ironically named the Aloha Hostel, had a lockout period so after dropping off our bags we had about 8 hours before we could get in our room. No luck in taking a nap so we decided to torture ourselves and go do the 4 hour guided walking tour of Paris. It was free! Our guide was a young college graduate from Scotland. A funny young lad. We started in the Latin Quarter (which is not named because Latin people live there but because the students at the university nearby only spoke latin), we went by the Louvre, the Museo d’orsay, along the Seine River, the Champs Elysee, and over several of the famous bridges in town, even the one Mr. Big and Carrie stood on for the final episode of Sex and the City. I guess it is considered the “romantic bridge.” Our guide gave a complete history of many of the buildings and told us that Paris was saved from destruction by the Nazi’s because Hitler thought it was the most beautiful city and did not want it destroyed if he was going to be its ruler. Unfortunately toward the end of our tour it started raining. (I think the rain is following us). It did not last for very long and we were able to finish the tour. At this time my feet were going to fall off. I was so exhausted and just wanted to lie down. We still had to make it back to our hostel which was about a 20 minute metro ride. What seemed like an eternity we finally made it back and got the key to our room and immediately proceeded to our respective bunks and crashed! After a couple of hours we arose from the dead, took a shower and headed out in search of dinner. Our hostel was in a very cool neighborhood in the Monumental District. This was our first encounter of sticker shock and we quickly found out why Paris is considered one of the most expensive cities in the world. (examples: coca-cola $6, one beer $10, load of laundry $10) even Mcdonalds was expensive. I guess they do not believe in the 99 cent value menu. We got smart and learned how to eat like a local. Sandwiches and crepes on the street, buy snacks and fruit at the markets, and eat lots of pizza. Actually one night we thought we did well and bought a rotisserie chicken from the butcher for 6 euros, but when you do the conversion that is closer to $10 and twice the amount you would pay for one at Costco. It was good though and we used the leftovers for our sandwiches the next day.

Once we got settled and started reading the guide book to determine our plan of attack we realized that the three days we had tentatively scheduled for Paris was not going to be enough time to even scratch the surface. Paris is definitely a city of sensory overload and has way too much to see and do. We decided to stay three more nights because we knew one day was going to be dedicated to the finish of the Tour de France, so I got on the computer to find us another hotel for the other days because our hostel was going to be full. Once we secured a reservation we headed back out on the town. I told Roby I wanted to take it easy. We decided to only do the Eiffel Tower and the park nearby. We decided to walk to the Tower which was about 2 miles away but it allowed us to venture through the city and see the neighborhoods. Instead of waiting in the 2 hour line for the elevator to the top of the tower we chose to climb the 800 plus stairs to the viewing deck on the tower. My Mt Rainer “rest step” training came in handy. Being at the top of the Tower is somewhat like seeing the statute of David in Florence, you know you have arrived.
Only having had a half a day of site-seeing we had enough energy to go paint the town red. We hit the showers and even had the luxury of a hair dryer at the hostel. Having read our guidebook and listening to our guide from the previous day, we went and bought our own bottle of wine and enjoyed it in the confines of our dorm room before going out on the town. We felt like we were back in college sneaking alcohol into our dorm and drinking it as fast as possible not to get caught. Feeling good, we put on our fancy clothes and headed to the Latin Quarter. What an awesome place at night. Everyone is out and about of all ages. The Notre Dame is in the area and is beautiful all lit up at night. Street musicians line the area whether down on the walk near the Seine or across the street from the church. All the restaurants line the narrow cobblestone meandering streets and they are all outdoor seating. Everyone just hangs out and enjoys the night. We noticed the best cafes were on the corners of the street intersections-better for people watching, so we settled down at one for a few beers and enjoyed the view. The only bad part about Paris is that everyone especially the women all smoke and when you are seated outside the tables are right on top of each other and they don’t mind blowing their smoke in your face. I do not understand why Paris is a no-smoking city inside their buildings, restaurants and trains, because everyone smokes. It is funny watching them get off a train and within seconds are lighting up a cigarette. Unfortunately it is still cool to smoke here. Nevertheless, we did not let this hamper our perfect evening because we were going to indulge in our first Nutella Crepe. They were made right in front of us on a hot stone and lavishly filled with Nutella. We were hooked. It was going to become a staple in our diet and for only 1.50 euro you couldn’t beat it. One of these crepe stands would make millions outside a bar in New York-(hint hint Miss Jules). We crawled into bed about 2:00 am knowing we could sleep in a bit because we were doing the Tour de France the next day.

