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I have always loved window shopping in Paris.  You can find streets in every neighborhood lined with small boutiques that are so attractive that it is a joy to wander (which I love to do–Rick not so much!) and just look, or to venture inside where you are always met with a lilting “Bonjour!” Just looking is welcomed.

Most shops are uncluttered and not crowded with racks of clothes in every size.  Usually one or two sizes of each style are out, and you just need to ask, “Avez-vous autres tailles?” The shopkeeper will then look you over, decide what size you probably need, and go to the back or the basement to find it.

Since we are heading directly back to the States from Paris, I am breaking my two-year rule of not buying anything unless it replaces something else already my little suitcase.  (I even bought a second suitcase to hold my purchases!)  I connected with a young stylist through Airbnb, and she took me out shopping for a whole afternoon.  She asked me lots of questions before we met to determine my goals, budget, size and style.  It was so great to be guided toward shops and items that I liked.  I had my best luck at the atelier of a young designer, Koshka Mashka, where the designer herself met us and helped me to find some treasures.

And on this trip, I also purchased a pair of very fashionable boots.  Can’t wait to wear them!

Paris has several big department stores, among them Galeries Lafayette, which is worth a visit if only to gape at the ceiling!

The main floor is usually crowded with tourists, especially young Asian women who will wait in line (!) to get into the Gucci handbag boutique  or the Jimmy Choo shoe section.  But if you need a specific cosmetic or a bra in your size, they have it all!

As I wandershop ( I this this is a better description of what I do…), I love coming upon tiny shops that only sell one thing, like tassels, but have every size and color that you can imagine.

And then there are the Vides Grenier! Literally translated, this means ’empty attic,’ but these are the flea markets of Paris.  Especially in the Spring and Fall, these occur regularly in every neighborhood, and include furniture-some of it kind of careworn-

and odd things like drawer knobs

and all the silver flatware that their kids don’t want…

but I have fun looking and wandering through these markets.  I don’t buy much, but I was happy to find this old wrist watch for 10€.  I got a new battery for it and viola!  A souvenir of Paris!

Optical shops abound in Paris – some are ordinary, but many carry very fashionable eyeglass frames.  Last December, when my Baltimore ophthalmologist determined that I needed progressive lenses, I decided that I’d buy my glasses in Paris.  But in February, while helping Julie with her new baby, I decided that I didn’t want to wait until May to see clearly. I found a very cool Portland shop and bought frames made in Switzerland that I really liked.  Then, while we were in Bulgaria in April, I sat on my glasses and broke the frames!!  Thanks to Google, I found one shop in Paris – Carlotti – that carried the Swiss brand (Gotti).  I corresponded with them, provided the specs for my frame and – Voila! The day after we arrived, I took them my lenses and, a few days later, I had new glasses!

So now I can truthfully say that I bought my glasses in Paris, after all…

Another fun place to wandershop are Passages (arcaded shopping streets) that are scattered throughout the city.  Galerie Vivienne, located near the Palais Royale is one of the prettiest.

Passage Panoramas and Passage Jouffroy, nearby, form a network of arcades the lead from one to the other and are filled with used bookstores, philatelic shops, galleries and small cafés.

Shopping is one more reason that Paris is my favorite city of all…

During our extended stay, we have experienced all varieties of music. From the musicians in the Metro tunnels, of every variety

to the young woman who sang ‘torch songs’ in a small bar and then sat down to chat with us as we ate dinner

to our neighborhood jazz club, 38 Riv, in the cellar of a building on Rue Rivoli just blocks from our little apartment,

we don’t lack for quality musical experiences.

Churches in every neighborhood offer concerts, usually focused on classical favorites like Vivaldi’s ‘Four Seasons’ and Pachelbel’s ‘Canon.’   We think think that this concert might be expressly for the tourists who only know two pieces of classical music!  You can’t beat the acoustics of a church for this type of music.
And to move from the sublime to the ridiculous…we found this organ grinder at the Bastille Market on a Sunday.

