A New Taste of France

 November 18, 2022

We settled into Barcelona on November 11 and found it to be interesting but not terribly exciting. The hotel where the cruise places guests is in the University section of town, very, very far from the action of the old quarter and the Ramblas. This area feels very sterile and as you would expect is filled with students and their vegan restaurants and coffee shops. No real Spanish food or tapas bars to be had. After two forgettable dinners we were on the road to France.

The trip to Narbonne took about two and a half hours of easy driving and lovely scenery. The hotel that I had booked turned out to really be a self-catering place rather than a hotel. The property was made up of several very old buildings that have been completely transformed into modern apartments. Ours was overlooking a private courtyard where we could park the car. It had a living room with a marvelous crystal chandelier, a small kitchenette, a small bedroom and a good sized bathroom with two sinks. All and all it was just fine since we don’t really need any maid service for a three night stay. Narbonne is a lovely town bisected by the Canal de la Robine which runs from the coast, five miles away, to the more famous Canal du Midi at Port-la-Nouvelle. Narbonne is an old city with a huge cathedral that was built in the 1300s. There are lots, I mean lots, of restaurants. Some fancy but most just small mom and pop places - and boy do they know how to cook in Narbonne.  We never had a bad bite or a bad sip and the prices were jaw-droppingly cheap, due in part to the Euro trading at one to one.

For me the best part of the town is the market, Les Halles, in 2022 designated the most beautiful market in France.  It is huge and it is stellar!  Such variety of fresh everything as well as an assortment of little bars and cafes that serve from 6am to 2pm. We have rented an apartment for two weeks in February and I can assure you that I was be at the market daily!  We had a marvelous time in Narbonne with lots and lots of walking along the canal and the small side streets that snake around town leading to quaint little shops and Roman ruins. We are already looking forward to our return.

Perpignan by contrast is more that twice the size of Narbonne and it feels like a big city. It has lovely wide avenues lined with plane trees that were still in full leaf. There is a small man-made non-navigable canal that runs through town and on one side it is lined with lots of small restaurant, cafes and shops, all very lovely.  Our hotel was just perfect in that we had a huge suite with a wraparound balcony on the top floor overlooking a park. We could and did walk to everything and we found the contrast to Narbonne interesting but not compelling enough for us to consider staying there for more than a brief three-day visit. We found two restaurants, one for lunch and one for dinner, that we went to twice each in our three days. The lunch place Le Vauban was a restaurant we had visited for lunch thirty-five years ago on a quick trip through Perpignan. We have never seen wait staff RUN with their food and drink orders; it was positively frantic and amusing.  There were perhaps twenty-five tables indoors and twice that number outdoors and all were filled since the weather was just perfect. The first time we ate there we ordered two Kirs to start and they were perhaps the best Kirs we have ever had - and we have had a few. Just the perfect amount of Cassis and perfectly chilled white wine. We found that the wine in this area of France is well suited to our taste and budget. Almost everywhere a glass of the house wine was three euros and half-liter pitchers were eight. Amazing wine at amazing prices. 

Sometimes little things happen that just make a trip so memorable. On the morning after our lunch at Le Vauban we were taking our morning walk and decided to stop in and have coffee at Vauban. We had a nice chat with the owner whom we had met the day before and we talked about how much running they do, which he said was about eleven kilometers a day. We went up to pay and he said, you can pay this afternoon after lunch. It was like he had known us forever and just accepted the fact that we were good credit risks. After lunch that afternoon we went up to pay at the cashier area and he remembered the coffees and as he gave us the bill said that he was comping our half liter of wine!  Just like that, no reason other then he liked us and we liked him. 

Our dinner favorite was near the hotel and again, a husband/wife enterprise serving some of the best mouthfuls we have ever had in France. Sometimes you love a place and go back only to be disappointed. Not here!  The first night we ate lightly since we were still processing our lovely lunch. They had Cindy’s favorite meal, Foie Gras poêlé, which is quickly seared pieces of duck liver. Normally just one piece but here there were three good sized pieces served with melt in your mouth potatoes dauphinoise. Did I say we ate lightly??  I ordered a simple seared salmon which came covered in grated carrots, red cabbage and some type of radish. It was absolutely fabulous. The next night we spilt a homemade paté which was served with a small salad and pomegranate seeds. Cindy had a special dish of two pieces of fish, salmon and loup, with a fabulous creamy lemon sauce, and I had the chicken tagine which was so fragrant and delicately spiced, so simple and complex at the same time.  It was a lovely way to end our six days in France.

Tomorrow we are off on the cruise for fourteen days and we’ll try to write between meals.  Hasta la vista!  Cindy and Wm

Barcelona or Bust

 

November 13, 2022

We began our four week journey last Wednesday with an Uber to Dulles. I mention this only because our Uber driver was one of the most intelligent and informed people we have met in a while. She and her wife have lived here for several years and she had been working for NSA for three years and commuting from CT - nearly 2 hours each way - until finally finding a local job (in addition to the Uber driving). She knew a lot about the area and she answered a lot of questions we had. Great start to the trip!

Our check-in with United for our trip to Barcelona took about four minutes, smiles and professionalism abounded. Zipped right through security thanks to Clear and TSA√ and in a short time we were in the brand new United Polaris Lounge.  This lounge is more like an international first class lounge than a United Club. It is open only to Polaris passengers, meaning business class on international flights with the Polaris brand. We arrived at about 3 pm and it was relatively empty so we were able to have a nice look around. Very spacious, lots of natural light and views of the runways. A marvelous bar with three really well trained bartenders and great wines, Champagnes, and beers on tap as well as cocktails. All top shelf! There is a restaurant where you can sit and order food and drink as well as a lovely buffet with hot and cold items that were very tasty, well presented and replaced often. By the time we left the lounge for our 5 pm boarding the place was starting to fill and it lost some of its magic as we noticed that most of the people were under 40, poorly dressed and loud.  Nevertheless, a vast improvement for United.

The flight was on a 777 which is most spacious. The downside is that the only seats together are in the center of the plane's 1-2-1 seating arrangement and I hate not having a window. We were therefore condemned to sit apart one behind the other. The flight attendants took our orders for food before takeoff so that they could speed up the service and there were four main courses on offer: fish, chicken, beef and vegetarian. Cindy asked the FA what she would recommend and she said NONE OF THEM!  Everyone within earshot laughed, and her honesty earned her a See’s Lollipop.  She was correct, the food was not very good at all. They did have decent white wine from Spain, Albariño, but apparently only one bottle since when I asked for another glass I was told it was gone and it was replaced by an inferior white. I slept for four hours, and apparently - according to Cindy - through some strong turbulence.  The flight was on time and painless.