Our roommates-two young girls woke up before us and with the clamor of the hostel we were up with 15 minutes to spare in order to get our breakfast. As mentioned before the French breakfast consists of bread, jam, and coffee and juice. I don’t get it where is the protein Don’t they know if they eat too many carbohydrates it will only make them hungrier sooner. Oh well-it was free. Now that we were Tour de France experts we decided to arrive around 12:00 noon and chose to walk down to the Champs Elysee because the metro was going to be a mess. When we initially arrived Lance Armstrong’s “Live Strong” organization had set up a zone along the Seine River where you could go and write words of wisdom in yellow chalk on the sidewalk. Roby decided to adorn the area with a “snobyscape” and he drew his version of the Tree of Life. His first piece of art on exhibit in France!!! We wondered around the Tour version of “Deadom” but did not have as much luck finding a good spot to watch because there were many more people for this stage and a much more limited area. The biggest obstacle was finding a bathroom or toilette. No public restrooms exist in the city nor do they have them in the metro stations. How do you have an event for over 100,000 people and not have rows of j-johns set up. Over half of those in attendance were women and the other half was men drinking beer. Poor planning, but it seems the norm. We went to a restaurant and they demanded that we be customers so we went to the bathroom and sat down at a table and were going to order a couple of beers. When we did not order a meal, they kicked us out. No problem we did not want to have to spend $20 for two beers anyway. Thankfully the riders were going to be coming through soon so we picked a spot with a bit of a grade so we could see over those in front of us and Roby could get some pictures. When they come through the Champs Elysee they do 5 laps around so it is not the 5 second blur like in the Alps. However, when the riders make the turn and are on the same side of the road as you are standing, they are going so fast they almost look like when you draw a cartoon on the bottom of several pages of a book and flick the pages to make it look like the character is running. It is that fast. After watching several loops we walked down to the big screen to watch the finish and the awards being handed out to the winners. We were very near the stage but the crowd was too large for us to get a real close-up. Roby did his best getting pictures. Once the Tour ended the mob scene commenced. Everyone was hurrying for the Metro. We decided to let the crowd settle and hung out in the grassy park, took off our shoes, and relaxed. After being on our feet for 6 hours we needed a break before our 2 mile walk home. As Bill Bryson said- “We DID the Tour de France”.

We were supposed to leave the next day but instead we moved to our new digs on the other side of town in the Bastille area. It is supposed to be a hip-part of town. Our hotel was not as nice as our hostel nor were the staff members as nice or helpful, but we made due. After climbing the 6 flights of stairs with our backpacks (our butts would be getting in shape if it weren‘t for all the pastries), we headed to the Louvre. It was the perfect day because it was a bit grey and rainy; a perfect day to be inside. The place is unbelievably huge and cannot be done in one day unless you run through it. The amount of people who go through is also too much to count. People were fighting their way up to see the Mona Lisa, crazy!! Most of the artists are neo-classique. The Louvre would not permit impressionists (Monet) into the museum so most of them are housed over at the Musee d’Orsay. The scale of some of the paintings are over the top-about 40x15 feet that is. We saw the Venus de Milo and some of Rembrandt’s paintings and we were really going to see the Lace Maker by Vermeer, however, when we arrived at his location it was missing. They had sent it out on tour to Japan. Roby was crushed. The Louvre had a section for Egyptian artifacts and a sculpture room. A truly amazing place. After 4 hours we made it through the sections we were interested in and ventured out of the museum. The clouds had parted and the sun had come out. As we were walking from the Louvre we entered the Touilleres Gardens and came upon a large 60’ diameter fountain encircled by movable lawn chairs where people were just hanging out. With our weary feet, we decided to join them. Probably my favorite part of Paris. We sat in a couple of reclining chairs put our feet up on the edge of the fountain and shared our last French “Juice Box” and some cheese and crackers. (We found these 8 ounce juice boxes filled with red wine in the grocery store and took them with us-the best invention by the French and really not bad tasting). We talked, read our books and just enjoyed “being” in Paris with her 70 something temperatures.

The fountain scene was topped the next day by our visit to Versaille. As our friend JP always says “It is good to be the King.” This castle is humungous and the gardens go for miles. No attempt to describe it would do it justice. We chose to do the garden tour only which took us 4 hours in and of itself. We walked through the different sections and marveled at the landscape but our favorite was our afternoon nap on the lawn next to the Grand Canal with a view of the Castle and the boaters on the water. Although we had another day in Paris, this would have been a perfect way to end our visit.