Joan Baez was in concert for 10 days during our stay.  I saw this poster in the Metro when we were here in September, but I failed to follow up and, by the time we arrived, every show was sold out.  Too bad…

One final “only in Paris” musical nugget.  One sunny day, we spent the afternoon walking around Montmartre, visiting (or viewing from the outside) studios of Van Gogh, Utrillo, and Picasso.  When we came back to our place, we found Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris  on Netflix and watched it as we ate dinner.  We soon began to hear music coming in our window from the wine bar across the street.

Only in Paris…

Rick & I both love to eat, and we are in heaven when we’re in Paris!  Good food is everywhere and we try to take advantage of it all…

We signed on to two different food tours, each of which took us into a neighborhood with which we were not familiar.  In the 9th arrondissement, north of the Opera and south of Montmartre, our guide was a food journalist.  The tour was concentrated along rue des Martyrs and included the chocolatier (Henri Le Roux) whho, we were told, invented salted caramel, a pastry shop, Sebastien Gaudard, that had Rick’s mouth watering,

a wonderful cheese shop run by a couple in their 80s,

and a fish market (Au Bon Port) to which I’ve returned several times, most notably for the blue lobster that comes from Brittany.

Our group included a couple from South America on their honeymoon, and a young woman who was being married that Saturday (in Paris, to a Frenchman) and her parents from China.

Our second food tour took us to Belleville, a neighborhood that includes parts of the 10th, 11th, 19th and 20th arrondissements. Historically, a working class town that was annexed by Paris in 1860, it is now home to many artists and musicians, and lots of good food. A highlight of this tour was an opportunity to go into a boulangerie kitchen and see how the baguettes are made.

I learned about the different types of flour that are used to make different types of bread. For example, type 45 is the finer flour used for brioche or croissants, while type 65 is ideal for baguettes because it makes a bread that has lots of holes and is chewier since it has more of the wheat grain in it. Types 80, 110 & 150 are stronger flours of increasing darkness.

We eat at home often because the ingredients we can get at the markets are so fresh and wonderful, and I DO like to cook. When we arrived in Paris, the wild asparagus (asperges sauvage) was plentiful.  Of course, I bought some and made a wonderful pasta meal for us.  And, isn’t it pretty??

Restaurant meals are a treat, too, and something we try to do a few nights a week.  Our meal with friends from Baltimore at Les Papilles featured a fixed menu (you get what the chef is cooking that night…) served family style.  The pork belly was lovely and delicious.

Dinner in a private home is a special treat when we are visitors in a city.  Through Airbnb, we had dinner in a loft that was once occupied by Modigliani.  The chef for the evening was Nicola

who prepared a lovely meal that, we were told, will be featured on page 57 on his upcoming cookbook.  The meal was delicious but the dessert, oeuf a la neige (floating island) topped with lavender and pomegranate, was divine and beautiful.

Our dinner companions included a charming young woman from Mumbai who lives and works in Vienna.

The French regulation of wine is familiar to most of us – the AOC (appellation d’origine controlée) on the foil cap guarantees that it comes from a particular region. This designation is also applied to cheeses

like this Camembert de Normandie, and other agricultural products. France is justifiably proud of what it produces and many vendors (green grocers, butchers) disclose the origin of the things they are selling.

I have to talk about the butter in France, particularly in Paris.  First of all, it is made from raw milk, which gives it real flavor. Salted butter is available in several varieties. My favorite is called ‘demi-sel’ and it has crystals of salt in it.  See them?!  You buy it at the cheese shop rather than the grocery.

I will really miss this!  When we are back in the US, I plan to be a much more deliberate food shopper and consumer.  Maybe, if I look more closely, I’ll be able to find some of these pleasures on our side of the pond.

Probably the most common question we are asked, when telling others about our adventure, is, “What is your favorite place?”  Our answer is always the same…PARIS.  Even before we started traveling full-time, we found excuses to begin or end a trip (to other destinations) with a stop in Paris.  We continue to return here because it just draws us.

As we come to the end of another ‘chapter’ in the adventure, we are back in Paris.  In fact, we are staying in the same Airbnb apartment in Le Marias (4th arr) where we began ‘Chapter 1’ in September 2016!