We had a five and a half layover in Brussels so we went to their lovely Business lounge where we had the most delicious croissant outside of France. They have little rooms for napping so we availed ourselves of the opportunity for a refreshing rest. The beds are made for one person but we were comfortable head to toe. The room was far too hot and there was no temperature adjustment possible so we only lasted about an hour, but it was better than sitting up. We had a little breakfast and thanks to my scintillating conversation the time pasted quickly for Cindy!!!

The flight to Barcelona was on Brussels Air and was comfortable and quick. They even served a lunch which, as you would expect in Brussels, was excellent and served with real Champagne from normal bottles, not the little ponies. We retrieved our four - yes four - checked bags, grabbed a taxi and we were at the hotel in twenty minutes. It is a new hotel by Hyatt called Sofia and it is a beauty. Check-in was fast and fun, two young and friendly men (Cindy described them as very cute) who handled everything including upgrading us to a much nicer room than I had booked.  We checked the two cruise bags to be picked up the night before the cruise the following week.  Our cruise includes a room at this hotel before Saturday’s departure so I purposely booked the same hotel for our stay upon arrival in Barcelona.  

To be continued….

Malpensa and the Trip Home

 Milan - homeward - June 23-24 2022

There used to be a commercial for a now defunct airline and the tag line was “Getting there is half the fun!”   I now know why they are defunct!

After a lovely breakfast at the hotel in Torino, we packed up the car for the trip to Malpensa Airport. As a brief aside, I must say that Kent is perhaps the world's best loadmaster. We had a medium sized SUV for the trip but they were coming off a cruise and had four good-sized suitcases, a backpack and another small bag.  Cindy and I each had one suitcase and a smaller bag.  Somehow Kent got all of them in the back of the car and still gave me a ‘window’ so that I could see out of the rear view mirror.  We entered our new address into the GPS and headed out following the directions that Nanny (she had a British accent so we called her Nanny) provided. I had guessed it would take us ten to fifteen minutes to get to the toll road to Milan; I guessed incorrectly!  We crossed the Po river six times - how is that even possible?  We were directed though the downtown, near a cemetery, around malls and through neighborhoods, and almost all of the roads were single lane. It was a thirty minute maze and I think I almost burned out the clutch, but finally we found the highway we needed and we were off. 

We had planned to stop at a gas station to fill up and have a coffee and toilet break, but that didn’t happen. All of a sudden we were at the hotel at Malpensa with a half empty tank. We unloaded the luggage, used the toilets, and then Kent, Valley and Cindy went to the room while I got back in the car in search of a gas station, which I found after about fifteen minutes. Filled up the tank with the most expensive fuel we had seen on the trip and dropped off the car at the Avis lot.  Found Cindy, and while Kent and Valley were figuring out their tickets at BA, we had a coffee at a little shop next to the hotel. 

The airport was a zoo! There were lines of hundreds of people trying to purchase train tickets to downtown Milan. All of the US flights seemed to have landed at once and the mostly young Americans were struggling with European efficiency. I stood in line for our coffee and ahead of me where two American couples in their early twenties. There was no concession to language or custom, they just acted like they were at Starbucks in America and in loud voices and in English, shouted out their orders.  I knew then that the vacation was over and we were no longer really in Italy.

We met Kent and Val after they had sorted out their flights and had a quick sandwich and Prosecco before retiring for naps - well, the old folks napped while the kids wandered through the airport. We had adjoining rooms and met in their room for drinks around six. We were staying at the Sheraton right at the airport and I had booked two Executive Rooms with access to an Executive Lounge. The lounge was of course closed so instead they simply told us that everything in the mini-bar was free to us and that we would get a 40% discount and free drink at the restaurant, in addition to a free breakfast the next morning. I had never heard of such a thing but it was most appreciated as we raided the mini-bar for our cocktail hour. Good thing we weren't looking for hard liquor; the only offering was a miniature bottle of vodka.  The half-bottles of Prosecco and wine were nice touches, however.

We were looking forward to our dinner since Cindy and I have eaten well at that restaurant and with a 40% discount it would make the meal that much more enjoyable. Again, it was not to be. Seems the hotel is short staffed and doesn’t have a chef so the menu was extremely limited. Two appetizers, two pastas and a hamburger were the only offerings - in Italy!!  Service was non-existent, food was basic and unappealing and the glasses of wine, when they came, were dull and not nearly cold enough. At one point they served Valley a glass of water in a wine glass!!  Needless to say, it was not the ending we had hoped for but we laughed it off and polished off the rest of the mini-bar before bed.

The trip home was mostly tolerable. I’m told I’ve developed something called patience! There were huge crowds of people traveling since it was the start of the weekend and everyone wants to travel after Covid.  We flew to Paris mid-morning and then had to take the long walk from Domestic to International, which is normally about 30 minutes. Due to the huge volume of travelers it took closer to an hour to get to our terminal. We had about thirty minutes in the lounge and then boarded our flight to IAD. Air France continues to offer an excellent product and our food, wine and service were spectacular. The new business seats offer lots of privacy and space so we were happy campers for the eight and a half hour trip. 

International arrivals at IAD have always been a pain in the butt. You have to depart the plane and walk in a secured area to a People Mover that they have been using since 1965. Then you are driven to the Immigration Hall and dumped into the lines from hell.  We have Global Entry so we were done quickly, but the lines for non-USA and for those without Global Entry were huge. Hundreds and hundreds of people queued up for more than two hours. Of course, if the folks can’t get though Immigration quickly the luggage piles up and it was all over the floor next to the carousels, which were all stopped since they had no place for the luggage to go. Two men tried to clear luggage as fast as possible but it took another thirty minutes for us to get our “priority” bags. Another twenty minutes for a taxi and we were finally off on the home stretch. 

I simply can’t understand how an airport can be run so inefficiently. Immigration knows exactly how many people will be coming and when - they know that before the flights even leave Europe - and yet they are totally unprepared to handle the crowds. What a horrible first impression of the USA to present to visitors. 

Torino, Italy

 June 21-23 2022

Torino was our final city on the grand tour of Italy and we got off on the wrong foot. Our GPS had done a remarkable job of getting us where we wanted to go, not an easy task in Italy with streets that change names three or four times and a maze of little alleyways in the old cities. We had done well getting out of Rapallo and then heading north just before Genoa. The roads weren’t too bad, and it being a Sunday there was very little truck traffic. We are still not sure what happened but as we approached the city we were directed into a tunnel a few miles long and halfway through the tunnel we were told, “You have arrived at your destination on the left.” Well we knew that was wrong so we exited the tunnel and tried again with no luck.  Fortunately Kent had an app that found us and the hotel and he became the first backseat driver to be cherished and appreciated, guiding us right to the front door of the hotel!

The hotel is located in the old Fiat factory built in the early 1900s and once the largest car manufacturing facility in the world. It now contains two hotels, two floors of mall, and two floors of offices for lots of different companies. For those of you who have seen the movie "The Italian Job," you will remember the escape scene involving driving out of the Fiat Building. The top of the five story building still has the track where every Fiat made was tested before going down the spiral ramp to the shipping area, and you can still walk on the ramp.  It is quite a piece of architecture and has been lovingly restored.