Our last day was somewhat of a hodge podge. We had to go and see Jim Morrison’s grave which was actually in a very cool cemetery near our hotel (if a cemetery can be cool). It is like a small village of old world tombs and crypts almost little houses lining cobble streets with huge old trees and signage outlining where all the tombs are located. The cemetery has quite a few famous people in it-Chopin, Bellini, Wadsworth and of course Jim Morrison. Roby thought for sure Morrison’s grave would be one of these ornate house-like structures but of course with cool Doors on it. It is probably ½ a mile in each direction. Next on our list was the elevated garden, only the 2nd one in the world-the other being the one we saw in New York. Both are renovated rail lines. This one is more of a gardenesque walkway rather than a useable space like the one in New York, but nonetheless just as beautiful. We completed our 8 mile loop and came home for a rest. Our next conquest was going to be the Couer de Sacre-Church of the Sacred Heart in the Montmartre district. This was the “crazy” end of town near the Moulin Rouge and red light district of Paris. Although not as good as Amsterdam, it had its fill of pleasurable places. We were going to see the Moulin Rouge show but it was beyond our budget even beyond our splurging budget!!! Instead we climbed the stairs (a feat of its own) of the Sacred Heart and had the most spectacular view of the city. The sun was going down, the breeze was cool and we enjoyed the music from the local musicians. Our farewell to Paris!!

Le Tour de Alps

French Aps-Tour de France
July 20th-July 23rd

We woke the next morning barely in time for breakfast. I think the last few nights in New York were catching up with us. Our hostel provided a free breakfast which consisted of bread, coffee, juice and yogurt and did I say bread. We were quite shocked when we saw several of the guests taking 6 slices of bread each. Do they not know about the Atkins or Zone diet!!!

The night before we had purchased our bus tickets to Annecy (Ann Say) France so we had the morning to enjoy. However, instead of taking the 1:00 pm bus we found they had one at 11:00 am so we decided to head to the mountains early. What a gorgeous bus ride. It took about 2 hours through the greenest valleys and hillside towns. It was a fairytale. Feeling a bit cocky about maneuvering through the city, we exited our bus and thought it would be easy to make our connection to our hotel. Guess again, even fewer people spoke English in Annecy. In fact none of the staff at the bus station spoke it. We were not only trying to find our way to our hotel which was on the edge of town, but we needed to make arrangements for our trip to La Grand Bornand for the mountain stage of the tour. Thankfully a local French lady took pity on us and showed us where the local bus stop was and which one we needed to take to get to our hotel. She was a godsend. We still were in the unknown about La Grand Bornand other than what we picked up from the bus station attendant that only the morning bus was running tomorrow because of the Race but it was not going to return from La Grand Bornand. A bus from St Jean de Sixt was the only one running at night to get you back to Annecy and it was about 2 miles away from where the race was staged. No big deal except the last bus was at 6:15 pm and the race was going to finish around 5:30 pm or later. We planned this trip around the Tour so we were going to chance it knowing that if we missed the 6:15 pm bus we were hoofing it 18 miles back to Annecy or sleeping behind someone’s barn. Game On!

After grabbing a quick bit to eat and experiencing French bus station rest rooms (why do they not have seats?) we headed to our hotel. Having made our reservations last minute our hotel was on the outskirts of town and not much happening around it. In fact it was in an industrial area so our dining options were limited to non-existent. Also, the last bus to our hotel was 7:00 pm, therefore, if we stayed in town for dinner or activities, we had at least a mile walk to get home. We were hoping the hotel staff would speak more English to make sure we understood the train station attendant correctly regarding the bus schedule. No luck. With only a 50% comfort level of our arrangements and only one shot for making the Race, we decided to dine at the little restaurant at our hotel and turn in early. We were going to have to catch the 7:20 am bus back into Annecy in order to make the only bus to La Grand Bornand at 8:15 am. This putting us at the race 7 hours before the riders would come through town. Needless to say, we did not get much sleep that night just stressing about whether we had the correct information along with the tight schedule we were going to have to meet.