It is ‘cozy’ (code for small), but quite functional, and you can’t beat the location, right in the center of Le Marias, one block from a stop on the Metro Line 1.  The boucherie (butcher), boulangerie (bakery), fromagerie (cheese), verger (green grocer), poissonier (fish), and grocery store are all an easy walk away. We adapt easily to the French custom of shopping every day, and we have wonderful choices!

We will stay this time for a total of 5 weeks!  When we’re in a place that is this comfortable for this long, we tend to settle in and live more like we would at home…planning dinners out and tours, but not everyday.  Sometimes my favorite way to spend a day is to wander…window shopping, people watching, stopping at a cafe for a coffee or ice cream, sitting in a park with a good book.

A highlight of our first week in Paris was getting together with Good friends from Baltimore who were finishing up a Wine & Food Society trip.  Ernie & Donna Kovacs, Rick & Elaine Born and Livio & Diane Broccolino joined us for a lovely dinner at Bistroy les Papilles.

Atelier des Lumières is a new gallery space in a former foundry that calls itself a ‘digital art center.’ The inaugural exhibition features three artists, including Gustav Klimt.  It is a unique experience – like surround sound for your eyes…just magical!  None of my videos came out well but, if you follow the link above, you can get a sense of what this experience was like.

On one of my wanders, I found myself outside the Forum des Halles, where these children were having a ball playing in a spray fountain.

Inside, I found a Lego store that seemed as busy as your average Apple store! Lots of interactive stations, including this one where you could create your own figures from thousands of different pieces.

On another day, in Luxembourg Gardens, I found children taking advantage of the breeze by sailing boats on the Grand Bassin duck pond, a tradition that is almost a century old.

One of our traditions is taking a picnic to the Champs de Mars, the large public green space at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.  Our typical fare is cheese, charcuterie, foie gras, bread and. of course, wine…this time, rosé.

We try to go just before dusk because, as the sun goes down, the tower lights up. And at the top of every hour, it sparkles!  Talk about magical, this defines the word for me…

One day, while I was window shopping, I came across a stretch of sidewalk on which someone had scattered hundreds of hearts!

Can you see why we love this place??

 

Our Rick Steves guidebook calls BUDAPEST “Europe’s most underrated big city” and I tend to agree.  It’s a pity that it took us so long to get here, but I am glad that we came AND that we had 10 days to spend exploring the city.

Divided by the Danube River, the city has two halves – Buda and Pest (pronounced Pesht). The Buda side is hilly and quieter. Here we found the former Royal Palace (on Castle Hill),

Matthias Church with its beautiful tiled roofs,

the picturesque Fishermen’s Bastion with its statue of St. Stephen, the country’s first Christian king and patron saint,

and an unusual hospital built in a natural cave system – called the Hospital in the Rock – that secretly treated the wounded during WWII and, during the Cold War, was a nuclear bunker (never needed, thank goodness…).

We stayed, and spent most of our time, on the livelier (and more touristy) Pest side. We walked the main boulevard, Andrássy ut, that is lined with stately 19th century buildings and lots of trees.

Along this walk is the Opera, which is under renovation inside and out. The areas inside that we were able to see were elegant.

At the end of the tour, our consolation prize for not being able to see the grand auditorium (under renovation), was a mini concert featuring several familiar arias, well-executed by members of the Opera company.

Farther along the street is the House of Terror, a museum housed in the building that was headquarters of, first, the Hungarian Nazi party and then, later, the Soviet secret police.  Both of those periods were very difficult times for Hungary, and over 3200 people were jailed and then murdered in this very building!

On a lighter note, one day, while heading for a wine shop on Andrassy, we came upon a band and a group of locals dancing.  They seemed to be having such a good time!

Speaking of wines (how’s that for a segue?), Hungary makes some excellent ones, but they don’t export much of it. So we’ve focused on learning – and tasting – as much of the local product as possible.
Our introduction was a tasting organized by Airbnb and led by a local wine merchant, which consisted of 5 wines (two whites, a rosé, and two reds).  Of the five, we really liked three,
  
and carried that knowledge into the wine shop we visited the next day. Since we eat at home (in our lovely Airbnb apartment) many nights, we stocked up!  We have also tried many other Hungarian wines in restaurants, and have been universally pleased.
Our next wine adventure was a trip out into the countryside, specifically the Etyek region (one of the 22 wine-growing regions in the country).  We, along with a guide and a small group, visited 3 wineries.
             