Our rooms had 18-foot ceilings with huge windows that allowed lots of light to enter unless you had the electric shades drawn. In a tribute to Fiat, each room has a floor lamp made from the headlight of a Fiat 550, which means they have very heavy transformers at their base.  We arrived at 1:00 pm and our rooms were ready, so we unpacked and then headed across the street to Eataly, a foodies paradise.  It was started in 2007 in an old vermouth factory in an effort to preserve all customs and traditions of Italian cooking. It showcases the best of all the regions of Italy with separate sections for produce, cheese, dried meats, fresh meats, pastas and fish. And oh yes, the entire basement is dedicated to wine.  Each food section also has a small area where you can order food and drink which makes it a delightful place to have lunch. We wandered each section getting ideas for lunch and then enjoyed marvelously prepared fresh food and wine. There was a table across from us with three men who had just finished eating and one of them had gone to the produce section and came back with two pints of fresh cherries, one from the north and the other from the south. They really enjoyed them and they noticed we noticed them so one came over with the box and insisted we all try them, which we did. Then another one came with the other box to share with us. They then wanted to know which was better and of course I told them the ones from the north, which gave them such great pleasure that as they left they gave us the remains of both boxes, which we in turn shared with our servers.  What a delightful experience!

That night we found a little trattoria in a sketchy part of town where we sat outside. It was beastly hot and there was no air but we also had not found anything around us that was open so we ate there and ordered from a chalkboard.  We ate well and cheaply, nothing fancy for sure, but freshly prepared and tasty. We relished getting back to the hotel and their air-conditioned bar where we had a nightcap to cool down before bed.

The next day we took the subway downtown. Our hotel was about three kilometers from the center of the city and the clean, efficient subway got us there quickly. From our stop we navigated - by "we" I mean Kent and Cindy - to the Egyptian Museum, which has the second largest collection in the world.  We spent two hours there and Kent and Valley just loved it and I must say they did a good job with the displays and timelines. We have been to the Cairo Museum so we had seen most of these things before but I was still quite impressed and learned a few new things during the visit.  When we came out the decision was made to head for the large park down at the Po River, with a short stop for refreshments in another stifling hot caffe.  For some reason we all thought it would be a good idea to walk home along the river which was about two and half mile hike. At the time there was shade and a breeze but after the first mile it became too hot, too sunny and the breeze had blown away.  We did see some cool things along the way, huge fountains with jets of water being blow twenty feet into the air. At one point we came across an old medieval castle - the Borgo Medieval - complete with a drawbridge. It was really fantastic and you can see it here.

We finally realized we were not going to make it back by foot so we climbed sixty or so steps up to a hospital, which I thought we were going to need, and over to the Metro where we hopped on for the last leg home. It was now two thirty and we were hungry and thirsty so we stopped in a little place in the mall for cold beer and snacks, both of which were well received and well deserved.  That night we decided we would find someplace in the mall to eat since it was now clearly too hot to eat outside, even after eight, and we did not want to eat in the sterile hotel dining room. We scouted out some possible locations, there were MANY, and decided on a place called RossoPomodoro (red tomato) that featured the food from Naples. We chose wisely. The food really was good, the pizzas made fresh, the  buffalo mozzarella was fresh and their tomatoes were the best we had on the trip. We all ordered different things and shared, in true Italian fashion, and decided that one can eat quite well in an Italian Mall.

For our last night in Torino we decided to eat at a restaurant we spotted from the top of the Fiat  Factory. Unfortunately it was closed so we wandered around looking for something open. We rejected a Greek Taverna, despite the fact that the smells coming from the kitchen were lovely. We happened upon a little place called La Mina and from the windows we could see white linen tablecloths and napkins so we went in. We were greeted by a lovely, petite owner of a certain age who showed us to our table, which wasn’t hard to do since we were the only patrons! We ordered water and house wine and she turned the lights on just for us.  The food and service were stellar and I had one of the finest pastas I’ve ever enjoyed anywhere.  It was a most fitting end to a remarkable trip to Torino.  

Rapallo

 June 15 - 18, 2022

The trip to Rapallo was longer than expected and much less fun than I had hoped. We drove right by our old house in Vicenza and also past Verona and Soave, which was fun for the kids since we had been drinking Soave the night before. We headed south from there and through the fertile farm land of the Po valley, and things were going well until we had to get over the mountains to get to the sea.  It was a series of switchbacks and tunnels, which I hate, coupled with lots of closed lanes and reduced speeds, all of which added forty minutes and more gray hair to the trip. But finally we were in Rapallo and were ushered to our rooms overlooking the harbor. Well, almost! You had to look beyond the construction that was taking place on the promenade to see the water - but hey, we were at the sea. 

We chose Rapallo because it has frequent ferry service to all the places we wanted to go: Cinque Terre, Portofino, La Spezia, and Santa Margherita - and the ferry terminal was just steps from our hotel.  Did I mention construction?  Turns out they are also dredging the harbor and therefore all ferry service has been suspended.  When I made this reservation, and when I reconfirmed it two weeks ago, no mention was made of this "slight" change to ferry service. They also failed to mention that construction was going in the building next to our hotel and also across the street that involved heavy equipment, drills, and pile drivers, but hey - we were on the water!

Rapallo is far more expensive than Bassano, by lots. No more three-Euro Proseccos and eight-Euro plates of pasta. But hey, we were on the water.  We wandered the town, which is really quite lovely, especially the old town off the waterfront.  We did find an affordable place to eat that night but the service was, shall we say, less than social. Rapallo is a tourist town, plain and simple. Tourists from all over Italy as well as the rest of Europe flock there and therefore the locals are willing to accept their money but they do not extend themselves as they had in Bassano and Ravenna. 

Kent had done some re-con on things to do in Rapallo and suggested we take the funicular up to a church some 600 meters above in only nine minutes, quite the thrilling ride with spectacular views of the harbor and city below. It seems that some shepherd - they are always shepherds - was visited by the Virgin Mary in 1548 and was told to build a church in her name at this site. And build it they did.  It is huge, ornately decorated, and sparsely attended - for obvious reasons, namely, you can’t get there from most places!  We wandered the grounds and noted that there were two B&Bs as well as three cafés to cater to the needs of the pilgrims, all of whom must be wealthy given the price of things.

On the second day we had planned to visit Cinque Terre, and with no ferry service we decided to take the train to the first stop, Monterossa. To avoid last minute problems with tickets, I wandered over to the station early while Cindy ran, intent on getting everything squared away for our 10:20 train. The ticket office was a zoo and I stood in a line that was well outside the actual office for twenty-five minutes. When I got to the head of the line and ordered four tickets I was told there was a rolling strike that had been called by the union so while we might be able to get to Monterossa by train, we certainly would not get back!!  But hey, did I mention we were on the water?