Morning came sooner than we thought. Although we set our alarms, there was really no need because the jack hammering started at sun-up. As we left our hotel room, we gave each other a kiss and said we loved one another just in case this little adventure turned into a fiasco and we said things we were going to regret. The local bus arrived on time-1st step accomplished. We arrived at 7:45 am at the bus station-bought ticket to La Grand Bornand and made bus. Step two accomplished. As we drove to La Grand Bornand we passed through several French towns through the Alps. Talk about picturesque. Everything you would expect and more. The gorgeous towering mountains all covered in flowers with the white chalets speckled throughout the hillsides. We were also taking note of how long of a walk we might have if we missed the last bus home. Before reaching La Grand Bornand we had to pass through St Jean de Sixt the town where we would have to catch this bus so we made a mental note of where it was and the route we would have to take. Once we arrived in La Grand Bornand we had a sigh of relief. We were there and going to see the Tour. We know had 7 hours to kill. Initially our thought was to trek it to the top so we could see them summit. We began the long climb upward and made it about half way (4 miles) when we ran into a couple of cyclists who were riding the route and they informed us that the riders would not be reaching the summit until about 4:00 pm. This was not going to work with our plan. We could not make it back to St Jean Sixt if we had to walk 10 miles and not start heading down until 4:00 pm. We had to bag it and settle for a spot along the route down in town. (in hindsight it turned out to be a better plan because we were hit by an unexpected rain storm and it poured for quite awhile. Sidenote-the guy we met riding up was from Texas and he went to Texas Tech. Small world.

We found a short cut back to town and grabbed a bite to eat and found a cool little café which was right on the race route and had a few beers where we could watch the approaching tour on TV. Having to score my friend Tami a t-shirt we braved it in the rain and found the souvenir wagon. Roby got one also. After 2:00 pm the rain stopped and the sun came out for a glorious afternoon and a perfect day for a bike ride. You would not believe how many cyclists come out for the tour and ride the route the morning before the racers. It is just a stream of bikes going by in all directions at all times. It definitely made us wish we had brought ours. A good goal to get in shape to be able to ride all the stages of the Tour. We will put it on our List. After a few hours and a few beers the parade of sponsor cars came through the town. They arrive an hour before the riders and toss out trinkets, cheap hats and some snacks from their vehicles. We went down and fought the hordes of people all grabbing for the items. We got several biker/painter style hats. Now we had lost our seats at the bar so we decided to head toward the finish because it was getting late and we knew we would be cutting it close to our bus departure. We found the perfect spot at the 2k mark right up front with a perfect view of the riders and no other people around us. At 5:30 pm the riders started coming through and we got some great photographs of Alberto Contador and the Schleck brothers along with many of the others who came through at the beginning. They whiz by so quickly it is difficult to identify them. In fact we did not even know it was Alberto in the front when we took the picture. It was not until later when we reviewed them. After about 5 minutes many of the racers had come through and we were cutting it down to the wire for our bus, we decided it was time to go. Thankfully we were close to the exit area and we decided to run. We figured we could do the 2 miles in about 20 minutes since we had to run uphill we needed to give ourselves a little more time. It was brutal but we made it to town with 10 minutes to spare. In retrospect we did not need to run because our bus was an hour late because it could not reach St Jean Sixt until all the traffic cleared the area. Step 3 accomplished. The only snafu turned out to be the last bus ride back to our hotel. Due to the tardiness of the St Jean Sixt bus we missed the last connection but it was only a mile walk. Our first stage of the Tour de France in the beautiful Alps was a success.

No rest for the weary. We were up and at it again the next morning. This time we did not have to be up until 8:00 am. The race was in Annecy so we could take the local bus into town which was only 5 minutes away. Lance Armstrong called this region of France one of if not the most beautiful places in the world and he is right. Annecy is called the flower city. Everywhere you turn flower baskets or flower landscapes are everywhere. Literally on every corner or along the canals in hanging baskets along the railings there are flowers. Amazing what a difference a little color makes. This does not even compare to the view of the Lake or surrounding mountains. We even took a break at the little beach next to the lake while waiting for the final racers for the time trial. Took off our shoes, tested the freezing cold water, and marveled over the tranquil view (the best part of the day). The Tour was set up a bit differently in Annecy and for the better. With the race going around the lake you could watch the start and then walk to the finish in enough time to see the same racer. We started the day at the start so we could get some close-ups of the riders before they even entered the oval and then we moved down the raceline to about the 1st quarter mile and then to a roundabout to catch a full-on view after they had gained some speed, then to the finish for Lance and Alberto Contador. All the team buses and the VS stage were in the park area and they allowed people to wander around and see the riders. We got near the Astana bus but no sign of Lance and it was extremely crowded. The announcers for VS were out and about on the open-air stage and they talked to the crowd for awhile. It was cool to hang out near their trailer because they had the race on a big screen TV and it was in English. You knew where all the Brits, Australians and Americans were hanging out!