Here we learned how hard it was to maintain a quality wine industry under communism (when the emphasis was on quantity and high alcohol content).  It is only in the last 25 years that small wineries interested in quality have begun to flourish.

We also took a food tour through Budapest to learn about (and taste!) the local cuisine.  We began at a local farmers market where the produce was fresh and the vendors were lovely.
We tasted cheeses, stews (goulash), pasta (with cabbage!), all sorts of pickles, langos (fried dough topped with sour cream & cheese), Mangalica (pork) sausage, sour cherry/poppy seed strudel, and chocolate.  Not exactly a low calorie day!

On another day, we explored the Great Market Hall, several acres of produce, bakeries, butchers and, of course, mountains of paprika, the national spice.

Budapest is known for is its thermal baths. Sitting on a vast reservoir of hot water, the city has 123 natural springs and two dozen thermal baths, which are run by the government and are part of Hungary’s health care system! We tried out the Széchenyi Baths, a huge complex with indoor and outdoor pools of varying temperatures.

The water comes out of the ground at 170ºF and is mixed with cooler water to achieve the desired temperatures.  People of all shapes and sizes (all wearing swimsuits), come here to soak, sunbathe, and play chess!

Hungarian is an unique language, not related to any European language.  They use the Latin alphabet, but no Latin roots. It is a distant relative of Finnish & Estonian, and a very difficult language to parse.  It will be a relief when we return to Paris (soon!) where we can understand what is being said, and figure out what’s in a package in the grocery store!

A unique feature of Budapest is its ‘Ruin Pubs.’  The nightlife here is quite vibrant and these pubs, set amongst buildings that are not in the best shape, filled with graffiti and ‘stuff’

are where the young people gather in the evenings.  We decided that the best way to experience these pubs was to take a tour.  We went with a guide and four young men (from Toronto, Gdansk, London, and Munich) to four representative pubs.  Had a shot (of something) in each and got to have the experience without having to figure out how to ‘belly up to the bar.’  It was fun and quite a scene.

We have heard Budapest referred to as “the Paris of the East” and we would not dispute the reference. It is filled with beautiful buildings

and stately churches (most Roman Catholic),

many built in the late 19th century in preparation for the country’s 1000 year anniversary in 1896.  Even though Budapest sustained significant damage during WWII, much of this grandeur has been restored.

Hungary’s twentieth century history is complicated.  It controlled half of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until after WWI when it lost 71% of its territory and 58% of its population in the treaty of Trianon in 1920. The country joined the Axis in WWII (but it felt to much of the population like a German occupation); were ‘liberated’ by the Soviet Union after the war bringing in new ‘occupiers;’  finally declared independence in 1989 after the fall of the Berlin Wall; and joined the EU in 2004.  Things are looking up, and the people are eternally optimistic despite their difficult past.  We’re glad we came and hope to return and explore more of the country next time.

Along our travels, we have enjoyed so many wonderful wines and discovered a few other interesting libations.  We always try to learn – and practice a lot – how to say “Cheers!” in the language of the country we are visiting.  Here is our collection, mostly from this adventure, but a few from travels that preceded it.

Bulgaria – nazdrave (nahz-drah-vi)
China – gānbēi (gahn-bey)
Corsica – a salute (ah-sah-loot)
Croatia – živjeli (zhiv-yel-lee)
Czech Republic – na zdravi (nahz-drah-vi)
Denmark – skål (skohl)
France – à votre santé (ah-voh-tra-sahn-tay)
Germany – prost (prohst)
Greece – stin ygeiá sas (stin-ee-yah-sahs)
Hungary – egészségére (egg-a-sheg-a-da)
Indonesia – tepid tangan (teh-puk-tang-yahn)
Italy – cincin (chin-chin), OR saluti (sal-oo-tee)
Japan – kanpai (kan-pie)
Myanmar – shwinlaann (shwin-lahn)
Netherlands – proost (prohst)
Norway – jubel (yoo-bell)
Portugal – felicidades (fey-lee-see-dah-ges) OR saúde (sai-oo-day)
Spanish – aclamaciones (ah-clah-mah-see-oh-nehz)
Sweden – skål (skohl)
Thailand – chiyo (ch-eye-yo)
Vietnam – cô vū (koh-voo)