We regrouped at breakfast and made an alternate plan for the day and decided to walk to Santa Margherita.  No one is quite sure why, but we did. It was a fifty minute walk mostly up lots of steps and then down to the sea where you can walk a little by the water and then follow the road into town. The road is dotted with five and six star hotels, huge monsters of elegance and grace catering to those whose cars cost more than most homes. The city itself is a yawn if you don’t like beaches, which we don’t, but we did find a place for some cold water and wine. The kids continued on to Portofino while we opted to walk back to the hotel for a nap.

That night on the recommendation of the hotel we dined at a local place called Elite, our first of three dinners there!  Again, rules are made to be broken and this place had it all:  wonderful staff, great fresh food and house wine in liter carafes. As we reviewed our day, the kids really loved their visit to Portofino and convinced us to go with them the next day - but this time by bus, which is what we did, as did several thousand other people. There were two huge cruise ships off-loading many guests at the port at the same time that buses were unloading tourists at the top of the town. It was a zoo, but a very beautiful one and we were happy to have visited and happier still to hop on the bus home. We had to change buses in Santa Margherita so we used that stop for a quick lunch of sandwiches and wine.

A word about food and wine in Italy. You will note that I’m referencing our frequent stops for refreshments, usually Prosecco. Prosecco is a sparkling white wine that is almost always served ice cold. It only has 11% alcohol as compared to 12.5% for most French sparklers. This means that it is consumed at breakfast, lunch and dinner and all other times between meals. Many times you will have Prosecco with the entire meal, not just for an aperitivo. Most Italians do not eat large lunches, preferring to have sandwiches of all shapes, fillings and breads, depending upon where you are in Italy. Salads are also becoming quite fashionable and tasty.  Dinner usually is served in restaurants between eight and ten at night, sometimes later in the warmer climates. These past two weeks have been unusually warm for Italy, challenging AC units (where available) and using lots of fans to blow the hot air around.

Our last evening at Elite was again lovely - we walked in and were treated like old friends and given our ‘usual table’ and immediately served a liter of wine and a liter of water.  The food continued to be fresh and delicious - and for Rapallo, affordable.  The next day we were off to Torino…..

Bassano del Grappa

 June 12 - 15, 2022

The ride to Bassano del Grappa was without incident, which is high praise for summer travel in Italy. We followed the shore road up towards Venice before heading northwest towards Padova. The only traffic we hit was just before entering Bassano but it was short-lived and gave us a chance to enjoy looking at some of the really small villages in the area.  We stayed at a hotel Cindy and I both enjoy, one that is outside of the walled city but only a ten minute walk to all the action, thus we had a quiet room away from all the tourists. 

I had booked a reservation at a restaurant we knew since Sunday lunches in Italy can fill up a all the good places. Strangely they asked if I wanted a Superior table or Inferior table, not knowing the difference I opted for Superior.  Upon entering it became clear that the Superior tables were three steps up from the entry while the others were in the lower restaurant. They were about to seat us at a table next to a large family group with lots of young kids who even at this early stage of lunch were running around like banshees.  I immediately told them to seat us downstairs, which turned out to be a great decision.  

The food and wine were divine and gave us lots of time to catch up with Valley and Kent, their cruise news, and family updates.  The service in the restaurant was really professional and it was a great way to start our time together.  We took a long walk after lunch to give them an orientation to the old town, which is still one of the most beautiful in Italy.  There are three major piazzas that spill into one another and then small streets that run off of the piazzas, some heading to the river, others crisscrossing the walled city. There was virtually no traffic and lots of folks out for a stroll and afternoon coffee. It felt like home again since we had lived only about forty minutes away back in the early 1980s and used to visit often.

The hotel concierge had recommended a restaurant called Bella Capri for dinner and since there weren't a lot of options on a Sunday night we decided to try it.  Any fears we had that it was too touristic or that it cut corners on the food since it was in such an obvious location for vacationers were dashed.  The food was excellent and so was the service - they put us way in the back of the hotel near the kitchen which was actually perfect.  The kitchen door would swing open and we could smile at the chef quite often.  We ordered several dishes to share family style, including mussels and cuttlefish and grilled vegetables to start, then penne with shrimp and spaghetti vongole and pizza.  My but it was delicious.

The next day I was suckered into visiting two - count them, two different museums - all in the same day!  The first one was in an old medieval estate called Palazzo Sturm set above the River Brenta. There were 70 rooms in the villa which was owned by a family that controlled the printing business in all of Italy and in huge chunks of Europe.  They printed everything from books to wallpaper, lithographs to graphic novels. There is only so much one can see and appreciate about setting type and producing paper and I mentally checked out after fifteen minutes. In the same building was the museum of ceramics, which did have some interest to me and some of the examples were just drop dead beautiful, as were the rooms and halls where they were displayed.  After an hour or so of this I was rather proud of the fact that I had done two museums and suggested we go have a glass of Prosecco, only to be told that this was ONE museum and we had to walk across town for the other.  Told you I was suckered!

The second museum was in a former Franciscan Monastery with a lovely flowered courtyard. It was huge with the second floor having been a large church and that is where most of the large paintings were displayed.  The ground floor had displays on the history of the city as well as some relics and other church related items. After about forty minutes I was punch drunk on culture and started renaming the pictures. I must say that some of my titles were quite wonderful and at one point I thought Val was going to wet her pants laughing. It is a good thing we were the only people in the museum since the laughter rang out for the rest of our visit.

We made a beeline to a beer hall only to discover that it was closed, as were most other places since Monday is a day of rest for the hospitality business.  We did find a corner bar with a lovely hostess and proceeded to have some ice cold Prosecco and bottles of water. We decided to have gelato for lunch since it had gotten late and we didn’t want to go looking for a restaurant (and also didn't want to spoil dinner). Right next to us was a gelateria turning out some darn good looking ice cream so we all had a cone and then walked back to the hotel for well deserved naps.

After a long post-nap walk we had aperitivi in one of the squares and people-watched for a hour or so and then went back to Bella Capri for dinner.  Yes, back to the same restaurant we had dined in the night before and would dine in the next day. Sometimes you just have to break  rules and one of ours is not to dine in the same place twice since there is so much to discover and so little time, but there are exceptions!  We had eaten quite well the night before and the service was impeccable as was the ice cold house white wine at only 10 euros per liter. It was another fun filled, food filled, wine filled evening of laughter and story telling.