Annecy our favorite place so far. Why the Tour has ignored it for 50 years is beyond me.

Sweet Geneva

Geneva Switzerland

July 19th


After our adventurous cab ride from Bryan and Julie’s home to JFK we boarded our plane for Geneva. We somehow got lucky and they gave us emergency row exit seats for no additional cost so we took full advantage. You would have thought we had set up shop with all our stuff strewn across the aisle. We decided to purchase smaller backpacks while we were in DC. This way we could carry them on and not have to hassle with baggage or lost luggage. After takeoff we removed our shoes and kicked back with a movie and dinner. A perfect Sunday evening. A quick cat nap and we arrived in Geneva. The flight to Geneva was actually faster than getting from Kauai to Phoenix.

The real adventure was just about to begin. Watching Roby and me in a foreign country without knowing a lick of French and having no knowledge of where we were going was like watching a reality show. We headed straight to the information desk and the lady spoke enough English to show us where to pick up our free pass on the tram to get to the train station which would take us to our hotel. It is really great in Geneva, all public transportation is free to tourists. Once we got to the train station we had this predicament as to which train to take because we had to make a connection. No one at this station spoke any English so we were on our own. We figured it out and even found our connection without any troubles. The walk from the tram station to our hotel was pleasant even with our backpacks. We were experts now. Since we arrived before check-in we dropped off our bags and took to the city on foot. Although we had a free metro card Geneva is a very walkable city. Roby with his trusty map skills led us to some of the city’s most beautiful narrow cobblestone streets lined with old stone buildings and flower boxes in all the windows. We hiked up the steep hills to the Cathedral de St. Pierre. The city is everything you would imagine for a European city. It is bright, clean, and has the most perfect view of the lake from all sides, and oh yea-expensive. We walked down the famous Grand Rue where we found a cute little café for lunch. We figured eating out is going to be an experience for the next two weeks since we have limited ability in reading the menu. Thankfully enough of the words have similarity to Spanish and Italian that I can decipher the majority of the words. The only problem is the pronunciation. Spanish is so much easier. Everything is “silent” in French but we made due. Lots of finger pointing along with Roby attempting French with his best Texas twang accent followed by blank stairs from the waiters .

After lunch we headed toward the park at the Lake. Jet Lag was weighing in and I just wanted to veg for awhile. We found the perfect spot with Mont Blanc in the background, the sun glistening off the Lake and the grassy park just calling our names. We set up camp in the shade and basically passed out for about 1 hour.(ah-BLISS). Just what the doctor ordered. Once the bugs started coming out we packed up and wandered through the park landing at a bistro up on the hill near a museum. We had a beer and enjoyed sunset. Only having one night in the city, we wanted to check out the nightlife. After a quick shower we headed toward the center of town where they were having a festival and live music. The band was from Australia and played some great 70’s music. Knowing we were going to be back at the end of our trip and still feeling the effects of the plane ride we called it an evening around midnight.




Viva la France.

The Big Apple

The Big Apple

July 16th-19th

Our journey on public transportation has begun. We left DC with nothing more than our 25 pound backpack and a one way ticket on the Bolt Bus to New York. It was a pleasant 4 hour trip in big cushy seats in an air conditioned setting and they even had internet service on the bus. We arrived in the city near Tribeca and were literally dropped off at the corner. No bus station or even bus stop just a sign on the side of the road that read “Bolt Bus”. After sitting on the park bench with our packs, looking like the homeless, our friend Bryan walked up to guide us through the city. Julie was still in school so we beelined it for a restaurant and a celebratory drink. 3:00 arrived and Julie called so we walked over to her school and got the 5 cent tour of where she creates her culinary masterpieces of which we were going to get to sample. A quick subway ride to their neighborhood in Brooklyn (Williamsburg) lead us to their “penthouse” view. Okay they do not live on the top floor but the 25th is close enough with the view they have of the East River, Empire State Building and the Brooklyn Bridge. We almost didn’t need to leave the apartment. Although they do not live on the top, they have access to the rooftop deck and on several evenings we lugged up the Ikea stools and enjoyed the view. They are definitely not roughing it in a 4x6 box apartment infested with rats or roaches like most young urbanites in New York. Even from our bed we had an unobstructed view of the city lights. A perfect way to end our 1st leg of our journey.