So, cheers to all of you!  Hope this list is helpful in your travels…

I will admit that, when Rick started talking about including BULGARIA in this segment of our travels, I was skeptical.  Not high on my list of ‘go to’ places, I followed his lead, did my usual trip planning, and here we are in Sofia.

The capital of Bulgaria and a city of over 1 million people, Sofia has many impressive buildings like the well-restored public baths (no longer used for this purpose…)

and the beautiful Alexander Nevski cathedral

alongside evidence of deferred maintenance (buildings where stucco is in poor repair, and many very uneven and broken sidewalks) probably left over from the Soviet era.

But , slowly, buildings are being reclaimed and restored.  This contrast is evident throughout the city.

We began with the excellent Free Sofia Walking Tour to acquaint us with the city, and to learn something about the history and culture. Bulgaria’s ancient history saw the presence of Thracians, ancient Greeks, and Romans among others. Many ruins have been uncovered including this 4th century church built by Emperor Constantine, which was discovered almost fully preserved.

A day trip to Rila Monastery is a must when you visit Sofia. Founded in the 10th century by St John of Rila, this large monastery complex was rebuilt in the mid-nineteenth century after it was destroyed by fire.

Impressive because of its size and beautifully preserved frescoes,

the church in its center is a great example of Orthodox Christian establishments that we have seen throughout the country. Interestingly, the frescoes outside were much prettier than those inside, which suffer from the many candles lit by the faithful who visit here.  Our trip there by bus passed through some lovely countryside with snowcapped mountains in the distance.

On a Food Tour of Sofia, we tasted  lyutenitsa – roasted red peppers and tomatoes in a chunky spread, which we thought was reminiscent of Spanish Romesco sauce, and banitsa – phyllo dough filled with cheese, pumpkin or almost anything! Both were delicious.

Speaking of food reminds me to note that reading menus, or almost anything that involves written language, is a challenge here. Bulgaria uses the Cyrillic alphabet so you really can’t even guess what the words mean!

From Sofia, we took the train to Plovdiv for our second week. This city is smaller, built on 6 hills, and contains some of the best examples of Ottoman architecture

and Roman ruins that we’ve seen. The wide central pedestrian street is built over a Roman stadium that is 240 meters long, and some sections are easily visible from above.

Plovdiv proudly advertises the fact that the city has been named the “European Capital of Culture” for 2019! It is a lively and interesting place.

One of our favorite discoveries has been a local wine bar – Vino Culture – where the young bartenders pride themselves on finding and serving small production, and excellent, Bulgarian wines.

We’ve found some lovely Pinot Noirs, but of the Bulgarian grapes, Mavrud (red), and Misket Cherven (white) are favorites. But look at how many choices there are! We may have to stay longer…

One of our days in Plovdiv, we hired a private guide to take us on a VERY long day trip to Veliko Tarnovo, the ancient capitol of Bulgaria.

Stops along the way included the Shipka Memorial Church, a Russian Orthodox church, whose gleaming gold domes could be seen for miles as we approached.  The building is dedicated to the soldiers – Russian, Ukranian & Bulgarian – who died in the fight to free Bulgaria in the Russo-Turkish War (1877-78). Note the unusual crosses (typical of Russian Orthodoxy), especially the ‘cross over crescent’ in the center, which some say represents the victory of Christianity over the Ottomans.

Next stop was the village of Arbanasi, once a mountain retreat for aristocrats, where we saw a typical house and a low slung church (the Ottomans decreed that churches could not be any higher than a man on a horse…)

that was completely painted inside with scenes from bible stories.  As you can see from the buttresses in the picture above that have been added for stability, the structure is somewhat fragile.  As cracks appear in the frescoes, small paper tapes are applied so that any widening can be easily detected.