Our last day in Bassano was highlighted by a luncheon with one of Cindy’s colleagues from Moscow. Patricia taught French and became a good friend and dining companion during our year in Russia back in 2010-11. She is married to a retired US Army officer who used to fly helicopters and was stationed at the same base where I used to teach in Vicenza Italy. We had never met him but they own a home near Bassano so Cindy contacted Patricia and we arranged to meet. They had a friend staying with them and she came to lunch also at this very local pizza joint near the hotel. You never know how these things are going to work out but from the minute we saw them it was like we had all been old friends for many years. James and I ended up talking about everything under the sun while their friend Gracie talked with Kent and Valley about a range of topics from teaching to walking the Appalachian Trail. Cindy and Patricia had a grand time catching up and remember old friends, and the food and wine were marvelous.  It was a wonderful three-hour luncheon with the requisite "we must do this again soon" parting comment.  I for one hope we do!

The next day we were off to Rapallo…….

Ravenna

 Thursday June 9 2022

We departed the Milan airport in our rental car heading for Ravenna, which turned out to be a longer trip than we anticipated. It is summer in Italy and road construction is everywhere so three lanes become two and two become one. Then the rains start and traffic is further slowed - but the worst is the dreaded electronic signs that announce CODA, meaning traffic jam - and that usually meant traffic was actually stopped. We finally arrived, exhausted, and could not find the hotel. We were on little one-way streets in the middle of Ravenna so we stopped and Cindy ran into a cafe to get directions which turned out to be wrong, and then it started raining!  I found a semi-legal place to park, got out and checked every door on the street where our hotel was supposed to be located.  Ten minutes later and soaking wet, I found the hotel which we had passed in the car TWICE!  Not very good signage in Italy. We got to our room and then I had to go park the car in a lot that was five minutes from the hotel.  The rain had stopped and we were only too happy to start exploring the city ... and even though we had been here before, we recognized nothing!

We started, as we usually do, at a cafe/bar - the same one where Cindy had stopped for directions. It was only a two minute walk to the hotel but he had given rather bad advice. Anyway, it was a mom/son little place habituated by locals, which for us is a good sign that the prices will be fair. We had two glasses of Prosecco and the son provided us with a list of good local restaurants. Ravenna is a compact little city so walking around looking at menus was rather easy. We had been to Ravenna off a cruise ship years before and had happened on a restaurant that we really enjoyed, more-so when our ship's senior staff, all Italian, came for lunch and saw us and gave us the thumbs up. We found this little gem again without too much difficulty but there are times when you really can’t go back again. The food was very good, but the servers were sullen and downright grouchy. Our overweight waitress must have been Albanian and must have had foot issues, as in they hurt and she didn’t want to walk on them. She spent more time hiding than serving and more than once we had to flag someone else down to order wine, water or more food.  Very disappointing. 

The next day was a bit cool and rainy but we nonetheless kept to our routine of Cindy running and me exploring until we met for coffee at OUR bar and compared notes.  We cleaned up in the room and then headed out for adventure. Our first order of business was to find the train station since that is where we were to meet Kent and Valley on Sunday morning. For some reason, and that is a euphemism for “William done wrong," we ended up taking forty minutes to get there and only twelve to return! It did provide us with an excellent opportunity to see places in Ravenna that we would have never, and should never, have seen!  

The city is most noted for the fabulous mosaics in some of their older churches and public buildings. We had seen them years ago and thought it would be fun to see them again. However, they have become so popular that you have to book your visit hours ahead of time and we just couldn’t muster the energy to pre-plan.  So in true Embee fashion, we walked by the sights and lines of people and just viewed the exterior and read the detailed plaques, many with lovely photos so we felt like we were inside.  Dinner that night was another disappointing experience. We sat outside but right on the curb of a rather busy road. The service was really slow and not attentive - we didn't ask the guy if his feet hurt but that may have been the case! The food was okay, some dishes really good, others really not so good but the attitude of the server was once again marginal at best.  We walked home and enjoyed glasses of Vecchia Romagna, my favorite Italian brandy, in our room before bed.

Saturday was fun with lots of walking and lots of good experiences with servers. We had a lunch at a cavernous restaurant filled with Italian tour groups, families, and locals. Our waiter was a comedian and very attentive, and the food was delicious and complemented by carafes of local wine.  We walked some more before our nap and then walked again before aperitivos at our local. We had made a reservation at a restaurant called Bella Venezia and from the moment we arrived we were made to feel like family. It was filled with locals all of whom seemed to know one another and also the staff of the restaurant. The food was the best we had had on the trip and we were delighted to have that as our final memory of Ravenna.

The next morning we packed up and loaded the car and headed for the train station just as Kent and Valley arrived from their cruise. We somehow got all of their luggage packed in with ours and we were off on our new adventure in Bassano del Grappa.

Milan

 We arrived in Milan on the 7th of June in advance of meeting daughter Valley and her husband Kent who would be arriving in Ravenna on the 12th after a seven-day cruise. It is Valley’s 50th and we thought it would be fun to meet them and take them to some of our old haunts in Italy. At the last minute Air France told us that instead of taking us to Malpensa Airport they would be dropping us off in Linate Airport, which is actually much closer to Milan. The lines for the taxis were extremely long and slow moving and I noticed there was a bus going to the central train station. Since I knew that our hotel was only a few blocks from there I suggested to Cindy that we take the bus!  She of course thought I was joking, but happily agreed. It cost a fraction of a taxi and it was a fun ride into the city.  We arrived at the station, got directions to the hotel and walked there in under ten minutes. It was a relatively modern Hilton, very convenient and comfortable, and they upgraded us to a suite which had access to an executive lounge for drinks and snacks so it all worked out well.  I’m trying to use as many points with various hotels as possible and this was an excellent way to start. 

We had two days in Milan before picking up the rental car at Malpensa; Avis would not allow us to pick it up in downtown Milan without a huge increase in price. On our full day in Milan we decided it would be fun and interesting to take the Hop On /Hop Off tour bus. We have had some that were great (Lisbon, Brussels) and others not so much, but this one was horrid!  After purchasing tickets on the bus, we were told that there might be route diversions and lots of traffic due to Design Week in Milan. We had noticed lots of fashionistas in the hotel, all of whom were taking part in some aspect of Design Week.  The traffic was really bad; they totally missed some of the places we wanted to go and the commentary was always 30 to 40 seconds behind where the bus was, so we were constantly looking back to see what we had missed. No fun at all!

What was fun however was breakfast at the Hilton. We are normally not big on breakfast, but this was the biggest and best spread we had ever seen. The freshest fruits, orange juice made fresh to order, a huge wheel of Parmesan cheese where you just dug out pieces, among other treats. There was an egg section with two attendants making eggs to order and at the other end there was a station for pancakes, waffles, etc. In between were lots and lots of cold meats, many of which I had never seen, and a carbo-rich counter with breads, cakes, cookies, pastries, well you get the picture. Needless to say we did not eat lunch. 