Bryan and Julie were the consummate hosts. We were spoiled with Bryan’s gourmet breakfasts and Julie’s delectable deserts and chocolates. Roby was in heaven; he got to eat chocolate 24/7. Our breakfasts were more like brunch because after a few rough evenings and not getting to bed until after 3:00 am no one rising before 11:00 am except for Julie who had to go to school on Friday. The first night we hit Manhattan for dinner at a famous Japanese noodle house but because we had to wait for a table Roby and Bryan imbibed on one too many drinks leading to a long night of “boy behavior”. We stopped off at a newly opened bar in the neighborhood and actually one of the coolest concept bars that we’ve seen. It was in a huge renovated old warehouse with a great mix of new and old classic 80’s music videos, dancing, great accent lighting (lighting is key you know), wild bathrooms and an awesome multi lane bowling “lounge” with plush black leather couches, neon bowling balls and large video screens over each lane. It reminded us of the Devil House in Tempe. We needed to get Julie home for school the next day so we called it an early evening- 2:00 am. The boys however did not stop and headed up to the rooftop deck. They spent the next hour and a half up there. I decided they needed some male bonding time so I willing went to bed at 2:30 am.

The next morning of which neither boy saw I spent getting our last minute arrangements for our European trip completed and getting our Phoenix house in order. This unfortunately took most of the morning so we were not able to venture out until Julie got home from school. We were going to meet up with our friend Liz who lives in New York. We jumped on the subway heading toward Chelsey. The Mexican restaurant was too crowed and could not accommodate 5 people so we went to a little Thai restaurant next door. Liz, a native, gave Bryan and Julie the lowdown on the city. She was supposed to be at a work event around 8:00 but we did not get her on her way until almost 9:00 pm. Hopefully she did not get in trouble. We had a great time and hope to see her when we return in October. The rest of the evening we spent wondering the town through Time Square and ventured into a bar called Zanzibar which was a recommendation from Liz. Unfortunately it started raining-again- so our adventure was limited. Why is this black cloud following us????? Bryan and Roby were not quite as lively this evening so we called it an early evening but somehow we still did not get to bed until after 2:00 am. We were definitely in the city that truly never sleeps and as Liz says-it is not a true city unless you can get something to eat at 4:00 in the morning when you are hungry and can’t sleep.

The weekend was here but for us we have lost track of whether it is Wednesday or Saturday. All we know is we have no more Mondays. After another wonderful breakfast of French omelets cooked by Chef Bryan who has been attending the cooking demonstrations at Julie’s school, we headed out for a full day of exploring. First on the agenda was the incredible walk across the beautiful Brooklyn Bridge - an unbelievable example of structural grace, then a quick stop at ground zero, strolled through Central Park so Roby could soak up Olmstead’s work and then joined a sizable crowd sitting in the shady grass listening to a concert in the park. Next we walked through the Village, ate NY style Pizza, and found Paley Park famous amongst urban design geeks (Roby has been looking forward to seeing since our last trip in 1999 when we could not find it.) It is the best pocket park in the city and has won many awards. Once you enter it with the perfectly placed waterfall you cannot hear the city noise and it takes you out of your element. Roby would love the job of being the park keeper!!
We got home around 6:00 just in time for sunset on the roof and then dinner at Aurora’s, the local Brooklyn Italian restaurant. Before calling it an evening we ventured into a local French bar and were witness to the most bizarre entertainment scene-if you can call it entertainment. Initially we were intrigued because it was going to be an all girl band playing and the place started getting packed, even a local newspaper was present for the show. We waited until almost midnight for them to take the stage. Their act lasted the whole of 15 minutes of which was too long. They were supposed to be a “cabaret style” band but it looked more like a bad porno with the girls pretending to be musicians. They spent the majority of the time rolling around on the floor stuffing hot dogs into their mouths and regurgitating blood-like substances. I know what you are thinking all of you boys out there reading this but this was bad. The promoter promised that their full act is much better if we wanted to join their mailing list for future shows. We politely declined.

Our final day in the City started with a visit to the local bagel shop for breakfast and a quick trip back into town. We were headed for the new Highline Park. They took an old abandoned rail track which is suspended above ground and turned it into a pedestrian green space. What a phenomenal job they did. It is only the second one in the world-the other one being in Paris. Oh-we are going there too!!!! If you get to the city you must check it out. It is amazing what a Landscape Architect can create. Unfortunately we did not have anymore time so we headed home and got ready for our flight.

Short but sweet goodbyes to our good friends and wonderful hosts, a quick cab ride to JFK and we were off to Europe. Anyone up for an evening in Geneva?