The major difference between the Orthodox churches and those of other Christian sects is that the interior is decorated with painted ‘icons’ and frescoes, but contains no statues.

Our visit to Veliko Tarnovo involved A LOT of uphill walking. The oldest part of the city is situated on three hills, one of which holds the ruins of hundreds of houses and more than 18 churches from the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185-1396), a partially restored palace, and a fully reconstructed (1980s) cathedral.

The cathedral frescoes are quite modern and it contains one of the most unique altarpieces I’ve ever seen.

Our guide, Stoyan (that’s him in the picture below) also took us to a typical Bulgarian restaurant,

where we tried Kavarma (a delicious pork stew) and Sach (a sizzling plate with meat, cheese and vegetables). We also discovered a unique Bulgarian salty spice mixture called Chubritsa (the Bulgarian version of Old Bay…), which is traditionally sprinkled on warm bread…Yum!

Bulgaria is known for producing high quality rose oil, which is the basis for most expensive perfumes. In our drives out of the cities, we have seen huge fields of rose bushes, not yet in bloom. But I did find one lovely specimen outside a home in Plovdiv.

I’m glad we decided to come to Bulgaria!

About a dozen years ago, we traveled (mostly by bicycle) along the Dalmation coast of Croatia.  But we never made it to Zagreb, so here we are.

Getting here from Corsica was an adventure! The best (!?) connection was offered by Air France through Paris. If you look at a map, this makes NO sense, but the worst of it was that we flew into Orly and out of Charles de Gaulle with 3 hours to get from one side of Paris to the other in rush hour on Le Bus Direct…and we didn’t make it. Air France rebooked us for the next day at no charge, but couldn’t spring for a hotel room because our first flight was on time. The agent did help us to identify a reasonably priced room for the night, however.  Ahhh… the adventures of air travel…

Once we arrived in Zagreb, we knew we’d come to a civilized place.  We got an Uber from the airport to our beautiful apartment

in an old building with high ceilings, right in the middle of the city.

Zagreb, the capitol of Croatia, is a vibrant city.  We arrived on a weekend when it seemed that everyone was out in the cafes.

The architecture of the city is a mix of lovely Austro-Hungarian blocks

and blocky, ugly Soviet buildings (not worth a photo…).

On our first full day, we took a ‘free’ walking tour (tip what you like at the end…) to get acquainted with the history and major sights.  St Mark’s Church adjacent to the Croatian Parliament displays symbols of this history on its remarkable tiled roof.

And our guide pointed out these rooftop devices that were installed to skewer witches flying by in the dark…in the days of REAL “witch hunts.”

Another day we enjoyed the outdoor cafe at the beautiful National Theater

before walking through the Botanic Gardens and many of the parks that dot the city.

To learn about Croatian wines, we found two recommended wine bars and tasted through flights with explanation of the four wine-producing regions and the many unfamiliar grapes that are used.

Our best experience was at Vinoteka Bornstein, a picturesque cellar run by a transplanted Aussie.

We tried 1 sparking, 2 whites and 3 reds accompanied by Croatian cheese and olive oil.  We came away with three bottles (2 reds and the sparkling) to have with dinner over the next couple of nights. And we are impressed! Our favorite white is Grašvina, and red is Plavic Mali ( a distant relative of Zinfandel).

While in Zagreb, we rode a funicular that is the shortest passenger cable railway in the world (66 meters in 55 seconds),

checked out the Museum of Broken Relationships (sad but with some lessons…),

tried Štrukli, a traditional Croatian dish of pasta and cheese (that we honestly found fairly bland),

and walked through a series of tunnels used as shelters during the Croatian war for independence in the 1990s.

I enjoyed shopping daily at the enormous Dolac Market, where I could buy every food we needed – meat (once I figured out the words for veal, beef and pork), veggies, fruit and flowers.

Sadly, we never ventured out to the national parks that are a few hours outside of Zagreb.  Most of the organized day trips don’t begin until May.