The next day we walked back to the train station and boarded our train to Malpensa airport. I had wandered over there earlier while Cindy was running and purchased two tickets so as to avoid any confusion just before the train’s departure. That worked well and after many stops along the way we were back at the airport.  When I arrived at the Avis desk there were huge lines of people because a good number of flights had been cancelled and folks were trying to get out of Milan any way they could. There was a board with my name on it telling me to go to desk one, the only desk without a long line, in fact I didn’t think anyone was there.  But sure enough a young girl greeted me, asked my name and said, "oh William we have been expecting you."  A quick glance at my license and she handed me my key and wrote where to find the car and I was out of there in under five minutes. Well you know that things aren’t really that easy in Italy!  Turns out she gave me the wrong location for the car and the key had the wrong color of the car so we were rather confounded, especially since no car responded to the lock/unlock buttons.  I happened to find an Avis garage attendant just before he closed his office for lunch and he told me the car was in another garage, a short walk but we would never have found it had we not been re-directed.  

And we’re off…..   

Porthole to Penthouse

 After living in Europe for four years we decided to take a cruise to the States instead of flying.  We had never been on a cruise and Cunard was offering what they called the Golden Ticket, a deeply discounted fare for those with military ID’s which we had by virtue of our teaching for the military. You were guaranteed an outside cabin which would be assigned when you checked in at Southampton.

We flew to London, took a bus to Southampton docks and found our way to the QE2, the only ship in port that day.  We were struck by the size of this ship and very excited to be taking a six day crossing. I had been on a cruise ship before as a child visit an aunt who was sailing from New York on a world cruise. We had been invited to her Bon Voyage Party and we were smartly dressed and sparking clean. I didn’t get to see the ship from a distance but remember getting on the vessel and being amazed that there were elevators on a ship. Her cabin had a sitting room and there were servers dispensing Champagne and soft drinks and canapés (didn’t know what they were then but they were tasty). I do remember them saying “All ashore going ashore” and the party was over!  We stood on the dock with streamers to throw as the ship slipped out of her dock. With that memory fresh in my mind, we were shown to our cabin on the QE2.

The first thing I noticed was that we did NOT have a sitting room adjacent to our bedroom. What we had was a room that looked more like a couchette on a train. Two beds in an L shape, a small table and two small chairs and a very small bathroom. The only way we knew we had an outside cabin was by going over to the small porthole and looking out at the water, which was only a few feet down. There was enough closet space for our formal and regular clothes and soon we were out and about in the public areas. I was amazed at the grand staircases, library, bars and restaurants, all Art Deco and polished brass. I even marveled once again at the elevators, grand old wooden masterpieces with lots of carved detail.

In those days you dressed for dinner every night, some men wore tuxedos to every dinner but most wore suits and ties and the women were simply elegant.  There were two seatings in the main dining room; we chose the late seating at 8:30 and we were shown to the table that we would have for the entire cruise. It was a table for six and the other guests were already there when we arrived that first evening (come to think of it, we arrived last every evening). We were by far the youngest couple!  Introductions were made and menus presented. The eldest couple was from North Carolina, lovely folks who had interesting stories and seemed interested in us. The other couple was from New York City, not so nice. The woman would order appetizers, eat half and send it back and order another. She did this with every course at every dinner, a very nasty piece of work and they showed no interest in anyone else at the table. I remember the food was glorious and so many choices and the wines were available by the glass or bottle at reasonable prices. After dinner we found the grand ballroom and danced for a few hours before hitting the narrow beds for a much deserved rest. 

The next day Cindy said I was like a caged tiger; I just kept moving all around the ship to see where things were and to experience everything. By day three I had settled into a routine. I would wake up just in time for the last serving at breakfast, order a lamb chop and roasted tomato, go back to bed for awhile, walk the decks until a pre-lunch cocktail, eat lunch, walk, sleep on a deck chair until tea was served, walk, dress for dinner, cocktails, dinner, dancing, repeat for four more days. In those days a crossing was only six days but shortly thereafter they made the crossing seven days, which is far more civil.

On the last evening of the cruise the older couple from North Carolina invited us to their cabin for a drink. We didn’t thing they drank since they never ordered anything at dinner. Turns out they had a full bar in their cabin and we had a lovely pre-dinner cocktail party. We were only four for dinner that night. Turns out on the last night of the cruise you would give envelopes of money to your waitstaff and the New Yorkers, who taxed the staff to the max, ate in their room to avoid tipping!  When we returned to our cabin after dancing all night there was a rather thick envelope under our door. It was our bar bill!! It was to become a standard feature of our cruising, the bar bill was always larger than the price of the cruise.

So here we are twenty-eight cruises later sitting in a Penthouse Suite on the Queen Elizabeth from Southampton to Ft. Lauderdale. We have sailed on a variety of ships in a variety of locations and almost always had a marvelous time since it is the one time we can dance every night.  We discovered all-inclusive cruises in 2004 and that has been the bulk of our cruises since then. It is so freeing to have paid everything upfront and not have to deal with signing for drinks or special dinners and never worrying about what might be slipped under our door on the last night of the cruise.

Bits and Bobs

 The Queen Elizabeth was launched in 2010, just before many major changes to technology.  There isn’t a single USB port to be found on the ship. If you remembered to bring your 2010 Apple iPOD, you would be able to place it in the Bose Speaker - however that is the only device that fits! We have a Penthouse Suite and it is so poorly designed that much of the space is wasted. While I enjoy physical contact with Cindy whenever I can get it, it isn’t as much fun when we are trying to get dressed and we have to be in the same place at the same time. As Cindy always says whomever designs cabins or hotel rooms should be forced to live in that space for a week, then they can start over and get it right. We have a very large balcony with two cushioned chaise lounges but no chairs or table. We have ample room for the additional furniture - and other balconies have them - but the designers must have thought lounging was more important than eating or drinking on the balcony.

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The food for the most part is meh! The Queen’s Grill is supposed to be the epitome of fine dining on the high seas, order what you want, when you want it and no request is too over the top. And yet it still seems to come out the same kitchen as the main restaurants. On five occasions we have had to send food back or simply not eat it. For example, you would think that the Brits could do venison well, but mine, despite my request for rare came out over cooked and tough. The maitre’d came to our table on the first night to see if we had any allergies or requests for food such as salt free or no oil, etc. We said we just didn’t want any raw onions on any of our dishes, a request we make on every cruise. Five times in four days we have either had to scrape off the onion or return the dish for another. Now I know these are first world problems, but when you are willing to pay the going rate for a service, you have every right to expect what was promised.

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Being sick on a holiday is never any fun, especially when you are cruising and they are checking for Covid. Cindy developed a cough on the second day in Southampton. Cindy is SUPER cautious about Covid and how she could get the flu or a cold amazed us, but she did and therefore a few days later so did I. We were very relieved to find out that we did not have Covid after our tests came back from the cruise test site but we were hacking and coughing and just generally miserable. We skipped dinner on the third night since I had a temp of 102.6.  At six pm I put on a long sleeved tee, sweatpants, heavy wool socks and I drank a lot of water with the meds that Dr. Emmans provided. I pulled the covers up to my chin and started what in my family is called the Byxbee Sweat Tent. It starts with shivering like you are possessed and then the sweat starts and by eleven pm my pillow was soaked and I had to get up and change into dry clothes. Cindy administered more meds and I was out for the count for eight hours with just one more interruption for a change of clothes. The next morning the fever had broken and I was down to 99.8. Cindy collected all my damp clothes from overnight, had me take off the latest ones, put them all in a basket and did laundry at 7:30 in the morning!  No greater love!  We are both still weak, we cough far less and my fever is gone.  Yesterday we had to be tested again for Covid and we would hear announcements from staff asking certain people to return to their rooms and call the Purser, which meant they had tested positive and were going to be placed in quarantine.  Now that would have been a real bummer.

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I was sitting in a lounge enjoying an ice cold Prosecco when I overheard a conversation between a woman from New Jersey and a husband and wife from England. It was truly amazing to hear these folks speaking over one another to make sure they established who had travelled more!  From what I heard they were all very well traveled but the ferocity of the conversation indicated that there was some real competition, especially on the part of the woman from Jersey.  What was really interesting is how they all agreed that there is a lot of funny food around the world. Jersey still can’t get over having eaten reindeer in Norway since she thought it was filet mignon and really didn’t like it once she knew it was reindeer. She also can’t understand people that eat garlic, escargot, frogs’ legs and other organs that they eat in France.  So well traveled and yet so isolated.

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Another incident marred our excellent cruising plans:  As many of you know, we cruise to dance.  Well, wouldn’t you know, on the very first evening we were on the dance floor and I twirled Cindy and she kept twirling right down to the floor.  Her left wrist/ forearm was badly bruised so we hustled back to our cabin and I iced it for her and put her feet up and calmed her down because she went into shock for a bit. Needless to say, no dancing for a few days!

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Never come between a Brit and his/her cream tea!  Cream Tea is served every day at 3pm sharp. You can have it all over the ship but the prime venue is the Queen’s Room which fills up at 2:45. It would fill up sooner except for the concerts that are scheduled there until 2:30 and they need a few minutes to set up. They have to place notices in the daily schedule saying that you can’t save seats. It appears that groups would leave totes, hats, bags, etc. on chairs so as to “reserve” them for tea.  This “saving space” thing spills out into other areas and venues all over the ship. There are no fewer than twelve quiz events during the day, and sometimes hours before they begin the room is filled with those wanting the best tables, which all seem the same to us.  We enjoy a morning espresso in the Garden Lounge and usually get there by 9 am and it is empty.  Yesterday we arrived at 10:00 and could not find a place to sit since the first quiz of the morning was getting started at 10:15!

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Which brings me to another quirk about this ship. Most of the food is free so mealtimes are usually quite busy. However if you want a special hot beverage like espresso, lattes, etc. there is a charge. Places like the Garden Lounge serve excellent coffees and special teas but 95% of everyone seating there orders nothing, many opting to bring their own water from their cabin.  Bars are not particularly crowded since drinks cost extra. Due to Covid you can no longer sit at any of the bars so you have to find a chair and wait to be served, which can be awhile even without crowds.

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The weather continues to be dreadful. Cold, rainy, grey, not at all like our crossing when we took the southern route.  It is starting to take a toll on the passengers who continue to wear shorts and tee shirts from morning to night since they thought they were going on a warm weather cruise. All of the outside decks have been closed despite the promenade deck being undercover. Today when Cindy asked why she was told it was too windy. When she told them there was no wind today, just fog, they said they would pass that information on! Everything is still closed!

Last Days in Southampton

 The final two days in Southampton were fraught with mixed emotions. On the one hand we were looking forward to getting onto the ship and head home. On the other was anxiety about testing positive for covid.  The chance of being denied boarding was quite stressful, especially since Cindy had developed a horrible cough and a chest filled with mucous.  We were reasonably sure it was just a bad cold but in the time of covid you second guess yourself.  We visited a Boots pharmacy and got everything we thought we would need to fight the cold and congestion, wanting to make sure she wasn’t coughing while being tested.  

Our friend Robert, with whom we have sailed twice on Silversea and who lives just outside of London, made arrangements to pick us up on Sunday to take us to a swank country inn deep in the New Forest, which is the oldest forest in England.  Chewton Glen is an old, old manor house that has a magnificent restaurant.  The food and drink were as elegant as the surroundings and we had a wonderful time catching up with Robert and planning future cruises.

We got home in time for Cindy to have a little rest and then went for a short walk. We had a sandwich in the hotel restaurant since we were still full from lunch and made it a short night.  Cindy had a horrible time trying to sleep and was coughing uncontrollably for much of the night. We got more drugs when the pharmacy opened the next morning and began the process of packing up and moving to the Queen Elizabeth which we could see across the harbor from our window.

Since we are in luxe accommodations we were pleased to see that we had an embarkation time of noon, long before most could check in.  We had thought there would be a separate area for Queen’s Grill passengers to expedite our boarding, nothing could have been further from the truth! The ship holds about 2092 passengers and two thirds of them were already lined up for our covid test. It took 90 minutes to get to the testing tent and a further forty minutes to get the test and wait for the results. It was the most disorganized process you can imagine made more maddening by the fact that everyone was so close together. We finally were told that we test negative for covid; how can two negative be so positive?!  We were greatly relieved to be cleared to get on the ship. Had one or both of us tested positive it would have been a fabulously expensive trip home.

Once on board I was standing on the balcony and noticed a forklift with a huge metal basket taking luggage off the ship. We were told that forty passengers tested positive and they were denied boarding and had to wait for three hours retrieve their luggage!  Yep, they load all the luggage before anyone is tested! Everyone felt horrible for these people but everyone was warned about the consequences of a positive test.

We dumped our luggage and I ran to the Queen’s Grill which was closing in twenty minutes. Cindy, bless her pea picking heart, stayed back to get a nine-day load of laundry started. By the time she arrived at the table I had a cold glass of Prosecco waiting as a reward for her efforts.

We had a lovely dinner at 8:30 and repaired to the ballroom for our first dance of the trip, convinced that all the bad stuff was behind us and smooth sailing lay ahead.  When the Embees plan, God laughs. Somehow on our second dance I was twirling Cindy and her hand slipped out of mine and she was down on the floor and hurt her wrist quite badly. We went to our room but I first got a big bucket of ice and we iced her wrist for an hour. More meds, for the cold and now for the pain and she was finally able to sleep for the night.  It is ironic that we should have a dancing accident on the first day of the cruise. Since before the pandemic we have been dancing almost every night for ten minutes before cocktails and never had an issue. 

 Today we are staying in the suite and tomorrow in Vigo Spain I’ll get Cindy more meds and ace bandages.

British Style-NOT

 For family only - I decided this was too snarky otherwise!