We are exploring new territory as we travel through CORSICA, the fourth largest and most mountainous island in the Mediterranean (or maybe anywhere!).   We decided to undertake this exploration by train and, after a single day in a rented car, are certain that rail is the way to go!

We first stayed in Ajaccio (population about 100,000), the capital city located on Corsica’s western coast. It is a lively city with a daily outdoor market and great sea views.  It was here that we rented a car to drive farther south to Sartène and Bonifacio. Unfortunately, rain kept us from seeing much of Sartène, but we enjoyed lunch overlooking a beautiful harbor in Bonifacio.

The drive, however, was harrowing…over narrow mountain roads with switchbacks every few hundred meters.  It turns out that we could have taken an easier route (and did so on the way back, thanks to GoogleMaps) if we hadn’t followed the guidance of the car’s GPS!

After 4 days in Ajaccio, we rode the train to Corte, high in the mountains in the center of the island.

En route, we passed snow-covered mountains

and dramatic river valleys.

Corte, itself, was a bit of a disappointment…a long walk into town from our apartment in cold and wind most days. But we did find one very nice restaurant, sample some Corsican wines, and took a nice hike along the Restonica River on one nice sunny day.

From the mountains to the coast, our next rail trip was to Calvi, on the northwest coast of Corsica.  Here we found a beach resort town that was just waking up from the winter.

Most places were open, if not in full swing.  The beach was not crowded, and the water was too cold to do more than stick a toe in… But we enjoyed the coastline views from here to L’Ile Rousse, 40 minutes down the coast by train.

The plane trees, which line most roads in France and are severely trimmed each Fall, are starting to bud out…above this busy city square and Petanque courts. (Some people call this sport Boules…it’s like lawn bowling on a dirt court with metal balls…)

Our final stop in Corsica was Bastia (pop. 60,000), the island’s second largest city located on the northeast coast just below the Cap Corse (the part of the island that looks like a finger pointing to the continent).
This was a very different city and coastline than Calvi!  There is very little flat terrain…many ‘streets’ are staircases…and the city seems to take pride in its weathered appearance…or maybe it has stubbornly determined not to spruce up for tourists,,,

Bastia is also a very large ferry port for the western Mediterranean.

Every place in Corsica has a ‘Citadel,’ but Bastia is the first place where we’ve actually walked all the way up and entered the walls. There is a neighborhood behind the fortifications of old, and the museum inside was a good way to spend a rainy afternoon.

We are on to Eastern Europe – Croatia, Bulgaria and Hungary.  Keep reading…

After seven joyous (and exhausting!) weeks with my grandsons (2 year-old Owen and 2 month-old Warren)

in Portland,

and a week or so in Baltimore, Rick & I are back to our travels.

Our first destination was Fes, Morocco, chosen because it was our favorite city in Morocco on our trip here ten years ago AND because we expected that it would be warm (it was…). We stayed in the same riad – Dar Atajalli – (a traditional Moroccan ‘B&B’) as on our earlier trip and it was just as beautiful.

The medina (walled city) is a warren of narrow alleyways

where motorized vehicles are prohibited, but donkeys are not.

Everything imaginable can be bought here, from rugs and leather jackets to jewelry and goat meat.

I’m returning with recipes (none for goat head, though!) after a full day cooking class with Amina, our wonderful host that included an educational trip to the markets.  Rick & I ate what I prepared at dinner on the roof terrace of our lovely riad.

after enjoying a dramatic sunset.

We found a wonderful guide, Hesham, who spent a whole day with us taking us to see various workshops in the Medina. We visited (and smelled…) the tanneries, where the leather products in the shops begin with lamb and camel skins that are cleaned, dried and dyed in huge vats used by many families.

Then on to the weavers, who make rugs, blankets, scarves and beautiful fabrics

used by the many tailors whose whirring sewing machines can be heard throughout the Medina.

And, of course, the tile setters…who make table tops, fountains and the walls of most buildings from precisely cut pieces

carefully arranged to make intricate designs.

People often ask us to declare our favorite place from all of our travels.  That is a hard answer to conjure, but I will say that Morocco is the most exotic location we’ve visited.  And Fes captures almost everything we love about Morocco…except riding camels in the desert…