The last real British Style was in the mid-Sixties when Carnaby Street held fashion sense over the world.  Today, not so much. In our three days here in Southampton we have seen some pretty hideously dressed Brits. Perhaps they are all dressing down for the long holiday weekend, but methinks this is a permanent mindset of style. In a restaurant last night we saw the complete mix of styles.  Overweight men wearing shorts, sandals with socks, and shirts that perhaps fit them five years ago. There was a trio of young women that were actually dressed up but still looked like five-dollar hookers in heels. One of them, the largest, had on what I can only call a peek-a-boo dress whose sides were cut out to revel her love-handles and her ample bosom was spilling out of the low-cut top. It was so distracting that you could almost miss the tattoos that seemed to be everywhere on her torso.  The three of them walked in as though they were teenagers wearing heels for the first time. 

There seems to be no end to the concept of dressing for comfort, which when done well is a great idea. However we have surmised that since Brexit took place it is impossible for the Brits to import mirrors thus accounting for how they leave their homes looking like either slobs, tramps or wannabe porn stars.

The only time we saw any real sense of style was last night as we returned to our hotel. We could not help but notice the two women outside the hotel waiting for a taxi. They were impeccably dressed in beautifully tailored dresses with matching bags and shoes, perfectly coiffed and makeup that was elegant. Their posture was perfect and they actually looked comfortable and natural in their heels. It wasn’t until we were a bit closer and heard them talking that we realized they were transvestites!  I think that sums things up nicely!

A Tale of Two Cities

 Our time in Nice was far too short but long enough for us to reconnect with some friends and discover that despite your best efforts, you can still eat poorly in France.  Arriving late in Nice we postponed unpacking and headed directly to our favorite Brassiere to greet the owners whom we have known since they bought the place ten years ago. It was a lovely reunion cut short by closing time, which for them is 8 pm. 

Exhausted and hungry after our long day of flying we roamed the 'hood looking for a place to eat and ended up in an Italian restaurant we have frequented on previous visits. (Italian restaurants and cafes are everywhere in Nice due to the fact that Italy is a short drive up the coast.) Our shared salad was divine and simple, fresh avocado, fresh tomato and arugula, dressed lightly so that the vegetables spoke for themselves.  Our next course was an Alsatian Tarte Flambé, which is a simple pizza crust topped with caramelized onions, lardons (bacon chunks), and crême fraîche. Unfortunately, it was not served piping hot and suffered from this omission. However the wine was cold and crisp and we carried on. 

After a deep and comfortable sleep we hit the pavement the next morning, Cindy running and me walking along the Promenade. The sea was deep blue and you could not tell where it started and the sky ended, a totally marvelous way to start our brief holiday in Nice. We had breakfast on our balcony before taking another long walk along the coast, ending at a favorite bakery where we purchased a chicken and cheese sandwich to eat on the balcony before our nap. 

That night we met Cindy’s tutor with whom she has been studying French for many months via FaceTime. She is a charming young women who we had met briefly last November. We met in another Italian restaurant close to her office and had a delightful dinner conversation, mostly in French, some bits of Italian and once in awhile they would throw me an English bone. While we loved the evening we didn’t think that the food was as good as we remembered. They were still serving their winter menu and it was OLD!  So chalk up two dinners that were not up to snuff.

Wednesday was another late morning of walking and running followed by a light breakfast on the terrace of the hotel overlooking the sea. We then went on a three hour walk through sculpture gardens, all around the old port, and back along the coast. Walking in Nice is just magnificent, not only along the Promenade but also through the regular streets and gardens. We were whipped but hungry so we stopped for a drink at this magnificent old restaurant, Le Grand Café de France.  All art deco, very stylish, and we were smartly attended by a waiter in a perfectly tailored black suit. He convinced us to stay for lunch on the second floor terrace which was away from the noise and hustle of the main pedestrian street. Cindy ordered well (delicious gravlax), but I ordered poorly and ended up having the worst mussels ever.  I only ate a few of them since they were old and smelly but the waitress didn’t seem to care a bit. We departed with disappointment!

Our hotel had offered us a rather large credit from an incident during a previous stay so we decided to have our last meal for this visit at their rather well regarded restaurant. Cindy’s meal was beautiful to look at and her accompanying vegetables were worthy of praise but her tuna was overcooked to the point of being impossible to eat. My lamb was heavenly and we ended up sharing it so that Cindy had something to eat; it also should be noted that my vegetables were stellar. The waitress finally came over and was distressed that the fish was bad and offered a replacement, but we were done with dinner and instead accepted her offer of desserts, which were decadently delicious.

We were not looking forward to our four days in Southampton for lots of reasons, not the least was the well deserved reputation for utter indifference to cuisine.  I'm happy to report that we were dead wrong and we've had some of the best food in recent memory right here in jolly old England.  The first night was tried a Spanish tapas restaurant that is apparently keeping the garlic trade afloat - every mouthful included cooked or raw garlic and every mouthful was delicious.  The pan-fried eggplant with a drizzle of honey was the winner with the octopus Gallego (steamed with potatoes) a close second.  We decided we needed a little bread and that turned out to be lightly grilled and swimming in oil and garlic.  Lip-smacking good!

On the way back to the hotel we stopped at an Italian restaurant to reserve for the next night - it's a bank holiday here in England and the restaurants were full in the evenings - and that meal was also wonderful.  Poached scallops on top of peas and chopped bacon; asparagus soup; hake on a bed of tortelloni; and a whole plaice served on sweet red peppers and broccolini. I am usually not willing to tackle a whole fish given that bones are likely to appear (in my mouth) but this one was worth it.  And of course we had dessert ... once we get going we don't stop ... lemon panna cotta with blueberries.  The real pièce de resistance was stopping at the bar for a small Italian brandy before leaving ... they had my favorite Vecchia Romagna and we each got one.  Unfortunately Italian traditions do not extend to the bar and we got the tiniest little slurp of brandy you can imagine - for 12 pounds 50!  That's about $16, so our nightcap for two came to $32.  Had it been a decent amount it wouldn't have been so shocking.  

The restaurants in both cities had one thing in common:  They were not loud and you could have a normal conversation across the table. That changed last night!  Since it is a long holiday there are tons of tourists in town and all the restaurants were booked last night.  We finally found a Turkish restaurant that reserved a table for us at 7:30. Upon arrival the first thing we noticed was the NOISE.  The space was cavernous and completely filled with loud, loud, loud people, all competing with the DJ who was blasting tunes from huge speakers around the room. There were clumps of tables of bachelor and bachelorette parties, usually eight or more at a table and all of them stinking drunk and shouting at the tops of their voices. At the end of the meal it took us awhile to get our normal hearing back; it was that loud! But the food was good. 

One more day in Southampton and then onto the Queen Elisabeth tomorrow (Monday) at noon.  Can't wait.  

Best to all, Cindy and Wm